Tour De Melky

If asked at the beginning of the season whether the Yankees would need an upgrade in center field, many fans would have said yes.

But as the trading deadline passes Friday, center field was hardly a cause for concern and Sunday Melky Cabrera reminded us why.

Melky joined Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Bobby Mercer in Yankees lore by hitting for the cycle and leading the Yankees to an 8-5 victory over the White Sox in Chicago to snap a three-game skid and keep the Yankees in first in the AL East by a half-game over the Red Sox.

Melky became the first Yankee to hit for the cycle since Tony Fernandez in 1995 and joined DiMaggio ('48), Mantle ('57) and Murcer ('72) as Yankee center fielders to accomplish the feat.

Melky and Brett Gardner have given the Yankees such solid play in center this season that the thought of acquiring a more established center fielder wasn't even on Brian Cashman's radar at the trading deadline. All Melky's done a season after the Yankees had to demote him to Triple A is hit .292 with a career-high 10 homers, 40 RBI and 44 runs. Gardner is hitting .275 with three homers, 36 runs, 20 RBI and 20 steals.

In fact, the Yankees' biggest outfield concern has been the defensive play of their corner outfielders. Some that should be helped by Friday's trade for Jerry Hairston Jr.

But when Gardner was injured a little more than a week ago, there was concern about whether Melky would be exposed by having to play every day. All he's done in the eight games since Gardner was placed on the DL is go 10-for-28 with six extra-base hits.

Sunday Melky went 4-for-5 with four RBI, but before he could spark the offense with his stick, he had to get the team going with his leather. He made a terrific diving catch on a sinking line drive hit by Jermaine Dye for the second out of the first.

Melky then came up with the big blow to get the Yankees off to a fast start against Mr. Perfect, Mark Buehrle, who threw a perfect game against the Rays two starts ago.

After Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano singled with one out, Cabrera got his day off to a great start by crushing an 80 mph, first-pitch changeup into the stands in right for a 3-0 lead.

Buehrle (11-5, 3.79 ERA) was far from perfect on this day, lasting just 4-1/3 innings and allowing seven runs on 12 hits and one walk.

CC Sabathia was improved over his previous start, a loss to the Rays Tuesday in which he failed to go six innings, but he still had some trouble with his command and surrendered the lead in the third.

With one out, Scott Podsednik doubled and scored on Gordon Beckham's double. Dye then hammered and 86 mph, 2-and-1 changeup into the stands in right to tied it at 3. Jim Thome followed by crushing a 96 mph fastball into the stands in left.

Sabathia, though settled down after that, escaping a jam in the seventh before leaving after allowing Beckham to double leading off the eighth.

Sabathia (11-7, 3.95) ended up allowing five runs on 10 hits in 7+ innings. He struck out five and threw 71 of 100 pitches for strikes.

But with Melky leading the way, that deficit didn't last long. Melky led off the fourth with a double to right and went to third on Hairston's sacrifice bunt. Jose Molina brought in Cabrera to tie it a 4, went to second on Derek Jeter's single and came around to score on a single by Johnny Damon.

The Yankees wouldn't trail again as Melky and Hairston each singled in a run in the fifth to make it 7-4.

The White Sox pushed across their final run on the eighth when Carlos Quentin singled in Beckam against Mariano Rivera, but Melky got the run right back, hitting a triple with one-out in the ninth for the 15th cycle in Yankees history. He scored on Jeter's single to left.

After that Rivera took care of business, recording his 30th save of the season and 26th straight. He's pitches 18 consecutive scoreless innings.

But this day belonged to Melky.

Runners In Scoring Position
Sunday
6-for-17 (.353)
Season
258-for-988 (.261)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
42-for-169 (.249)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
193-for-716 (.270)
Vs. Red Sox
11-for-82 (.134)

Up Next
Tuesday at Jays, 7:07 p.m., YES
Andy Pettitte (8-6, 4.51) vs. Roy Halladay (11-4, 2.68)

Pettitte has not won since July 1 but has pitched well since coming out of the All-Star break. He has a tough task going against Halladay, who is 16-5 in his career against the Yankees. It will be interesting to see whether not being traded at the non-waiver deadline has any affect on Halladay.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

What do you do when your team is 3-7 in their last 10 games and in danger of falling far behind the AL East leaders? You get down on your knees and thank the MLB schedulers for putting three games in Baltimore on your calendar.

