Yankees: Heroes and Zeros

I did this earlier for the Red Sox. In that case, it was about finding the bright spots in a season that resulted in yet-another last place finish. In this case, with the Yankees, it's more about digging for the disappointments.

Make no mistake; this Yankee team over-performed relative to just about everybody's expectations. There were plenty of die-hard Yankee fans who looked at this team and thought third place would be doing well. But on the back of their most devastating late-game pitching duo since the late 90s and some productive years from aging veterans, the Yankees made it into the wild-card playoff game. And that is after leading the AL East for the majority of the season. All stats are courtesy of Fangraphs.

Heroes:

Didi Gregorius

Projected: 495 Plate Appearances | 132 H | 9 HR | 48 RBI | 35 BB | 95 K | .251 BA | .307 OBP | .369 SLG | .676 OPS | 1.8 WAR

Actual: 578 Plate Appearances | 139 H | 9 HR | 56 RBI | 33 BB | 85 K | .265 BA | .318 OBP | .370 SLG | .688 OPS | 3.1 WAR



Mark Teixeira

Projected: 377 Plate Appearances | 77 H | 17 HR | 65 RBI | 41 BB | 73 K | .236 BA | .326 OBP | .433 SLG | .759 OPS | 1.5 WAR

Actual: 462 Plate Appearances | 100 H | 31 HR | 79 RBI | 59 BB | 85 K | .255 BA | .357 OBP | .548 SLG | .906 OPS | 2.9 WAR



Alex Rodriguez

Projected: 407 Plate Appearances | 82 H | 15 HR | 57 RBI | 40 BB | 99 K | .229 BA | .312 OBP | .399 SLG | .711 OPS | 1.3 WAR

Actual: 620 Plate Appearances | 131 H | 33 HR | 86 RBI | 84 BB | 145 K | .250 BA | .356 OBP | .486 SLG | .842 OPS | 2.7 WAR



Dellin Betances

Projected: 4-1 | 2.39 ERA | 66 Game Appearances | 82.7 IP | 116 K | 33 W | 1.10 WHIP | 1.5 WAR

Actual: 6-4 | 1.50 ERA | 74 Game Appearances | 84.0 IP | 131 K | 40 W | 1.01 WHIP | 2.4 WAR



Andrew Miller

Projected: 5-2 | 2.59 ERA | 58 Game Appearances | 48.7 IP | 76 K | 21 W | 1.11 WHIP | 0.7 WAR

Actual: 3-2 | 1.90 ERA | 60 Game Appearances | 61.2 IP | 100 K | 20 W | 0.86 WHIP | 36 SV | 2.0 WAR



Nathan Eovaldi

Projected: 8-9 | 4.51 ERA | 28 Games Started | 159.7 IP | 121 K | 48 W | 1.37 WHIP | 1.6 WAR

Actual: 14-3 | 4.20 ERA | 27 Game Started | 154.1 IP | 121 K | 49 W | 1.45 WHIP | 3.2 WAR



As big a surprise as A-Rod was this year, I was blown away by what Didi Gregorius did for the Yankees. Viewed as placefiller for the retired Jeter, nobody was expecting much from Didi. The idea was his glove would be a little better but his bat would be worse. It would, in essence, be a wash.

So here's a stat to tell you what actually happened: Didi's 3.1 WAR is the highest for a Yankee starting shortstop since 2009. He performed so far above and beyond expectations that he is, to me, the MVP of the team. He is only 25 years old and all he cost the Yankees in trade is Shane Greene. Without a doubt, this is one of Brian Cashman's best deals in his career.

At the other end of the "unexpected production" scale are Teixeira and A-Rod. Both aging veterans, both with declining numbers, one injury-prone and the other coming off a year-long suspension...the expectation was that they would be average at best, being paid way too much for their production.

