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Yanks money pot goes dry, unable to pickup pitcher at deadline
CHICAGO – The countdown was on to three o’clock on Friday afternoon as the baseball trade deadline was winding down.
Cliff Lee was already gone from Cleveland to Philadelphia. Jarrod Washburn was earlier in the day traded from Seattle to Detroit. While in Toronto, Blue Jays General Manager JP Riccardi was trying to hold pitcher Roy Halladay up in exchange for the GDP of some small country.
The Yankees, in need of a starting pitcher, appeared to search far and wide for an answer to their rotation situation that at least was helped by the early second half performances of Joba Chamberlain and Andy Pettitte. They were beginning to reach a point where Chamberlain’s innings are going to have to be restricted due to the innings limit the team has on him this year.
The team needed a starter and if they really think Sergio Mitre is going to be the answer, someone may want to go and chase Kei Igawa from the minors.
The deadline came and no pitcher showed up on the team’s doorstep. For the last week, you heard reports that the Yankees finances were on shaky ground. That they had reached their limit in terms of spending and could not take on any more money. The contract given out to Mark Teixeira being the last big money deal the team could take on. Even the economy and the recession had brought down even the biggest spender of them all.
You want to know how bad it is? The Yankees and Royals had agreed to a trade in which right-hander Brian Bannister would from Kansas City to New York. The problem was that the Yanks were asking that Kansas City to pay the remaining $650,000 on his contract through the end of the season. The Royals said “no”, and the deal was off.
Just three weeks prior, the team has executed a similar deal with the Pirates for utility man Erik Hinske where they forced the Pirates to pay the remaining $400,000.
Suddenly, it’s the Yankees needing bailouts as if they are the car industry.
If we know anything now, it’s that with the current economic climate, the cap the team will spend is around $206 million. Not a penny more. If Hal Steinbrenner had his way, the payroll would likely be 30% less. This is an admirable position to take after all these years of grotesque spending. But in a year where they are in prime position to chase after and gain that World Series that has eluded them since 2000, playing tonight’s game with baseball’s best record, all they can muster to the mound was Sergio Mitre.
Sure, he did well in his first start, got away with some mistakes in the second and nearly avoided disaster.
Tonight, he showed why the Yankees were trying to avoid from bringing him up a month ago in Minnesota and had to rely on Alfredo Aceves out of the bullpen as a spot starter, who coincidentally has not pitched well and complained of shoulder pain ever since.
No team with a payroll as high as the Yankees should ever have Mitre starting games, unless it is a doubleheader. Even then, that is debatable.
The price for Halladay was too high because not only did the Blue Jays make it that high, but the $20 million owed to him ($5.75 million this year) was going to be something the Yankees can take on right now.
You are probably laughing and thinking to yourself how is it that the richest team in baseball can suddenly run out of money. Unfortunately, a combination of less than expected profits coming from sponsors and other advertisers. Also, the fact that they had to discount their tickets by as much as 50% in some sections, and give away remaining unsold tickets to their current ticket plans holders have brought down revenue.
Don’t get me wrong, the team is still hemorrhaging money from their new palace. At $10 a beer and enough for parking, they are getting away with the sports version of murder. However, what would be hefty profit for other teams is going back into paying Teixeira that $180 million to play great first base, hit bombs and drive in runs.
They make a lot and they spend a lot. Now the two have collided and it’s the Yankees waiting for when significant money can be cleared from payroll this winter.
For now, until further notice, the team has to deal with Mitre. His night would be short lived, going only three innings, giving up a 3-0 first inning lead and charged with five runs and seven hits while throwing 75 pitches to get nine outs.
He had nothing, and the team was powerless to do anything. No one was going to come to the rescue to bail him or the team out. They would have to make do with they have and find a creative way to get through these last month of the season and simply hold their breath that a career long injury prone pitcher (Burnett) holds up. A pitcher (Sabathia) who was thrown 513 innings the last two years doesn’t wear down. A 23-year-old pitcher who is being put on a limit (Chamberlain) has the team creatively get him through the season within “parameters”. And then hope that Andy Pettitte, at his advanced age, can get through the season without showing serious decline.
As currently constructed, they can win a five or seven game with that front four starting and closing a series. The question right now, can the team win enough games to get to October having to hold their breath once every five days?
They can hope for waiver wire deal and hope to land a pitcher much like Boston did last season with Paul Byrd, but the percentages on that happening are very slim.