With a timely trade and a rejuvenated offense, the Sox swept through Baltimore. The highlight was the 18-10 victory yesterday afternoon.

The newest member of the Red Sox, Victor Martinez, has shown exactly what he will add to Boston's offense. He went 5-6 yesterday with a double and four RBI. Martinez adds a element of flexibility to the lineup that the Sox have not enjoyed this year. If Lowell needs a break, he can play first and Youk moves to third. If Papi needs a break he can bat in the DH slot. And if Varitek needs a day off, as he did yesterday, then Martinez can play catcher. And the benefit there is what it does to Boston's lineup as far as batting.

With Martinez catching, Boston has their catcher hitting third instead of seventh or eighth. It allows Youk to bat cleanup and Papi to bat fifth. It makes Mike Lowell, a guy hitting .300 with an OPS of .826, your seventh hitter. In this specific instance, Martinez makes the entire Boston lineup a lot more dangerous.

It also doesn't hurt that Jacoby Ellsbury is finally showing that he can be a steady, top-of-the-order hitter. Yesterday Ellsbury went 2-5 with two walks and scored four runs. He has had two or more hits in nine of his last ten games and has gotten on base in 10 straight games. In those 10 games Ellsbury has scored 12 runs and stolen seven bases. His batting average is up 16 points (.298 to .305) and his OBP has gone up 18 points (.337 to .355) over these last 10 games. This is what makes Ellsbury such an important part of Boston's future; combined with his stellar defense he contributes in all aspects of the game.

But Ellsbury isn't the only one who has caught fire. Pedroia has been hitting the ball with regularity. Youkilis has been on fire, boosting his average from .291 to .315 over the last seven games and raising his OPS to 1.002 (a 47 point jump) over the same span.

And how about the newbie? I had the pleasure of watching Josh Reddick play in Portland. He is Boston's top outfield prospect in their farm system and he's shown why that is over the past couple of games. He plays great defense and he can swing the stick. His solo shot in third is a testament to the fact that he has some pop. I would rather see him in right than J.D. Drew. He's another kid with a bright future in Boston.

The same cannot be said for Clay Buchholz, in my opinion. The fact that he couldn't go five innings after being staked to a 14-6 lead says more about where he is as a pitcher than anything else. He has all the tools to be a great pitcher; anyone who has seen Clay pitch over the past two years knows that. But he is as mentally soft as any pitcher I have seen take the mound in Boston since John Wasdin.

Buchholz made a huge stink about getting to the majors, about how he didn't deserve to be kept down in the Bucket. Now he gets his chance and wilts like a hothouse flower. He rolls his eyes when a fielder doesn't make a play. He hangs his head when a batter gets a big hit. He allows the mistakes of previous at-bats to affect how he pitches to the current batter. And now he's keeping everything up in the strike zone. Did anyone see that awesome curve of his on display yesterday? I sure didn't.

And the problem here is two-fold. Not only does Clay's ineffectiveness mean that Boston only has two effective starters right now (until Wakefield returns), but it also damages his trade value. I know we heard that Clay was included in multiple trade scenarios. But not being able to move him could end up being a big mistake. Every outing like this chips away at the image the Sox had crafted for Clay; that of the "sure thing". When the season opened, everyone in the majors considered Buchholz the Holy Grail of the Boston system. After yesterday's debacle, how many opposing GMs and scouts feel the same way? And if his next outing is the same, how many more will decide that Clay is the ultimate AAAA pitcher?