And while they may still be overpaid, they also both pretty much doubled their expected WAR. Even playing only 111 games, Teixeira gave the Yankees a year's worth of production. And Rodriguez may have unintentionally shown all of baseball that giving an aging superstar a year off to rest could be beneficial. All his PED baggage aside, he was solid this year and is one of the big reasons the Yankees even had a chance to make it into the ALDS.

But the main reason the Yankees made it that far was their 1-2 pitching punch at the end of the game. Betances and Miller reminded me a lot of the '96 Yankees with Mariano Rivera setting up John Wetteland. If the Yankees carried a lead into the eighth inning, or were even tied or just a run behind, they knew they had a good chance of winning with Betances and Miller pitching. That kind of support on the mound makes a good team better. And while they faded late in the season, there is no reason to doubt if they can do it again next year.

Sox Struggle, Yanks Surprise

Going into the 2015 season, the way it looked for Boston and New York was this:

1. Boston's above-average hitting would balance out their average pitching and keep them as a favorite for winning the AL East.
2. New York had too many question marks in their rotation and too many years on their players to compete.

I think that is a pretty fair two sentence summary. So where do they actually stand?

The Sox are a game out of first at 10-9. They got their asses handed to them Sunday night in an 18-7 shellacking by the Orioles.

And their starting pitching, in a word, sucks.

Some want to immediately start throwing blame on Rick Porcello. At 1-2, and after signing that big pre-season deal, he is an easy target.

But the truth is that he hasn't been horrible. Outside of that bad April 19 start (5 innings, 12 hits, 8 earned runs) he hasn't pitched badly. Except in one area; home runs.

Porcello has surrendered six home runs so far, most for a pitcher in the AL. He averages between 16-18 a year, so he is far ahead of his usual pace. So this could be an anomaly. Or it could be adapting to a new catcher and a new park. But more than anything else, this is why Porcello has a 6.48 ERA.

The rest of the rotation has been mediocre at best. Wade Miley is a mess. More walks than strikeouts and only 15.2 innings pitched over four starts. That is how you get a 8.62 ERA. Masterson leads starters with two wins but his 5.16 ERA speaks of trouble. Buchholz, for all the crap he gets, has not been horrible. His first and fourth starts were actually quite good. But he was bad in the other two. Consistency continues to be a problem for Buchholz and at the age of 30 you have to wonder if he will ever find it. Joe Kelly has been decent enough as a fifth starter. But when your fifth starter has the lowest ERA of your rotation...not good.

The bullpen has also been a mess. Outside of Tazawa (who has looked great), every pitcher has blown an appearance or two. Which puts more pressure on the starters. And when they can't go six innings, that pressure goes back on the bullpen. It's a reinforcing cycle and when neither group is doing well, it makes things worse.

As for hitting, the supposed strength of the Sox...one-third of the starting lineup has a batting average under .200 and an on-base percentage of .302 or less. Mookie Betts' bat, much like Jackie Bradley's last year, has cooled off considerably. David Ortiz has a .705 OPS. Only Hanley Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia are really giving us the kind of performance we expect. Bogaerts and Sandoval are doing okay. Other than that the lineup is under-performing.

Meanwhile, in New York...look, Aviv usually writes these parts. I hate the Yankees with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. So it is really hard for me to write that the Yankees are in first and defying expectations. And the reason is a simple one...

Takeaways From Opening Day for Boston and New York

So Opening Day is in the books, with Boston getting a win in Philly while the Yanks fell to the Blue Jays. So did we learn anything at all from the games?

1. Dustin Pedroia is healthy.
Pedroia is always solid in the field, to the point that his defensive excellence can mitigate poor performance at the plate. But over the past couple of years his thumb has given him no small amount of grief when it comes to hitting. Going into this year he said he was 100% and after going 3-5 with two home runs, I am inclined to believe him.

Pedroia was turning on the ball and generating power in a way he simply wasn't able to in the past two years. If he can keep this up, Boston's lineup is even more dangerous when firing on all cylinders.