With Mitre out there, it now becomes a situation where you cross your fingers and toes and pray the night before hoping he doesn’t get rocked.
Offense baffled by Floyd, grab some bench
CHICAGO – Perhaps I can blame the lack offensive functionality on the late arrival to Chicago after leaving St. Petersburg.
Word has it that the Yankees arrived at 3 AM, which would have left only 16 hours of turnaround time to get ready for their game Thursday night with the White Sox.
Either that or they simply never read the scouting report of starter Gavin Floyd.
Whatever it was, a combination of lack of sleep and lack of attention mix in with Floyd pitching arguably the game of his life to this point in his career were all contributors to the snooze fest that was the Yankee offense for 7 2/3 innings against him.
It appeared that there was not that much of a plan going him. Noticing closely, the offense has done a unique job of “rope-a-doping” over the first three innings before their trained veteran eyes clue in on what to look for.
On this night, it did not happen.
One by one, they would go back to the bench, either by ground out of fly out and many others would look at called third strikes. Perhaps the home plate umpire was expanding the zone an extra inch or two, but the same courtesy was given to Andy Pettitte as well.
Seven Yankee hitters of the ten who struck out last night while Floyd was on the mound went down looking. That tells you one of three things.
1. The team didn’t get enough rest.
2. The game called by catcher AJ Pierzynski was an unmitigated success
3. They were simply confused.
Now, while I am probably giving as much credit to Floyd’s performance as I probably should, I am not one into praising the opposition without looking my own team first.
That’s just the way it works here.
Only three times did a Yankee hitter work the count to 3-2 and two of those were accomplished by Nick Swisher, who struck out both of those times (three in the game, before hitting the tying home run in the ninth).
The two best swings of the night came from Jose Molina and Melky Cabrera, who each laced doubles into left center. Johnny Damon drove in the Yanks first run with a single, but outside of that, there was not much to be had.
Through Floyd’s first 50 pitches, only 30 were for strikes. However, it was in the middle innings where he began to find a groove, consistently throwing first pitch strikes and forcing hitters to commit to swing early. It took them completely out of their gameplan of wearing down a pitcher and getting him out of there after six innings. Most teams in the league look very strong when they can hand the ball from their starting pitcher to their top reliever without anyone else getting involved.
Don’t think White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen didn’t know that as kept his starter into the eighth inning last night. Yet, in this case, you give credit where it’s due sometimes and the kid pitched a hell of game.
He should have gotten the win, but with two outs in the ninth, Floyd saw the team blow their sixth game for him this season when Swisher turned around Matt Thornton’s fastball for a home run.
It was not sustainable offense. In the few chances they had to make something happen, they were unable to get that big hit.
Over the course of a season, you will have those things. They usually even themselves out eventually.
As they have this year.
Poor defense, Wise walk-off hit, beat Yanks in ninth
CHICAGO – Having a great defense can usually make the difference between winning and losing.
For the most part, the Yankees have been among the league best teams fielding the ball and that is part of the reason they have catapulted to the best record. Unfortunately, last night lapses on defense that led to their eventual defeat last night in Chicago.
Phil Coke gave up a walk-off hit to centerfielder DeWayne Wise (who was hitting .185 going into the at bat) on a single back up the middle to give the White Sox a 3-2 win in front of 31,305 at US Cellular Field. This made a loser of Phil Hughes (4-3), who was charged for his first run in 21 innings (spanning 16 appearances) the team will look back on the seventh inning where the game where they nearly gave the game away.
The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Andy Pettitte was pitching one of his best games of the season. Fielding a slow groundball in between home and first base, Pettitte slipped on the grass and allowed him to reach with no outs. After striking out Paul Konerko, Pettitte appeared to have an inning ending double play when Alex Rodriguez was unable to cleanly field a hard hit grounder to his left. 
Joe Girardi came to the mound to end Pettitte’s night and gave the ball to Hughes to also look to have induced an inning ending 6-4-3 double play. However, Robinson Cano’s relay to first base pulled Mark Teixeira off the bag and allowed Thome to score the go-ahead run to make it 2-1.
Pettitte on the night pitched 6 1/3 innings, yielding only five hits and two runs (one earned), walking one and striking out eight.
