"Untouchable" Yankee Prospects

1943: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a 2nd baseman named Gerry Priddy. First at Triple-A Kansas City (it wouldn't become a major league city until 1955), then on the Yankees, he became an exciting double-play combination with shortstop Phil Rizzuto.

But he was stuck behind Joe Gordon, a future Hall-of-Famer and the 1942 American League Most Valuable Player. So they traded him and another player to the Washington Senators, for cash and a player who never panned out.

He had a good season for the Senators in 1943, but went off to World War II. While he escaped unharmed, he never got back into the swing of things, tailed off, and became a journeyman, playing his last major league game in 1953, not yet 34 years old.

In 1973, he was convicted of extortion, trying to get money from Princess Cruises by threatening to put a bomb on one of their ships if he didn't get $250,000. That's right: Gerry Priddy, once considered to be a great Yankee in the making, threatened to bomb the Love Boat. He served 9 months in prison.

1959: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a 1st baseman named Marv Throneberry. But they needed to upgrade, so they put him in a package to the Kansas City Athletics, and acquired Roger Maris.

Maris became a legend. Throneberry went to the expansion 1962 Mets, and became, well, let's just say there is more than one kind of "legend."

1976: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was an outfielder named Otto Velez. They had been offered all kinds of trades to get them to send Velez away, but they refused.

But by the end of the 1976 season, he was 26 years old, and had a lifetime batting average of .228, 6 home runs and 28 RBIs. Clearly, this guy was not going to make it in the major leagues. Finally, they left him unprotected in the 1977 expansion draft, and he was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays.

By the end of the 1983 season, not yet 33, he had played his last major league game: .251, 78 home runs, 272 RBIs. Only once did he appear in as many as 120 games. Think about that: He was just barely good enough to start for an expansion team 3 days out of 4.

1983: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a 1st baseman named Steve Balboni. He had so much power, that he was nicknamed "Bye-Bye Balboni." But as the 1983 season ended, he had a .214 lifetime batting average. His power totals were 7 homers and 23 RBIs -- or. as Aaron Judge would say, "a month."

The Yankees traded him to the Kansas City Royals. Bye-bye, Balboni. The players they got in return did next to nothing for them. Over the next 7 seasons, Balboni hit 184 home runs, and helped the Royals win the 1985 World Series.

Bad trade? Not really. He was a 1st baseman, and Don Mattingly had already made him expendable. He struck out way too much. He never topped 88 RBIs in a season. His highest batting average was .251 -- for a career, .229. He wasn't a good fielder. Running? In his career, he stole exactly 1 base in 3 attempts. And he was done in 1990, with none of the 26 major league teams thinking that his occasional home run was worth it.

1993: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a outfielder named Hensley Meulens. They called him "Bam-Bam" because of his power. As he climbed through the farm system in the late 1980s, we were told he was going to be one of the best players in baseball. As you can see in this photo, he certainly had one thing a superstar player should have: A million-dollar smile.

He finally debuted in 1989, and exceeded the definition of "rookie" in 1991. But by the close of the 1993 season, he had a .221 lifetime batting average, 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. Or, as Stephen Drew would call it, "about my average season." He was 26 years old: If he hadn't made it by now, the Yankees decided, he was never going to make it. They released him.

He didn't get back to the majors until 1997, playing 16 games for the Montreal Expos. He played 7 for the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998, played his last game for them in May, was traded to the Chicago White Sox in August, was kept in the minors, and never played major league ball again.

Around this same time, we began to hear about a pair of "prospects" who were "untouchable," whom the Yankees would be stupid to get rid of.

Williams and Rivera.

By 1996, it became obvious that a team that wants to win the World Series would not keep them. Williams, an outfielder, was about to turn 30, had a .241 lifetime batting average, 18 homers and 83 RBIs -- over 5 major league seasons. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, and one of the players we got back was Graeme Lloyd, who turned out to be exactly the lefthanded reliever the Yankees needed.

Of course, this was Gerald Williams. Not Bernie. He did turn into a decent player, and actually played for a couple of teams that played in the World Series against the Yankees: The 1999 Atlanta Braves and the 2003 Florida Marlins. (He appeared in the 1999 Series, but not the 2003. He did get a ring on that occasion, though.)

Rivera, also an outfielder, was a bit younger, not quite 23. And was off to a decent start in the majors, having batted .281 with 2 homers and 16 RBIs in 107 plate appearances for the Yankees. But he had also become a disciplinary issue. He had to go.

Lots of people wanted him to stay. This included his cousin, pitcher Mariano Rivera. But no: Ruben Rivera was traded to the San Diego Padres before the 1997 season, and one of the players we got for him was the ill-fated Hideki Irabu, who did help us win 2 World Series. But Ruben was a bust elsewhere: He played his last major league game before turning 30, batting .216 with 64 homers and 203 RBIs.

The Williams and Rivera who weren't so highly-regarded at the time, Bernie and Mariano, became legends.

2011: The Yankees had a prospect that everyone said was going to be a great player. He was a catcher named Jesus Montero. He had just turned 22, and in 69 major league plate appearances, had batted .328 with 4 homers and 12 RBI. His future seemed limitless. His only downside appeared to be his weight.

Okay, this photo doesn't show a "million-dollar smile."

But he still looks every inch the "imposing slugger."

But, needing pitching, the Yankees traded him to the Seattle Mariners, for Michael Pineda. Pineda was inconsistent for the Yankees, but he gave us more than Montero gave the M's: He had a decent season in 2012, but since then, 9 home runs and 30 RBIs. He hasn't appeared in a major league game since October 3, 2015. He was released by the Baltimore Orioles last June 27. He's 28, and he's done.

Now: Gleyber Torres is an "untouchable" Yankee prospect. He has never faced a major league pitch. An injury last season meant that he hadn't even proven himself capable of hitting Triple-A pitching. And the Yankees desperately need a 2nd baseman (which they didn't need until Brian Cashman traded Starlin Castro for Giancarlo Stanton) and a 3rd baseman (which they didn't need until trading Chase Headley and letting Todd Frazier's contract run out). He's played 18 games at 2nd base and 15 at 3rd base, all in the minors. He's a shortstop, meaning he's stuck behind Didi Gregorius.

And now, Yankee Fans are telling me to trust Brian Cashman, because Gleyber is going to be a great player.

I've seen this movie before.