2. Masahiro Tanaka needs Tommy John surgery.
If you spend $20M for the right to sign a pitcher and give him $155M over seven years, shouldn't you do everything possible to protect that investment?

Apparently, not if you are the New York Yankees. They let Tanaka basically talk them into letting him finish 2014 and go the off-season without getting TJ surgery for his elbow. The wisdom of that move was on display Monday, when Tanaka had no fastball to speak of and could only go four innings.

Tanaka is not a finesse pitcher. But with a fastball that is barely touching 90 because of his elbow, that is who Tanaka is trying to be right now. And it isn't going to work. Sooner or later, the Yankees will have to acknowledge this and shut Tanaka down. Either way, the Yankee rotation is even more uncertain today than it was before Monday.

3. About that Boston lineup...
With the power display on Monday, it was easy to ignore/miss the fact that Ortiz and Sandoval went a combined 0-9 with six strikeouts. Or that Boston generated all their runs with home runs as opposed to hits.

I know it's one game and this smacks of the kind of despair and foolishness that sports radio is famous for throwing out over the airwaves. But Boston had massive problems with run production in 2014. No team can count on home runs to create all their scoring game after game. And Boston cannot afford to have both Ortiz and Sandoval go into massive slumps to start the year.

Rather than call this a problem, let's just say it's something to keep an eye on and we can revisit it a week or two down the road.

Unzipping 2015: Comparing Boston and New York - Designated Hitter

If there is one thing Boston and New York have in common, it's that the DH position is the most "controversial" position for both teams. Both David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez have been controversial in their interactions with the media on a variety of topics, Ortiz most recently with his ill-considered article at Derek Jeter's new website.

But this is (mostly) about what these two can do at the plate, so let's look at the projections.

Boston: David Ortiz

2015: 126 G | 129 H |88 RBI | .277 BA | .363 OBP | .526 SLG | .889 OPS | 2.9 WAR | Cost per WAR: $5,517,241 | Age: 39

New York: Alex Rodriguez

2015: 99 G | 82 H | 57 RBI | .229 BA | .312 OBP | .399 SLG | .711 OPS | 1.3 WAR | Cost per WAR: $16,153,846 | Age: 39

Now, while I do believe that Ortiz is going to be more productive that A-Rod, and for better value, I do believe this is an instance where ZiPS may stumble in projecting a player's production. And that is due to the unique circumstances surrounding A-Rod's lack of a 2014 season.

If you remember, ZiPS essentially uses weighted averages of four years of data, or three years if a player is very old or very young. So A-Rod lost all of 2014 due to suspension, not injury. And he did lose most of 2011 and 2013 to injury. So that creates a very negative picture of what A-Rod could accomplish in 2015. One that is likely too negative.

I mean, does anyone believe that A-Rod is really going to hit .229 with a .312 OBP? Those are numbers he has never sunk to since his first full season in 1996. And even though he is approaching 40 and Yankee management wants nothing to do with him, I have to believe that A-Rod will give the Yankees more that what is shown above.

But Ortiz will give more. His production has been remarkably steady and, with the exception of 2012, he has been pretty healthy. With an improved lineup around him, Ortiz should be able to continue giving the Sox good production at DH depsite being 39.

There is also the spectre of the Hall of Fame driving Ortiz. This is not to get into the debate about testing that has swirled around Ortiz as of late, but just looking at the numbers. He could reach 500 home runs this year. In two years he could reach 2500 hits and 600 doubles. He has already passed 1500 RBI. Were he to reach those numbers, he would feel that he should be in the Hall of Fame. Based on those numbers alone, he'd be right. So that is going to drive Ortiz this year.

But if there is one thing that both teams will share this year, it is that their respective designated hitters will be getting a lot of press in 2015.

What's Next For A-Rod?

So reality finally has hit Alex Rodriguez, who on Friday dropped all the lawsuits, said he will not attend Yankees spring training, and ended this long running farce.