He was upstaged by White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, who has been inconsistent for most the year, but has found his groove as of late. The Yankee offense rarely got good swings against the right-hander and most times were on the wrong end of the strikeout.
Floyd dealt 7 2/3 innings of ball, giving up only four hits and a run, walking just one while striking out ten (seven looking) and leaving to standing ovation from the crowd.
Chicago grabbed the game’s first run in the third inning when rookie third baseman Gordon Beckham laced an RBI double into the left field corner, scoring Chris Getz. It would remain 1-0 into the sixth when the Yankees tied the score and got their only run off Floyd.
Jose Molina led off with a ground rule double to left center. Derek Jeter lined out, but Johnny Damon picked him up with an RBI single to right to bring Molina home with the game-tying run.
After Matt Thornton relieved Floyd, he gave up a single to Damon before striking out Teixeira swinging to end the frame. In the ninth, he struck out both Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui for the first two outs. 
Former White Sox Nick Swisher came to the plate, having struck out all three times on the night and continuously booed in every plate. He fell behind in the count 0-1, and then was as able to connect on a 96 MPH fastball from Thornton and drill it over the wall in the left for a home run (17th) to tie the game.
Hughes stayed in to pitch the ninth and with one out in the bottom half, Jim Thome singled to center, followed up by a single by Konerko. Girardi made the change and called on Phil Coke to face lefties AJ Pierzynski and Wise.
Coke got Pierzynski to fly out to center and could not advance the runner. Scott Podsednik pinch run for Thome and when Wise’s single was not gloved or knocked down by the left-hander in time as it went through the middle, scoring Podsednik and giving the White Sox the win.
The Yankees (62-40) saw their lead in the AL East drop to 2 1/2 games over the Red Sox. While Boston begins a series at Baltimore this weekend, the Yanks play three more in Chicago. On Friday night, Sergio Mitre takes the ball against White Sox lefty Clayton Richard.
Once again, the blog will be on location this weekend for my birthday as I will be at US Cellular Field for the four game series between the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox.
As I do with my Red Sox and Mets editions, I will be providing you a complete recap of each game, including a column.
4 days. 4 games. 4 recaps. 4 columns.
It's birthday weekend in Chicago and the Yankees are in town.
Can't be that.
Clubs looking to push their team to playoffs at deadline
HOT STOVE - There are two times during the baseball year I look forward to ever 12 months.
One is the baseball winter meetings, when teams think that with a few nice deals, they can position themselves in a good spot for the upcoming season.
The other is right now as we countdown to the July 31 trade deadline. Here, teams are looking for (in their minds) those final few pieces that they need to acutely equip their team to either make a playoff run. In other cases, to help bolster their roster, (which is good already) with a player or who that might help win a playoff game and be a worthy contributor to a potential World Series team.
It is the baseball version of Texas Hold’em as teams decide if they need to “buy”, “fold”, “hold”, or go “all in” as a means of getting into that October tournament.
We have played just over half of the season and the categories of each team can be placed in separate divisions not to be confused with the current divisions they are in now.
SEE YOU IN OCTOBER!
Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies
TRIPLES ALLEY
St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels
IT MIGHT BE, IT COULD BE
Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins
DOING ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY EXISTENCE
Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves
IN THE DOGHOUSE
Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles
BACK TO THE MINORS
Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians
That is how I have classified each squad. When you go further than that, you then have to separate the teams by category.
The teams at this point in the year fall into one of three categories:
1. We know were good, we just need some tweaking.
Teams in this category: Dodgers, Red Sox, Phillies, Yankees
2. We're middle of the road. If we make some moves, we can win because everyone else stinks.
Teams in this category: The entire AL and NL Central, Giants, Rockies, Rangers and Angels
3. We are not that good, so why bother? However, we have a few players can we can trade to that other teams might want.
Teams in this category: Indians, Braves, Mariners
4. We have the FOR SALE sign outside our ballpark because we just stink and the season has gone to hell.
Teams in this category: Mets
5. We know we stink and have some good players, but we are not trading unless we get the equivalent of a Herschel Walker trade. Even then, you must be willing to eat some extra salary – and that STILL might not be enough.
Teams in this category: Nationals, Padres, Athletics, Blue Jays
So there you have the field. Now go try dealing with them. It's not as easy as it would seem. The problem is that the way baseball has been structured over the last 7 years with all the new revenue is that teams are able to keep their own players by signing them to deals that keep them off the free agent and trade markets. 
