Hey Yanks, Just Get It Done ... Tonight

Now that the Yankees have gotten the Blue Jays out of the way, it's on to business.

Nick Swisher homered to spark a four-run seventh and the Yankees rallied past the Jays 8-4 Wednesday in Toronto for their third straight victory to finish the trip at 5-4. The also moved 2-1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East with their big, four-game showdown set to begin tonight in the Bronx.

Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira had RBI singles in the seventh and Damon added a ninth-inning homer that allowed Joe Girardi to give Mariano Rivera a day off.

Sergio Mitre, of course, failed to give the Yankees five innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks in 4-1/3 innings before leaving with the team trailing, 3-2.

That forced Girardi to use his bullpen a bit with Alfredo Aceves (7-1, 3.58 ERA) pitching two innings, Phil Coke two-thirds of an inning, Phil Hughes one inning and David Robertson one inning. Hughes will not be available tonight, meaning Aceves or Coke likely will be called upon in the eighth.

But that's enough about last night. Now it's all about the Red Sox and one stat:

0-8

The Yankees are 14-5 since the All-Star break and have a nice lead in the division, but their inability to beat the Red Sox is hanging over this team and its fans, preventing us from truly feeling confident.

So, Yankees, it's time to get the job done. Go out there and take it to the boys from Beantown.

"We have to beat them at some point," Alex Rodriguez said. "This weekend is a good time to start."

Damn straight this weekend is a good time to start, but a few months ago would have been better.

In the eight games this season, the Yankees have been outhit, outpitched, outplayed and outmanaged despite entering each of the previous three series on hot streaks.

It's time to change that, and it starts tonight with Joba Chamberlain (7-2, 3.58) facing John Smoltz (2-4, 7.12).

This game is the key to this series.

Joba quite simply has been the best pitcher in baseball since the All-Star break, going 3-0 with a 0.83 ERA and 0.74 WHIP in his three starts.

But in order for him validate this stretch, he needs to go out there and beat the Sox tonight. A win would show he can out there against the best teams in baseball and stop them cold.

He needs to go out and just get it done.

Also, Smoltz is no longer that Cy Young-caliber pitcher he was in the 1990s and early part of this decade. He has been no more than a six-inning pitcher at-best. The Yankees' bats need to take advantage of this match up and give Joba at least a little help.

"You want to get that zero, that goose egg out of there," Girardi said. "We're going to be asked about that goose egg as long as it's there, so you want to get that out of the way as soon as possible."

Get that first win and you just sense the Yankees will be poised to do a lot of damage to the Sox, who are 8-10 since the break, haven't taken a series against a team over .500, may have had their confidence shaken and appear to have lost their swagger.

The thing is the Yankees and their fans can't get too wrapped up in the Red Sox's troubles. They always seem to be able to pick up their game against the Yankees, no matter how poorly they had been playing before hand. Count on the Sox playing well, which means the Yankees must match their intensity and pick up their play, too.

But, if they get that first win tonight, you just sense the Yankees will be the team with mojo that carries it through the next three games with A.J. Burnett (10-5, 3.89) going up against Josh Beckett (13-4, 3.27) Friday, CC Sabathia (11-7, 3.89) facing Clay Buchholz (1-1, 6.05) Saturday and Andy Pettitte (9-6, 4.35) taking on Jon Lester (9-7, 3.79) Sunday.

Get that first win tonight and you just sense the Yankees will take at least three of four and seize control of the division.

But the Yankees have the get that first win tonight.

They have to go out and just get it done ... tonight.

Runners In Scoring Position
Wednesday
4-for-9 (.444)
Season
263-for-1,001 (.263)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
47-for-182 (.258)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
198-for-729 (.272)
Vs. Red Sox
11-for-82 (.134)

Up Next
Thursday vs. Red Sox, 7:05 p.m., NESN, local TV (check your listings)

Bad Mojo

After this two-game debacle in Tampa, does any Boston fan feel confident going into the Bronx?

Me neither.

It isn't a betrayal of the team to realize that things have changed since last the Sox and Yankees met. The Yankees have looked dominant since the All-Star break, while the Sox are 8-10 and have yet to beat a team with a record over .500 in that span. And while the Yankee pitching staff is looking solid, the Boston rotation is looking very, very thin.

The past two games in Tampa have just reinforced that point. Boston has two reliable arms right now in Lester and Beckett. The team is all but duty-bound to win when those two guys are on the mound because it's a crap shoot the rest of the way right now. And after Boston blew their Lester start in Tampa, did anyone really think they would win last night?

Me neither.

Penny barfed up four runs in the first three innings and five over his six innings of work. And by that point the Sox were buried. And while the offense deserves a little blame for not teeing off on a struggling David Price, when you are down four runs it changes the way you approach the game. It favors the opposing pitcher and Price took advantage of that dynamic.

