October 26, 2005: A World Series Won by Chicago

October 26, 2005, 20 years ago: The Chicago White Sox shut out the Houston Astros‚ 1-0 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston‚ to sweep the World Series, and win their 1st World Championship since 1917, 88 years earlier. It is the 1st World Series win for either Chicago team in that time.

The White Sox won the 1st American League Pennant, in 1901. They won the 1st intracity World Series, beating the Chicago Cubs in 1906. They won the World Series in 1917. Then they lost the World Series in 1919. The following year, it got out that 7 players on the team had "thrown" the Series, to get money from gamblers, since team owner Charlie Comiskey was underpaying them. It took 40 years to win another Pennant, as "The Go-Go White Sox" did it in 1959.

Over the years, the South Siders had some close calls. They missed the Pennant by 1 game in 1964, and 3 games in 1967. They missed the AL Western Division title by 5 1/2 games in 1972, and led the Division as late as August 8 in 1977, before drifting to 12 games back. They won the Division in 1983, but lost the AL Championship Series to the Baltimore Orioles. In 1990, the last season at the old Comiskey Park, they stayed close to the Oakland Athletics most of the season, before 9 back.

In 1993, they won the AL West, but lost the ALCS to the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1994, they led the newly-created AL Central Division when the Strike hit. In 2000, they won the Division, but lost the AL Division Series to the Seattle Mariners.

And so their drought after 1959 turned out to be longer than the one they had from 1919 to 1959. What's more, the crosstown Cubs, who hadn't won a Pennant since 1945 and the World Series since 1908, and the Boston Red Sox, who hadn't won the World Series since 1918 -- one year more recently than the White Sox -- were celebrated for their seemingly "cursed" close calls. The White Sox? They didn't have a litany of bizarre incidents down the years that could seemingly be ascribed to a curse. They just... lost.

And with the Cubs having gotten the WGN Superstation to broadcast their games, and the White Sox not, and the Cubs and the Red Sox both having literati write lots of books about their woe-is-us status, it was as if the baseball world didn't care that the White Sox hadn't won the World Series for longer than the Red Sox. Even when the Red Sox finally won it in 2004 *, the attention that was on them didn't shift to the White Sox. If anything, the Cubs got even more.

Finally, the Pale Hose won the AL Central Division again in 2005. They swept the defending World Champion * Red Sox in 3 straight games in the AL Division Series. They lost Game 1 of the AL Championship Series to the team then known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and looked likely to lose Game 2 before a controversial call led to the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

They never lost another game, tying the 1999 New York Yankees' record for best postseason record in the 1995-present Division Series Era, 11-1. On October 16, trailing Game 5, 3-2 after 6 innings, they won, 6-3, to win the Pennant for the 1st time in 46 years and 24 days.

The White Sox hadn't won the World Series in 88 years. The Houston Astros were in it for the 1st time in their 44 seasons of play. Something had to give. Baseball fans can look at a written record of what happened, and figure that the White Sox had it easy. That was far from the case.

Each team's manager had previously played for them. Ozzie Guillén, like Luis Aparicio and Chico Carrasquel before him, had come from Venezuela to play shortstop for the White Sox, made the move from the old Comiskey Park to the new one in 1990 (the stadium was renamed U.S. Cellular Field in 2003, and would be renamed Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016 and Rate Field in 2025), and was a member of their Playoff team of 1993. He won a Pennant with the Atlanta Braves in 1999.

As a player, Guillén was a slick fielder and a 3-time All-Star, who could run well and hit a little. There was little to suggest that he would one day become a successful manager, and even less to suggest the wild personality that would one day become known.

Phil Garner was a 2nd baseman who, like Guillén, made 3 All-Star Games. He won the World Series with the Oakland Athletics in 1973 and 1974, and with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979, before helping the Astros win the NL West title in 1986. Despite the nickname "Scrap Iron," he was not as argumentative, or as controversial, as Guillén.

The White Sox won Game 1 at U.S. Cellular Field, 5-3. Game 2, also at home, was a wild one, before Scott Podsednik hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th to win it. Game 3, at Minute Maid Park in Houston, went 14 innings, tying what was then a World Series record. Geoff Blum, a once-and-future Astro, and now a broadcaster for them, hit a home run for the White Sox in the top of the 14th inning, putting them 1 win away from the title.

Game 4 was played in Houston. Freddy Garcia, formerly the ace of the Seattle Mariners, started for the White Sox, Brandon Backe for the Astros, and both pitched 7 shutout innings, dispatching major threats along the way.

But Garner made a mistake, bringing closer Brad Lidge in for the 8th inning. Willie Harris singled off him, and was moved over by a bunt from Podsednik and a groundout by Carl Everett. Jermaine Dye singled Harris home, and was be named the Series' Most Valuable Player.

The Astros threatened in the bottom of the 8th, but ChiSox reliever Neal Cotts got out of it. For the 9th, Guillén brought in Bobby Jenks, the closer he called "The Big Boy." He allowed a single to Jason Lane, who was bunted over by Brad Ausmus. Chris Burke came up: His 18th-inning home run clinched the Division Series for the Astros, so there was concern. He hit a foul pop-up, of which Juan Uribe made a great catch for the 2nd out.

Orlando Palmeiro grounded to Uribe, who made another great play, and the ball just barely hit the glove of 1st baseman Paul Konerko in time. It was 11:01 PM Central Time on October 26, 2005 -- 12:01 AM Eastern on October 27 -- and, for the 1st time in 88 years and 9 days, the World Championship of baseball belonged to a team based in Chicago.

In Chicago in the interim:

* The NFL had been founded, the Bears had won 9 NFL Championships, including a Super Bowl; and the Cardinals had won 2 Championships, and moved to St. Louis, and then to Phoenix.

* The NBA had been founded, 2 Chicago-based teams and a few other professional basketball teams had failed, before the Bulls began play, eventually winning 6 NBA Championships in 8 years; DePaul University had won the NIT, when that was still considered college basketball's National Championship, and Loyola University had won an NCAA Tournament, and (7 months earlier) the University of Illinois had reached an NCAA Final.

* The NHL had been founded, and the Blackhawks had won 3 Stanley Cups; while the World Hockey Association had run its course, including the Chicago Cougars having reached but lost a Finals.

* The North American Soccer League had gone through its entire existence, with the Chicago Sting winning 2 titles, including the last; and Major League Soccer had been founded, with the Fire winning an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup in the same year, "doing the Double."

* And the original Soldier Field, the Chicago Stadium, and the International Amphitheatre had all been built, hosted all kinds of events, and been torn down and replaced by new buildings.

In the world at large: Radio broadcasting, television, photocopiers, computers, the Internet and smart phones had all been invented. Penicillin had been synthesized, the polio vaccine had been created, smallpox had been eradicated, AIDS had developed and treatments for it had been created, and it had become possible to transplant major organs. Humanity had developed rockets, been to the Moon, and had sent unmanned probes to all 7 of the other bodies then officially classified as "planets."

And there had been 8 Popes, 16 Presidents and 11 Mayors of Chicago, 2 of them (including the incumbent) named Richard Daley and living within walking distance of the home of the White Sox.

A Chicago team had won the World Series. And it wasn't the Cubs. Still, the Cubs had better attendance over the next few years. And when the Cubs finally won it all again in 2016, it was celebrated as a great moment for Chicago and environs, and White Sox fans were all, "Uh, hello? We did it first!"

Guillén had become the 1st foreign-born manager to win a World Series. The Astros would not win another Pennant until 2017, finally winning a World Series -- dubiously, as it turned out.

Statement Needed. Statement Made.

The Yankees went into today's game needing to make a statement. A statement to the team that had caught them for first place in the American League Eastern Division, the Baltimore Orioles.

Namely, "We are the New York Yankees, you are not, and we are going to blow you bastards off the face of the Earth!"

It sure didn't seem likely after that debacle last night. And it was a debacle, from the Yankee bats leaving too many runners stranded, to CC Sabathia not having his good stuff, to Mark Teixeira twice getting hosed by the umpires.

The Yankees were reeling.

Yes, they needed to make a statement today.