With less trade options and free agents, you end up with the situations liker right now where second tier players command more than they are worth because the team holding such player can demand whatever they want because there is no other option.
The other extreme is what you see in Toronto where the Blue Jays are openly shopping Roy Halladay, baseball's best pitcher. But they are finding the market for him is open to a few expensive clubs that not only have to have the money to take on for this and the next year, along with giving them your three best minor league prospects. Having good players allows them to have a great impact on your club at minimal cost, thus preventing you from having to search for it elsewhere, spending good money to find that player.
Yet teams, as a way to justify to their fans that they are “going for it”, attempt to make these moves (or non-moves) to give their fans the impression that they are competing for a playoff spot. Last year, it appeared the Yankees were big winners at the deadline when they traded four prospects to the Pirates for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, and then traded for Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez.
Everything looked good for the team to make a playoff run. Unfortunately, it did not work out. The pitching issues that were in place all season plagued the team along with the inconsistent nature of its offense. Add to it, Nady never performed like the .330 hitter he was in Pittsburgh. Marte could not get anyone out for the last nine weeks, and Rodriguez could not buy a hit or an RBI no matter how much money he was willing to pay.
The Yankees did not make the playoffs and were in essence, out of it in September rendering all the trades moot. None of the players they gave up have had a meaningful impact on the Pirates, so in the end, it did hurt as much.
Compare that to the Milwaukee Brewers, who traded for ace CC Sabathia by giving up two of their best hitting prospects. Sabathia helped the team make the postseason, only to flame out due to over usage and two months later, signed with the Yankees.
Was that a bad deal? Well, it did help Milwaukee reach the playoffs for the first time in 25 years and they have reaped the benefits by having spectacular attendance this season. Business wise, it was a sound decision.
And that is what teams have to face. Even with the economy playing a daily role in day-to-day transactions, (the Yankees recently had the Pirates pay half of Eric Hinske’s $800,000 contract) and their ability to consider even acquiring costly talent, teams have to make sure they make the right decision.
The problem is what is the right decision?
In a league where 19 of its 30 teams are still within several games of a playoff spot, not many teams are throwing in the towel and announcing a fire sale as you would see in years past. Those days are just about over.
Because of that volume of teams thinking they are in it, competing teams in the same position are not going to make any deals with each other. The very good teams have no reason to trade unless it is to their benefit. And the bad teams do not have many worthy players worth asking for.
For instance, outside of Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson (Ryan Zimmerman is not available, so don’t ask), there is not one player on that roster that would start right this moment on either the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers. Add to it, they do not have a pitcher good enough to make the rotation or the bullpen.
Zach Duke of the Pirates may be the only pitcher on their staff that can pitch for a good team. After seeing the volume of their other starters/relievers that have been traded, only to have them flame out due to facing higher quality competition
And if you are a bad team, who the hell do you have that anyone else would want any way?
This is why the Mets, as bad as things are for them right now, are hit the worst. Because of the construction of their team, they don’t have any spare parts that can be traded away. Anyone is reasonably good (outside of David Wright) is on the disabled list. Surely, they could have traded JJ Putz or maybe even John Maine had they been healthy and received a good value.
Other teams like the Blue Jays, have several bad contracts on their ledger and no team is silly enough to take them on. After giving reliever BJ Ryan $45 million, they were forced to release him last week.
Scott Rolen is signed to an $11 million contract for next year, which actually isn’t bad considering that he has shown to once again be a durable player who can produce. Unfortunately, they will not find any (who have sense) takers for centerfielder Vernon Wells, who is signed for another five years and $94 million through 2014. Perhaps if a team was willing to take on that contract, you can get a bit of a discount when it comes to getting Halladay.
The Phillies appear to be the leaders for the right hander’s services, but are unwilling to surrender their top level minor league talent. Surely, acquiring him would put the defending world champions in a position to become the first repeat champion since the 1998-2000 Yankees. But at what cost?
So as we count the days until July 31, rumors will swirl from all over on different deals and 99% percent of them will be false. Message boards and talk radio will be littered with thought on what their team should do and how they can get Player X for whatever combination of players that it takes. Most times, it’s a deal that always seems to work in their teams favor.
That is the fun of it. 
While were at this, I’ll chime in with a few random trade thoughts….