Alex Rodriguez has accepted ruling of an independent, impartial arbitrator and will miss the entire 2014 season for violating the Major League Baseball Joint Drug Agreement and obstructing baseball's investigation into Biogenesis.

It's the first smart decision A-Rod has made since, since ... well, let's just say a long, long time.

Finally, everyone can move on. The Yankees, Major League Baseball, the players union, the players, and even Rodriguez himself.

The Biogenesis sage is over, even if the PED era clearly isn't.

So what's next for A-Rod?

Deck Not Stacked Against A-Rod, The Evidence Is

Watching the "60 Minutes" report about Major League Baseball's investigation into Alex Rodriguez's ties to Biogenesis and PED use on Sunday, I near broke my chin against the floor as my jaw dropped several times.

The one thing that became all too clear was that in 2010 A-Rod, driven by his massive ego and a quest to become the only player to hit 800, sought out Anthony Bosch to create a schedule for taking performance enhancing drugs that would be undetectable to Major League Baseball's drug testing protocols.

A-Rod is a PED user. He is a cheat.

And he has no one to blame but himself.

There is no witch hunt. There is no conspiracy.

There is just A-Rod's stupidity and his over-sized ego.

The A-Rod Error Should Be Over

Major League Baseball did over-reach when it suspended Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for 211 games ... but not by much.

On Saturday, arbitrator Frederic Horowitz finally issued his ruling of A-Rod's appeal of baseball's ban for PED use and cut the penalty to the entire 2014 season, including the playoffs.

Rodriguez, as expected, is crying foul, saying in a statement that the ban didn't come as a surprise and the deck had been stacked against him. He added that he will seek an injunction and jury trial, though it is highly unlikely either will ever happen, according to ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson. Basically, short of being able to show that Horowitz engaged in any sort of misconduct, Rodriguez is highly unlikely to convince the courts to review an arbitration decision. Horowitz's ruling itself also has not yet been released, but could be made public if A-Rod follows through on his threat to seek and injunction.

Yes, there are questions about baseball's investigation and evidence, but we should learn more about that Sunday on "60 Minutes," which will have an interview with Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch. I'll hold off on commented on the evidence against Rodriguez until I see the piece, though I expect that based on Horowitz's decision, MLB had A-Rod dead to rights.

Getty Images

Wondering where it all went wrong, Alex? Start with PEDs.

So unless Rodriguez's legal team delivers a Hail Mary, A-Rod's 2014 baseball season is over. And the Yankees should make sure his time with them is over as well.

Emails Don't Clear A-Rod, But Put Levine In Hot Seat

None of it exonerates Alex Rodriguez. None of it takes the Yankees' embattled slugger off the hook. None of it makes A-Rod look any better.

The only thing it does is raise serious questions about Yankees president Randy Levine.

Over the weekend, New York magazine published a series of email exchanges between Rodriguez and Levine. It is fascinating reading, but lacking in anything close to clearing A-Rod.

During the climax of the arbitration hearing in front of arbitrator Fredric Horowitz in November, Rodriguez stormed out the hearing and his legal and public relations team then threatened show everything it had to the public. Among the things they said they were going to show was a series of email exchanges with Levine.

While we don't know for sure that these emails were leaked by Team A-Rod, if these are the messages Rodriguez wanted to make public, then he needs better representation.

Simply put, there is nothing there to show that A-Rod was not using performance enhancing drugs. There is nothing there to show A-Rod is the victim of a witch hunt. There is nothing there to show that A-Rod is a victim of anyone besides himself.

If anything, these emails would have been better served as leverage to gain some sort of plea bargain with MLB for a reduced suspension.

And What About Cano?

So let's the this straight.

Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees have no problems giving a soon-to-be 30-year-old, injury-prone catcher whose offensive production has been in decline and has an average WAR of 1.9 over the last three years a five-year, $85 million contract with a vesting option for a sixth year. But it's Brian McCann, so it's OK to give him a bad contract.