But let's focus on the good things right now. Like being only a half-game back of the Yanks and Takashi Saito sucking it up and pitching two awesome innings yesterday to try and spare the rest of the pen. And on the fact that the Boston batting order has become a lot more dangerous in the past 72 hours. The real test comes over the next week as Boston travels to both Tampa and New York. It's the AL East Rumble. Let's hope Boston is prepared for it.

Still On The Roller Coaster

A season that has been nothing but ups and downs is on yet another down swing.

A.J. Burnett had his first terrible start since that awful night in Boston in early June, the offense wasted scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity and the defense continued its recent stretch of shoddy play as the Yankees lost to the White Sox 14-4 in Chicago Saturday.

The Yankees have lost three straight and four of five, their lead in the AL East sliced to a half-game over the Red Sox.

When this team is playing well, it appears to be as dominant as any of its championship teams from the 1990s. But when it's playing poorly, you wonder if it would be able to beat the 1962 Mets -- and that's how poorly this team is playing right now.

The Yankees are suddenly getting poor pitching from both their starters and bullpen, are not hitting in the clutch (12-for-60, .200, with runners in scoring position on this trip), are not pounding out homers, are making poor decisions on the basepaths and are playing stupidly in the field. In short, they are doing nothing right.

This is the Yankees' fourth stretch of just miserable play this season and thing is that this team appears to need something to happen in order to stretch out a funk. Consider this:

• The Yankees lost five straight in early May and broke out of it only when
  Alex Rodriguez returned from the DL.


• They lost 9 of 13 in June and broke out of it when Joe Girardi finally got
  ejected from a game in Atlanta.


• A three-game sweep in Anaheim didn't grow into something larger only
  because of the All-Star break.

And with their AL East lead now razor thin and series against the Blue Jays and Red Sox coming up, the Yankees have to something soon to snap out of this slide.

“We looked pretty awful,” Jorge Posada said.

Pretty awful??? C'mon Jorge! Don't mince words here. The Yankees have looked flat-out awful.

Saturday Burnett just didn't have it. He allowed seven runs on 10 hits. Twice he walked the ninth-place hitter with bases loaded and in the second he surrendered the first of the two six-run innings in the Yankees allowed.

Phil Coke was miserable in the eighth allowing six runs in one-third of an inning as Chicago put the game away.

But no one had a good day. Derek Jeter committed a fielding error in the sixth and Joe Girardi failed to pinch hit for Cody Ransom in top half of the inning when the Yankees had runners on the corners and a chance to get back into the game. Just another failure for the offense, which went 2-for-13 with RISP.

Ideally, the best way to shake up this team would be for Brian Cashman to make a trade to bring in a legit major league pitcher to replace Sergio Mitre, but it doesn't appear that's going to happen anytime soon.

In fact, the Yankees have juggled their rotation and will pitch Mitre Wednesday in Toronto. Shoot me now! Why not just do what most normal teams would do with a day off Monday and skip that spot in the rotation?

Maybe Girardi will try getting tossed again. Better yet, maybe he can pull a Paul O'Neill on a water cooler. Do something, anything, please.

I'd hate to think it will take a brawl to snap this team out of it ... but you never know.

Runners In Scoring Position
Saturday
2-for-13 (.154)
Season
252-for-971 (.260)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
36-for-152 (.237)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
187-for-699 (.268)
Vs. Red Sox
11-for-82 (.134)

Up Next
Sunday at White Sox, 2:05 p.m., YES
CC Sabathia (10-7, 3.83 ERA) vs. Mark Buehrle (11-4, 3.45)

If the Yankees are going to have any chance today, Sabathia is going to have snap out of his recent poor stretch and be dominant. Even so, the offense is going to have a tough time against Buehrle.

Please, Please, Please, No More Mitre

Brian Cashman, consider this Exhibit A as to why you need to go out and get solid major league starter.

Spotted a three-run lead in the first inning, Sergio Mitre turned that lead into a deficit with one out in the second and was gone after the third, leaving a bullpen that is starting to show some signs of wear to fill six innings in a 10-5 loss to the White Sox in Chicago Friday.