*

Days until The Arsenal play again: 3, this Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM our time, away to West London club Chelsea, in the 1st leg of the Semifinal of the League Cup. Today, they crashed out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round -- their 1st time going out so soon under Arsene Wenger -- partly because of a poor performance, and party because of 2 penalties awarded to Nottingham Forest, at least 1 of which was bogus.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 6, this coming Saturday night, against the Philadelphia Flyers, at the Prudential Center. They played the New York Islanders today, and lost in a shootout, and will play them again the following Tuesday night, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. They won't play the New York Rangers again until the last week of the regular season, on Tuesday, April 3, at the Prudential Center.

Days until Phil Murphy is inaugurated as Governor of New Jersey: 9, a week from Tuesday. Goodbye, Chris Christie, and stay out.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 21, on Sunday night, January 28, at 9:30 PM Eastern Time, a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina (that's 1 country), at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. Just 3 weeks. After that, no matches are scheduled. They were supposed to play at the World Cup in June 2018. Alas...

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 33, on Friday, February 9. A little over a month.

Days until the next North London Derby: 34, on Saturday, February 10, at 7:30 AM our time, at Wembley Stadium in West London, where Spurs are playing their "home games" until the new stadium they're building on the site of White Hart Lane opens the following August. The game could be moved due to the British TV networks' demands.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 62. They open at home against the Portland Timbers on March 10. Under 9 weeks.

Days until Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season: 81, on Thursday night, March 29, as the Yankees open away to the Toronto Blue Jays. Under 3 months.

Days until the Yankees' 2018 home opener: 85, on Monday afternoon, April 2, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 93, on Tuesday, April 10, at Fenway Park.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 118, on Saturday afternoon, May 5, home to New York City FC. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Saturday night, May 26, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. Their 1st game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, June 2, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Their 1st game against D.C. United, and their 1st game ever at the new Audi Field, will be on Wednesday night, July 25.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 158, on June 14. Under 6 months. But the U.S. team won't be playing. At least now, Donald Trump doesn't have to choose, and can root for his favorite country, the host nation, Russia.

Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" that Yankee general manager Brian Cashman wanted: 237. Under 8 months.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 237, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. 

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown. The 2018 schedule hasn't been released yet. But the season opener is usually on the 1st Friday in September. that would be September 7, which is 244 days from now.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 304, on November 6. Under 10 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 315, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game (after tomorrow's): 320, on Thursday, November 22.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 382, on January 23, 2019. A little over a year, or a little over 12 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 517, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little under a year and a half, or just 17 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 646, on January 22, 2020. A little over 2 years, or a little over 24 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 830, on July 24, 2020. A little over 2 1/2 years, or a little over 30 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 932, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 years, or 34 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,009, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 3 years, or 36 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,679, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 5 years, or about 59 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

Scandal Finale vs. Mariners

Last night was the finale of a 3-game series at home to the Seattle Mariners.

It was also the season finale of American Idol. Not to many idols in this game, American or otherwise.

It was also the season finale of Scandal. The Yankees played 3 games in this series, against the Seattle Mariners, and scored a total of 8 runs. Now that is a scandal finale.

It was also the season finale of Grey's Anatomy, which is set in Seattle. And, again, the Yankees resembled a medical drama.

In the top of the 5th, the Yankees were trailing 2-1, and Andy Pettitte started grimacing. Joe Girardi didn't like that, so he consulted his Binder.  Under, "Pitcher, starting, grimace" it read: "Go to mound, talk to him, see how he feels. * " He did not check the asterisk, which read, "A pitcher is usually going to tell you he's all right, even if his arm feels like Jell-O." (Major League reference.)

Girardi pulled Pettitte, and the Yankees went on to lose, 3-2. But we can't really blame the bullpen. Shawn Kelly allowed 1 run in 2 innings, 2 hits and no walks. Boone Logan actually managed to pitch an inning and a 3rd without setting the Stadium on fire. And Adam Warren threw a scoreless 9th.

The Yankee pitchers allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. That should have been enough to win.

The Yankees got 8 hits. Three of them came from Curtis Granderson. Oddly, none of those hits drove in a run, although he did score 1 of them. The Yankee runs came on rookie David Adams doubling Grandy home in the 2nd, and Robinson Cano singling home Ichiro Suzuki in the 7th. Other than that, there were singles by Ichiro, Brett Gardner and Chris Stewart -- more on that in a moment.

Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay, who've been lovely surprises thus far, went a combined 0-for-6 with 3 strikeouts. And Jayson Nix, starting at shortstop in place of the still-injured Derek Jeter, went 0-for-5, with 2 strikeouts and 5 men left on base. That's right, 5 LOB.

That is a scandal.

WP: Oliver Perez -- yes, ex-Met Ollie Perez, alive and well in the Pacific Northwest. SV: Tom Wilhelmsen (11). LP: Pettitte (4-3).

*

Pettitte has a tight left trapezius muscle: That's the neck, shoulders and upper back. Girardi thinks Pettitte will not miss his next start, which should be next Tuesday in Baltimore, although I wouldn't be surprised if Joe's Binder says, under "Pitcher, starting, muscle, tight, throwing side," "Hold him back another day."

But Stewart, who is already the Yankees' backup catcher, and is only starting because Francisco Cervelli is on the 60-Day Disabled List, pulled his groin in running out his hit in the 7th. He could be headed for the DL as well.

Which means Austin Romine and his 37 career major league plate appearances and his -34 OPS+ this season will be starting. (1-for-16, albeit the 1 hit is an RBI double. And a hit-by-pitch. So, BA .063, OBP .118, slugging .125, .243 OPS.) Romine is 24, from Orange County, California. He should be better than this by now.

In case you're wondering: The starting catcher for the last 2 years, Russell Martin, has a sizzling 154 OPS+ for the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, Jesus Montero, whom the Yankees traded to the Mariners along with Hector Noesi for Michael Pineda -- who is apparently almost ready to throw rehab games and could reach the majors in June -- is batting a mere .204 with an OPS+ of 68. Stewart's is 89, and before he got hurt Cervelli's was 136. Montero's season, so far, would be an improvement on Romine's, but not Stewart's, and not by a long shot on Cervelli's, although Martin's would be.

So again citing the lousy trade of Montero for Pineda is pointless -- since, thus far, it's been a wash, and reversing it wouldn't be helping the Yankees much.