Then on Monday the Yankees had no problems giving a 30-year-old, injury-prone outfielder whose game is based on speed and who has failed to play in even 75 games in two of the last four years a seven-year, $153 million contract, surpassing the disastrous seven-year, $142 million deal that the Red Sox gave Carl Crawford. But it's Jacoby Ellsbury, and even though he's had only one season in which he's even cracked double digit homers, it's perfectly fine to give him a contract that has nuclear meltdown written all over it.

But when it comes to Robinson Cano, the Yankees' own player who just happens to be by far the best player on the free agent market, Cashman claims to have found religion, and is holding a firm line at seven year at $25 million per year. Despite the fact that Cano has had no injury issues and has maintained his production at age 31, the Yankees have decided that it's not OK to overspend on arguably the best second baseman of this generation. It's not OK give him a contract that will turn bad in the end.

Seriously? If there is one free agent on the market who is worthy of a mega-deal, it's Cano, but all the Yankees can do is play a dangerous game with him.

Enough Already, A-Rod!

I am no fan of Alex Rodriguez. I never have been and I never will be. He's arrogant, self-centered, oblivious and phony.

That said, I've tried to be fair with him. Afterall, most things and people are rarely all good or all bad. Truth is rarely black or white. So when A-Rod deserved praise, I didn't hesitate.

A-Rod, however, was way out of line on Wednesday when he stormed out of an arbitration hearing after arbitrator Frederic Horowitz ruled that commissioner Bud Selig did not have to testify. Rodriguez described the process as disgusting. He behaved like a spoiled, petulant brat and did nothing to help his cause. And I find it highly unlikely that releasing the hearing's evidence, as A-Rod's attorneys said on Thursday they would do, will help help the third baseman's cause.

Simply put, it's time for Rodriguez to put an end to this circus. Enough already.

Who Are You, Dallas Braden?

Yes, I'm paraphrasing Pedro Martinez's infamous rant about Karim Garcia from the 2003 ALCS.

Who exactly are you, Dallas Braden, to be yelling and screaming at Alex Rodriguez about a dubious at-best infraction of baseball's unwritten rules during the Yankees' 4-2 loss to the A's Thursday in Oakland, Calif.?

Just In Case You Haven't Seen It ...

The Yankees turned their first triple play since 1968 Thursday.

Video: Watch the play here

Vazquez Moving In The Right Direction

It is easy to get caught up in the moment, especially in New York.

Witness Javier Vazquez's second start of the season, during which he was booed mercilessly.

A Perfect (Almost) Opener

This was a day we've been waiting for since early November, when the Yankees captured World Championship No. 27.

When it comes to celebrating accomplishments and history, there is no team in sports that come close to matching the Yankees. The pomp, the circumstance, the celebration of the past, no one can compare --no matter how hard the Red Sox try.

Silencing That Stupid Rally Monkey

The Rally Monkey would have no impact on this night.

CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez made sure that annoyingly cute primate wouldn't be able to whip up the Angels and their red-clad, thunder stix smacking fans into a frenzy.

Sabathia, pitching on three days' rest, allowed one run in eight innings, and A-Rod sparked the offense to lead the Yankees to a 10-1 victory over the Angels in Anaheim Tuesday in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, giving the Yankees a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The two Yankees players who had the biggest questions about how they would perform during the postseason have put the Yankees a win away from the World Series. For Sabathia, it's clear his past struggles were the result a heavy workload in the regular season taking its toll in the postseason. For A-Rod, his struggles were purely mental.

For both players, those troubles are officially a thing of the past.

Sabathia made five starts in a pressure-free September, going 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA. More importantly, he never threw more than seven innings in any of those starts and averaged 106.4 pitches a start.

He was fresh for the playoffs and results have been astounding: Going 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 22-2/3 innings in three starts. He had been 2-4 with a 7.92 ERA in six previous postseason starts.