Statement made.

Top of the 1st: Derek Jeter singles, and advances to 2nd on a throwing error. Nick Swisher draws a walk. Alex Rodriguez grounds into a double play, advancing Jeter to 3rd. Robinson Cano singles Jeter home. 1-0 Yankees.

Freddy Garcia, in whom few Yankee Fans had much confidence, shut the Orioles out for a while.

Top of the 4th: A-Rod leads off with a single. Cano walks. A wild pitch advances them to 2nd and 3rd. Russell Martin also draws a walk. Bases loaded, nobody out. Steve Pearce draws a walk. 2-0 Yankees. Andruw Jones strikes out. Jayson Nix singles home Cano. 3-0 Yankees. Bases still loaded. Ichiro Suzuki scratches out an infield single, scoring Martin. 4-0 Yankees. Bases still loaded. Jeter forces home Pearce by drawing a walk. 5-0 Yankees.

So now, we're all hoping that Freddy doesn't fall apart with a 5-0 lead.

He does. He allows 3 runs before Joe Girardi takes him out, and brings in Joba Chamberlain. Oh no, not Joba... Is the 2007 Joba in there somewhere?

He is: He strikes out the troublesome Mark Reynolds and then Chris Davis to end the threat. 5-3 Yankees.

That was as close as the Orioles would get. Curtis Granderson homered in the 6th, his 35th of the year. He singled home 2 more in the 7th. 8-3 Yankees.

Then came the top of the 8th. Ichiro Suzuki leads off with a single. Jeter goes the opposite way, as he so often does, and hits one out, his 15th homer -- not bad for a 38-year-old shortstop who was supposed to be washed up 2 years ago. 10-3 Yankees.

Swish grounds out. A-Rod walks. Reynolds, perhaps in an effort to make up for pounding the Yankees these last 2 weekends, boots a Cano grounder. Again, A-Rod on 3rd, Robbie on 2nd. Martin singles home A-Rod. 11-3 Yankees. Raul Ibanez walks to load the bases. Granderson strikes again, driving in Cano and Martin, although Ibanez is out at the plate.

Final score: Yankees 13, Orioles 3.

WP: Chamberlain (1-0), since Garcia did not get in the 5 innings required for a starter to get the win. No save. LP: Zach Britton (5-2).

*

So the Yankees come out of this key series with a split. With 22 games to go, they are 79-61, 1 game ahead of the Orioles, 2 ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 14 1/2 (14 in the loss column) ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, and 16 1/2 (17) ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

Elimination numbers: Boston 6, Toronto 9, Tampa Bay 21 and Baltimore 22. Any number of Yankee wins and Oriole losses adding up to 22, and the Yankees win the AL East.

So everybody has tomorrow off, to resume play on Tuesday, September 11. The Yankees head up to Fenway Park to play the Red Sox, while the O's and Rays face each other in Baltimore.

Hard to believe, but going to Fenway Park to face The Scum is going to be something of a relief. Plus, if we sweep the Sox, we eliminate them from the Division race. I know, who's kidding who, but it would feel good to make it official.

Not as good as sending this message to the Baltimore Birds, though. Now -- to use a cliche from the No Fun League -- we control our own destiny.

And you know "destiny" ends with "NY."

*

Hours until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 49, this Tuesday night, at Fenway Park. Hopefully, the Red Sox and their fans will respect the 9/11 anniversary. After all, both planes that hit the old World Trade Center -- those words don't sound right, and they certainly don't look right, but there is a new one -- took off from Boston's Logan International Airport.

Hours until the U.S. National Soccer Team plays again: 50, on Tuesday night at 8:00, against Jamaica at Columbus Crew Stadium. Jamaica surprised us 2-1 on Friday night in their capital of Kingston. Jurgen Klinsmann got us away wins in friendlies against Italy and Mexico, but in a World Cup Qualifier, against a team we should beat, he guided us to an awful loss. So he'd better pick a better lineup for Tuesday.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 4, this Thursday night, against South Florida in Tampa. They beat Howard University, 26-0 on Saturday, to advance to 2-0 -- against 2 weak opponents. We still have no idea how good Rutgers actually is. By the end of the game on Thursday night, we'll have a better idea.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 5, this Friday night at 7:00, away to Sayreville. Sayreville is ranked Number 2 in the Home News Tribune's circulation area. South Brunswick went into last Friday night ranked Number 4, and slaughtered us, 34-0. Although I should say that we didn't help ourselves, as our offense, our defense and our special teams were all horrible.

Days until Arsenal play another competitive match: 6, this Saturday, home to Southampton, the newly-promoted South Coast team.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 12, against the New England Revolution in Foxboro on Saturday, September 22. Under 2 weeks. They go to Chester to face the Union on Saturday, October 27. They will not play Washington's D.C. United again this season, unless it's in the Playoffs, which is possible, although, at the moment, the Red Bulls would have the 3rd seed and D.C. are on the outside looking in, but only by 1 point.

Days until the Devils play again: 32, opening the season on Friday night, October 12, away to the Washington Capitals. If, that is, the owners don't lock the players out again. If they don't, then it's a little over a month. The home opener is the next night, against the Boston Bruins.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 37, on Wednesday night, October 17, the 3rd game of the season, the 2nd home game, at the Prudential Center, against the Rangers, the first meeting between the teams since Adam Henrique put The Scum in their place. The first meeting with the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Thursday night, November 1. I'd say the game will be at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly, but that's dependent on the arena's name not being changed... again. The first meeting with the New York Islanders will be on Saturday night, November 17, at the Nassau Coliseum. Barring a big change, there will be only 3 seasons left at the Coliseum -- and possibly only 18 more Devils-Islanders games, unless the Isles build a new arena, move to the Barclays Center, or somehow make the Playoffs in the next 3 seasons.

Days until the first Nets game in Brooklyn: 52, on Thursday, November 1, against the now actually crosstown Knicks.

Days until the 2012 Presidential election: 55. Under 8 weeks. Register to vote... and on November 6, vote!

Days until the next North London Derby: 68, on Saturday, November 17, at the Emirates Stadium. Under 10 weeks. The return fixture will be on Saturday, March 2, 2013, at White Hart Lane.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 73.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 356 (estimated around September 1, 2013). This is taking his recent injury into account. Under 1 year.

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 510 (February 2, 2014). Under 17 months.

Days until the 2014 Winter Olympics: 517 (February 7, 2014).

Days until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil: 640 (June 12, 2014). Under 22 months.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 735 (estimated, around September 15, 2014).

Days until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 1,425 (August 5, 2016). Under 2 years.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,481 (estimated -- I'm guessing around the end of 2016, around September 30).

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: 1,724 (estimated -- estimating 28 home runs a year, taking his recent injury into account, I'm guessing around April 30, 2017, at age 41). Under 3 1/2 years -- if he can.

Fit to Be Tied

On July 18, the Yankees led the American League Eastern Division by 10 games.

Last night, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, the last of those 10 games vanished.

There is no precedent for the Yankees blowing a big 1st-place lead. I had been led to believe that, in 1949, the Yankees led the American League (no divisions back then) by 12 games over the Boston Red Sox and blew it -- only to win the Pennant anyway. But this is not true: Their biggest lead was 6 1/2 games on July 15. That appears to be the biggest lead the franchise has ever blown, until now.

Freddy Garcia needed to step up for the Yankees last night. He didn't: He went just 5 innings, allowing the Tampa Bay Rays 5 runs on 5 hits (including 3 home runs) and 4 walks. This after Robinson Cano's 29th homer of the season staked him to a 2-0 lead before he ever took the mound. That is not a Pennant race performance.

After Cano's homer, the Yankees didn't score again. Aside from it, they got only 5 hits: 2 by Derek Jeter, 1 each by Alex Rodriguez, Jayson Nix and Chris Dickerson.

Rays 5, Yankees 2. WP: Alex Cobb (9-8). SV: Fernando Rodney (42). LP: Garcia (7-6).

To make matters worse, last night, the Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12-0. Why can't the Jays be as pesky for the O's as they are for us?