After passing on Raul Ibanez, Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn in order to sign Milton Bradley, who has come down with a serious case of Cub-itis, the Chicago National League baseball team now needs another hitter who is left handed that can hit.
Bargains are not around right now unless you are willing to spend, and with the new ownership situation not settled, there is a freeze on the money the Cubs have available to use.
They have locked themselves into bad contracts with all three of their outfielders along with having Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee under contract. The only position where they can get this player would be at second base.
Problem is that middle of the order second baseman are a premium because they rarely exist. Chase Utley, Robinson Cano and Brian Roberts are not walking through that door.
It would seem logical that the San Francisco Giants get a hitter. They have the best pitching in the league and are in a close race with division rival Colorado for the wildcard.
If they can swing a deal for the Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios or Scott Rolen, it would be a tremendous boost.
While the Phillies have been the team most likely to trade for Halladay, I am still going to bet my money on St. Louis getting him. 
They have an open year to win the NL Central with the Cubs stumbling along; there is an opening to sneak into the playoffs despite having a relatively young team surrounding Albert Pujols.
A rotation of Halladay, to go along with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainright in a playoff series would give them just as good a chance as the Dodgers or Phillies to get to the World Series.
I did find it a bit funny that some scribes had the Texas Rangers as a potential landing spot too. Of course, this was the same team that could not make their payroll three weeks ago and had to borrow money from MLB. All of it was reminiscent of scene in Major League II when Owner Roger Dorn couldn’t meet payroll seven weeks into the season and had to sell the team back to former owner Rachel Phelps.
Word of the wise to any big market team needing relief pitching - Do NOT trade for relief pitchers who are on bad teams. The success rate of these guys going to Boston, New York, Chicago or Philadelphia and performing well are historically low.
You go from pitching with no pressure to a pennant race and all of a sudden, excessive nervous and lack of fortitude leads to eventual and inevitable failure.
Torre, Dodgers back on top, seeking first World Series since '88
LOS ANGELES - There is no shortage of talented players, both young and old walking around the clubhouse wearing Dodger uniforms.
Add in some direction, focus and a little bit of good fortune (which could be a code word for “over performance”) and it adds up to a squad that is quite possibly the best team in baseball today.
Nothing better summarized the Los Angeles Dodgers season better than what took place at Chavez Ravine last night in the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.
With the scored tied at two and the bases loaded, Manager Joe Torre called on Manny Ramirez to pinch hit. Ramirez was unable to play due to a sore wrist that he injured being hit by a pitch the previous night and was ruled as "day to day" by the team. However, the Dodgers mentally enigmatic slugger told Torre that he had enough strength to pinch hit. At best, the new reliever the Reds were going to bring in there was not going to have good enough control and would allow Manny to draw a walk, thus never having to take the bat off his shoulder.
Instead, what followed was something only written in mythical fiction books. On a 2-1 pitch, Ramirez connected with a shot to left field into what is now his own personal section, better known as Mannywood for a grand slam to give the Dodgers a 6-2 lead and eventual victory.
The crowd had seen him gone for 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance. At the time he left, Los Angeles had the best record in the league. When he returned three weeks ago in San Diego, his team still had the best record and found new stars along the way. The fans waited for his arrival and gave him a hero’s welcome. Now, back at home where the stadium plays "I Love LA” after every victory, Dodger fans are partying again. Having a good time and going as crazy now then at any point the entire season.
It has been a season full of fun.
Last year, Torre and the Dodgers hovered slightly over .500 for the first four months of the season. They never were able to gain firm footing and always seem to be a few losses away from falling into quick sand.
On July 31, the team, the franchise and the city would be completely altered. They were able to be a part of a three-way trade with the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates that landed them Ramirez. Not only did they get him, but also the Red Sox were willing to pay him his remaining 2008 salary, in essence, they acquired him free of charge.
The “Manny Being Manny” show was now heading out to Hollywood and with him playing the star role; he guided the Dodgers to the NL West title. In the Division Series, they upset the heavily favored Chicago Cubs in a sweep to advance to the League Championship Series.
While they would lose to the eventual world champion Philadelphia Phillies, Ramirez had made the Dodgers relevant again. Along the way, the young players whom they had been developing the last few seasons, with help of their new wild-child left fielder, began to establish themselves as valuable contributors and potential.