Tuesday's start may have been his most gutsy, taking the ball on three days' rest a day after the Yankees had given a game away to let the Angels back into the series.

In addition, since 1995 pitchers have not had much success pitching on three days' rest in the playoffs. In 85 starts, they had gone 20-34 with a 4.65 ERA in 458-1/3 innings. Sabathia had one of those starts for the Brewers last season, but it should be noted that it was his fourth consecutive start on three days' rest as he carried the Brewers to the NL Wild Card.

But any affect that short rest may have had on Sabathia this year appeared minimal as he dominated from the start, using his lively fastball and devastating change to keep the Angels off-balance.

The result was an impressively efficient outing in which Sabathia allowed just five hits and two walks, while striking out five and throwing 69 of 101 pitches for strikes. He could have gone the distance in this one, but with a big lead after eight, there was no need to ask any more of the ace lefthander.

The only significant trouble Sabathia ran into came in the fifth, when Kendry Morales hit a one-out homer to left that made it 5-1. Mike Napoli followed with a sharp single past A-Rod at third before Erick Aybar followed with a single to center to put runners on first and second. But Sabathia got Chone Figgins to ground into a forceout before getting Bobby Abreu to fly out to center.

Torii Hunter walked and Vladimir Guerrero singled to start the sixth, but Sabathia got Juan Rivera to ground into a double play on a play on which Jorge Posada lost track of the outs and started to leave the field. The Angels never threatened again.

The offense, meanwhile, struggled to get started. Coming off consecutive games in which the Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, it looked for a while as if those struggles would continue to be a major problem.

A-Rod led off the second with a walk and stole second before Posada walked. With three chances to bring a run in, the Yanks did nothing as Hideki Matui and Robinson Cano popped out and Nick Swisher flew out: RISP 0-for-3.

Mark Teixeira struck out to end the third with Johnny Damon on second: RISP 0-for-4.

A-Rod got things going again in the fourth with a sharp single and Posada followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. This time, though, the Yankees would come through, but not before Matsui struck out: RISP 0-for-5.

With the infield back, Cano then hit a topper to second that Howie Kendrick fielded, but threw high to home, allowing A-Rod to slide in safely under the tag to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead, though they were now 0-for-6 with RISP, Cano reaching on the fielder's choice.

Swisher then walked to loaded the bases, but Melky Cabrera finally broke the RISP drought, grounding a single to left to bring in two, Cano just beating Napoli's tag to make it 3-0.

Then the umpires made their presence felt. Angels starter Scott Kazmir picked off Swisher from second, but second base ump Dale Scott blew the call and ruled Swisher safe. The play wasn't close. It was a hideous call.

Then after Derek Jeter walked, Johnny Damon hit a sacrifice fly to score Swisher, but on appeal, third base ump and crew chief Tim McClelland called Swisher out for leaving the base too early, ending the inning. The call wasn't close to being right and what's stranger is that McClelland wasn't even looking at Swisher when he left third, but proceeded to call him out anyway. Can you say, "Makeup call?"

The Yankees also had a 3-0 lead in Game 2 and against the Angels in Anaheim, a three-run lead is far from safe. A-Rod made sure the Yankees' offense would not relent.

Teixeira led off the fifth with a single to chase Kazmir from the game. A-Rod then greeted reliever Jason Bulger by lining an 0-and-1, 94 mph fastball over the wall in left for a two-run homer to make it 5-0. It was A-Rod's fifth homer of the postseason and the eighth straight game he's had at least one RBI, tying the record of Lou Gehrig and Ryan Howard.

A-Rod's turnaround has been nothing short of amazing. Between Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS and 2007 ALDS against the Indians, he had played 16 playoff games and had exactly one homer and one RBI, those coming in the Yankees' final ALDS game in '07. It was clear he was pressing to carry the Yankees in those games.