It was the Yankees' second straight loss, dropping them to 2-3 on this nine-game trip and slicing their lead in the AL East to 1-1/2 games over the Red Sox.

Mitre was so bad, he had Yankee fans pining for the previous guy to wear No. 45 -- Carl Pavano. That's bad. He allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks in three innings.

“Terrible,” Mitre said. “I just wasn’t making good pitches. When I do give up hits, I usually throw a good sinker and get them to roll over. Today I just wasn’t able to make good pitches at all.”

Mitre just didn't have it. He struggled to put batters away, going to full counts on six of the 18 batters he faced. His pitches were up and he was hit hard with White Sox hitters getting his pitches in the air, a troublesome sign for a groundball pitcher such as Mitre, who got just three groundball outs.

And what's more troublesome is that he should have been able to relax in this game after the Yankees jumped all over spot starter D.J. Carrasco in the first inning.

Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon led off with singles before Mark Teixeira's double plated Jeter to make it 1-0. A groundout by Alex Rodriguez brought in Damon and Hideki Matsui made it 3-0 with a single.

Anytime this team jumps out to a 3-0 lead, that game should be a victory. But not when Mitre is on the mound. When Mitre pitches, instead of expecting at least six solid innings, the Yankees are hoping Mitre gives them five innings allowing no more than three runs. So much for having confidence in your starter.

Mitre got the first two outs in the bottom half, but facing the Sox's tough middle of the order, he came undone. Jim Thome and Paul Konerko singled before A.J Pierzynski's double made it 3-1.

The second inning was beyond awful. Jayson Nix led off with a walk, went to second on Chris Getz's single and then to third on Scott Podsednik's bunt single. Gordon Beckham brought in one run with a sacrifice fly to center and Thome made it 4-3 with a single.

Carlos Quentin homered to lead off the third, but even though Mitre managed to get through the rest of the inning with out another run scoring, Joe Girardi has seen enough and turned the game over to the bullpen.

The Yankees did tie it at 5 on Eric Hinske's two-run homer in the fifth, but six innings was just too much to ask for from a bullpen that didn't have Phil Hughes available.

David Robertson, who pitched a scoreless fourth gave up an RBI double to Quentin in the fifth. Jose Aceves, who last Saturday said he had a tired shoulder, pitched a perfect sixth but couldn't give Girardi another solid inning, allowing five runs in the seventh to snuff the Yankees' hopes of pulling out the win.

The thing is Girardi didn't have many choices there. We just don't know what we're going to get from Brian Bruney and Mark Melancon is an unproven rookie. I guess Girardi could have started testing Melancon, but that's not a guarantee things would have turned out differently or better.

But really, the Yankees' chances took their big hit with Mitre's start, which was so bad, they might as well have had Kei Igawa out there. Don't laugh. That just might happen.

“I’m not sure that we have a lot of options at this point,” Girardi said. “[Mitre's] got to get it done for us.”

Certainly they don't have any options presently within the organization. Prospect George Kontos is hurt and Ivan prospect hasn't taken Triple A by storm since his promotion.

That means once players clear waivers sometime today or Sunday, Cashman has to get on the phone to swing a deal. This team doesn't need another No. 1-type starter. It just needs someone solid, someone who won't force Cashman to give up the farm. Bronson Arroyo, Jon Garland, Brian Bannister. Someone of that ilk will fit the bill.

Get it done Cash, and get it done before the Yankees next need a fifth starter on Aug. 10 vs. the Blue Jays (I'm sure that with a day off Monday, the Yankees will skip Mitre on what would be his next start Thursday vs. the Red Sox).

Runners In Scoring Position
Friday
2-for-10 (.200)
Season
250-for-958 (.261)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
34-for-139 (.245)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
185-for-686 (.270)
Vs. Red Sox
11-for-82 (.134)

Up Next
Saturday at White Sox, 4:05, Fox
A.J. Burnett (10-4, 3.53 ERA) vs. John Danks (8-7, 3.89)

Burnett has been the Yankees' best pitcher since early June. He needs to come up with a big start and get the Yankees back on track.