Killer Instinct

We're starting to see it again -- that killer instinct that we saw in the championship teams of the late 1990s.

The Yankees aren't merely winning games, they are putting away teams whenever they get the opportunity. In each of their last three wins, the Bombers sealed their victories by scoring big runs in the ninth.

Saturday, Robinson Cano led off the ninth with a double and came around to score a big run to pad the lead on a Melky Cabrera single to give the Yankees a 6-4 victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto. New York pushed its lead in the AL East to 8-1/2 games over the Red Sox and its magic number for clinching the division dropped to 19.

In Thursday's 10-5 victory, the Yankees scored three in the ninth to finish off he Jays. Wednesday they scored seven in the ninth to wipe out the Orioles in that 10-2 win.

Whether the Yankees have a lead or are trailing, there simply is no let up in this offense.

Cabrera went 2-for-4 with two RBI, including a single in the second that gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Cano went 3-for-4 with a homer in the fourth that made it 2-0.

And when the Jays tied at 2 in the fourth, the Yanks got it right back when Mark Teixeira led off the fifth with a homer to left. Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada pushed the lead to 5-2 with tw0-out, RBI singles in the sixth.

Derek Jeter also went 2-for-5 as he closes in on becoming the Yankees' career hits lead. Jeter has 2,715 in his career, trailing just Lou Gehrig at 2,721.

For a change, all that offense was needed as Andy Pettitte (13-6, 4.10 ERA) was only OK coming off his two-hit, eight-inning effort against the Orioles Monday.

Pettitte allowed four runs on four hits and five walks in six innings. He struck out just three and threw 60 of 101 pitches for strikes. This effort was more reminiscent of many of his first-half starts this season than his second-half dominance, but then end result was a win and that's what matters most.

He allowed the Jays to tie it a 2 in the fourth as Randy Ruiz homered ahead of walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. John McDonald singled to bring in Encarnacion, but Bautista was gunned out at the plate thanks to a nice tag by Jorge Posada.

The Jays plated two more in the sixth to make it 5-4 when Bautista tripled to score Encarnacion and scored on a throwing error by Jeter.

But the bullpen closed it out with three scoreless inning from David Robertson, Brian Bruney and Phil Hughes, who pitched the final 1-1/3 for his third save as the Yankees continue to play it cautiously with Mariano Rivera's minor groin strain.

The Yankees finished off the Jays in the ninth. Let's see if they can finish of the series by going 3-1 to give them and 6-1 trip.

Runners In Scoring Position
Saturday
5-for-19 (.263)
Season
348-for-1,281 (.272)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
131-for-462 (.284)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
283-for-1,008 (.281)
Vs. Red Sox
36-for-163 (.221)

Up Next
Sunday at Blue Jays, 1:07 p.m., YES
Sergio Mitre (3-1, 5.65) vs. Brian Tallet (5-6, 5.17)

Last time out, Mitre allowed one hit in 6-1/3 innings in a 10-0 victory over the White Sox. His start was pushed back because of a bruised forearm that was sustained when he was hit with a liner in that game. It's tough to expect more than five inning from Mitre, but he surprised me last time out. Hopefully he'll do it again.

Giving No Ground

After our two rivals last met 10 games ago, my good friend Dave was not yet ready to concede the division. There was plenty of time left, the Sox were mathematically alive and the Yanks had some tough games left on the schedule.

Fair enough.

But at some point, the Rogue Nation has to be wondering what it's going to take to catch the Bombers. The Red Sox have won 8 of their last 10 games and gained exactly nothing in the AL East standings.

Frustrating, isn't it?

Jorge Posada became the seventh Yankee to hit 20 homers this season in a 10-5 victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto Thursday. The Yankees remain in first by 7-1/2 games, their magic number dropping to 22.

The Yankees joined the 1996 Orioles, 2000 Jays and 2005 Rangers as the only teams in major league history with seven players with at least 20 homers -- and Derek Jeter has 17, meaning the Bombers have a chance to make it eight. For the season, the Yankees (86-48) have hit 210 homers and have a good shot at surpassing the team record of 242 hit in 1994. This is just an awesome display.

Meanwhile, the victory was the Yankees' seventh straight, giving them five winning streaks of at least seven games this season. The last team to accomplish that was the 1998 Yankees, who won 114 games in the regular season and, of course, went on to win it all. Good luck catching us, Red Sox fans. It appears this machine isn't going to slow down a lick.

Posada was the offensive catalyst in this game, going 4-for-5 with four RBI. His two-run homer in the ninth off Jason Frasor broke open what had become a tight game and ensured the Yankees would win this one with Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera both unavailable.

Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with two RBI and also homered in the ninth. A-Rod has a 12-game hitting streak, going 20-for-47 (.426) to raise his batting average to .276.

The Yankees jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, giving spot starter Chad Gaudin a cushion that he would come to need.

With one out, Johnny Damon walked, Mark Teixeira singled and A-Rod walked to load the bases. Hideki Matsui drove them all in with a single to right that Travis Snider booted. Posada followed with a single to left to score Matsui.

And when Melky Cabrera singled in Matsui in the fourth, the Yankees had a 5-0 lead and seemed on their way to an easy win.

But Gaudin, who has made one start and four relief appearances since joining the team in early August, just didn't have enough gas in the tank. After pitching three scoreless innings, Gaudin began to tire in the fourth, allowing three runs.

He ended up going 3-2/3 innings, allowing four hits and three walks. Alfredo Aceves (10-1) finished the fourth, preserving a 5-3 lead and pitched two more innings for the victory.

The offense, meanwhile, showed no letup, answering with two in the fifth on RBI singles by A-Rod and Posada, before putting the game away in the ninth.

And all Red Sox fans could do is watch the Yankee post up yet another win.

Rogue Nation, are you ready to waive the white flag yet?

Runners In Scoring Position
Thursday
5-for-13 (.385)
Season
343-for-1,260 (.272)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
126-for-441 (.286)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
278-for-987 (.282)
Vs. Red Sox
36-for-163 (.221)

Up Next
Friday at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m., YES
Joba Chamberlain (8-4, 4.38 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (13-8. 3.13)

Thank goodness it's September, otherwise the bullpen would be in trouble with Joba's schedule abbreviated joke of a start. After he comes out after three or four innings, the Yanks will have Jonathan Albaladejo, Michael Dunn, Edwar Ramirez, Mark Melancon, Phil Coke and Hughes available. David Robertson and Brian Bruney have pitched two straight days and Damso Marto, coming back from injury, closed out Thursday's game.

Halladay, meanwhile, has lost three straight for just the third time in his career. I'd say the Yankees were in big trouble, except the Jays have long ago laid down for dead, meaning the Yankees actually have a shot.

The New A-Rod

There is something different about Alex Rodriguez.

For five years we have witnessed a prima donna who at times seemed much more interested on how he looked doing things than winning.

It wasn't enough to drive in the winning run, he had to do it with a majestic blast that sailed high and went deep into the left field stands. It wasn't enough for people to just know how great he was, he had to show them by taking his leads off second base and pointing to each outfielder to show people he was taking note of where everyone was positioned.

But that's not the A-Rod we've seen this season.

This season A-Rod's lowered his profile and kept the focus on the team and winning. That was never more evident than in two big at-bats in the Yankees' 10-2 victory over the Orioles in Baltimore Wednesday, giving CC Sabathia his AL-best 16th victory. The Yankees moved 7-1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East and lowered their magic number to clinch the division to 23.

A-Rod, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI, came up with runners at second and third in the seventh with no outs and the score tied at 1. A-Rod proceeded to stroke a 1-and-1, 95 mph fastball that was on the lower, inside corner into center for a single -- the 2,500th hit of his career.