The AL East now stands as follows: The Yankees (who have lost 7 of their last 10) and the Orioles (who have won 8 of their last 10) are tied for 1st. The Rays are just a game and a half back, 2 in the loss column. The Red Sox are 14 (15) back, and the Jays are 16 back.

Ten up. Now tied.

The sting is less for Yankee Fans than it would be for fans of any other team, because we have the 27 titles to fall back on. If a fan of any other team says we choked, we have the easy answer: "And what has your team done?"

Lots of teams have frittered away big leads, or given away Pennants (or at least a Division title) that they should have won -- whether with 1 game left, or a few, or even a lot. The Giants in 1914, 1934 (in New York), 1959, 1978 and 1993 (in San Francisco). The St. Louis Cardinals in 1935. The Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938 and 1973. The Cleveland Indians in 1940. The Dodgers in 1951 (in Brooklyn) and 1962 (in Los Angeles). The Philadelphia Phillies in 1964. The Chicago Cubs in 1969. The Chicago White Sox in 1977. The Mets in 1985 and 2007. The Blue Jays in 1987. The California Angels (as they were then known) in 1995. The Detroit Tigers in 2006 (although they got the Wild Card and won the Pennant anyway). And, of course, the Red Sox, many times: 1949, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1991 and 2011. And that only counts regular-season chokes.

Tonight, the Yankees send Hiroki Kuroda, their most consistently good pitcher in the 2nd half of the season, to the hill against the Rays' Matt Moore.

Anything less than taking the last 2 games of this series, and then 2 out of 3 in the following series, in Baltimore, is unacceptable.

Joe Girardi should now be managing as if his job depends on it. Because it should. But it probably won't.

I should do that list of Top 10 Yankee Managers -- and 5 Worst.

Swish and Grandy Lead Yanks Past Tribe

The Yankees badly needed to take at least 2 out of 3 in Cleveland this weekend.

Friday night: CC Sabathia came off the Disabled List, and we really needed the Big Fella to come through on the mound. He did: 7 1/3 innings, 1 run, 4 hits, just 1 walk.

Which wouldn't have mattered if the Yankees hadn't also gotten the runs they needed. They did. The big hero this time was Nick Swisher, who went 3-for-4, with his 19th home run.

Yankees 3, Indians 1. WP: Sabathia (13-3). SV: Rafael Soriano (32). LP: Cody Allen (0-1), a 23-year-old rookie reliever, who was having a really good season until he gave up Swisher's home run. We may be hearing more from him in the future.

UPDATE: Allen has done well for the Indians since.

Saturday night: Hiroki Kuroda, perhaps the Yankees' most consistently good pitcher the last few weeks, took the mound, and pitched pretty well again. He went 8 innings, allowed 3 runs, on 4 hits and 2 walks.

Which wouldn't have mattered if the Yankees hadn't also gotten the runs they needed. And, this time, they didn't. There was no big hero this time. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano each got 2 hits, but the rest of the team combined only got 3.

Indians 3, Yankees 1. WP: Justin Masterson (11-10). SV: Chris Perez (33). LP: Kuroda (12-9).

So the Sunday game was, if not a must-win for the Yankees, then certainly a need-win.

So, naturally, Freddy Garcia was sent out to start. Cue the creepy music.

The Yankees scored 3 runs in the top of the 2nd, to give Garcia a cushion. Eric Chavez led off with a single. Raul Ibanez drew a walk. Ichiro Suzuki singled home Chavez. Chris Stewart sacrificed them over. Jeter grounded out, but that got Ibanez home. And Swisher concluded the scoring by singling home Ichiro.

Garcia was fine for 4 2/3rds innings. But, needing just one more out to qualify for the win, he fell apart, allowing 2 runs. Joe Girardi panicked, and brought in Boone Logan.

Logan stopped the bleeding. Whew... That may have been the season there.

At a time like that, you want to send a message. I know what you're thinking: "Teix message!" Nope, Mark Teixeira did get a hit yesterday, but it wasn't a home run. What Curtis Granderson hit in the top of the 6th, right after the inning in question, was not only his 33rd of the season, but the 200th of his career.

The Grandy Man's blast, off Ubaldo Jimenez (9-13), finished off the scoring. Logan (5-2), David Robertson and Soriano (33rd save) slammed the door on the Indians. Yankees 4, Indians 2. Two out of three done.

*

So, on this morning of August 27, with a little more than 4 weeks to go, here's how things stand:

The Yankees lead the American League Eastern Division by 4 games over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Baltimore Orioles are 4 1/2 back, 4 in the loss column. The Boston Red Sox are 13 1/2 back (14), and the Toronto Blue Jays are fading fast, 17 1/2 back (17).

The Magic Number to clinch the Division is 32, over both the Rays and the O's, 22 to eliminate the Sox, 19 to eliminate the Jays.

The Yankees trail the Texas Rangers by 1 game in the race for best record in the American League.

If the current standings hold to the end of the season, there will be a tie for the 2nd AL Wild Card between Baltimore and the Oakland Athletics, with the winner facing the Rays for the Wild Card berth in the Playoffs, with the winner of that facing the Rangers, while the Yankees would face the Chicago White Sox.  he Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim also have legitimate shots at the Playoffs.

In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals would visit the Atlanta Braves.  If the Cards win, they would face the Washington Nationals while the San Francisco Giants would face the Cincinnati Reds. If the Braves win, they would face the Reds while the Giants face the Nats. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates are both still very much in it, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have an outside shot.

The Yankees have come home, and will start a 3-game series tonight against those pesky Blue Jays. David Phelps starts against Henderson Alvarez.

It's Boone Logan, Naturally

To the tune of "Alone Again, Naturally," by Gilbert O'Sullivan:

In a little while from now
he'll still leave me feeling sour.
I promised myself
to treat myself
to send him to the shower.
But I'm not Joe Girardi.
I wish I were, you see.
In an effort to
make it clear, it's true
that this guy's a lousy pitcher
left standing on the mound
with the sound of home runs cracking.
My God, that schmuck, he's out of luck.
His ERA is stacking.
His time here needs an end.
He is simply not my friend.
It's Boone Logan
naturally.

To think that only yesterday
we put the Red Sox away.
Looking forward to
win a game or two
against the White Sox that we'd play.
But as if to knock me down
this bad pitcher came around
and without so much
as a strong touch
left our game chances in pieces.
Leaving me to doubt
talk about old Sparky Lyle.
A reliever who goes three strong?
Haven't had that for a while.
And in my hour of need
who goes and blows a lead?
It's Boone Logan
naturally.

It seems to me that there are pitchers
throwing in the world
that are much better.
They are go-getters.
What do I do?
What do I do?

*

As you may have guessed, Boone Logan is not one of my favorite people. In the 2010 regular season he was, for the most part, okay for the Yankees. But in the postseason, he got rocked by the Texas Rangers.

Then last season, he blew leads all over the place. Drove me up the wall -- and caused opposing hitters to drive baseballs over the wall.

This season, he's been better -- or has he? He won his 1st 4 decisions, including one at Fenway Park. His ERA has gone from 2.93 in 2010 to 3.46 last year to 4.07 for this season at the moment. His ERA+ has gone down from 149 to 125 to 105 -- and a reliever should have it a lot closer to 149 than to 105.

Logan is a LOOGY: Lefthanded One Out GuY. A pitcher who's supposed to come in and be a lefty pitching to a lefty batter, and then gets taken out for a better righthander.

I detest this strategy. I don't care what hand a pitcher throws with: If you don't trust him to get two consecutive outs, you shouldn't trust him to get one out.

Like Esteban Loaiza, Tanyon Sturtze, Sean Henn and Scott Proctor before him, Boone Logan has now inspired me to write about him for the song-parody website Amiright.com. (Strangely, Carl Pavano and Kyle Farnsworth avoided this fate, probably because I couldn't stand to think of them long enough to write one.) I have paid tribute to several Yankees with positive parodies, but more often than not it's to rip bad ones, usually pitchers.