The Toronto Blue Jays come in for a weekend series. Here's the pitching matchups for Pinstripes vs. Peskies:

Tonight, 7:00: Hiroki Kuroda vs. Mark Buehrle. Could be a great pitchers' duel. (But then, as John Sterling reminds us, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball," so expect a slugfest.)

Tomorrow afternoon, 1:00: David Phelps vs. Brandon Morrow.

Sunday afternoon, 1:00: CC Sabathia vs. R.A. Dickey. Battle of the initials, the Yankee ace vs. the Cy Young winner the Mets let get away (in this decade). So far, Dickey's found that pitching against American League teams is hard.  Let's show him just how hard it is.

Yanks Show "King Felix" to Be Pretender to Throne

Long ago, in baseball, there was a man named Michael Joseph Kelly, who was known as Mike Kelly or King Kelly. He helped the Chicago White Stockings -- the team that became the Cubs in 1900, and not connected to the White Sox who would be founded the next year -- win the 1880, '81, '82, '85 and '86 National League Pennants.

He was considered so good and so popular that the Boston Beaneaters -- later the Braves, now in Atlanta -- purchased his contract for $10,000, considered an insane amount of money at the time. But with all the Irish-American fans packing their ballpark, as their compatriots in Chicago had once done there, it paid off for the club.

They won the Pennant in 1891, but by that point the King was already in serious decline due to his prodigious drinking, which would end his career in 1893, just 36, and kill him the next year.

Long ago, in baseball, there was a man named Carl Hubbell, who was known as King Carl or the Meal Ticket. He helped the New York Giants win the 1933 World Series. In 1936, he began a 24-game regular-season winning streak that would carry over into the next season. In both of those years, the Giants won the Pennant, although both times they lost the Series to the Yankees, including the Yankees breaking up the streak in the '36 Series.

Not that long ago, in baseball, there was a man named Jim Leyrtiz, who was nicknamed King. But it was sarcastic, as he thought very highly of himself. Still, he had a knack for coming through in the clutch, and he did help the Yankees win 2 World Series, so it wasn't totally ridiculous.

*

Today, in baseball, there is a man named Felix Hernandez, who is nicknamed King Felix. He is a highly regarded pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. The only way he's ever seen a postseason game is on television.

King, my ass.

Last night, the Yankees knocked "King" Felix on his.

Dustin Ackley led off the game with a home run off Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda, but the Yankees got the run back in the bottom of the 1st when Robinson Cano singled home Curtis Granderson.

In the top of the 6th, the Mariners took a 2-1 lead on a home run by... Jesus Montero, whom the Yankees traded away for Michael Pineda and a minor leaguer, neither of whom will play for the Yankees this season (in Pineda's case, due to injury). Upon this homer, Yankee Fans began to grumble.

The bottom of the 6th ended that grumbling. Alex Rodriguez led off with a walk. Gee, if a pitcher is nicknamed "King," walking the leadoff man is an even worse thing than usual.

Cano then singled A-Rod over to 2nd. Mark Teixeira groundws into a force out, but it moved the runners over: 2nd & 3rd, just 1 out.

"King" Felix then struck out Nick Swisher. Now it's 2nd & 3rd, 2 outs. The grumbling got louder.

Raul Ibanez turned the grumbles to cheers with a home run into the right field stands, his 6th homer of the season. 4-2 Yanks.

Andruw Jones added his 4th homer to center in the 8th. Between them, Clay Rapada, Cory Wade, Boone Logan and David Robertson got the last 6 outs.

Yankees 6, Mariners 2. WP: Kuroda (3-4). LP: Hernandez (3-2).

The series continues today at 4:00, a Fox Game of the Week.

Analyzing the Montero-for-Pineda Trade & the Kuroda Signing

The Yankees have completed a trade of Jesus Montero with Seattle for Michael Pineda.

The Yankees gave up a 22-year-old right-handed-hitting catcher from Venezuela, who has a total of 69 major league plate appearances. This included 7 walks, 16 singles, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 12 RBIs, a BA/OB/SLG of.328/.406/.590, an OPS+ of 159…and 17 strikeouts, almost as many Ks as hits.

Montero appeared to have a good future ahead of him… the question was, "Where?" As a righty hitter at Yankee Stadium (new one has some outfield dimensions as old one), he would have been at a disadvantage. He's been rumored to be trade bait since he was tearing up the Eastern League and helping the Trenton Thunder win a Pennant.

Playing his home games in Seattle's Safeco Field, a good pitchers' park, he will be at even more of a disadvantage. Plus, the Mariners stink, having lost 95 games last year, including a sub-.500 39-45 at home, 29 games behind the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. And while the M's are hanging onto their best pitcher, Felix Hernandez – King? As Jim Bouton, a pitcher who actually won 2 World Series games, would say, "Yeah, surrrre" – they gave up their best pitching prospect in exchange for Montero.

While the Oakland (San Jose in 2015?) Athletics appear to be on track to be even worse in the near future, the AL West appears to be a two-team race between the Strangers and the Whatever They’re Calling Themselves This Year Angels of Anaheim. In essence, Montero has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse.

If I were in Montero's position, I’d think I was just a tad screwed.

*

That's what the Yankees gave up. What did they get? Pineda is a 23-year-old right-handed-throwing pitcher from the Dominican Republic, who has a total of 28 major league mound appearances. This includes 171 innings, an ERA of 3.74, an ERA+ of 103, a WHIP of 1.099, 173 strikeouts, a K/9 of 9.1, a BB/9 of 2.9, a H/9 of 7.0, and a record of 9-10 – not bad at all considering the M's scored just 3.4 runs per game, last in the majors. The Yankees should give him much better run support. He was named an All-Star, and finished 5th in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting.

He wore Number 36 in Seattle, but that's currently being worn by another ex-Mariner pitcher, Freddy Garcia (who wore 34 in Seattle).

*

The Yankees also signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year contract. He’s a soon-to-be 37-year-old righthanded-throwing pitcher from Osaka, Japan, who has pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008, and from 1997 to 2007 for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He was an award-winner in Japan, and the son of a player in the Japanese leagues.

He has made 115 appearances in the North American majors, all for the Dodgers, all but one as a starter. His career record is 41-46, despite the Dodgers having been pretty good in that time. However, his career ERA is 3.45, his ERA+ is a strong 114, his WHIP a fine 1.187, his H/9 8.6, his BB/9 an impressive 2.1, his K/9 a good 6.7. He pitched for the Dodgers in the 2008 NLDS and NLCS, winning a game in each series, but got rocked in his one postseason appearance since, in the '09 NLCS.