Then in the ninth with the Yankees nursing a 3-2 lead and Mariano Rivera unavailable because of a minor groin injury, A-Rod came up with the bases loaded and no outs and lined a 0-and-2, 96 mph fastball into center to plate two and spark a seven-run inning.

Even the night before in a 9-6 win, A-Rod came up with runners of first and second and the Yankees trailing by 1 and singled again to center on a 1-and-1, 95 mph fastball.

How many times in the past have seen Rodriguez come up in similar spots and try to hit the monster homer, only to end up striking out or hitting a weak grounder? Well, suddenly he's no longer trying to do too much with pitches and delivering key hits.

Something most definitely is different about A-Rod.

And you have to go back to the spring to understand why. It was a rough offseason for Alex. First he was stung by criticism -- fair criticism, mind you -- from Joe Torre in "The Yankee Years," then came the steroids admission and finally the hip injury, resulting in surgery and about a month in Colorado recovering.

When he returned to the team in May, A-Rod said he used the time in Colorado to think about what had gone on and decided he needed to focus on baseball. Many took that with a grain of salt. Who could blame them? It's not like A-Rod had a reputation for being very sincere.

But maybe, just maybe, A-Rod did grow during that month of rehab. Maybe he matured. Maybe he realized that he's in his 30s, hasn't yet won a championship and needed to change. Or perhaps he finally understood that on a team as talented as the Yankees, he doesn't need to be "the guy," the person who carries the load -- and that he shouldn't even try to do that.

Oh, don't get me wrong, A-Rod is still the engine that makes the Yankees' offense run and has still hit his fair share of homers (23), but his willingness to sacrifice some stats is making that offense's engine run much more efficiently.

Yes, the Yankees have hit a ton of homers this season (208), but the offense has developed an attack that is much more diverse and capable of scoring more runs in a variety of ways. We have seen the team be able to manufacture runs better and deliver more in clutch situations. And we have seen A-Rod, who is hitting .274 with 75 RBI and an OBP of .403 (about 13 points over his career average), come up with a good number of those big hits -- and not just homers, though he has hit a few big ones.

Wednesday, A-Rod's two singles made a winner of CC Sabathia (16-7, 3.48 ERA), who has become the front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award. Sabathia struggled through the first two innings, allowing a Nick Markakis sacrifice fly in the first, before settling down to allow one run on seven hits and one walk in seven inning. He struck out nine and threw 73 of 105 pitches for strikes.

With Rivera out, Phil Hughes got the last out of the eighth and pitched the ninth for his second save after Brian Bruney allowed a homer to Nick Reimold with one out in the eighth to make it 3-2. Eric Hinske homered in the third to tie it a 1.

Look, I understand that anything A-Rod does during the regular season means little. It's all about the postseason. A-Rod has a lot to prove there, but if he can continue with the changed attitude and willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team, things will bode very well, and both A-Rod and the team will have that postseason success that's eluded them since A-Rod's arrival in 2004.

Runners In Scoring Position
Wednesday
7-for-15 (.467)
Season
338-for-1,247 (.269)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
121-for-428 (.283)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
273-for-974 (.280)
Vs. Red Sox
36-for-163 (.221)

Up Next
Thursday at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m., YES
Chad Gaudin (5-10, 4.90) vs. Ricky Romero (11-6, 3.95)

Gaudin is making the start in place of Sergio Mitre, who is still recovering after taking a line drive off his forearm Saturday.

In A-Rod We Have No Choice But To Trust

As A-Rod goes, so goes the Yankees. At least, that's what it seems like.

Alex Rodriguez broke out of his slump Wednesday with a big, two-run single.

Thursday he picked up right where he left off, going 3-for-5 with a homer -- the 563rd of his career, tying Reggie Jackson for 11th -- and four RBI to lead the Yankees to an 11-7 victory in Atlanta, their second straight.

Starting with his clutch, sixth-inning single Wednesday, A-Rod reached base in eight straight appearances, collecting four hits and six RBI before striking out in the eighth Thursday.

And it's not a coincidence that the offense took off when A-Rod did. The Yankees pounded out 16 hits Thursday and in the last two games, it has scored 19 runs. In the seven previous games, it totaled 18.

It should be clear to anyone who follows this team just how important A-Rod is to its success. The Yankees were mediocre at best in April while Rodriguez was rehabbing his injured hip and took off in May when he returned. When he started slumping in June, the Yankees went into a swoon.

A-Rod is the heartbeat of the lineup, making everyone around him better when he is right ... and dragging down the lineup like a boat's anchor when he hits the skids.

The good news for the Yankees is that it appears A-Rod has gotten himself back on track.

At least it certainly looked like it Thursday.

The Yankees jumped on Braves starter Derek Lowe early and didn't let up. Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon led off with singles to put runners on the corners, but Mark Teixeira grounded into a doubleplay, bringing in Jeter, who went 4-for-5 with 4 runs.

A-Rod then stepped to the plate and crushed a pitch to center to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. It was clear the offense was in a groove as Jorge Posada followed with walk and Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner singled to load the bases, but Cody Ransom, playing second for Robinson Cano, popped to short to end the inning.

The Braves got one back in the bottom half on Yunel Escobar's RBI double off Andy Pettitte, but the Yankees kept pounding away.

A-Rod drove in his second run of the game in the second with a single and the Yankees pushed across three more in the third on Johnny Damon's bases-loaded, two-out triple to make it 6-1.

The Yankees knocked out Lowe with no outs in the fourth when A-Rod reached on an error and Posada singled. Kris Medlan replaced Lowe and struck out Nick Swisher and got Gardner to pop to third, but Ransom delivered a two-run double and Pettitte seemed set to cruise with an 8-1 lead.

Unfortunately, Pettite was not sharp, getting hit hard and knocked out in the fourth.

Yankee killer Garret Anderson led off with a single and Jeff Francoeur doubled to put runners on second and third. Casey Kotchman brought them both in with a double and Pettitte hit pinch hitter Matt Diaz. After Nate McLouth flied to center, Gardner misplayed a pop from Martin Prado, allowing another run to score, making it 8-4. Pettitte battled back to strike out Brian McCann, but he couldn't close out the inning, allowing a two-run single to Escobar, making it 8-6.

Alfredo Aceves (5-1) then replaced Pettitte and struck out Anderson before pitching two scoreless innings to earn the victory.

Pettitte's line wasn't pretty. He allowed six runs, three earned, on seven hits in 3-2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four, throwing 59 of 95 pitches for strikes.

Pettitte has truly become a bottom of the rotation pitcher, capable of pitching a solid game, but just as likely to produce a dud. The thing about him is that he will battle his way through and usually will keep his team in it.

But on this night, he had more than enough support from the offense.

The Yankees grabbed a little more breathing room in the seventh as A-Rod continued his onslaught with a bases-loaded, two-run single and Damon, who went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, had an RBI single in the eighth as the Yankees seemed on their way to an uneventful finish.

Unfortunately David Robertson couldn't finish it off, allowing a homer to McCann before putting two on with two out, forcing Mariano Rivera in for the final out and his 16th save of the season and 499th of his career.

Nonetheless, the Yankees ended a six-game trip that started miserably with three losses in four games with two straight wins and roll in the second Subway Series of the year on a bit of a roll.

The Yankees just have to hope A-Rod stays hot for a long time ... or at least until they prove they can win when he's not locked in.

Bad News
Xavier Nady (elbow) removed himself from his rehab game at Triple-A Scranton after making a throw from the outfield. GM Brian Cashman said he's fearing the worst, meaning it's likely Nady will need season-ending Tommy John surgery.

That might mean the Yankees could be in the market for another outfield bat. Stay tuned.

Runners In Scoring Position
Thursday
6-for-19 (.316)
Season
175-for-665 (.263)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
109-for-397 (.275)
Vs. Red Sox
11-for-82 (.134)

Up Next
Friday at Mets, 7:10 p.m., SNY, Local TV (check your listings)
CC Sabathia (6-4, 3.71 ERA) vs. Mike Pelphrey (5-2, 4.74)

Yankees are holding their breath that Sabathia's left biceps is fine after he left his last start after 1-1/3 innings.