*

I know, there are other Yankee pitchers we could talk about this morning. Injured-for-the-season pitcher Michael Pineda got busted for drunk driving, with a blood-alcohol content of .13 or thereabouts. Freddy Garcia started last night's game and is looking more and more like the end of his major league career is near.And Joba Chamberlain, who (much more so than Yankee management) really is his own worst enemy, has definitely come back from his injury too soon. He doesn't seem to be in pain, but he needed more minor-league rehab prep. At this rate, he's going to get some more of that. He's still got a million-dollar arm, but also still has a five-cent head.

Last night, at U.S. Cellular Field (formerly the new Comiskey Park), the Yankees took a 3-0 lead over the Chicago White Sox. But Garcia melted down in the 5th, including allowing a home run to Dewayne Wise, recently let go by the Yankees, and it was 5-3 to the Pale Hose. (One of my favorite team nicknames in all of sports.)

The Yankees struck back with 3 in the 6th, including Derek Jeter's 11th home run of the season. The Captain went 4-for-5, and now has 3,255 career hits, tying him with Eddie Murray for 12th on the all-time list.

But Joba allowed the tying run in the 6th, on a home run by Gordon Beckham. (Could be worse, it could have been hit by David Beckham.) And then Logan mucked it up by allowing 2 more in the 7th on a home run by Alexei Ramirez. (Alexei? Ramirez? Those names don't go together!) Derek Lowe, who pitched 4 shutout innings in a fine relief appearance in his 1st game for the Yankees, wasn't so good this time, as he allowed another run that pretty much put the game out of reach.

White Sox 9, Yankees 6. WP: Former Phillies star Brett Myers (2-5). SV: Addison Reed (22). LP: Logan (4-2).

More of Logan's Runs. Unfortunately, for that little bit of dark humor to work, he'd have to have turned 30 by now. He just turned 28. Hopefully, by August 13, 2014 -- hell, by tonight, but who's kidding who -- the Yankees will have gotten rid of him.

*

And looking back over the years
at these guys who make me drink beers
I remember how I fumed
when ERAs ballooned
never wishing to hide the jeers.
And at 28 years old
this pitcher torments my soul.
I can't understand
why this failing man
has a place in our bullpen.
Leaving me to start
with a heart that's heavy, thumpin'.
Despite encouragement from me
this pitcher, he's got nothin'.
And when the ball flies away
I scream and curse all day!
It's Boone Logan
naturally.

It's Boone Logan
naturally.

The preceding parody should appear on Amiright.com tomorrow.

Three of Four Is Good, But the Fourth Was Bad

Last night, the Yankees and Rangers began the 3rd game of their 4-game series in The Bronx late, due to rain. When it was played, Freddy Garcia started for the Yankees -- and if you had told me before the series started that the Yankees would take 3 of the 4 against the 2-time defending American League Champions, I would have guessed this would be the one they would lose.

I would have guessed wrong. Freddy pitched pretty well, allowing only 2 runs in nearly 7 innings. Both were on home runs by Josh Hamilton, one in the 4th inning and one in the 6th.

After he hit the 1st one, a long drive into the 2nd deck in right field, I (at a New York bar) asked no one in particular, "How come nobody ever tests Hamilton for steroids?"

The guy next to me at the bar said, "Because the only thing that would turn up in his blood would be heroin."

Cheap shot. But not without merit, by Hamilton's own admissions.

Meanwhile, the Yanks had given Freddy the lead with 3 runs in the bottom of the 3rd, off Scott Feldman (6-8), who otherwise pitched well for Texas. Jayson Nix led off with a single, and stole 2nd. Derek Jeter singled, but Nix only got to 3rd. No matter: Nick Swisher, who is hitting the stuffing out of the ball lately, doubled home Nix, and got Jeter only to 3rd.

Is 3rd base coach Rob Thompson a little hesitant to send runners home? Because that's back-to-back at-bats when he could have.

Curtis Granderson then hit a sacrifice fly to get Jeter home. After Mark Teixeira struck out, Eric Chavez, still doing the business even though he wasn't expect to do much when we got him, singled home Swish.

Boone Logan, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano (29th save) pitched scoreless ball in relief of Garcia (7-5). Yankees 3, Rangers 2.

*

But this afternoon, there was a slugfest, and the Yankees were on the wrong end of it. Ivan Nova, again, did not have good stuff, allowing 4 runs in less than 6 innings.

But the Yankees fought back, including Andruw Jones' 13th homer of the year -- another veteran who was a nice surprise. But later on, he stranded 2 runners when he himself represented the tying run.

The Yankees tried 5 pitchers today: Nova, Cody Eppley, Logan, Joba Chamberlain (who was clearly not ready to come back) and Clay Rapada. None of them had anything.  The Rangers racked up 16 hits.

Rangers 10, Yankees 6. WP: Tanner Scheppers (1-0). LP: Logan (4-1).

Not the way you want to go into a Red Sox series. The Scum come back to The Bronx tomorrow night.

They've become a circus -- or, as Squawker Lisa (see Subway Squawkers) calls them, The Real Housewives of Boston. Real Housewives? More like Cape Cod, a.k.a. Jersey Shore North.

Sox management gave manager Bobby Valentine a vote of confidence today, in light of the story that some players wanted him fired.  They say he won't be fired in what remains of the season.

You know the old saying: The vote of confidence is soon followed by the kiss of death.

Two Out of Three From the Pesky Blue Jays

So the Yankees cleared Customs and headed to Toronto. I can imagine how it went...

Canadian Customs Official: "Do you have anything to declare?"

John Sterling: "Yes, I declare that you just can't predict baseball."

(rolleyes)

The Yankees got a good performance from Freddy Garcia on Friday night, going 6 innings and allowing just 2 runs. Joba Chamberlain was a little shaky again, allowing a run.  So did Clay Rapada.

But it didn't matter, because the Yankees did what the Yankees are supposed to do: They unloaded the lumber. Anchored by Mark Teixeira's 22nd home run of the season, they scored 7 runs in the last 2 innings to put the game out of reach.

Yankees 10, Blue Jays 4. WP: Garcia (6-5). No save. LP: Ricky Romero (8-9).

The Saturday game may have been a key moment in the season. Ivan Nova started, and his last 2 outings had been bad. This time, he was on. The 4th inning was a little shaky, but, other than that, he cruised into the 8th, advancing his record to 11-6. David Robertson and Rafael Soriano (28th save) took it from there.

The offense? As with the defense, the 4th inning was key. Casey McGehee homered (his 9th of the season, but his 1st as a Yankee) off Aaron Laffey (3-3), anchoring a 4-run inning. Yankees 5, Blue Jays 2.

Then yesterday, Phil Hughes did the opposite of Nova, turning some good recent performances into an awful one (11-10), getting shelled in -- you guessed it -- the 4th inning. Recent acquisition Ryota Igarashi didn't do much better in relief of Hughes... and that turned out to be key.

Because the Yankees trailed the Jays 10-1, and then started to come back. J.A. Happ (8-10), whom you might remember pitching for the Phillies against the Yankees in the 2009 World Series, was doing fine until the 6th, and then the hits couldn't seem to stop coming. That 6th included home runs by the overrated, washed-up Derek Jeter (his 9th) and Robinson Cano (his 25th). The Yanks got 3 in the 6th and 3 more in the 7th...

But that was as close as they got, as Casey Janssen had to come in for Toronto and slam the door for his 15th save.  Jays 10, Yankees 7.

Still, getting 2 out of 3 on the road is good. Especially from those Pesky Blue Jays. Add on the split of the 4-game series in Detroit, and it was a 4-out-of-7 roadtrip. Not great, but acceptable. As I said last week, you win 2 out of 3 at home, and go slightly above .500 on the road, 54-27 + 41-40 = 95=67, which probably = American League Eastern Division title.

*

So here's where we stand, with 48 games to play: The Yankees are 67-47, leading the AL East 5 games over the Tampa Bay Rays, 5 1/2 (6 in the loss column) over the Baltimore Orioles, 11 (12) over the Boston Red Sox and 13 over the Jays.

Elimination numbers -- keeping in mind that the Yanks, Rays and Jays have played 1 fewer game than the O's and 2 fewer than the Sox -- are 35 for the Sox and Jays, 42 for the O's, and 43 for the Rays.  Any number of Yankees' wins and Rays' losses the rest of the way, adding up to 43, and the Yankees win the Division again.