Ramirez is symbolic of how great the Dodgers are when he is there. What it also shows is that the team around him is tremendous in every facet, showing rare flaws that would only be nit picking. And a pitching staff, that while led by two youngsters, is greater than the sum of its parts.
Whether all of this leads to the Dodgers returning to the World Series and capturing their first title since they upset the highly favored Oakland Athletics 4-1 is to be determined. There is a long way to go before that is decided and their main competition; the Phillies are still the defending world champions until further notice. However, all signs point to this being their best chance to get back to the Fall Classic in two decades.
Try navigating through their lineup four times a night and hope that you come out alive. One through eight, it reads off and plays very similar to an American League lineup, with each hitter in the order able to do damage and no respite until you get to the pitchers spot.
When Torre was managing the Yankees, they constructed their lineup in a similar way. Early last season, he had to get a feel for what type of hitters he had. Now, they are made in his image. A lineup that from the top until the bottom can work a pitch count and get on base. He always used the term “grinding”, and outside of the Yankees, no team does it better than the Dodgers.
Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson provide a combination of speed, patience and intellect as good as any tandem around. Those two table setters can work a pitcher and if they can get on base, always has a chance to score. You had better get them out because Ramirez looms on the on deck circle.
Any combination of Casey Blake, James Loney, Russell Martin and Andre Ethier makeup the middle portion of the lineup, and each of them provides the noted “professional at bat” each time they stand in.
The fact that centerfielder Matt Kemp (13 homers, 55 RBI as of Friday) hits eighth speaks to how deep they can go in relation to other National League teams. Any night it can be a different hero, and it has gone that way this season. 
Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw are the main anchors to the rotation, while Hiroki Kuroda and Randy Wolf provide solid veteran savvy. The fifth starter spot has been a revolving door all year, from Jeff Weaver to two Eric’s (Milton and Stults) to Jason Schmidt, who returned to the mound on Monday night after missing the last two seasons with a shoulder injury to pitch five workmanlike innings in their 12-3 victory.
At the end of the game, the Dodgers have three pitchers who all come in and throw smoke. Ramon Troncoso (44 games, 1.67 ERA, 59 1/3 innings) and Ronald Bellisario (43 games, 2.42 ERA, 48 1/3 innings) consistently get the ball to closer Jonathan Broxton (42 games, 2.82 ERA, 44 2/3 innings, 72 K’s), who has been unbelievable this year
All three facets of the game are in place for them to win it all. They will have no serious challenger in their own division, so they will be judged on what happens in the playoffs. From that, the only question that remains is whether both Kuroda or Wolf will be able to hold up through October. Having Wolf in the rotation and pitching well would be vital in a potential rematch with the Phillies to neutralize their prominent left-handed hitters.
Kershaw is a young older and better than he was last year when he did not get a playoff start in exchange for Derek Lowe starting Game 4. Those two lefties to go with Billingsley provide a strong three that can win in October if everything goes well.
For a Dodgers team that has had a lot of fun this season, it will be in October where they want to have the real fun.
World Series fun.
Losing to Angels, Red Sox showing Yanks have glass jaw
ANAHEIM - What a difference a week makes, doesn’t it? 
Back on Thursday night, I took one look at the standings and noticed that the Yankees were tied statistically side-by side with the Red Sox, relaxing in the Lazy Boy seat in the American League East with identical 51-34 records.
At the time, it was easy to take in these games each night and there was no need to break out the bottle of Pepto that is usually reserved for the Boston games.
Things were going so well during the months span. Where once I awaited the latest daily drama in the reality show As the Yankees Turn, the games on the field were not as compelling. This happens when you have a very good team capable of bullying inferior competition to where losing streaks were the only thing that would get the ears perked up much like Alfalfa in The Little Rascals.
Then the trip to Anaheim came this past weekend where the Ducks reclaimed their status by turning in an Oscar winning performance in their yearly movie Trip from Hell: A Yankees Visit to Angel Stadium.
You would have thought the Angels were playing with real life halos out there. They could do no wrong. Any mistake they made was corrected in quick order. Four run leads built up were erased as Joba Chamberlain and Andy Pettitte were made to look like two guys, one that should be in AAA and the other in retirement.
There was the stretch against the Generals, Fish and into the fifth inning against the Braves where the team seemed to resemble the Bad News Bears. All of that was nothing compared to this.
Surely, a well-pitched game, a few timely hits and shut down relief will make any team look like the ’98 Yankees. Performing to that level though takes one hell of a team.