Finally, A Spark

The Yankees didn't burn their bats, but Joe Girardi found a way to light a fire under his team.

Girardi was ejected in the sixth inning Wednesday and the offense responded by pounding out eight runs on 10 hits over the final four innings to beat the Braves 8-4 in Atlanta, snapping a three-game losing streak.

It was the Yankees' biggest offensive outburst since beating the Mets 15-0 on June 14.

Before the game, Girardi, hitting coach Kevin long and GM Brian Cashman held a 20-minute meeting with the hitters, trying to spark a lineup that had hit .219 over the previous seven games.

That came on the heels of a players' only meeting after Tuesday's game.

Those meeting worked so well that the Yankees failed to get a baserunner against Kenshin Kawakami through the first five innings, extending the Yankees' scoreless streak to 14 innings.

So much for words.

But in the sixth, Brett Gardner broke up the perfect game, leading off with a walk. Kawakami and the Braves paid close attention to Gardner, throwing to first three times, and on the third pickoff attempt, umpire Bill Welke called Gardner out.

It was a close play, but replays showed Welke owes the Yankees an apology. Gardner beat the tag and was safe.

But Girardi didn't need a replay to tell Gardner was safe and made sure to let Welke know it, eventually saying the magic words to get tossed.

Here's the thing about arguing with umpires: if a manager doesn't want to get tossed, most of the time he won't. Umpires usually will let a manager have his say and then go back to the dugout.

In the eighth, Robinson Cano was hit in the back with a throw from catcher Brian McCann, who was attempting to complete a double play, resulting in an error and allowing a run to score. Braves manager Bobby Cox, the all-time leader in ejections, came out to argue that Cano should have been out for running out of the baseline.

The umps didn't agree and Cox returned to the dugout.

Girardi denies it, but I believe he wanted to get ejected in the sixth. His team needed a spark and he was hoping this would do the trick. It did.

"It could have been the sparkplug," Mark Teixeira said. "I love seeing a manager stick up for his team. It was a bad call, and Joe stood up for us. He knows we're battling out there, so he's going to go battle for us."

Rookie Francisco Cervelli followed the argument by hitting his first homer, a shot that cleared the wall in left-center to tie the score at 1.

But that was just the beginning. After Joba Chamberlain lined out to second, Derek Jeter followed with singles and Teixeira walked to load the bases.

Jeff Bennett came on to face Alex Rodriguez and went after the slumping slugger, pumping fastball after fastball down the heart of the plate to get ahead 0-and-2.

That's really all you need know about how badly A-Rod's been. Teams aren't even the slightest bit afraid to challenge him with a fastball.

But this time, A-Rod made the Braves pay, lacing a two-run single up the middle for a 3-1 lead.

The most encouraging sign was that A-Rod cut down his swing, looking to do something positive. During his MVP season in 2007, whenever A-Rod went into a slump, he always seemed to get out of it by simplifying his swing and his approach.

Invariably what would happen is A-Rod would get a couple of hard-hit singles or doubles to center or right and before we knew it, he'd be locked in again.

I hope this single is the start of a similar turnaround.

After taking the lead in the seventh, the Yankees didn't let up, tacking on important runs in each of the next three innings, highlighted by a Nick Swisher leadoff homer in the seventh, a Swisher RBI groundout int he eighth, and an RBI single by Damon in the ninth followed by a run-scoring double by Teixeira.

It was more than enough for Joba, who bounced back from two sub-par outings to earn the win, going 6-1/3 innings and allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits.

His control was sharp. He struck out five, walked none (a major turnaround from he previous two outings) and threw 68 of 99 pitches for strikes, his fastball hitting 94 mph consistently.

Joba battled the Braves, allowing Jeff Francoeur's leadoff homer in the fifth to keep the Yankees in the game until Girardi figured out how to get the bats going.

The Yankees had the opportunity to pinch hit for him in the seventh, but with a 4-1 lead and Joba at 86 pitches, they left him in.

It was the right decision. If the Yankees believe Joba can be a top-flight starter, there is no way he should ever come out there with a three-run lead. And the big reason he didn't finish the seventh was his throwing error on a sacrifice by Kelly Johnson.

The only down note was Brian Bruney's control problems in the eighth. He walked two and allowed a run on Francoeur's two-out single. Mariano Rivera came on to strike out Johnson before striking out the side in the ninth for his 16th save -- getting an at-bat and flying out to center in the ninth in the process.

It was a great win for the Yankees, but it will mean nothing of they don't back it up with another win today.

Maybe Girardi should get ejected before the game even begins just to be safe.

Runners In Scoring Position
Wednesday
2-for-9 (.222)
Season
169-for-646 (.262)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
103-for-378 (.272)
Vs. Red Sox
11-for-82 (.134)

Up Next
Thursday at Atlanta, 7 p.m., YES
Andy Pettitte (7-3, 4.26 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe (7-5, 4.09)

Consistency is the watchword for Yankees pitchers. Pettitte had a brilliant outing Friday in a win over the Marlins and he needs to back that up with another strong outing. Meanwhile, Yankees starters have pitched pretty well despite the lack of offensive support. That needs to continue.

The good news for the offense is it will be facing a pitcher it is very familiar with. Lowe is a former Red Sox who has faced the Yankees plenty of times in his career.

Just Burn The Bats

The Yankees' equipment manager had better order a new batch of bats.

Clearly, the only thing this batch is good for is kindling. Burn baby, burn.

The Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 as the offense managed only four hits and repeatedly let Braves rookie starter Tommy Hanson off the hook in a 4-0 loss in Atlanta Tuesday.

The Yankees are now five games behind the Red Sox in the AL East, and at 38-32 are but one game better than they were at the same point last year, when they were scavenging through scrap heaps to find starting pitchers.

But in this latest slide, it's the offense that's been the culprit.

Since scoring 15 runs against the Mets on June 14, the Yankees' offense has been lifeless and ineffective as the team has gone 2-5 against the weakest teams in the NL East.

Since that Mets game, the Yankees have scored 18 runs -- an average of a paltry 2.57 a game -- and have gone 49-for-224 (.219), including going 12-for-52 (.226) with runners in scoring position.

In short, the offense has been pathetic. The team might as well use these bats to hold a bonfire. They are not good for anything else.

Tuesday's game was positively maddening.

For a change, the Yankees actually worked deep counts and ran up Hanson's pitch count.

Hanson left after only 5-1/3 innings, allowing four hits and five walks. He struck out four the threw 57 of 99 pitches for strikes.

And despite throwing only in the 80s, Hanson constantly worked his way out of trouble.

In the second, the Yankees loaded the bases when Robinson Cano was hit by a pitch with one out and Melky Cabrera and Brett Garnder walked with two outs. Chien-Ming Wang, however, swung at the first pitch he saw from Hanson and topped to the mound.

Now I know Wang is only a pitcher and the likelihood of him doing anything productive was slim, but how about taking a pitch or two from a guy who just walked to guys in a row? Who knows, maybe he throws a wild pitch? But this the indicative of the hitting approach of this team and we have to wonder why hitting coach Kevin Long isn't coming under more fire -- especially from Hank and Hal Hess ... I mean Steinbrenner.

Derek Jeter led off the third with a double and Mark Teixeira walked with one out, but of course the Yankees did nothing with the opportunity. Jeter and Teixeira stole as Alex Rodriguez struck out and then Cano lofted a fly to left to end the inning.

The Yankees loaded the bases again in the fourth, but failed yet again. With one out Cabrera doubled and Gardner reached on a fielder's choice when he grounded to short and Cabrera was safe as Braves third baseman Chipper Jones dropped the throw from shortstop Yunel Escobar.