He has experience. He is efficient. He pitched in Japan and in Los Angeles. Playing in New York is not going to throw him. He may not be Hideo Nomo, but he's not going to be Hideki Irabu or Kei Igawa, either.

He wore Number 18 with the Dodgers. That number is currently not assigned to a Yankee.

*

Assuming no further trades, free-agent signings or major injuries, the Yankees can be expected to have the following starting pitchers in 2012 – though this is in order of general effectiveness, not necessarily the order in which they will pitch:

1. CC Sabathia
2. Ivan Nova
3. Phil Hughes
4. A.J. Burnett
5. One of the following four: Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda. If either Hughes or Burnett falters, it will be two of those four. If Both Hughes and Burnett falter, it could be three of the four.

This may not be the best rotation in baseball, but if CC remains a horse (I don't see why not), Nova keeps it going (hopefully, no sophomore jinx), Hughes stays healthy (I really hope for this one), A.J. builds on his postseason start and pitches like the '09 A.J., and we can get one more year out of veterans Colon, Garcia or Kuroda, it'll be a very strong rotation.

UPDATE: Colon has signed with the A's, and is no longer an option for the Yankees. This is a disappointment, but hardly a discouragement.

Certainly, Pineda looks like a good one for the future. I wouldn't mind going into 2013 with a rotation of CC, Nova, Hughes, Pineda and Manny Banuelos -- or, failing a full recovery from Hughes, an as-yet-unknown acquisition. (Maybe turn Felix into the king people have been calling him?)

There are, of course, two elephants in the room. What do do when Mariano Rivera retires or goes into decline, and what to do with Joba Chamberlain. (I know, Joba, elephant... )

If David Robertson continues to be to Mo what Mo was to John Wetteland in '96, I would have no problem, and I don't think Joe Girardi would, either, moving him into the closer role.

If Joba is fine with being a reliever, things will be looking up. But it is possible that Joba could be one of the future starters, especially if CC runs out of tank fuel by mid-2013. God forbid, as, even with all those options, he's the only lefty. Damn, I miss Andy Pettitte. I'm even starting to miss David Wells a little. (Back to the elephant analogy.)

But, for now, the Yankees' pitching options look good. And trading Montero, in addition to bringing in Pineda, does give Russell Martin a vote of confidence that he is the Yankee starting catcher through most of the 2010s.

I think we're going to have another Pinstriped October. Granted, I'm not exactly going out on a limb here. But while the Yankees didn't make themselves appreciably better with these deals, they did give themselves more options, which could lead to them getting better.

And that's good.

I return you now to your previously-scheduled New York media slobbering over a certain blue-clad football team.

Jesus Is Loose, and He Saves

Where were you when Jesus Montero hit his 1st major league home run? I was sitting here at the computer. Not on hand at Yankee Stadium II.

Good thing, because that game would have driven me crazy had I paid the big bucks to see it unfold in front of me. Especially to see Scott Proctor back in a Yankee uniform.

Scott Proctor? And Boone Logan? Pitching for the Yankees? In the same damn game? As they say in the U.S. Army, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?"

It should surprise no one that the Yankees, with those 2 numpties pitching for them, allowed 10 runs, even to a pathetic team like the Baltimore Orioles.

The O's chased Freddy Garcia with 1 run in the 1st, 4 in the 2nd, and 2 more in the 3rd. They scored single runs in the 5th, 8th, and 9th -- including one off Mariano Rivera!

Somehow, the Yankees did enough scoring of their own. Mark Teixeira hit his 36th homer of the season in the 1st, Robinson Cano hit a grand slam in the 2nd, Montero hit his 1st in the majors in the 5th, and his 2nd in the 7th.

That gave the Yankees an 11-8 lead, but the O's did score those single runs in the 8th and the 9th, and they had the tying run on 3rd and the potential winning run on 2nd, before Mariano got the last out.

Another "Whew!" But these Yankees are showing that they have the character to do what needs to be done: Yankees 11, Orioles 10.

WP: Aaron Laffey (2-1). SV: Rivera (38 -- 5 more for the record). LP: Jim Johnson (5-5).

Fortunately, John Sterling did not use the obvious line: "Jesus saves!" Instead, he used the Spanish pronunciation, and said, "Jesus is loose!"

Throw in Brett Lawrie's walkoff homer for the Toronto Blue Jays, being Pesky in the Yankees' favor as well as their own, for once, and you have a 1-0 Red Sox loss.

The Yankee game is 11-10. The Sox game is 1-0. Who cares: Both results are favorable to us and unfavorable to The Scum.

This home series with the Orioles continues tomorrow night, as an increasingly distressed Oriole manager William Nathaniel Showalter III (Buck now looking a bit older than his 55years) sends Tommy Hunter out against Phil Hughes.

*

Jeter hits 3065 DONE
Rivera saves 597 5
A-Rod homers 628 135
A-Rod hits 2768 232
Magic Number 21 (to eliminate Scum, 14 for Rays, 6 for Jays, O's done)

The Curse of Martell's: 1974-2011

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to pay our last respects to the departed, formally known as The Curse of Martell's.

Like so many legends, its origin is shrouded in mystery. While we are absolutely sure of where it began, precisely when is unclear. How, and why, are, for the most part, irrelevant.

This much is known for certain. In 1973, my grandparents moved from Nutley in North Jersey to Brick, on the cultural if not exact geographic border between North Jersey (or Central Jersey, if you prefer) and South Jersey. (Brick was named not for any structure, but for an early settler named Brick. Now, as in 1973, the Township of Brick, or Brick Township, is often incorrectly referred to as Brick Town or Bricktown.)

The following Summer, 1974, my parents and grandparents began taking me to the nearest Jersey Shore town, Point Pleasant Beach. We've been going ever since.

One of the mainstays of the Point Pleasant Boardwalk is a restaurant called Martell's Tiki Bar, formerly named Martell's Sea Breeze. Their website is www.tikibar.com. And their Shrimp Bar is fantastic.

It's an institution. In late Summer 1962, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons were the house vocal group there when their 1st hit, "Sherry," reached Number 1.

The place remains famous for its live music. Virtually every band that's ever played anywhere at the Jersey Shore has played there, although by the time I was old enough to go, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band were already famous; if Bruce has dropped by during my old-enough-to-buy-booze years, I'm not aware of it.