But is this anything surprising. As much as the Sox have dominated the Yankees to this point in 2009, so have the Rays dominated the Red Sox. Boston is 4-8 against the Rays in 2009, although it feels like it should be 0-12. Boston rarely seems to have an answer to whatever the Rays throw at them.

But this is just symptomatic of a larger problem for Boston, which has been their relative ineffectiveness in the second half of the season. It's all well and good when the Sox tee off on the Orioles, but Texas thrashed them with ease. Toronto and Oakland, two very beatable teams, made Boston look as mediocre as they are. And Tampa just looked better.

So how will Boston look in the Bronx for four games?

Well, we know that Smoltz will pitch a game...God help us all. Either Buchholz or a mystery pitcher (Paul Byrd?) will throw a game. We are lucky in that both Lester and Beckett are throwing, and the Sox must win those two games. That's all I am hoping for at this point; a split. If the Sox don't lose any ground we should fall to our knees and praise the deity of our choice because it will be a god-damned miracle.

Boston's woes are tied to their pitching now, which is funny considering the problems they had with offense earlier. But their much-vaunted pitching depth was extinguished quickly with an injury to Wakefield, the completely out-of-shape Daisuke going on the DL and Buchholz proving he is still a headcase. I wish those rumors for both Cliff Lee and V-Mart coming to Boston had been true; it would have completely changed the look of the team. As it is, we have to hope and pray Theo can get something done on the waiver wire. Boston is not a playoff team right now. Hell, the way they are playing right now they would be lucky to finish the year in third place in the AL East.

Boston's 8-0 lead in this series means nothing now. The Yanks and Sox are in different places, heading in different directions. It is imperative that Boston splits in the Bronx. Otherwise, New York's lead heading into the stretch will be near insurmountable. And does anyone think that Boston, the way they are right now, could make up a five or six game deficit?

Me neither.

Pettitte Gets His Just Reward

Andy Pettitte couldn't help but be frustrated.

Despite pitching very well since the All-Star break, all he had to show for his efforts was a loss and two no-decisions. In fact, he hadn't earned a victory since July 1.

But he also knew that if he continued to pitch well, his luck would turn around, and Tuesday he got his just reward.

Pettitte outdueled Roy Halladay through 6-2/3 innings and the Yankees' offense hit three homers off Halladay late in a 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto. New York is now 1-1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East and guaranteed to be in first when the two begin a four-game series in New York Thursday.

Pettitte (9-6, 4.35 ERA) has regained command of his cutter in his four starts since the All-Star break, going 1-1 with a 2.36 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 29 strikeouts spanning 26-2/3 innings. Take out the four runs he allowed in the seventh inning of a loss to the A's and his ERA is 1.03.

That's spectacular, but the Yankees had gone only 1-2 in Pettitte's three starts previous to Tuesday. And facing Halladay, there was fear that Pettitte could pitch brilliantly again, only to come away with nothing to show for his effort.

The offense, though, got some help and jumped out to an early lead against the former Cy Young Award winner.

Johnny Damon hit a one-out single and came around to score on Alex Rodriguez's two-out double. Rodriguez scored when Halladay couldn't handle the throw from first baseman Kevin Millar on Hideki Matsui's tapper to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

After that both pitchers settled in. Pettitte allowed a run in the fourth on Alex Rios' sacrifice fly to right to make it 2-1. He came out with two outs in the seventh after Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-out double and Rod Barajas walked after falling behind 0-and-2. Phil Hughes struck out Jose Bautista to escape the jam.

Pettitte ended up allowing just the one run on four hits and four walks. He struck out six, but threw just 57 of 103 pitches for strikes -- call him effectively wild.

Halladay, meanwhile, cruised after the first until there were two outs in the eighth. That's when the Yankees' bats started to pound him.

First Damon got a hold of a hanging curve and deposited it into the bullpen in right. Mark Teixeira followed by crushing a cutter that didn't cut into the right field stands to make it 4-1. A-Rod grounded out to end the inning, but Matsui led off the ninth with a homer to dead center.

It was second time this season the Yankees have hit three homers in a game against Halladay, who entered the game with a 16-5 career record against the Bombers. Halladay ended up pitching a complete game, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits. He struck out five and threw 75 of 103 pitches for strikes.

In the Yankees' last two games against Halladay -- both wins -- they have scored 10 runs on 19 hits, including six homers. Halladay (11-5, 2.75), meanwhile, is just 1-7 in his last eight starts.

The Jays pushed across two runs to make it close in the eighth, when Hughes allowed leadoff singles to Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill before striking out Adam Lind and Millar. Joe Girardi then decided to bring in Mariano Rivera for a four-out save.

The first batter Rivera faced was Vernon Wells, who entered the at-bat with a .313 batting average against Mo. Wells laced a double to left to drive in two to make it 4-3 before Rios grounded out to end the inning. Rivera then got through a shaky ninth for his 31st save and 27th in a row.