The Yankees start a homestand with a 3-game series against the Texas Rangers -- the one team in the AL with a better record.

Tonight: David Phelps vs. Ryan Dempster, the former Marlin and Cub ace.

Tomorrow night: Hiroki Kuroda vs. Matt Harrison.

Wednesday night: Freddy Garcia vs. Scott Feldman.  Boy, there's a pitching matchup to hold your attention...

As we say in hockey, "RANGERS SUCK!" Come on you Pinstripes!

The Story of the Season Is Taking Shape

There's an old saying in baseball: "Good pitching beats good hitting, and vice versa." It's usually attributed to Yankee Legend Yogi Berra, but I'm guessing he didn't say it.

Over the weekend, there was a lot of good pitching at Yankee Stadium II, in the series between the Yankees and the Seattle Mariners.

On Friday night, CC Sabathia started against Kevin Millwood. CC is still one of the best pitchers in baseball. Millwood used to be, but not anymore.

Eric Chavez -- remember, he's supposed to be neither the starting 3rd baseman nor the starting designated hitter -- hit his 10th home run of the season off Millwood. Robinson Cano hit his 30th double (remember, it's the 1st week of August), Derek Jeter hit his 21st, and Russell Martin doubled as well, going 2-for-4, to bring his average up to... .195. But when he does hit, he usually comes through.

CC, meanwhile, went the distance. He took a 6-1 lead into the 9th, before Dustin Ackley hit a 2-run homer to make the game interesting. But CC bore down and gave the bullpen a much-needed night off. Yankees 6, Mariners 3. WP: CC (11-3). No save. LP: Millwood (4-9; his ERA is only 4.01, so he hasn't been awful this season, but he needs to get out of Seattle any way he can).

*

On Saturday, Hiroki Kuroda went up against Felix Hernandez.  hat Kuroda did would usually be more than enough to give his own team's hitters the chance to win the game: He got into the 7th inning having allowed just 1 run, and between them, Boone Logan, David Robertson and Clay Rapada allowed no more.

But Hernandez showed why some people (who don't seem to grasp that he's never pitched a game under Pennant race pressure in his life) call him "King Felix": He threw a complete-game 2-hit shutout. He allowed a Cano double in the 1st, an Ichiro Suzuki single in the 3rd (erased by a double play), a Curtis Granderson walk in the 6th, a Raul Ibanez walk in the 7th, and that's it: 4 baserunners in 9 innings.

Mariners 1, Yankees 0. WP: Hernandez (10-5). LP: Kuroda (10-8, who really deserved a better fate).

*

Felix or no, it would have been very bad for the Yankees to drop a home series against the Mariners, who are well over .500. And who was scheduled to start for the Yanks yesterday afternoon? Freddy Garcia, the former Mariner ace now barely hanging on to his spot in the Yankee rotation. And when the Mariners scored in the top of the 1st, it seemed deflating. There was a "Here we go again" mentality.

But the Yankees struck back immediately in the bottom of the 1st: Granderson walked, Jeter grounded into a force play, Cano singled Jeter to 3rd, and Mark Teixeira singled Jeter home. In the 2nd, Granderson scored on a throwing error. Jeter singled home a run in the 4th.

The Jesus Montero for Michael Pineda trade, in which the Yankees gave up their biggest prospect for a pitcher whose injury won't allow him to pitch for them at all this season, came back to bite them again, as Montero singled home a run in the top of the 5th. But an Ibanez homer -- his 15th, in the 1st week of August, and did I mention he's 40 years old? -- canceled that out. He singled home 2 more in the 6th, off former Met Oliver Perez, in relief of starter Hisashi Iwakuma.

Garcia went only 5 innings, and was really laboring, but allowed only the 2 runs. Logan, Robertson and Soriano pitched the remaining 4, and retired 12 of the last 13 batters, allowing only a walk given up by Robertson.

Yankees 6, Mariners 2. WP: Garcia (5-5 -- the 150th win of his career). LP: Iwakuma (2-3).

*

So the Yankees take 2 out of 3 from the Mariners. Reward? They get to go to Detroit, for 4 games, before 3 more in Toronto.

They are 6 1/2 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles (7 in the loss column), 7 1/2 (8) ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 10 (11) ahead of the Boston Red Sox, and 10 1/2 (11) ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Elimination numbers: Sox 43, Jays 44, Rays 47 and O's 48. That's right, the Yankees' Magic Number to clinch their 20th American League Eastern Division Championship (their 49th 1st-place finish overall) is just 48.

If the regular season ended today, these would be the Playoff matchups, with the team with the home-field advantage listed first:

* Yankees vs. winner of Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers.

* Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox.

* Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves, if Braves win Wild Card play-in game vs. Pittsburgh Pirates; if Pirates win it, Reds vs. San Francisco Giants.

* Washington Nationals vs. Giants if Braves win; if Pirates win, Nats vs. Bucs.

If we're going by who deserves it the most...

* The Nats have never won a postseason series, including in their earlier incarnation as the Montreal Expos  They haven't even won a postseason game since 1981, their only berth.

* No Washington team has won a Pennant since the 1933 Senators, and none has won a postseason series since the Senators went all the way in 1924.

* The A's haven't won a postseason series since 2006, an ALCS game since 1992, a Pennant since 1990 or a World Series since 1989.

* The Tigers haven't won a postseason series since 2006, or a World Series since 1984.

* The Rangers have won the last 2 AL Pennants, but have never won a World Series since they began play in Texas in 1972, or at all since they began as "the new Washington Senators" in 1961.

* The Braves haven't won a postseason series since 2001, a Pennant since 1999, or a World Series since 1995.  Hard to believe, since they were a paragon of stability for so long, reaching every postseason that was played from 1991 to 2005.

* The Reds haven't won a postseason series since 1995, and haven't won an NLCS game, a Pennant or a World Series since 1990.

* The Orioles, only a game out of the 2nd AL Wild Card spot, haven't reached the postseason since 1997, and haven't won a Pennant or a World Series since 1983.

* The Blue Jays, 5 games out of the 2nd AL Wild Card spot, haven't reached the postseason, or won a Pennant or a World Series, since 1993.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers, 3 games out of the 2nd NL Wild Card spot, haven't won a Pennant or a World Series since 1988.

* And the Pirates haven't reached the postseason, or even had a winning season, since 1992, and haven't won a Pennant or a World Series since 1979.

The story of this season is beginning to take shape.  What it will end up as, is anybody's guess.

It wouldn't be good for the Yankees to stand in the way of someone like Washington or Pittsburgh.  It wouldn't be fair to beat either of them, and I certainly don't want to lose.

On the other hand, the Pirates did win the last Series against the Yankees, in 1960.  And the Yanks have been looking for a rematch with the Reds since 1976 and the Dodgers since 1981.

So, not being a team owner, whose first priority is making money, regardless of what it does to the team and the fans thereof, I want to win.

Yankees Are Arsenalesque in Loss to Orioles

Falling behind 5-2 in the top of the 7th. At home. To a team you should beat 9 times out of 10. Clawing back to 5-4. Getting the leadoff man to 2nd in the bottom of the 9th. Having the tying run on 3rd and the winning run on 2nd. And losing anyway. Partly because of your manager's what-the-hell substitutions.

Last night, the Yankees reminded me an awful lot of recent Arsenal.

Baltimore Orioles 5, Yankees 4, in the opener of a 3-game series at Yankee Stadium II. WP: Miguel Gonzalez (3-2) -- a 28-year-old Mexican who never got to the majors until this year, never even got to Triple-A until last year (where, at 3 different levels combined, was 0-7), and is the proverbial "pitcher the Yankees have never seen before" and can't beat. SV: Jim Johnson (31). LP: Freddy Garcia (4-5).

The Yankees hit 3 homers, but it wasn't enough: Raul Ibanez hit his 14th in the 5th, and in the 7th, back-to-back jacks by Eric Chavez, his 9th, and Ichiro Suzuki, his 5th, his 1st in a Yankee uniform, and the 100th of his career.