I once saw a kid barely old enough to drink play piano and sing Billy Joel's "Piano Man," unaccompanied, and he was fantastic. And, while this wasn't "live music," I remember they once had a mechanical gorilla that sang "Sixteen Tons." First time I ever heard that Tennessee Ernie Ford classic, or Tennessee Ernie's voice at all, was out of that mechanical gorilla.

Now, I don't know when I, or any member of my family, first ate at Martell's. What I do know is that there was never an occasion, that I can remember, that the Yankees were playing while I was so much as inside the door, and they ended up winning.

Ever.

And I'm not talking about 0-1. Or even 0-5, which would have been bad enough. It was like 0-25, or 0-30. When I walked into Martell's, even the 1998 Yankees could look like the 1962 Mets.

It never failed. Never, ever. As in, as Fran Drescher might put it, "It begins with an N and ends with an A: Nev-a!"

This included 3 Interleague games against the Mets. This included at least 4 games that I can remember against the Red Sox. This included one of each started by Jose Contreras. Even when watching Contreras pitch for the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series (his only ring thus far), I couldn't help but think of how he ran out of gas while I was at Martell's.

Nothing seemed to work. Eating there but not drinking. Drinking there but not eating. Drinking alcoholic beverages. Drinking non-alcoholic beverages. Looking back and forth between the TV screens, Yankees and Mets. Looking back and forth between the TV screens, Yankees and Phillies. (The Point Pleasant Boardwalk is 66 miles from Times Square, and 76 miles from City Hall in Philadelphia, and even in the pre-cable era has always gotten both city's TV stations.) Switching entrees. Switching appetizers. Switching brands of beer. Ordering dessert, and not. Just going in to look at the TV, and then walking out. Staying long enough to see them take the lead, figuring they had it in the bag, and then leaving, figuring that would beat the curse.

Nothing worked! The Yankees always lost when I was there!

As you may have guessed, that really pissed me off. So I came up with the name "The Curse of Martell's." I've mentioned it in this blog a few times before. It got to the point where I couldn't go in unless I knew a Yankee game was not in progress. And you know what? It didn't make a difference: If I went in during the afternoon, and the Yankee game was at night, starting after I was already on the train heading back home, tough luck, they still lost.

It was a serious case of "EXPLAIN THIS BULLSHIT!" But no explanation ever came.

*

Well, last night, coming off a spectacular victory against the Red Sox, to move within half a game of 1st place, the Yankees started a 3-game home series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, those Pesky Blue Jays. Have I ever mentioned that I don't like them?

The Yankees fell behind 2-0 in the 1st inning, but Brett Gardner hit his 6th home run of the season to tie it in the bottom of the 3rd. In the bottom of the 5th, Robinson Cano singled home Derek Jeter, and that was it for the scoring.

WP: Ivan Nova (15-4) -- his 11th straight winning decision, and the 12th straight game he's started that the Yankees have won. American League Rookie of the Year, anyone? SV: Mariano Rivera (37) -- the 596th of his career. Just 4 more to reach 600 saves, 5 to tie Trevor Hoffman's all-time record of 601, and 6 to break it. Barring a freakish turn of events, what once looked (due to the Yankees' not hitting early in the season and Mo's age) like a slight chance is now almost certain: He will break the record before this season is out. LP: Brandon Morrow (9-10).

And with the Red Sox losing at home to the Texas Rangers, the Yankees moved into 1st place by half a game -- by one game in the All-Important Loss Column.

This was a good omen: If any Yankee team can beat The Curse of Martell's, maybe this is the one.

*

Looking at the weather report for this Labor Day weekend, I saw predictions of rain for Sunday and Monday, and thought, "If I'm going to do my traditional Labor Day Weekend trip down the Shore, it'll have to be on Saturday."

And I got up a little late today to catch the 1st bus down to Atlantic City, with connections to Ocean City, Wildwood and Cape May. So, I thought, "You know what? I haven't been to Point Pleasant this Summer. I don't want this to be the 1st Summer since 1973 that I haven't visited even once." (UPDATE: That would turn out to be 2014.)

So I got on the New Jersey Transit bus, rode it to a connection to NJT's North Jersey Coast Line train, and rode down to Point Beach. (To differentiate the Borough of Point Pleasant from the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach, the locals call them "Point Boro" and "Point Beach." But if I say "Point Pleasant," I mean Point Pleasant Beach, as, with both Grandma and Grandpa now gone, I have no more reason to visit Point Boro.)

It's 7 blocks, just 1 mile, from the station to the Boardwalk. Just 15 minutes' walk. Maybe 20 minutes if you're carrying beach gear.

When I got into Martell's, the Yankees and Blue Jays were tied 3-3 in the top of the 5th inning. This included the 3rd home run of the season by the suddenly smoking Francisco Cervelli. Bartolo Colon wasn't pitching great, but he was pitching well.

Not 5 minutes after I sat down, not 1 minute after my order of Shrimp Scampi and a bottle of Yuengling Lager was taken, boom. DeWayne Wise, who hadn't hit a home run all season, cranked one into the Yankee bullpen. 4-3 Toronto.

Damn those Pesky Blue Jays! Damn that Curse of Martell's! It's struck again!

Well, what was I supposed to do? Tell the bartender to cancel my order? No, I decided to stick it out.

Where were you when Jesus Montero got his 1st major league hit? I was at Martell's, when he singled with 2 out in the bottom of the 6th. But Eduardo Nunez grounded out to end the inning. (UPDATE: Montero was traded after that season, and injuries and his rising weight led him to wash out after the 2015 season, done at 26, with 204 career hits, only 28 of them home runs.)

Joe Girardi took Colon out with 1 out in the 7th. To figure out whether a pitcher should be taken out, Girardi still uses something called a "pitch count," instead of using what I use, something called "my eyes." There was no reason to take Colon out: Though he'd crossed the 100-pitch barrier, he was pitching no worse than he was the inning before.

Still, Girardi took out Colon and put in Boone Logan. Oh no... Martell's and Logan in the same game? No good can come from this...

Wrong! Logan got 2 outs, and the Yankees went to the bottom of the 7th trailing by only a run.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th, a tiring Ricky Romero hit Curtis Granderson with a pitch. Right in the back. Right on the base of the 4 in his Number 14. Ouch.