With the Angels, they seem to always do it. Why they can never seem to put together this type of effort against the Red Sox is anyone’s guess.
So in suffering a bigger ass whipping than the one Lesnar gave Mir at UFC 100, they have once again been relegated to Duck status. Once again they showed that they have no problem winning these games that we have come to expect against the Trailer Trash of the American League. Yet, when adversity and a potential playoff opponent happens to show up on the schedule, they cower into the corner and take their beating before the towel can be thrown in. 
If you think the 2-12 record against the Red Sox and Angels (3-14 if you want to add the world champion Phillies), is still nothing more than a fluke, go right ahead. At a point, it no longer becomes flukish.
Here’s the scenario is the Ducks and their fans have put themselves into:
Scenario 1: If they lose to either the Angels or Red Sox in the playoffs, many will point to the fact (more like “use the excuse”) they lost to them in the regular season as badly as they have and call it a continuance of such.
Scenario 2: If they somehow beat either team in the postseason, those same people will then tell you that the regular season means nothing.
Certainly appears to be a nice no-lose situation to be in, isn’t it?
Lose, and just say that they couldn’t beat them the whole year anyway. Win, and they can easily dismiss the losses.
I asked weeks ago how do we judge this team. Should they be given high marks for being Paper Tiger Champions? Or should we consider their record inflated by just beating up on mediocre teams who are only being held afloat because everyone else in the league stinks.
For instance, it was said that the Mariners were an improved club by the Drive by Media when they came to Yankee Stadium two weeks ago, but you sure could have fooled me.
This is what happens when you have a bunch of these sad sacks masquerading around as if they are realistic contenders, when in reality their ceiling is somewhere around 84 wins.
They hold up the trade market because in reality, they should be shipping players out. Instead, they hold serve and stupidly add under the odd impression that they can make the playoffs.
The same goes for those Twinkies, who the Yankees administered a clean 7-0 season sweep too.
Now I see how their fans must feel whenever they see their team consistently getting their ass whipped.
How does this team stay competitive? They are not any good! That pitching staff is nothing more than bunch of number three and four starters masking around out there. They are so lucky that they are members of the Parity Central, that allows them to sneak into the playoffs with less than 90 wins and consider that a success.
It is the equivalent of being the tallest midget.
Don’t tell that to Commissioner Bud though. He loves this.
He enjoys that most baseball has become unwatchable these days because now everyone is "competitive". This allows members of Bud's Mafia out into the public and promote such nonsense.
If he wants to go ahead and do that, fine. In the meantime, I can proceed to watch the Yankees turn these Junior Varsity opponents into mush as they storm their way to 100 wins at the end of the season.
My mind has been mentally set on seeing Yankees vs. Red Sox in the ALCS in October. However, the Halos are again attempting to put a dent into my October dream to escape the NFL for a few weeks.
Looks like I am going to be distracted this September and maybe even early October.
Now for some real thoughts…. 
Too bad Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli got sent down to the minors to make room for Jose Molina and the newly acquired Erik Hinske.
These guys were doing so well and I rooted for them to succeed. Nice to have a couple of young players that were able to come in, contribute and now get upset that they have to leave.
But look at Hinske! Three homeruns in part time work since joining the team last week.
He is only one team away from having played with every AL East team, which probably should garner some type of an award.
We’re not talking about Angel Berroa here.
Speaking of Berroa, I didn’t even know he was finally given the Pink Slip a few weeks ago and subsequently picked up by the Mets of all teams.
Hey, when you need offense, you’ll go after just about anyone I guess.
Maybe they think they are getting the 2003 Berroa. Certainly, the last six years of ineptitude wasn’t enough of a sample size for them to see he was worst than Ben Affleck in Gigli.
His ultimate highlight came in a game against the Fish where he rocked an RBI double into the gap to help the Yankees win. It made me wonder if he had received any suspicious packages from UPS or FedEx.
Johnny Damon continues to be the benefit of Pinball Machine Stadium cheap homeruns.
This newest egregious moment came last Saturday when he lofted a Roy Halladay pitch into the first row of the right field seats. Damon put his head down, shook it in sadness off the bat, and suddenly found it s way out to tie the game at five.
Just don’t ask him to play any defense.
I’m sure Molina could probably go 1st-to-3rd on him without any trouble.