This season, three of A-Rod's homers have tied games. He's been very relaxed and has been playing with a supreme amount of confidence. The result has been that he has finally been able to live up to expectations and has carried this offense. A bit ironic, no?

But after A-Rod's homer, thing went haywire. Jorge Posada walked and stole second as Matsui struck out against Jason Bulger. Cano then crushed a double that should have easily scored Posada, but Posada had gone back to second to tag as Hunter put on a good deke and wound up only at third. It was yet another example of Posada's poor baserunning instincts.

But the worst of Posada's running -- and of baseball's poor umpiring -- were yet to come.

Swisher next bounced back to reliever Darren Oliver, who trapped Posada off third. Posada properly got into a run down so that Cano could reach third, but when Posada was chased back to the base, Cano took his foot off third and Posada overran third. Napoli proceeded to tag both while neither was touching the base for what should have been a double play. Somehow McClelland blew yet another call, ruling Cano safe.

The umpires have been an absolute travesty in the playoffs and something has to be done. With each blown call, the integrity of the game take a major hit. This season, that integrity has received a black eye.

Commissioner Bud Selig, other baseball officials and managers such as Mike Scioscia and Joe Girardi can fret about rhythm of the game all they want, but if umpires are botching calls, then that rhythm is useless. The public cares more about calls being right than it does about any perceived rhythm of the game.

Baseball needs to do a better job of training and instructing its umpires and it has to expand its use of replay to include all boundary calls, not just homers, as well as plays at bases, especially scoring plays. The league may also want to include a challenge system for all other non-balls-and-strikes calls.

Fortunately for the umps, the Yankees did not score that inning. They did, however, score in the eighth on Damon's two-run homer to make it 7-1. They made it 10-1 in the ninth when A-Rod doubled and scored on a throwing error by Abreu before Cabrera later smoked a two-run double.

Chad Gaudin then came on pitched a flawless ninth, much to his credit. Gaudin had been held back in reserve throughout the playoffs as the long-man for extra innings or as a potential fourth starter. Yet in his first game action, he was sharp and did the job. He had ready made excuse for a poor outing, but just went out and executed. That's all you can ask.

So the Yankees have a 3-1 lead in this series, but we, as Yankees fans, know there is still a lot of work left to be done. Fresh in our memories is that 2004 ALCS when the Yanks blew a 3-0 lead against the Red Sox to become the first baseball team to lose a series in which it was up 3-0. Until the final out of that fourth victory is recorded, we can take nothing for granted.

A.J. Burnett will get the start in Game 5 Thursday. I hope he's sharp and can avoid that one bad inning so that the Yankees can win it in Anaheim and celebrate on the grave of that hideous Rally Monkey.

The sooner this series is over, the better.

Runners In Scoring Position
ALCS
7-for-45 (.156)
Game 4
4-for-17 (.235)
Game 3
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 2
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 1
3-for-12 (.250)
ALDS
6-for-17 (.353)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

Up Next
ALCS Game 5
Thursday at Angels, 7:57 p.m., FOX

Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA; Postseason: 0-0, 2.19 ERA in two starts)
vs. John Lackey (11-8, 3.83; Postseason: 1-1, 1.38 in two starts)

A-Rod Provides Quite A Capper

Now that's how you finish off a season.

Alex Rodriguez blasted two homers and drove in an AL-record seven runs in a 10-run sixth inning and the Yankees delivered one last embarrassment this season to the Rays with a 10-2 victory Sunday in Tampa.

The Yankees finish the season with the best record in baseball at 103-59 and a team-record 244 homers. Now they await Tuesday's playoff game in Minneapolis between the Tigers and Twins to learn whom they will playing in the ALDS, starting on Wednesday.

But for A-Rod, it was a special ending to a gratifying season.

The year started poorly with the admission that he had used steroids during his three years in Texas. It got worse when he was forced to have hip surgery and miss the first five weeks of the season.