On purpose? Probably not, since it brought the go-ahead run to the plate. Then again, it was Alex Rodriguez, who'd already gone from a 3-0 count to a strikeout with a man on in the bottom of the 5th. A-Rod was doing a very good impression of himself, circa October 2006.

Except, this time, Romero was used up. He walked A-Rod on 4 pitches. Fine with me, I'll consider that A-Rod doing his job. Out went Romero, responsible for the tying run on 2nd, Grandy, and the go-ahead run on 1st, A-Rod. In came Casey Janssen, with an ERA under 2.

Up came Cano. He cracked a drive to right-center. Just like the previous game, his double gave the Yankees the defining lead. Grandy and A-Rod both scored. 5-4 Yankees. Cano's 100th and 101st RBIs of the season.

Up came Nick Swisher. He grounded to short, but Yunel Escobar muffed it, not even getting his glove on it. It was very generous of the official scorer to give Swish a hit (and thus an RBI) on that. Cano scored. 6-4 Yankees.

For some reason, Girardi did not go to Mo today. He let David Robertson pitch 2 innings. He breezed through the 8th, 1-2-3, and got the 1st out in the 9th. Two more outs, and Martell's hold over the Yankees and me would be broken.

Except Brett Lawrie (no relation to new Red Sox pain in the ass Jed Lowrie) doubled to center. Uh-oh, that brings the tying run to the plate...

But Robertson got J.P. Arencibia to ground out, and he fanned Mike McCoy to end it.

Ballgame over! Curse of Martell's over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!

Whew!

WP: Logan (5-2... that can't be right, can it?). SV: Robertson (1 -- only the 2nd Yankee save this season not by Mariano, the other being by Rafael Soriano). LP: Romero (13-10).

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon, with CC Sabathia starting against Brett Cecil. Next, the Baltimore Orioles come into The Bronx.

Oh, by the way: Martell's shrimp scampi is really good. A bit pricey at 17 bucks, but seeing as how I was paying for a nice meal and a Yankee win, not a bad price at all.

*

The Red Sox also won today, so the AL East standings are as follows:

The Yankees are 84-53, in 1st place in the Division. In the race for best record in the AL, and thus home-field advantage in both the ALDS and the ALCS, the Yankees lead the AL West-leading Texas Rangers by 6 1/2 games (8 in the loss column), and the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers by 8 (9). In all of MLB, only the Phillies have a better record. (Tonight, the Phils are playing at the Florida Marlins tonight, after beating them last night in front of a crowd listed as 21,659 paid but probably only 8,000 showed up, and I'll bet most of them were rooting for the Phillies).

The Red Sox are 84-54, half a game behind the Yankees, 1 in the loss column. The Yankees' Magic Number to eliminate them, and thus everyone, from the Division race is 25: From here on out, any number of Yankee wins and Boston losses adding up to 25, and the Yanks win their 18th AL East title, their 47th 1st-place finish, with the chance to go for their 41st Pennant and 28th World Championship.

The Tampa Bay Rays are 75-63, 9 1/2 (10) behind the Yankees, and 9 (9) behind the Red Sox for the AL Wild Card. Whoever wins the AL East between the Yanks and Sox, the team that doesn't pretty much has the Wild Card wrapped up. Their elimination number for the Division race is 16.

The Jays are 69-70, not that bad considering they aren't exactly rolling in cash and no longer have Roy Halladay, and are 16 games out of 1st. Their elimination number is 9.

And the Orioles are done: At 55-82, they are 29 games behind the Yankees and 28 1/2 games behind the Sox, already eliminated from postseason competition, and guaranteed a losing season for the 14th straight year.

The Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners are also eliminated in the AL; in the National League, that dishonor is already bestowed on the Houston Astros, with the Chicago Cubs probably next to follow, perhaps by tomorrow.

In fact, the MLB Playoff spots are pretty much guaranteed, the only question left is as to order.

In the AL Central, Detroit leads the Cleveland Indians by 6 and the Chicago White Sox by 7 1/2; although the Tigers blew a huge lead in 2006 (but got the Wild Card and won the Pennant anyway) and a smaller one in 2009, they're not likely to blow this one, as their pitching is improved.

In the AL West, the Rangers are only 4 behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but I don't see them blowing that.

In the NL East, the Phillies are 8 1/2 ahead of the Atlanta Braves, but the Braves probably have the Wild Card locked up, 8 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the NL Central, the Milwaukee Brewers lead the Cardinals by 8, so, for only the 4th time in their history (3rd without a strike-forced split-season format), the Brew Crew will be playing past the first weekend in October.

In the NL West, the Arizona Diamondbacks lead the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants by 5.

So if the current standings hold to the end of the season, keeping in mind that the Wild Card teams cannot face the winners of their own Division in the 1st round, the Division Series matchups will be as follows, with the 2nd team mentioned having home-field advantage:

Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees.
Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies.
Atlanta Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers.

So the Yankees will have the chance for revenge in both rounds: For 2006 in the Division Series, and then, if they win it, either for 2004 (Sox) or 2010 (Rangers).

And Milwaukee fans, or at least those old enough to remember 1965 when the Braves left them high and dry until the arrival of the Brewers in 1970, will have a big chance for revenge.

*

One more Yankee note: September 3, 1941, 70 years ago today: The Yankees beat the Red Sox, 2-1 in 11 innings at Fenway Park, thanks to a home run by "Old Reliable," Tommy Henrich. This clinched the Yankees' 12th American League Pennant. It ties the record for earliest Pennant clinching ever, and to this day no Pennant (in the remainder of the single-division era, 1942-68) or Division title (1969-2011) has been clinched sooner.

On September 3, 1902, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 12-5 at the South End Grounds in Boston, to clinch the National League Pennant, and thus an unofficial earliest-ever World Championship of baseball. There would be no World Series between the Pirates of Honus Wagner and the AL Champion Philadelphia Athletics, managed by Connie Mack. Later known as "The Grand Old Man of Baseball," he was then 39 years old, and just 6 years earlier, in 1896, had finished an 11-season major league career as a catcher with... the Pirates. The 1902 Pirates finished a whopping 27 1/2 games ahead of the 2nd place Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers).