Then Joe Girardi did something puzzling, yet again. He had Wang sacrifice Gardner to second as Melky stayed put. If Girardi was willing to give up and out there, why not try a double steal or a suicide squeeze? Moving Gardner to second via the bunt gained very little and was an absolute waste of an out.

Jeter followed with a walk, but Nick Swisher grounded to short. That meant in the second, third and fourth innings, the Yankees managed to leave eight men on base. For the game, the Yankees had 8 out of 30 at-bats with a runner in scoring position. That's 26.7 percent of the time, more than one out of every four at-bats. You'd think they'd be able to get at least one in just by accident.

The offense mounted yet another threat in the sixth when Gardner singled with one out and stole second. Hideki Matsui, pinch hitting for Wang, walked to knock Hanson out of the game, but it really didn't matter. Jeter grounded into yet another doubleplay.

From there, the Yankees had only one more baserunner the rest of the game, when Johnny Damon pinch hit and walked in the ninth.

It's a shame the offense was so pathetic because Wang actually pitched pretty well.

He went five innings, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk. He struck out four and threw 42 of 62 pitches for strikes. He would have gone much deeper into the game had the offense done anything ... or he was pitching in an American League park.

The only trouble Wang got into came in the third with two outs when he allowed an RBI double to Brian McCann and a two-run single to Yankee killer Garret Anderson.

Wang actually looked like the guy who won 19-games two years in a row, throwing a hard, sinking fastball at 94 mph and spotting a very effective slider.

But the big issue for the Yankees right now is their bats.

They have to do something to get them going, and with management reluctant to do anything to shake up the team, the players have to take upon themselves to something.

Get the lighter fluid boys. Time to get this bonfire cranking.

Runners In Scoring Position
Tuesday
0-for-8 (.000)
Season
167-for-637 (.262)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
101-for-369 (.274)
Vs. Red Sox
11-for-82 (.134)

Up Next
Wednesday at Atlanta, 7 p.m., YES
Joba Chamberlain (2-3, 3.89 ERA) vs. Kenshin Kawakami (4-6, 4.42)

Joba, be more aggressive with the fastball and stopping walking in runs. Offense -- WAKE UP!

More Roster Issues

The Yankees started the season without a long man in the bullpen.

It was a dumb decision and it burned them again and again and again.

Eventually Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi came to see the errors of their ways and rectified the situation.

Unfortunately, they don't learn for their mistakes.

The Yankees are carrying two catchers and useless utility infielder Angel Berroa, creating some inflexibility in the roster.

When Jorge Posada was set to come off the disabled list in May, I called for the Yankees to release Berroa and keep Kevin Cash, giving them three catchers on the roster.

The reason was simple. Berroa doesn't have a role on this team. He's not fast. He's not a good fielder. He's not a good hitter. It would be one thing if he had a viable role, but he doesn't. He's beyond useless.

In contrast, carrying three catchers would allow Girardi to DH Posada without having to risk making a move late in the game that would force to hit a pitcher, or risk losing the DH should that day's starting catcher get hurt.

Saturday we saw why Girardi needs that flexibility.

With the Yankees trailing 5-4 and one out in the eighth, Posada, the designated hitter, walked. To say Posada is slow and a bad base runner is being kind. He stinks on the basepaths. It should have been a perfect spot to pinch run with Brett Gardner.

Except Girardi couldn't.

Doing that would mean he couldn't pinch hit for light-hitting catcher Francisco Cervelli later on. It also meant that when he did send up Hideki Matsui to hit for Cervelli later in the eighth, Posada was forced to catch and the pitcher was inserted into the nine-hole in the lineup.

Now this inflexibility did not prevent the Yankees for tying the score, but it could have forced the Yankees into a disadvantage by playing an NL-style of ball had Mariano Rivera not melted down in the ninth.

Posada is invaluable as a catcher because of his hitting. Keeping him fresh while keeping his bat in the lineup, especially against lefthanders, is essential to the Yankees' success. But Girardi needs better tools to do that. He needs a third catcher on this roster.

It's time for Berroa to be designated for assignment.

Let's get Cash back up to the majors, now.

Jeter Still Has It

Say what you will about Derek Jeter's defense, but when it comes to his offense, he's as good as ever.

Jeter went 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 16 games and scored the 1,500th run of his career, and the Yankees rolled to a 12-3 victory over the Rangers Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have won 16 of 20 and overtook the Rangers for the best record in the AL at 31-21.

Jeter joined Ken Griffey Jr., Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez as the only active major leaguers to score 1,500 runs, scoring the go-ahead run in the Yanks' seven-run fourth inning. The only other players to score 1,500 runs as Yankees are Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle -- that's some pretty special company.

"Everything that he's doing, he's playing at a very high level," manager
Joe Girardi said. "He is really, really good right now."

That includes his defense. He's made only two errors all season and is making all the plays. His range does not appear to be an issue at the moment.

Jeter seems to be leading off every game with a hit, getting a leadoff hit in 10 of the last 12. His multi-hit game Tuesday was his seventh straight, the longest of his career.

On the season, Jeter is hitting .319 with 68 hits, 33 runs, seven homers and 25 RBI in 50 games.

He seems to be in the middle of everything and Tuesday was no exception.

With the Yankees trailing 3-2, Melky Cabrera led off the seven-run fourth with a walk and advanced to second on Brett Gardner's sacrifice. Jeter followed with a walk before Johnny Damon's RBI single tied the score and put runners on the corners.

Rangers starter Vicente Padilla then hit Mark Teixeira for the second consecutive at-bat, angering the first baseman. But Teixeira would get his revenge, cleanly taking out Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler with a slide to break up what could have been an inning-ending double play by A-Rod and allowing Jeter to score the go-ahead run.

Teixeira plays with passion and is leader. He takes charge of the defense and does anything to make a play on offense.

This play seemed to spark the Yankees as Robinson Cano followed with an RBI single to knock Padilla from the game. Jorge Posada followed with an RBI single against Derek Holland, then Hideki Matsui hit a three-run homer to give the Yanks a secure 9-2 lead.

Posada added at two-run homer in the sixth and Gardner had an RBI single and scored on a balk in the second.

It was an impressive display by the offense, which had 13 hits, including 11 singles, and has had at least 10 hits in eight of the last nine games. Cano, Posada and Matsui -- the 5, 6 and 7 hitters -- combined to go 7-for-15 with seven RBI. That kind of production for that part of the order will provide a lot of protection for A-Rod.

The Yankees needed the big offensive outburst because A.J. Burnett did not have his best stuff. His curve was non-existent and he lost control of his fastball in the third, leading to Nelson Cruz's three-run homer that gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead.

Burnett settled down after the big fourth inning and gutted it out, allowing eight hits and four walks in seven innings to earn his first home win with the Yankees. He retired the side in order just once, but struck out eight and threw 71 of 110 pitches for strikes.

The only real down note came in the fourth when Posada sailed a throw into center while trying to catch Elvis Andrus stealing, ending the Yankees' record errorless streak at 18 games.

But it didn't matter much. On this day, not even Jose Veras pitching the ninth could spoil the win.

Runners In Scoring Position
Tuesday
6-for-14 (.429)
Season
136-for-490 (.278)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
70-for-222 (.315)

Up Next
Wednesday vs. Rangers, 7:05 p.m., YES
Scott Feldman (4-0, 3.91 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte (5-1, 4.10)

It's all about Pettitte stiff lower back. He's had two good bullpen sessions since his start Friday and says he's fine. Count on Girardi checking one more time, just to make sure Pettitte is 100 percent.

Another Cream Pie For Melky

It's getting to the point where there is no one the Yankees would rather have at the plate with a chance to win the game than Melky Cabrera.