Who would have imagined at that point that A-Rod would wind up having season like this?

Once he got back on the field, he started with a bang, hitting the first pitch he saw in Baltimore on May 8 for a two-run homer.

He capped it with an amazing sixth inning Sunday, ending his regular season with a grand slam.

In between the Yankees went 90-44 and A-Rod somehow ended up hitting .286 with 30 homers and 100 RBI, the 13th year A-Rod had at least 30 homers and 100 RBI and 12th in a row.

That's a great season for any player. It's even better when you consider that A-Rod ended up playing only 124 games with just 444 at-bats.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

The Yankees started the sixth trailing 2-0, but Johnny Damon led off with a double before the Rays pitched around Mark Teixeira to prevent him from taking the home run crown outright and issued a walk.

A-Rod then stepped up to the plate and demolished a 91 mph fastball from Rays starter Wade Davis and deposited it into the stands in left to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead and break the franchise single-season home run record of 242 set in 2004.

The blast seemed to jump start the offense. Hideki Matsui followed with a single and pinch runner Freddy Guzman then stole second. It's looking more and more likely that Guzman will in fact be on the ALDS roster to provide some late-inning speed. It's a good move that allows the Yankees to start Brett Gardner in a game if the matchup warrants.

Nick Swisher followed with a walk before Andy Sonnanstine relieved Davis and Robinson Cano flied out to center. Melky Cabrera, however, loaded the bases, beating out a slow tapper back to the mound.

Sonnanstine followed by giving the Yankees a gift, failing to field a ground from Jose Molina and allowing Guzman to score.

Derek Jeter then struck out, but Damon picked him up with his second double of the inning to drive in two and make it 6-2.

With first base open and two outs, Joe Maddon elected to intentionally walk Teixeira. Normally that would be a strange move. Why would anyone walk Teixeira to get to A-Rod, especially when A-Rod had just homer earlier in the inning?

But Maddon wanted to make sure injured first baseman Carlos Pena would wind up sharing the AL lead in homers with Teixeira at 39. It worked because Joe Girardi elected to pinch run for Teixeira at that point.

But it also backfired as A-Rod pounded an 0-and-1, 87-mph cutter into the stands in right-center for a grand slam to cap the inning. It was career homer 583 for A-Rod, tying him with Mark McGwire.

Two homers, seven RBI, an some inning.

But it was also clear the Rays weren't playing to actually win this game.

Still Rodriguez's beautiful outburst made a winner of A.J. Burnett, who earned his 100th career victory.

Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA) posted his fourth consecutive strong outing. He allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and one walk in five innings. He struck out three and threw 55 of 84 pitches for strikes.

He allowed just a first-inning homer to Evan Longoria, who also scored in the fifth on Molina's passed ball.

In between, Burnett was efficient and had a good rhythm. He sure looks ready for the playoffs, and that has every Yankee fan breathing a little easier.

The Yankees then made sure the bullpen stayed sharp, using five relievers to pitch four perfect innings, including Joba Chamberlain, who threw just seven pitches, hit 95 mph with his fastball and struck out one in a dominant seventh inning.

The good news is that despite all the messing the Yankees did with his head, Joba still appears to have that bullpen magic he had when he first burst into the majors.

The bad news is that the Yankees put him through hell for no good reason. It is clear that by first staggering Joba's starts and then limiting him to three innings an outing, the Yankees ultimately hurt his development. August and September were a total waste for the 24-year-old righthander ... and it's a shame because he had started to fulfill his potential in July.

But that's now an issue to be dealt with in the offseason.

It's playoff time!

The quest for 27 is on.

Runners In Scoring Position
Sunday
5-for-14 (.375)
Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
202-for-724 (.279)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
354-for-1,270 (.279)
Vs. Red Sox
45-for-204 (.221)

Up Next
ALDS, Wednesday vs. Twins or Tigers, 6:07 p.m., TBS
TBA vs. CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37)