I guess it's appropriate that the Yankees reminded me of recent Arsenal. After all, tonight is the night when the New York Red Bulls host Arsenal's arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur.

The Premier League's teams have not done well on their North American tours. Spurs, using mostly their starting XI, could only manage draws against the Los Angeles Galaxy, who are the defending MLS Champions, but are now midtable and couldn't call on Landon Donovan and David Beckham due to their selection for the MLS All-Star Game; and a mostly-reserve Liverpool side in Baltimore, a Liverpool team that barely scraped a draw against Toronto FC, the worst team in MLS this season, a team which probably would struggle in England's League One (3rd division).

Spurs will be without the Welsh chimp Gareth Bale: After begging out of "Team Great Britain" for the Olympics due to injury, he played for Spurs on this tour, and now he's hurt. Serves the diving cheating simian bastard right.

The Red Bulls should have their big gun, the Arsenal legend, the man who always had Spurs for lunch (or, in this case, dinner): Thierry Henry. Plus the Australian connection of Kenny Cooper and the newly acquired Everton man Tim Cahill.

Nine hours to go.  Beat The Scum!

King Coward Felix: A-Bad Break for A-Rod

Mariners 4, Yankees 2. WP: "King" without a ring Felix Hernandez (9-5). SV: Tom Wilhelmsen (11). LP: Freddy Garcia, the ex-Mariner (4-4). But that hardly tells the story.

After allowing 3 runs in the 1st 3 innings, Freddy settled down and retired 15 in a row. Then, with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th, and the Yanks trailing 3-2, with the runs scoring on Curtis Granderson's 27th homer and a double by Mariner-turned-Yankee Ichiro Suzuki (so far, so good with that trade), Joe Girardi blew it again.

He took Garcia out, and replaced him with Clay Rapada. That didn't work, so he replaced him with Chad Qualls. That didn't work, so he replaced him with Boone Logan. That didn't work, so he replaced him with Cody Eppley. Five pitchers in one inning. Incredibly, only 1 run scored, but it ruined the Yankees' momentum.

On WCBS, John Sterling called it "a nightmare of an inning." So what would he call the 12th inning of the Mets' Sunday game, when they allowed 5 runs in Los Angeles? Or the 10th inning of the Mets' Monday game, when they allowed 6 runs in Washington?

Had Girardi simply let Garcia pitch the 8th, the Yankees still might have lost, but it would have looked a lot less like Girardi doesn't know how to handle a pitching staff.

I am thisclose to saying, "Joe, thank you for 2009, but it's time to move on." Alas, I do not get to make that decision.

And that's hardly the story, either.

"King" Felix hit 3 Yankee batters. His ex-teammate Ichiro. Stay classy, Felix. Derek Jeter. Big deal, every headhunter hits Jeter. And Alex Rodriguez. In this case, the pitch broke A-Rod's hand.

This was all within the space of 5 batters, over 2 innings. And "King" Felix wasn't thrown out of the game after any of these incidents. Although Mariner manager Eric Wedge did go to his bullpen after "King" Felix plunked A-Rod.

Jeter said, "It wasn't intentional. I mean, it was a close game at the time. I think Al got hit with a changeup. It's just one of those freak things. You wish it didn't happen. Obviously, when somebody gets injured, it's pretty bad."

"Wasn't intentional."

Three batters out of five. Three batters, each with over 2,500 hits in the majors.

Derek has been a Yankee for 17 years. He knows damn well when it's intentional.

Felix Hernandez, you are not a king. You are a goddamned coward. You think the Yankees should trade for you? I don't want you on the Yankees.

(Yeah, I know, I said that about Roger Clemens, too. I was wrong. But I also said it about Randy Johnson, and I turned out to be right.   also said it about Pedro Martinez, and, wisely, Brian Cashman never tested it.)

Most likely, Eric Chavez will be the everyday 3rd baseman until A-Rod comes back. No word yet on how long he'll be out, or on who will be called up from Scranton, or activated from the Disabled List, to replace him.

My concern is that A-Rod will be back just in time for the postseason, but not be back enough. Which would certainly give him a viable excuse for not hitting well in October.

A few years back, I joked that the only way the Yankees would win a World Series with A-Rod on the payroll would be if he caught the flu. Not a 24-hour virus, a 24-day virus, keeping him out for the postseason. In other words, they only way he would get a ring would be if he wasn't on the roster.

I'd been saying A-Rod would get his 3,000th hit next June, with the qualifier "barring injury." As that great Yankee Fan Richard Schiff would say, "You don't want to tempt the wrath of the thing from on high."

Let's just hope he's ready for the postseason. A-Rod, that is, not Schiff, best known for playing Toby Ziegler on The West Wing. I'd rather go in with no excuses.

This bitch of a West Coast roadtrip concludes with a 3:40 PM (12:40 local time) start today, Ivan Nova going against Hisashi Iwakuma.

O is for Oakland, and for Ouch

Brett Gardner will have arthroscopic surgery on his elbow next week. Which means he's probably out for the rest of the season.

Ouch. Speaking of things that begin with the letter O, the Yankees started a series on the Pacific Coast last night, against the Oakland Athletics.

There was a Yankee outfielder returning to the team, but it was Reggie Jackson, back in the fold after his flap about Alex Rodriguez. Reggie starred for the A's before coming to the Yankees, and still has a home in the East Bay, so it was natural to let this series in Oakland be his rejoining point.

Freddy Garcia (4-3) didn't pitch too badly, but he gave up a long 1st inning home run to the renowned Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes. And, this time, the Yankee bats didn't give him the run support. Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 22 games, making it the 4th-longest Yankee streak since Joe DiMaggio's record 56 in 1941: Joe Gordon had 29 in 1942, Derek Jeter had 25 in 2006, and Don Mattingly had 24 in 1986.

Nick Swisher, a former A's outfielder who certainly knows how to hit in the Coliseum, hit his 14th homer of the season to close the gap to 4-3 in the 9th. But that was it.

A.J. Griffin (2-0) held the Yankees off for most of the game -- once again, the Yankees losing to a pitcher they'd never seen before. Ryan Cook closed it out for the save (10).

The series continues tonight, at 10:05 Eastern Time. Ivan Nova starts against... Tommy Milone. Another unfamiliar pitcher.

Then again, with Moneyball having failed so spectacularly, there's very few players on the A's roster that most fans would recognize.

Joba Chamberlain is scheduled for another Gulf Coast League outing today. We thought he'd be out for the rest of the season, but he could well be back sometime next month.

A Dozen Reasons Why the Yankees Shouldn't Be Doing This Well

After my multi-part series on my imagined All-Time All-Star Game...

We now return you to your regularly scheduled baseball season, already in progress.

Last night, the Yankees resumed, beginning a home series against the Whatever They're Calling Themselves This Season Angels of Anaheim. Until the 7th inning, Hiroki Kuroda was getting the job done, and the Yankees had given him a 2-1 lead. But he fell apart, and when the inning was over, the Angels led 4-2. They made it 5-2 in the 8th. The Yankee runs had scored on a home run by Mark Teixeira, his 17th.

Derek Jeter led off the bottom of the 8th with a double. Curtis Granderson drew a walk. And then came another Teix message to tie the game.

Up next was Alex Rodriguez, but, fitting the stereotype, he didn't help, grounding to 3rd. Robinson Cano didn't help, either, lining to right. But Nick Swisher drew a walk, replaced by pinch-runner Dewayne Wise, who stole 2nd. With 1st base open, the Angels intentionally walked Raul Ibanez to set up a force play. After all, the next batter was Russell Martin, who was batting .171.

Martin singled Wise home with the winning run. Rafael Soriano slammed the door in the 9th.

Yankees 6, Angels 5. WP: Chad Qualls (2-1). SV: Soriano (21). LP: Scott Downs (1-1), in relief of C.J. Wilson, noted Yankee-killer while with the Texas Rangers the last 2 years.

Today, I tempted fate, by going to my old summer home, Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, home of Martell's Sea Breeze, the Boardwalk joint where the Yanks were something like 0-25 when I watched on the Martell's TV screens before I finally saw them win there last Summer.