Mo has 114 career saves of more than one inning. The next closest reliever since 1995 is Keith Foulke, who has 55. He also has 100 saves in his last 103 opportunities going back to 2007.

But Girardi has to be careful here. Rivera's command was not sharp Tuesday as he allowed three hits and threw just 15 of 26 pitches for strikes. Every August he goes through a little bit of a tired period during which he is just not as effective as he normally is.

Mo's command issues Tuesday may be an indication he is entering that period. Girardi should take the conservative route right now, get him rest and not use him for more than one inning at a time for couple of weeks.

But Mo was good enough Tuesday and got Pettitte a much deserved win.

Runners In Scoring Position
Tuesday
1-for-4 (.250)
Season
259-for-992 (.261)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
43-for-173 (.249)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
194-for-720 (.269)
Vs. Red Sox
11-for-82 (.134)

Up Next
Wednesday at Jays, 7:07 p.m., YES
Sergio Mitre (1-0, 7.90) vs. Marc Rzepczynski (1-2, 3.25)

Mitre??? As the Yankees try to complete the trip by going 5-4???? No! No! No! No! No! Watching tonight's game will like going through the night before undergoing a colonoscopy after taking the stuff to ... umm ... clean out your system. Sorry to be so graphic, but watching Mitre pitch is sickening. Can someone please get Hal Steinbrenner to loosen up the purse strings a little bit so that Brian Cashman can go out and get a legitimate major league pitcher?

A Push For The King

Looking back over the trade deadline, the stories are coming out that Boston made several strong plays for elite players. The ones for Halladay and Adrian Gonzalez are well known. But there is one name no one considered at the time.

The revelation that the Sox pushed hard for Seattle's Felix Hernandez isn't all that surprising. After all, the Sox still need a reliable third pitcher in their rotation. No, what was surprising was the talent they offered Seattle in the deal.

Boston offered the Mariners any five players from a list of eight. They were:

• Clay Buchholz
  
• Daniel Bard
  
• Justin Masterson
  
• Nick Hagadone
  
• Michael Bowden
  
• Felix Doubront
  
• Josh Reddick
  
• Yamaico Navarro
  

That list (at the time) represents three MLB pitchers, a top 20 pitcher in the Boston system, and the #4, #12, #2 and #10 prospects that are still in the Boston system. That is a remarkable offer.

Seattle turned down the deal because they think they can get a similar deal in the off-season or in 2010. They control Felix until the end of the 2011 season, so I would wager they are right. It may come down a slight bit considering that another team would get two years instead of two-and-a-half, but Seattle will get a boatload of talent in return.

And King Felix is worth the haul. Only 23 years old, he has lowered his ERA each of the last four years. He has never thrown less than 190 innings in a season and has a career strikout K/BB ratio of 2.83. This year Hernandez is 12-4 with a 2.78 ERA. He hasn't even entered his prime yet. Oh, and he can hit triple digits on his fastball. People talk about him becoming the best pitcher in the game...and it isn't hype.

So, in looking at the list we know that Masterson and Hagadone are out since they left in the trade for Martinez. Reddick may be on display with his outings in Baltimore, but I think that would be a mistake by Boston. He is the right-fielder of the future for this franchise. So maybe this is what a new list would look like:

• Clay Buchholz
  
• Daniel Bard
  
• Lars Anderson
  
• Stephen Fife
  
• Michael Bowden
  
• Felix Doubront
  
• Ryan Kalish
  
• Yamaico Navarro
  

Anderson would take the place of Masterson and is expendable with the addition of Martinez to the roster and other 1B prospects in system. Fife is a comparable arm to Hagadone and Kalish is another solid outfield prospect. So this list would offer two major-league ready pitchers in addition to the #3, #16, #4, #12, #9 and #10 prospects in Boston's deep farm system. Giving the Mariners five of these players would be more than sufficient for the services of Felix Hernandez in 2010.

And if that came to pass, you would see a rotation in Boston come April of 2010 that would start Beckett, Lester and Hernandez. There is no other team in the majors that could match that trio.

Keep in mind that Boston has the talent to make up the losses from this list. If Anderson goes, they have Rizzo. If Fife, Bowden and/or Doubront go, they still have Tazawa, Stolmy Pimentel and Casey Kelly. If Ryan Kalish goes the Sox have Che-Hsuan Lin or Ryan Westmoreland. And if Navarro was selected, the Sox have just-signed Cuban defector Jose Iglesias to fill the gap. This is the advantage a team gains with a deep farm system, the ability to make a move to win now while still being able to build for the future.

If I had my way, I'd add J.D. Drew to that list and offer to pay 100% of his remaining salary just to get him the hell out of here.

Look for Boston and Seattle to revisit these talks in the off-season.