Alex Rodriguez hit a two-homer and Cabrera singled in Robinson Cano with the winner in the ninth off Brad Lidge to rally the Yankees to a 5-4 victory Saturday over the Phillies at Yankee Stadium. It was the Yankees' major-league leading 17th come-from-behind victory and ninth win in their last at-bat.

They have four walk-off wins in the last nine games and six on the season. Cabrera has the winning hit in three of those games, the most walk-offs by a Yankee since Claudell Washington had four in 1988 ... and it's not even Memorial Day.

It's been quite a season so far for Cabrera, who began the year as the fifth outfielder behind Nick Swisher. All Cabrera has done is seize the center field job back from Brett Gardner and hit .317 with five homers, 20 runs, 19 RBI and a .853 OPS.

He's also developed a knack for coming through in the clutch.

His two-run homer of Dan Giese in the 14th gave the Yankees a 9-7 victory over the A's on April 14. Melky then lifted the Yankees to a 5-4 win over the Twins on May 15 with a two-run single off closer Joe Nathan.

His winner Saturday was just as sweet.

The Yankees' offense had been quiet all game, scratching out one run in the second and scoring another on Derek Jeter's homer in the sixth. And with Lidge coming on to protect a 4-2 lead, the outlook wasn't good.

Lidge was coming off a season in which he was perfect in this 41 save opportunities, 48 including the postseason. Even though he had already blown two chances this season, he's still tough.

Johnny Damon led off with a walk and stole second. After Mark Teixeira struck out, Rodriguez stepped to the plate for the biggest at-bat of the game.

He battled Lidge in a brilliant at-bat, falling behind 0-and-2 before working the count to 3-and-2. He then cut down on his swing and went the other way with a 94 mph fastball, shooting it over the wall in right to tie the score at 4.

We've seen A-Rod too often try to pull a pitch in big spots. It was great to see him take advantage of the short porch. And while he is still searching for his hitting groove, his average up to .204 since returning to the lineup May 8, his power stroke has been just fine with seven of his 10 hits going for homers. He's also come up with several big, late homers, including a walk-off against the Twins a week ago.

But with Alfredo Aceves, Chien-Ming Wang and Brian Bruney unavailable in the bullpen, the Yankees could not afford to let this game go deep into extra innings. The quicker they could end it, the better.

Cano followed with a single and stole second, setting up Cabrera, who laced a liner to right-center.

What's been particularly impressive with Cabrera in these situations has been his approach. He hasn't tried to do too much, simply looking for a pitch he could handle and drive. His winners against the Twins and and Phillies were both hit to the opposite field.

It was quite a turnaround for the offense, which did little against J.A. Happ, who was making his first start of the season.

They Yankees manufactured a run in the second when Cano doubled, went to third on a sacrifice by Cabrera and scored on a ground out by Nick Swisher to tie the score at 1.

Swisher has struggled mightily at Yankee Stadium, but give him a lot of credit for recognizing this, simply executing the fundamentals in this spot and finding a way to help the team win. Runner on third, less than two outs, just make sure to get the run home, especially when it's that early in the game.

Happ ended up pitching six innings, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts. He threw 50 of 75 pitches for strikes and was on his way to a win over Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte wasn't great, but not terrible either. He made two mistakes that were turned into homers, one by Raul Ibanez in the second and a three-run blast by John Mayberry Jr., who made his major league debut.

Still Pettitte kept the Yankees in the game and gave them length, which they desperately needed. He allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in seven innings. The short bullpen meant only Brett Tomko, Mariano Rivera, Phil Coke and Jose Veras were available for the rest of the game.

Coke allowed one hit over 1-2/3 innings, throwing only 9 of 21 pitches for strikes. Veras got the last out of the ninth and was credited with the win.

It was a sweet way to win, especially after the Yankees' nine-game winning streak was snapped Friday. But the day only got better.

Omir Santos hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth off Jonathan Papelbon and the Mets beat the Red Sox, 3-2. It was glorious and I'm looking forward to Dave's and Ian's posts on this one.

The Yankees are now tied with the Sox for second in the AL East, a half-game behind the Blue Jays.

Dave, buckle up, bro, it's going to be a wild summer.

Runners In Scoring Position
Saturday
2-for-6 (.333)
Season
101-for-372 (.272)

Up Next
Sunday vs. Phillies, 1:05 p.m., YES
Cole Hammels (2-2, 4.95 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (4-3, 3.43)

Sabathia is coming off three straight excellent starts and the Yankees need him to continue that roll.

Oh Captain, My Captain!

While Aviv waxes poetic over the Yankees' amazing ability to beat the Orioles and Twins (talk about a low bar to cross...), I thought I'd spend my time rejoicing in Boston's dismantling of the AL East-leading Blue Jays last night. Behind another strong start by Brad Penny, the Boston bats came alive and the Sox crushed Toronto 8-3.

There are so many good stories here I don't know exactly where to begin. But as tempting as it is to start with Papi's first home run since Coke cost a nickel, I think the bigger story is the revitalization of Jason Varitek. 'Tek went 2-3 last night with two solo shots and threw in a walk for good measure. He's sporting an .842 OPS and his seven homers have him in the company of players like Jim Thome, Victor Martinez and Joe Mauer. 'Tek is also having a solid season behind the plate. He leads AL catchers in put-outs (230) and is second in fielding percentage (.996) trailing only Detroit's Gerald Laird. He also has yet to allow a passed ball. So, why this sudden resurgence?

I don't think enough attention has been paid to the fact that Jason Varitek went through a brutal divorce that just concluded in the past couple of days. Brutal enough that the records are sealed and that one of the requirements is that he and his ex-wife act "as if never married to each other." They have three kids.

Now, two of the most stressful things a person can go through is divorce and the illness of a child. I bring this up because I have some experience with the latter; my daughter was recently diagnosed with cancer. There are days when I can barely perform my job, which consists of using a keyboard and monitor. The stress and worry are inconceivable to someone who hasn't gone through a similar event. Now imagine having that kind of burden where your job involved catching and hitting a ball hurled somewhere between 80-100 MPH. A job where so much of what you do is mental, or is physical performance affected by mental conditioning. The miracle is that Varitek was able to play baseball at all last year. And I think I, and a lot of Boston fans, owe him an apology and a lot of slack for riding him last year. I sure didn't understand what he was going through then. I do now. So it was especially enjoyable for me to watch him launch a pair into the bleachers last night. If he keeps this up he could have his best season since 2005, when 'Tek had 22 homers and 70 RBI, and won the Gold Glove to boot.

But the story everyone else is talking about is Big Papi finally notching a home run on his 2009 belt. He added a double to his two-run shot and had a respectable 2-5 night. Whether this is the beginning of a new trend or a dead-cat bounce on a downward trajectory remains to be seen. I'm guessing his problems have been both physical and mental (something he alluded to in a recent story without elaboration). Papi depends on wrist speed and weight distribution to generate his power. Well, a bum wrist and bad knee play havoc with both of those. Papi needs to find a way to do both those things again, either the way he used to do it or a new way. As for the mental...I don't know if it is just the toll of a slump or something worse. I hope for his sake it's just the slump.

Also worthy of notice is Jacoby Ellsbury. Not only does he have a World Series ring and a stolen base title to his name, but now he has also tied the all-time record for putouts by an outfielder in a nine-inning game. Ellsbury's 12 putouts put him in the books alongside the Twins' Lyman Bostock (set in 1977) and a Boston brother from a different mother, Boston Braves' centerfielder Earl Clark who made his dozen in 1929. That's all Clark ever really did of note, so here's hoping Jacoby has a more prolific career. On a lesser note, he also extended his hit-streak to 15 games. The kid has definitely found his groove.

On the pitching side of things, Brad Penny continues to justify Theo's move to get him to Boston. Penny went 6 2/3 innings and gave up just two runs. Yes, that's another quality start for Penny, who now has five quality starts in eight games. He did give up a lot of hits (nine) but scattered them enough to limit the damage.