Freddy Garcia started for the Yankees, and while he wasn't exactly stellar, he got the job done. The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, but the Yanks tied it shortly thereafter, thanks to Cano's 21st homer.  Curtis Granderson hit his 24th in the 3rd, to give the Yanks a 4-2 lead, and that was pretty much it.

Yankees 5, Angels 3. WP: Garcia (4-2). SV: Soriano (22). LP: Jerome Williams (6-6). Curse of Martell's: Appears to be not only dead, but buried.

*

Counting games played this afternoon, but not games in progress as I type this, the Yankees are leading the American League Eastern Division by 8 1/2 games, with the Baltimore Orioles 8 games behind in the loss column. The Tampa Bay Rays are 9 back,the Boston Red Sox 10 back, and the Toronto Blue Jays 10 1/2 back (11 in the loss column).

The Yanks' Magic Numbers to eliminate the other AL East teams are: Sox and Jays 65, Rays 66, and O's 68.

There's a dozen reasons why the Yankees shouldn't be doing this well with 75 regular-season games to go.

Am I exaggerating? Or are there really 12 reasons?

1. Mariano Rivera has been out most of the season.

2. The man who was supposed to take his place, David Robertson, was injured -- and now that he's back, has been restored to his previous position as 8th inning pitcher, while Rafael Soriano has stayed as the 9th inning man.

3. Michael Pineda, counted on to be one of the better starters, is out for the season, and then some: Until next May, at least.

4. Joba Chamberlain was supposed to be out for the season -- although he may be back in August.

5. Andy Pettitte came out of retirement, but he's hurt, too -- although he has begun working his way back, and may be back in August.

6. Brett Gardner has been injured for most of the season.

7. Freddy Garcia has looked finished -- although he's been better lately.

8. Mark Teixeira got off to a terrible start, typical for Yankee 1st baseman going as far back as early Don Mattingly -- although he's definitely shaken that off.

9. Alex Rodriguez hasn't been the A-Rod of old, although he's hardly been terrible.

10. In spite of last night's winning hit, Russell Martin is still batting only .181.

11. Cory Wade has pitched abysmally, doing to me this season what Boone Logan did the year before, what Robertson did the year before that, what Kyle Farnsworth, Scott Proctor, Jeff Weaver, Ted Lilly, Greg Cadaret, Bob Shirley and George Frazier have all made me want to do while wearing Yankee uniforms: Beat them to death with my bare hands.

12. Joe Girardi continues to use "the book" (or, as some say, his binder) to manage, instead of his eyes and common sense.

So, yes, a dozen reasons.

So why have the Yankees produced the best record in baseball at this point in the season?

It can't be the Yankee Mystique. Assuming it even really exists, it doesn't really help much in the regular season.

It can't be Yankee Stadium. The new Stadium hasn't had the same effect the old Stadium did.

It can't be simply that putting on the Yankee uniform makes you better. See young Wade above.

It could be that the other teams simply aren't good enough... but I don't think so. Of the 14 teams in the AL, all but 3 are 1 game under .500 or better. And even the team with the League's worst record, the Seattle Mariners, has a better record than 4 teams in the National League: The Chicago Cubs, the Colorado Rockies, the San Diego Padres and the Houston Astros.

Or maybe... the answer is as simple as "We are the Yankees. This is what we do."

As Leonard Nimoy would say, That is highly illogical.

But then, whoever said baseball was logical?

Yanks Close 1st Half with 3 of 4 at Fenway

So here we are, at the metaphoric (though past the numerical) midway point of the Major League Baseball regular season for 2012. With the final Yankee series of such being at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox, the old enemy, The Scum.

For the most part, it has been a satisfying season. And, for the most part, it was a satisfying series.

On Friday night, the Yankees scored 5 runs in the top of the 1st. And then the Red Sox scored 5 of their own in the bottom half. And those of us who know these teams well, especially against each other, though, "Whoa, here we go again!" Once again, Fenway turned into a pinball machine.

The Yankee 5: Derek Jeter led off with a single. Curtis Granderson singled. Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch by Josh Beckett -- although I don't think even Super Punk would intentionally hit a guy to load the bases with nobody out, especially with Robinson Cano coming up. Then Beckett walked Cano. (1-0.) Then Mark Teixeira singled. (3-0.) Nick Swisher hit a sacrifice fly. (4-0). Raul Ibanez singled. And Eric Chavez hit a sacrifice fly. (5-0).

The Red Sox 5: Hiroki Kuroda allowed a leadoff double to Daniel Nava. A wild pitch moved him over to 3rd. Ryan Kalish hit a sacrifice fly. (5-1.) David Ortiz, the big fat lying cheating bastard, singled. Cory Ross reached on an error by Chavez. Adrian Gonzalez doubled. (5-2.) Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the man with the longest surname in baseball history (14 letters), hit a home run. (5-5.)

The Yankees scored a run in the top of the 2nd. And the Sox tied it up in the bottom of the 2nd. 6-6.

Oy vey, we could be here all night...

The Sox took a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the 5th. Things were starting to look bleak.

But these are the New York Yankees. Anything can happen. And this was Fenway Park. Anything often does happen.

Here was the anything in the top of the 7th on Friday night: Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine had brought Andrew Miller in to relieve. (UPDATE: Yes, the Andrew Miller I would later bemoan Brian Cashman trading from the Yankees to Cleveland.) And he walked the leadoff man, Granderson. Then he walked A-Rod. He struck out Cano, and then Bobby V brought in a new pitcher.

What's with Bobby? You don't take a pitcher out right after he struck a guy out!

Especially if it's Vicente Padilla, the former Phillies washout who, it now appears, has what former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee would call "an alligator mouth and a hummingbird ass." 

Teix nearly hit one out, sending a triple to the center field wall. 8-7.

Padilla stuck Swish out, but Ibanez (again: The Phils, a pretty smart organization these last few years, gave up on this guy) doubled Teix home. 9-7.

Valentine got Padilla out of there. In came Scott Atchison. No good (for him): Chavez singled home Ibanez. It was 10-7, before Atchison ended the carnage by striking out Martin.

Cody Ross got one back with a home run in the bottom of the 7th, but that was it. Yankees 10, Red Sox 8.

WP: Boone Logan (believe it or not, he's 4-0). SV: Rafael Soriano (20). LP:Miller (2-1).

*

Saturday featured a day-night doubleheader, due to an early-season rainout. In 1948, the Boston Braves (now in Atlanta) had a rotation of Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain, Vern Bickford and Bill Voiselle, and although the latter 2 had decent seasons, the former 2 were fantastic, and the slogan for this Pennant-winning Boston team was "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain."

Maybe the Sox should've prayed for sun the day the Saturday opener was supposed to be played.

The Yankees slumped a little. This time, they only scored 4 runs in the top of the 1st. A Jeter leadoff single (Did somebody say he was "in decline"?) was followed by Teix (batting 2nd?) and A-Rod flying out. Then Sox starter Franklin Morales hit Cano with a pitch. (Again, probably not intentional, but when it comes to hit batsmen the Sox have -- literally -- thrown away their automatic presumption of innocence.) And Swish swatted a homer. And then Andruw Jones, in the words of Yankee broadcaster John Sterling, made it "Back to back, and a belly to belly!" (Swish's 13th homer, Jones' 8th.)

Jayson Nix added his 3rd homer, and Jones added his 9th. The Sox got one in the bottom of that inning, but other than that, Freddy Garcia reassured a lot of Yankee Fans who thought he no longer had it, pitching very well into the 7th.

Yankees 6, Red Sox 1. WP: Garcia (3-2). No save. LP: Morales (1-2).

*

The regularly-scheduled Saturday night game wasn't as much fun. The 1st inning slump continued, as the Yankees scored only 3 runs. Hey, it's Fenway: 3 runs qualifies as "only."

Phil Hughes pitched pretty well into the 6th inning,but then the Sox got to him. And then Joe Girardi made 2 mistakes: He brought in Logan, whose luck ran out; and then he compounded this mistake by bringing in Cory Wade.