*

Jeter hits 3064 DONE
Rivera saves 596 6
A-Rod homers 627 136
A-Rod hits 2766 234
Magic Number 25 (to eliminate Scum, 16 for Rays, 9 for Jays, O's done)

Yanks Beat Scum In Biggest Game of Season (So Far)

Today, my nieces, age 4, learned a new word: "Rivalry." I told them it means two people, or two groups of people, who have faced each other in some form of competition so many times under difficult circumstances that they really don't like each other.

That's the best way to explain the concept to little kids. I've told them, "Boston is actually a really nice city, I just don't like its sports teams, including the Red Sox."

Someday, they will read this blog, and they will be shocked about the language I sometimes use. Or maybe they'll see the language and won't be shocked -- in which case, I will be.

I went into last night thinking the finale of the Yankees-Red Sox series at Fenway Park would be the key game of the regular season, in terms of the American League Eastern Division. A Red Sox win would make it very difficult for the Yankees to win the Division, and thus "stick" the Yankees with the AL's Wild Card berth (which fans of a lot of teams would love to be "stuck" with). A win for the Yankees would give them just about an even chance to win the Division, and to thus stick the Sox with having to go to Detroit, the Dallas-Forth Worth "Metroplex" or Southern California to play Games 1, 2 and possibly 5 of the AL Division Series.

Regardless of what you may think of those places (and I hate Texas so much that I'd actually rather be in Detroit or Anaheim), you want the 1st 2 games of the postseason at home. Especially if home is Yankee Stadium (or old new) or Fenway Park.

But in order for the Yankees to win last night, A.J. Burnett, who has been not just Bad A.J. but Atrocious A.J. lately, would have to hold the Sox to as few runs as possible in that little green pinball machine with the red seats in Boston's Back Bay section.

Easier said than done, and I was not optimistic. I was thinking the only way I was going to get a win last night was through the Rutgers University football team, which did, beating North Carolina Central University at home, 48-0. My father was at the game, and he felt bad for N.C. Central, a school which was Division II not that long ago and really did not belong on the same field as even a mediocre Division I-A team, as Rutgers was last season. The 7-touchdown win over such an opponent proved nothing, but I'll still take it.

I would especially taken it, considering I was likely to see Bad A.J. instead of Good A.J. Oy...

*

But Burnett was Good A.J. last night. He got through the 1st 3 innings only allowing a couple of baserunners and no runs. I was hoping he'd get through the 1st 6 allowing 3 runs or less; allowing none over the 1st 3 was more than I dared ask for.

As for the Yankees, Jesus played. Yes, the much-heralded 21-year-old righthanded-hitting-and-fielding slugging and catching prospect from Guacara, Venezuela, Jesus Alejandro Montero, made his Major League Baseball debut, as the designated hitter, wearing Number 63, and batting 7th against the Sox' nasty lefty, Jon Lester.

The top of the 1st inning was very eventful. Lester began the game by striking out Derek Jeter. But Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira hit back-to-back singles, and Robinson Cano doubled Grandy home -- but Teix could only go to 3rd, which could very well have turned out to be a pivotal failure to score. Lester struck out Nick Swisher, walked Andruw Jones, and then, in Montero's 1st big-league at-bat, Lester struck him out. Lester struck out the side, but allowed a run. It could have been a bit more.

Jeter and Granderson hit back-to-back singles with 2 outs in the 2nd, but Teix popped up to end the threat. With 1 out in the 3rd, Swisher singled, but Jones struck out, and Montero flew out. Jeter drew a 2-out walk in the 4th, but Granderson struck out to end that threat. So it was one-nil to the Pinstripe Boys going to the bottom of the 4th. So far, pretty good, but hardly good enough in Fenway.

As the Sox proved in the bottom of the 4th. Adrian Gonzalez, who has been battling it out with Granderson and Detroit Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander for the right to be named AL Most Valuable Player this season, hit a ground-rule double to right, and then Dustin Pedroia homered to center. 2-1 Boston. And now, who's up? Of course, the big fat lying cheating bastard himself, David Ortiz.

A Yankee Fan could have been excused for thinking the season was over, that we were doomed to lose the game, the Division, and the Division Series, and to start thinking about 2012. After all, this was A.J. Burnett on the mound against David Ortiz. Bad A.J. + Big Papi = Doom.

But this was Good A.J. He got Orcheatz to ground out, struck out Carl Crawford, and got a groundout of Jed Lowrie to end it still 2-1 in Boston's favor. If you had told me before the game A.J. would allow 2 runs over the 1st 4, I would have taken it.

With 1 out in the top of the 5th, Cano hit his 2nd double of the game, and Swish sacrificed him to 3rd. Bad idea, since there was already 1 out, although with the Green Monster looming over left field just 310 feet from home plate, scoring from 2nd on a single is no guarantee. Jones drew a walk, but Montero made himself 0-for-3 in his career with a groundout.

A.J. got through the 5th with no further runs. Former Yankee Alfredo Aceves came on to pitch the top of the 6th, because Lester had already thrown 118 pitches. The ghost of Bob Feller calls him a wimp.

Russell Martin led off the inning with a single, but Eduardo Nunez grounded into a double play. This began to loom large as Jeter singled, Granderson walked, and Teix was hit by a pitch -- and, since this loaded the bases, this was a rare occasion when a Sox pitcher hit a Yankee batter and everybody knew it was not on purpose.

By now, by all rights, Martin should have scored to tie it up, but that double play had erased him. But Cano grounded out. The Yankees had 4 baserunners in the inning, and scored no runs. You can't do that! Especially against the Red Sox. Especially at Fenway. You never know when the enemy is going to score more runs.

The bottom of the 6th. The tension mounts. A.J. still in there. He gunned down Gonazalez. Very important to get that leadoff man out. But Pedroia singled, and stole 2nd with Ortiz up. Uh-oh, this is it, the A.J. Meltdown. Fortunately, he only walked Ortiz. As the old saying goes, "It's better to give the big man four balls for one base, than to give him one ball for four bases."

Joe Girardi came to the mound and took A.J. out. Although he stood to lose the game, and was responsible for a potential 3rd and 4th runs, thus far he could not be faulted for the Yankees losing the game. The Yankees had simply failed to get him sufficient run support.

Joe Girardi hates me. What's that, you say? He doesn't even know I exist? Well, with the Internet, that may no longer be true. But it probably is. But the reason I think he hates me is that, in the biggest game of the season thus far, he brought in Boone Logan to relieve.