Then the bullpen stepped up and shut down the Jays...mostly. This isn't to pick on the rookie, but Daniel Bard seemed more than a little nervous. I'm guessing it's because this was his first time in a pro game at Fenway, which can be a little nerve-wracking even for a seasoned vet. But I have seen this kid pitch in Portland and I am telling you, he's the real deal. A couple of more times at Fenway and he'll settle right down. It was good for him to get work last night, even if it didn't go the way he wanted it to. The Delcarmen/Okajima combo did a great job, combining for 2/3 of no-hit ball. They just needed five pitches combined to get their respective batters. And then Saito gave up a couple of harmless singles in the ninth before ending it. Overall, a decent night's work.

I guess that worry I had about the Sox facing a new pitcher was largely unfounded. With five homers and 11 hits, Boston owned Brett Cecil last night. Hopefully that is the standard for them going forward against new pitchers. It's much more enjoyable than watching Boston get two-hit by a rookie, a scenario that is all too painfully familiar to myself and many Boston fans through the years.

So tonight it's Jon Lester and Robert Ray doing battle to see if Toronto can salvage some pride or if Boston can get the sweep.This is a big game for Lester; his last two outings have, frankly, sucked. If he can't find the control that powered him to that 16-6 record last year, it's going to be a long season for Lester. And the Sox.

Have Trust In Teixeira, A-Rod

As Yankees fans, we too often leap to quick conclusions.

A free agent joins the team, starts slowly and many are quick to write him off as a bust after as little time as a month. A guy struggles in a certain situation and many paint him as a choker.

Saturday, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez reminded us why such it is foolish and often wrong to apply such labels to players.

Teixeira went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBI and scored the winning run on A-Rod's two-run, walk-off homer in the 11th to give the Yankees their fourth straight victory, 6-4 over the Twins at Yankee Stadium.

Teixeira has had a rougher start to his Yankees tenure than most anticipated. Historically a slow starter, Teixeira was hampered early on by a sore wrist and struggled to find a rhythm offensively. His average dropped as low as .191 this month and many fans were grumbling that he was a bust.

It's not the first time a big star joined the Yankees, whether via trade or as a free agent, and struggled out of the gate. Heck the Yankees' first big free agent signing, Catfish Hunter, went 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA in his first four starts with the Yankees in 1975.

More recently, Tino Martinez struggled in his first six weeks with the Yankees in 1996, hitting .246 with 5 homers and 28 RBI.

Both guys went on to have excellent Yankee careers.

But apparently there are a lot of us who just don't learn. One month or six weeks is way too short of a sample to draw any conclusions about a player, especially one such as Teixeira, who ahs an established track record and is in his prime.

Teixeira has hit in four straight and six of last seven (coinciding with A-Rod's return), going 11-for-27 (.407) with three homers, eighth RBI and seven runs, raising his average to .238.

Frankly, I was surprised at the criticism of Teixeira. He's a guy who's been nothing but a professional throughout his career. He grew up a Don Mattingly fan and has patterned his approach to the game after Donnie Baseball. He cares, damn it.

And anyone who has heard Teixeira being interviewed would swear he went the Derek Jeter school of media relations. Teixeira says a lot without saying anything. He keeps the focus on the team and projects a modest image.

Teixeira deserved more time before he started hearing boos from the home crowd.

Of course, it is much harder to feel sympathy for A-Rod. He has created so much of his own troubles. His foibles are so well documented and it's impossible to overlook his use of PEDs. He's a cheater and will always have to live with that stain. But as long as he's wearing the pinstripes ... well, as Seinfeld said, we root for the laundry, and he's wearing ours.

But A-Rod should not be blamed for everything.

It's hard to feel badly for anyone making the kind of money A-Rod is, but that contract also is something of an albatross. It brings about huge expectations. He's the best player in baseball and is expected, certainly by fans and at times by himself, to perform at unrealistic levels.

Those expectations don't afford him any time to get out of a slump or recover from an injury. He's a week back from hip surgery, still trying to get his swing down and find a rhythm, but after grounding out in the sixth Saturday, he was showered with boos.

Luckily for A-Rod, it doesn't take much to turn those boos to cheers.

He's not going to get a hit, much less homer, every time up. He's not going to get every clutch hit or drive in the big run in every big spot. Even for A-Rod, success is still measured at about three hits in every 10 at-bats (.300).

What's worse is that the spotlight shines so bright on A-Rod that his failures get magnified. It can't be argued that aside from the Twins series in 2004, Rodriguez has been awful in the postseason with the Yankees.

Yet somehow, that has been turned into A-Rod never comes through in the clutch. Yes, in 2004, '06 and '08 he was not up to snuff in close and late situations. But in 2005 and '07 he won MVPs in large part because he delivered in those situations. Here are the numbers:

Close and Late
Career -- .279, 135 HRs
2004 -- .275, 2 HRs
2005 -- .293, 4 HRs
2006 -- .237, 2 HRs
2007 -- .357, 6 HRs
2008 -- .257, 2 HRs

Another stat to note: A-Rod has eight career walk-off homers. Five have been with the Yankees.

It seems to me that when talking about A-Rod and hitting in the clutch in the regular season, he has a big of a split personality, and we should be wondering which A-Rod we'll be getting this year.

If the homer in the 11th is any indication, A-Rod has his focus where it should be.

"I’m so tired that I’m just happy to get through 11 innings," Rodriguez said.
"It’s been a while. But for me, I gave you guys something to talk about and
write about in the 11th inning and I didn’t have to open my mouth. That’s kind
of the way I want things. Stay out of my own way."

In '05 and '07 A-Rod kept things simple, keeping his focus on the field and he name out of the tabloids. He says he's back in that mind-set this year. We have to hope this walk-off is a sign of things to come.

The Good
Joba Chamberlain changed his pregame warmup, facing three simulated batters in the bullpen to help him get over his first-inning struggles. The change appears to have worked as Joba had an efficient and scoreless first. Still Joba got through only six innings as the Twins did a job of working the count and spoiling pitches. Chamberlain allowed two runs on three hits and four walks. He struck out six, threw 66 of 108 pitches for strikes and left with a 3-2 lead.

The Bad
We're going to have to get used to the offense bailing out the bullpen. Phil Coke got the Yankees out of a Jose Veras-created mess in the seventh without allowing a run, but faltered in the eighth, surrendering two runs and the lead. I still trust Coke, but it is clear he is starting to get a bit overexposed and overused. Brian Bruney could return from his elbow injury this week. If Bruney he is 100 percent and regains his form, Coke will be the biggest beneficiary.

Runners In Scoring Position
Saturday
2-for-7 (.286)
Season
82-for-331 (.248)

Up Next
Today vs. Twins, 1:05 p.m., YES
Kevin Slowey (5-1, 4.91 ERA) vs. A.J. Burnett (2-1, 5.36)

The Yankees have won a season-high tying four straight and would love for Burnett to get back on track to make it five.

It's Only A Start ... And A Huge Relief

CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez gave the Yankees the boost they needed.

But let's not get too giddy, yet. It's a big win, but we need a quite a few more before we should start to feel good.

Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup and hit a three-run homer on the first pitch he saw and CC Sabathia pitched a four-hitter with eight strikeout as the Yankees ended a torturous, five-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Orioles Friday at Baltimore. Thank goodness that agony is over.

It didn't take long for A-Rod to turn around the Yankees' fortunes. The Yankees had gone 41 straight innings without a lead, dating to Saturday's loss to the Angels. With two on and one-out, A-Rod stepped to the plate and sent Jeremy Guthrie's first offering, a fat 98 mph fastball, into the stands in left.

It was dramatic. It was amazing. It was pure A-Rod.