Bringing Cory Wade in to pitch at Fenway Park. This is like driving on the Turnpike's cars-trucks-and-buses lanes in the rain with no brakes: Not recommended.

Jones would homer in the 7th (his 10th), and Chavez in the 9th (his 7th), but it was for nought. Red Sox 9, Yankees 5. WP: Felix Doubront (9-4). No save. LP: Hughes (9-7, although he deserved a better fate).

*

And then last night. At one point, John Sterling read an ad for a drink, "Five Hour Energy."

Yankees vs. Red Sox at Fenway Park? Well, that's four hour energy.

Again, the Yankees declined in the 1st inning. This time, they scored only 2. In the 1st innings of these games, the Yankees outscored the Sox 14-6. In the remaining 8 innings, the Sox led 15-14. But you can't just cut out the 1st innings, can you?

Jones made it 4 homers in 3 games (11 for the season), and Ivan Nova was super again. Yankees 7, Red Sox 3. WP: Nova (10-3). No save. LP: Jon Lester (5-6).

Three out of four, we beat The Scum.

*

So here's how things stand in the American League Eastern Division, as we go into the All-Star Break: The Yankees are in 1st place, 52-33. The Baltimore Orioles, though they've slumped, continue to surprise, at 45-40, 7 games behind. The Tampa Bay Rays are 45-41, 7 1/2 games back, 8 in the loss column. And the Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays bring up the rear, both at .500, 43-43, 9 1/2 back, 10 in the loss column. And, as Sterling pointed out last night, those 10 losses are games that are awfully hard to get back. As he also pointed out, the way the schedule has worked out, there's a lot of games against the Sox and Jays in the 2nd half.

Magic Numbers to eliminate: O's 70, Rays 69, Sox and Jays 67.

Derek Jeter has 3,199 career hits. Alex Rodriguez has 2,857, 143 from 3,000. He has 642 home runs, 18 from Willie Mays at 660, 58 from 700, 72 from Babe Ruth at 714, 113 from Hank Aaron at 755,and 121 from surpassing Barry Bonds as the all-time leader with 763. He has 1,931 runs batted in, 69 from 2,000, and 367 from surpassing Aaron as the all-time leader with 2,298.

Considering how many injuries and slumps the Yankees have had, it's been a remarkable 1st half of the season.

I think we're going to enjoy the 2nd half.

Yanks Ride Tampa Bay Rollercoaster

The Yankees finished the 1st half of the season (numerically speaking, anyway) by going down to St. Petersburg to play the Tampa Bay Rays in Major League Baseball's most ridiculous venue, Tropicana "Field."

The Monday night game was a disgrace  Well, okay, it wouldn't have mattered if the Yankees had won 30-0, it was played at the Trop, therefore it would still have been a disgrace.

Freddy Garcia, taking the injured Andy Pettitte's spot in the rotation -- fitting, I suppose, since Andy took the then-ineffective Freddy's spot -- pitched into the 6th inning, giving up just 2 runs, home runs by B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena. That should have been enough for the Yankee bats to overcome.

It wasn't. Not because the Yankees couldn't score 3 runs off Rays starter Matt Moore, but because 2012 Boone Logan turned back into 2011 Boone Logan, and 2012 David Robertson turned back into 2010 David Robertson. They let in the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the 7th.

Rays 4, Yankees 3. WP: Moore (5-5). SV: Fernando Rodney (23). LP: Robertson (0-3).

*

On Tuesday night, things went from bad to worse. Ivan Nova was undone by his defense. Russell Martin, already struggling at the plate like we wouldn't believe, made 2 errors that led to runs. The Yankees blew leads of 3-0 and 4-3, en route to a 7-4 loss.

WP: James Shields (8-5). SV: Rodney (24). LP: Nova (9-3).

*

Then yesterday, the 4th of July -- and there is something so wrong about a 4th of July game played indoors -- the Yankees knew that David Phelps had a pitch limit, as he's being worked back from relief to replacement-starter status. He was relieved in the 5th inning, having held the Rays to 1 run on 4 hits (albeit also 3 walks). And 8 of his 13 outs were strikeouts.

Logan allowed 2 more runs in the 7th, and in spite of Mark Teixeira's 14th home run in the top of the inning, it looked like it would be a sweep, and the Yankees' 10th straight loss in that stupid dome. It was 3-1 Rays, and it wasn't looking good.

Then Rays manager Joe Maddon did something stupid. More stupid than playing in the Trop. More stupid even than wearing that fake ripoff-of-the-late-Seventies San Diego Padres "fauxback" uniform the other day.

"You're not wearing that, are you?"

After 7 strong innings by David Price, Maddon did the worst thing a baseball manager could do when his team has the lead.

He brought in... this guy.

That's right, Kyle Farnsworth. Ruiner of several Yankee games in 2006, '07 and '08. And, lest we forget, the pitcher who was on the mound for much of the Chicago Cubs' 2003 Playoff meltdown, in what became known as the Steve Bartman game.

In the immortal words of football legend Chuck Bednarik, This fuckin' game was over!

Eric Chavez led off the top of the 8th, and Kerosene Kyle walked him. He struck out Derek Jeter, but he walked Curtis Granderson. Then he walked Teix to load the bases.

Up stepped Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod the Anti-Clutch vs. Kyle Not a Darn's Worth. Something had to give.

Oh well, A-Rod should have burned off that label in 2009, right? Farnsworth walked him. Rays 3, Yankees 2.

Maddon realized his mistake, pulled Kerosene, and replaced him with Jake McGee.

Robinson Cano singled home Grandy and Teix. Yankees 4, Rays 3.

That was the final. WP: Logan (somehow, 3-0). SV: Rafael Soriano (the man the Rays let go so Farnsworth could be their closer, his 19th save of this season). LP: Farnsworth (0-1).

*

During that 8th inning, there was a lot of cheering at the Trop. And, eventually, a "Let's go Yankees!" chant.

At the Trop.

Attendance for the 3 games: 21,742, 26,453, and 28,033. Average, 25,409. Total: 76,228 -- or, as the Red Sox call it, 2 home games. Or, as the Yankees call it, a game and a half.

Rays fans, what few of you there are, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

*

Speaking of the Red Sox, the Yankees have the day off, and then go up to Boston to face the old enemy.

Friday night, 7:10 PM: Hiroki Kuroda vs. Josh Beckett.

Saturday afternoon, 12:35 PM, makeup of an earlier rainout: Phil Hughes vs. Franklin Morales, a recent replacement in the Sox rotation.

Saturday night, 7:15 PM: Freddy Garcia vs. Felix Dubront.

Sunday night, the 8:05 PM ESPN game: Ivan Nova vs. Jon Lester.

This concludes the 1st half of the season, schedule-wise. Where does the time go?

Come on you Bronx Bombers! Beat The Scum!

Speaking of said Scum, last night, David Ortiz hit his 400th career home run.

He now has 42 more home runs than Yogi Berra, 41 more than Johnny Mize, 39 more than Joe DiMaggio, 31 more than Ralph Kiner, 30 more than Gil Hodges, 26 more than Rocky Colavito, 24 more than Carlton Fisk, 21 more than Orlando Cepeda and Tony Perez, 18 more than Frank Howard and Jim Rice, 17 more than Larry Walker, 16 more than Harold Baines, 15 more than Dwight Evans, 11 more than Johnny Bench, 10 more than Graig Nettles, 7 more than Jim Edmonds, 4 more than Joe Carter, 2 more than Dale Murphy, 1 more than Al Kaline, and 7 less than Duke Snider.

As far as I know, none of those men used steroids.

*

Going into this Scum series, Alex Rodriguez, who did use steroids while a Texas Ranger, has 642 home runs, 1,929 runs batted in, and 2,852 hits. Derek Jeter has 3,191 hits.

At the halfway mark, the Yankees are 49-32, in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division. The Baltimore Orioles are 5 back, the Rays 6 1/2 back (7 in the loss column), the Sox and Toronto Blue Jays both 7 1/2 back (8).

Elimination numbers: Scum and Jays 73, Rays 74, O's 76.