Twice in the last month, including on Tuesday night of this series, he'd brought Logan into a Fenway game, and gotten away with it. Could this really have been a case of "Third Time Lucky"? Would the third time be a charm?

Logan threw Crawford 4 pitches. The 1st and 3rd were nasty sliders. The 2nd and 4th were fastballs. The 4th was a swing and a miss. A huge strikeout.

Logan did his job. Girardi pulled him for Cory Wade, who also hasn't been too good lately. Wade pitched to Lowrie, who hit a sinking liner to center field. Uh-oh, Ortiz can't run, but that'll score 1 run...

No! Granderson made a spectacular catch! Inning and threat over! Still 2-1 Boston!

It was the kind of catch that would have made Mel Allen yell, "How about that!" and Phil Rizzuto yell, "Holy cow!" As soon as the shock wore off, John Sterling on WCBS turned to Suzyn Waldman and said, "You know, Suzyn, if the Yankees win this game, that'll be the reason why!"

Well, it helps if you can take that momentum and get some runs with it. In the top of the 7th, with 1 out, Jones fouled off 10 pitches before Aceves threw him ball 4. Chris Dickerson pinch-ran for him, and Montero reached base for the 1st time in his major-league career: Aceves hit him with a pitch. With the Red Sox, you never know, but if Aceves hit him on purpose, it was really stupid, so I'm thinking it was another accident. But that put the tying and go-ahead runs on.

Sox manager Terry Francona took the ball from Aceves and brought in Daniel Bard. The batter was Russell Martin, who swung and missed at Bard's 1st 2 pitches, then worked him for 3 balls, fouled off a tough slider, and then crushed a 97-MPH fastball to right. Dickerson scored. For the 1st time in his big-league career, Montero scored. It was 3-2 Yankees. Biggest hit of the season, and it was by a guy whose defense has been superb behind the plate, but had been slumping with the bat lately. Huge hit for Martin, both personally and for his team.

Girardi sent Eric Chavez up to pinch-hit for Nunez, thus allowing him to keep Chavez in the game to play 3rd base in place of the injured Alex Rodriguez. Chavez singled to right to score Martin. 4-2 Yankees.

No further baserunners in the inning, but who knew how big a 2-run lead could be? This is Fenway Park, after all. This is Yankees-Red Sox. Anything can happen. As Sterling likes to say, "You know, Suzyn, you can't predict baseball." In Yanks-Sox, especially in Fenway, the only way to get a prediction right is to, in the immortal words of former San Francisco Giants star Will Clark, "Expect the unexpected in baseball. There ya go, buddy!"

Bottom of the 7th. Teix, still aching from his HBP, left the game. Swish went to 1st base, Dickerson took Swish's place in right field, and Brett Gardner took Dickerson's place in left, which he had taken from Jones. Rafael Soriano, who's been an "I can't look" pitcher or on the Disabled List for most of the season, walked Jacoby Ellsbury with 2 outs, but struck out Marco Scutaro to end the inning.

Gardner got on in the top of the 8th, but got picked off. As childhood Long Island resident and Brooklyn Dodger fan, and grown-up historian, Harvard professor, Boston suburb resident and Red Sox fan Doris Kearns Goodwin would say, "There's always these omens in baseball." As Uncle Mike would say, "Ulp."

In the bottom of the 8th, David Robertson, who's pretty much been lights-out this season, walked the leadoff hitter, Gonzalez. Pedroia grounded into a force-out, and while that did get an out, it didn't help much, because it put a faster runner on 1st. And the Boston Fat Boy was up, representing the tying run. I could see Ortiz's phony point-to-the-sky on crossing the plate for a tying home run. But it didn't happen: Robertson gunned him down on a hellacious curveball.

Then, with Crawford up, Robertson threw a wild pitch, sending Pedroia to 2nd. But Robertson got Crawford to fly out.

Nothing across in the top of the 9th. One inning to go, and it would be pitched by Mariano Rivera. But, just as the familiarity of this series means that there's one team that knows how to beat Jonathan Papelbon, and it's the Yankees, it also means that there's one team that knows how to beat Mo, and it's the Red Sox.

And the way to beat Mo is to draw a leadoff walk, which Lowrie did. Uh-oh...

Mo got Josh Reddick to fly to right, and struck out the man with the longest surname in MLB history, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. But then he walked Ellsbury, and now a runner was at 2nd, the tying run was at 1st, and the winning run was at the plate. It was Scutaro, who, first for the Oakland Athletics and now for the Red Sox, has become one of those guys who can't hit against any other team, but turns into Ted Williams against the Yankees.

Scutaro dropped a soft line drive to right. It wasn't enough to score anyone. But now the bases were loaded. Lowrie was at 3rd. Ellsbury, the tying run, was at 2nd. Scutaro, the winning run, was at 1st. And the batter was the dangerous Gonzalez. A single could tie the game, although at Fenway it's no sure thing. An extra-base hit would probably win it.

Needless to say, in the stands, the Fenway animals were howling.

I was begging Mariano and the Yankee defense to get one more out, any way they could, I didn't care how.

Mariano Rivera remembered that he is Mariano Rivera, and that it doesn't matter who the opponent is.

He struck that Scummer out.

Cue Sterling: "Struck him out swinging! Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

4-2! We beat The Scum, 4-2! We beat The Scum, 4-2! We beat The Scum, 4-2!

Whew!

WP: Wade (3-0), as he was the Yankee pitcher when the lead that was never relinquished was taken; but a big tip of the Yankee cap to Burnett, who gave the Yankees 5 innings and change of exactly the pitching they needed, even if it doesn't save his place in the starting rotation or the postseason roster -- it may have been the pitching performance that wins the Division and makes Title 28 possible. SV: Rivera (36), inching closer to Trevor Hoffman's all-time record. LP: Aceves (9-2).

The Yankees get out of Boston half a game behind The Scum, dead-even in the AILC, the All-Important Loss Column. Going into the games of September 2, the teams are, essentially, tied for first place.

The Yankees come home to face the Toronto Blue Jays, having a bad season but always playing the Yankees tough. The Sox stay home to face the AL Western Division-leading Texas Rangers. If we can take 2 of 3 from the Pesky Blue Jays, and the Strangers can take 2 of 3 from The Scum, it will make the AL East race, as Arte Johnson used to say on Laugh-In, "Verrrry intereshting."

It's Yankees vs. Red Sox. It's frequently, "Verrrry intereshting... but shtupid."