Before the game, he was the center of attention as the media swarmed around him. He actually came off better than he normally does, talking about how he's dedicated himself to just playing the game, like he did in 2007, and admitting that he's not the savior for this team. He deflected questions about Serena Roberts' book, while acknowledging he's made mistakes.

Mostly he deflected attention from the Yankees' struggles. Mariano Rivera's baseball mortality was no longer and issue. Mark Teixeira was no longer being pestered about his slump. Questions weren't being asked about the leaky bullpen. The rest of the team could breath a little.

A then, bam! The Yankees had a three-run. It was kind of beginning they desperately needed. But it would have meant nothing if Sabathia didn't step up and be a dominant ace.

Sabathia showed improvement in each of his previous two starts, but came away with losses. But Friday he put it all together. He was efficient, walking one and throwing 112 pitches (79 strikes), while mowing down the Orioles. He lowered his ERA from 4.85 to 3.94.

It was the kind of start the Yankees were longing for, not only this season, but for the past few. The last shutout thrown by a Yankees starter was by Chien-Ming Wang in 2006. Sabathia gave that beleaguered bullpen a needed night off, but more importantly, he injected a shot of confidence into the rest of the staff.

Of course, this win means nothing if Phil Hughes comes out and bombs or the bullpen fizzles away another lead or the offense continues to waste opportunities.

But for now, let's appreciate this win for what it is: The end to a painful losing streak and potentially the start of a run.

The Good
Johnny Damon has been the most reliable hitter in the lineup recently and he continued his strong play with an RBI double in seventh. Also Francisco Cervelli was quite serviceable in his first start, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice bunt. He also threw out Adam Jones on the back end of a double steal in the first, displaying a cannon for an arm. The kid has potential. We'll find out just how ready he is.

The Bad
The offense continues to struggle with runners in scoring position, going 2-for-9 and stranding seven. Sabathia was dominant, so it didn't matter, but the Yankees can't expect that kind of performance out of Hughes. They offense needs to get cranking soon. Teixeira also went 0-for-3, lowering his batting average to .192. We're trying to be patient Mark, but you've got to get going soon.

Also, the Yankees announced Ian Kennedy will have surgery to remove an aneurysm under his right armpit, similar to what David Cone had in 1996. There is no timetable for Kennedy's return. It's a tough break for the kid, but this is something that he can overcome, as Coney showed us.

What We Learned
Good pitching and a little bit of timely hitting can hide much of a team's blemishes. But don't be fooled. Those holes still exist. The Yankees need more starts like Sabathia's to buy enough time for those flaws to be fixed.

Runners In Scoring Position
Friday
2-for-9 (.22)
Season
68-for-277 (.244)

Up Next
Today at Orioles, 7:05 p.m., YES
Hughes (1-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. Adam Eaton (1-3, 7.18)

Which Hughes will we get? The brilliant one from his first start against the Tigers, or the one who couldn't hit his spots and allowed four runs against the Red Sox?

The Circus Is Back In Town

I can't believe I'm writing this, but the A-Rod circus may be exactly what the Yankees need right now.

Alex Rodriguez returns to the lineup Friday and with him comes all the controversy surrounding his PED use, womanizing, alleged pitch tipping, etc.

If you were the rest of the Yankees, wouldn't you rather be talking about that or how disgustingly poor the team's been playing?

And Thursday night was another horror show as Mariano Rivera allowed back-to-back homers in the ninth in an 8-6 loss to the Rays at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees fifth loss in a row.

The script was frighteningly familiar, yet the outcome was no less painful.

Andy Pettitte was terrible, allowing four homer in six innings, the offense rallied, but couldn't get the big hit to put the Yankees over the top, and the bullpen couldn't stop the bleeding with Rivera, this time, giving up the winners.

There's no use analyzing the game. The problems remain the same ... and quite depressing.

So let's focus on A-Rod (hey, it beats electroshock therapy, though maybe we can try that on some of the players to get them out of this funk).

A-Rod drives me nuts. I detest all the off-the-field garbage. I hate his attention seeking, his awful decisions, the stupid things he says in the media, his dalliances with strippers and Madonna, his photo kissing himself in the media, the steroid use (doesn't matter if also used in high school and with the Yankees or just with the Rangers, he's a flat-out cheat) ... all of it. And his teammates hate it, too.

But the irony (and I mean real irony, not the Alanis Morrissette kind) is the Yankees need all that garbage right now.

The locker room is going to change Friday. Suddenly, reporters are going to flock to A-Rod to talk about this crap. He's going to be the focal point and Mark Teixiera, CC Sabathia and the rest of the team will fade into the background. And the hope is that maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to relax a little. Stop pressing.

Of course, the Yankees will need more than that. They'll need to perform on the field.

And that's the dangerous part of A-Rod's return.

He's back and so many people are hoping that alone will fix all that ails the Yankees. It won't.

He's a great player and an amzing hitter, but he can't pitch, he's certainly not a reliever, and he's not going to come up every time there are runners in scoring position. Heck, he's not even going to deliver a hit every time he does, though we'll be quite happy if hits around .300 in those situations.

The Yankees don't expect A-Rod to be the savior and fans have to realize that, too. But just as importantly, A-Rod himself has to realize he's not going save this team.

We've seen two A-Rods in his time in New York. There's the guy we saw in 2004, '06 and '08. He's they guy who was continually trying to impress and be all things to everyone and hit 700-foot, five-run homers. Then there's the guy who relaxed in 2005 and 2007 and flourished with two MVP seasons.

The Yankees need A-Rod to be himself. And A-Rod needs to trust his teammates and just let his talent (whether it's natural or chemically enhanced) take over. He just needs to play ball and trust everything will fall into place.

If he does, that will go a long way to righting the Yankees' ship.

One More Thing On Thursday's Game
Can we relax about Mariano Rivera? He's coming off shoulder surgery and his arm-strength isn't there yet. Give it time. He's not done yet. And even if his velocity does not return, that still doesn't mean he's done. We have seen pitchers adapt to a loss of velocity (Trevor Hoffman comes to mind). Mo can adjust, too. Remember, he supposedly has a wicked change he's never used in games, and that gives him the option of changing his repertoire. Just give it a little time.

Runners In Scoring Position
Thursday
2-for-11 (.182)
Season
66-for-268 (.246)

Up Next
Today at Orioles, 7:05 p.m., YES
CC Sabathia (1-3, 4.85 ERA) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (2-2, 5.05)

Now would be a really good time for CC to put it all together.

The House That Bay Built

It's getting so that I expect Jason Bay to crank a three-run shot every time he plays in the Parthenon of Greed. For the second game in a row, Bay put three runs on the board and gave the Sox the cushion they needed to register a 7-3 win over the Yankees. That would make the Sox 5-0 against the Yankees so far in 2009. That's the first time since 1985 the Sox have started so well against the Yankees.

I know I have said it multiple times, but it bears repeating; the Sox lost nothing when they traded away Manny last year and got Bay in return. He supplies almost identical numbers at the plate and has a much better glove in the field. Add in the fact he isn't pushing old men to the floor and I think it's a net-plus for the team.

And Bay has been destroying the Yankees so far in 2009. In five games against New York, he is batting .556 with three homers and ten RBI. His OPS is currently 1.833 against the Yankees' pitching staff. They may as well give Bay a batting tee or let him toss the ball in the air at the plate, because Yankee pitchers are useless against him.

I'm glad Bay did well in the clean-up position, though I prefer him to bat fifth*. But with Youk out you make the adjustments you have to make. Once again, though, it was the top of the order powering the Sox to a win. The 6-8 batters (Drew, Bailey and 'Tek) went hitless, although Bailey and 'Tek each got a RBI thanks to a bases-loaded walk and a sac fly. But if the Sox want to string together another long win streak, they'll need the bottom of the order to pull their weight.

As for the pitching, it was nice to see flashes of the old Josh Beckett. He gave up a ton of hits (10) over six innings, but he only allowed three runs and had good control. He threw a classic "keep my team ahead" kind of game, doing what he had to do to give Boston the chance to win. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. Then the Japanese Connection went the final three innings for the win. Oki and Saito looked awesome and it was a nice contrast to the night before. The Yankee batters never even threatened to get back in the game.

Then there's Joba. I will admit this; the kid looked good last night...after the first inning. Twelve strikeouts in less than six full innings is really impressive. But that first inning killed him. Which, of course, pleases me.

You know Aviv and I go back and forth on the issue of Joba and whether he should be a starter or reliever/future closer. Aviv has held up last night's game as Exhibit A of why he should be in the rotation. And at face value, he makes a convincing case.

But here's the thing...did he get the win? In five starts, he has only one win and three no-decisions. And in two of those games, the bullpen cost him the win. And that is the point.

It's all well and good that Joba can throw like a starter. But he is also 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He isn't Roy Oswalt or Tim Lincecum or even an Erik Bedard. And the Yankees are either intentionally avoiding or are legitimately blind to the fact that this is hurting their team. Joba is not ace material; he is really good, but not an ace. That makes this exercise in idiocy all the more ridiculous.

See, Joba himself is not the problem. The problem is that the Yankees have a crap bullpen outside of Phil Coke and Mo. Without a reliable third arm in that pen, it won't matter how well Joba pitches, let alone any other Yankee starter. And we all know that Joba can be that third arm. So where does his true value to the team lie at this point? Anyone with a pulse should see that Joba's real value to the Yankees is in the pen. The Yanks would be a better team with an average starter and Joba in relief because the Yankees wouldn't be hanging their starters out to dry on a regular basis. Here, I'll even give Cashman a free piece of advice; Chuck James. 27 year-old free agent out of Atlanta. Three years with the team, went 24-19. Or if you want a vet, Paul Byrd is out there. Slot one of those guy at the 4 or 5 with a reliable pen and...wait, why do I care? Keep screwing up, guys. Makes it easier for Boston to thump you.

Well, now that Boston has hammered the faltering Yankees...again...it's back home for a pair against Cleveland. Tonight it's Masterson against one-time Boston prospect Carl Pavano. I remember back in the day when Boston traded for Pedro and the big issue was who to give up in return - Carl Pavano or Brian Rose. It was a huge discussion. Boston sent Pavano to Montreal, kept Rose and they both sucked. Though to be fair, Pavano's descent into suck-dom didn't happen for a few years. Rose pretty much fell off the cliff right away.

* Am I off-base here? Doesn't it make more sense for Bay to be behind Youk and give him some protection, as opposed to Drew making the easy out half the time? It just seems to me that you want Bay driving in those runs instead of being the first guy up in the second inning after Drew leaves runners at second and third to end the first.

Enjoying The Ride

I don't even know what to complain about anymore. The Red Sox keep winning, one way or another. The win streak now stands at 11, thanks to their 3-1 win over the Tribe last night on the warm banks of the Cuyahoga.

What was a pitchers' duel was broken open in the ninth inning thanks to the bat of Jason Bay, who's about as popular a player as there is in Boston these days. He has demonstrated a remarkable knack for getting the key hit in a game. Last night it was his three-run blast off one-time starting phenom Kerry Wood that made the difference. Bay is now batting .344 for the year and has a 1.211 OPS. If it wasn't for Youk's insanely hot start, Bay would be the front runner for Player of the Month.

Actually, here's a little comparison you may find interesting:

Jason Bay: 19 G .344 BA 1.211 OPS 5 HR 19 RBI

Player XXX: 19 G .342 BA 1.127 OPS 6 HR 20 RBI

Player XXX is Manny Ramirez over his first 19 games of 2008. The Sox have lost little if anything in the production they get from left field and have improved their defense. Trading for Jason Bay (provided Theo signs him to an extension, hint hint) may prove to be one of Theo's better moves in hindsight.

What was really enjoyable about last night's game was the starting pitching. A dual shut-out through eight innings and some fine pitching from both starters. But Tim Wakefield is going through a late-career Renaissance so far in 2009. In four games he has given up just six earned runs. He has allowed a total of nine hits in his last three games (23 innings total). Using the Bill James Game Score metric*, Wakes' performance last night is one of the 10 best pitching performances in the AL so far this year. It's a shame he didn't get the win last night (not that Delcarmen didn't deserve it). Wakefield is 2-1 on the year with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. By comparison, a certain expensive "ace" starting pitcher located in a rather large city is currently 1-2 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Now, is it fair of me to make that comparison this early in the year? Perhaps not...but who cares? The fact that a $4M per year knuckleballer is out-pitching Moneybags Sabathia is freaking hilarious.

There was some bad last night. Papelbon got his fifth save in an ugly fashion, giving up three hits and a run before locking it down. He has a tendency to do this from time to time. And that makes the emergence of Daniel Bard an interesting thing to watch. He is currently rolling in Pawtucket (3 SV, 1.69 ERA, 18 K, 3 walks) and he did the same in Portland last year. Bard gives every sign of being a reliable closer in the near future in the majors. If Papelbon continues to look shaky or demands too much money in free agency (which he insists he is going to try three years from now), do not be surprised to see Bard become the new closer for the Sox.

That was really the only bad spot. You can't hate on players for not hitting much when the opposing pitcher just has his groove going. And Papi went 2-4, making his re-emergence look more solid. Although a home run from his bat wouldn't hurt either.

But how much can I really complain? The Sox have won 11 in a row and are tied for first with two games in hand on the Jays. The Yankees are mired in third with a sub-.500 record. And so far I haven't caught the swine flu. Life is good!

First Pitch Strikes

I went into this expecting a low percentage because, let's be honest, not even the pitcher always knows where a knuckleball is going. Out of 27 batters, Wakefield got a first pitch strike/out on 15 of them. That is a 55.5% success rate. Normally, that is average at best. But with the knuckleball, that's a good number. If you are locating a knuckleball on over half of your initial pitches to batters, you have your stuff working that night. There are a lot of conventional pitchers that would love to have that kind of rate.

Next Game

April 28 / Away against Cleveland / Penny vs. Reyes / 7:05 PM : The undefeated Brad Penny, it should be noted.

* Here's how it works (from ESPN): Start with 50 points. Add 1 point for each out recorded, (3 points per inning). Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th. Add 1 point for each strikeout. Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed. Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed. Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed. Subtract 1 point for each walk.

In Wine, Truth

Joba Chamberlain is finding himself in a little more hot water because of that DUI arrest in October. Video has emerged in which Joba calls New Yorkers rude and bad drivers.

Of course, Joba might want to take a good, long, hard look at himself before calling someone else a bad driver. He had just been caught driving while intoxicated and with an open bottle of Crown Royal on the seat of his BMW. If ever there was a case of the pot calling the kettle black ...

But really, how big of deal is this? It's not like New Yorkers have never before been called rude or bad drivers -- though Joba should try driving around the streets of Boston some time -- that's all part of New York's charm.

To me, the bigger issue was the DUI. Let's just hope he's learned his lesson from that and make something positive come out of that awful decision.

Just A Coincidence?

The much anticipated release of Selena Roberts' Alex Rodriguez book has been delayed. According to the story, Roberts says she needs more time to complete the book. My gut tells me this is more about A-Rod being on the field when the book comes out. Something tells me if A-Rod had started the season healthy, the books would be hitting the shelves just in time for the Yankees' home opener.

One More Thing
The Yankees visited the White House on their off day Tuesday. Count on them making a return visit in the fall.

Today's Game
Chien-Ming Wang vs. Koji Uehara, 7:05 p.m., YES

The Yankees have a history of struggling against pitchers they have never faced. It will be interesting to see if that continues.