Combining him and Nick Swisher in the outfield is the equivalent of putting Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder out there. 
I was upset at A-Rod’s performance when I wrote (link to story). The Yankees were running him into the ground and his performance suffered tremendously. Since that day, he is only hitting a cool .370 and playing his best baseball, including three more home runs against the Angels.
Can you believe that in 167 games against them in his career, he has hit 67 homeruns against them?
Unreal.
The shot he hit on Friday night where it appeared to be swinging half way, one handed, and still launched it over the centerfield fence was one of the most unreal homers I have seen.
Any criticism given here is out of love and has no malicious intent. (NOTE – We forgive the double play in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game. I blame that on Angel Stadium again.)
I usually save the malicious stuff for Berroa. Now that he is no longer on the roster, I need a new whipping boy.
With a homerun on Thursday in Minnesota, Teixeira broke a streak of 95 at bats without a homerun.
He had been struggling lately and wondering what was going on. I’ll even forgive his outright no show in Anaheim this weekend.
Did you know that the centerfield position has combined for nearly an .800 OPS this season? All the talk about how that spot would be a hold has been quelled big time.
When one guy is hot, he stays in there. When he is slumping, the other player takes over and he plays until he stops hitting.
Perfect formula for me.
Ok, I know I said Hideki Matsui is done about two months, and he still is despite the run of good hitting he has been on.
Again, I blame That Damn Stadium for taking away his potential grand slam on Friday.
At least he will be able to leave the team on a good note if he continues.
Robinson Cano was 0 for 22 with runners in scoring position until Tuesday night shattered bat blooper into right center that brought in two runs in a 10-2 win, but his discipline at the plate is still atrocious. 
He is still the one player on the team I would bet money that if the game were on the line and he would not get a hit. Cano would be better off going to the plate with a blindfold on and try his luck that way. It certain is better than what he is doing now.
It’s amazing how similar CC Sabathia’s numbers are to Randy Johnson’s in their first seasons here.
Johnson in 2005: 9-6, 4.16 ERA, 127.2 IP, 24 BBs, 117 Ks
Sabathia in 2009: 8-6, 3.86, 128.1, 38 BBs, 95 Ks
The only difference between CC and The Big Prickly Unit is age. Otherwise, if we are judging this based on the expectations of performance, perhaps CC has not pitched up to his capability considering his paycheck and his waistline clock in around the same size.
People are wondering what is wrong with Andy Pettitte.
I’ll give you the answer right now:
He is an old man.
That’s it. You do not need any other advanced psychoanalysis to figure this. His time is running short and with the other pitchers having injuries and ineffectiveness, what was supposed to be a number five starter has been elevated.
He can no longer control games like he used to, far more hittable then he was previously, and even then he was hittable.
Pettitte will put together a good effort every few starts. But he will get knocked out before the fifth and will have to depart. Unfortunately, Pinball Machine Stadium has spooked him too.
Add Chien Ming Wang’s injury and the team is short one starting pitcher and has two inconsistent ones who cannot pitch deep enough into games.
Now the Yankees suddenly have starting rotation issues. This is the only reason why Roy Halladay’s name is being thrown around as some possibility.
Make no mistake, if everything was going smooth, the talk about acquiring him would be lessened. But because they can only legitimately count on two pitchers every five days for the time being, winning enough games is going to be a problem.
Wang’s year has been so bad that to expect anything that resembles quality would be an upset.
Pettitte is going to have his good and bad days. You just hope that you get lucky.
Chamberlain is an enigma. He is not going to intimidate anyone with that 91 MPH fastball. Add in the hardheadedness not being too predictable and you have a recipe for disaster as has been shown the last two starts.
Thank goodness they don’t have to field a playoff rotation until October.
Phil Hughes’ numbers since coming to the bullpen:
18 1/3 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 19 K, 0.99 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 9.44 K/9
Absolutely sensational. One day his future should be in the rotation. For now, this is a nice fallback option.
For all the money spent, now the Yankees, who were supposed to have one of the deepest rotations in the league now needs help – unless you count Sergio Mitre as help. Even members of the Yankee Thought Police cannot justify that.
Queue up the laugh track.
Halos ghosts inside Stadium continue to haunt Yanks
ANAHEIM – If I never attend a game or have to see Angel Stadium out on the left coast, that would be perfectly fine with me.
I can’t take it anymore. Every time I see a game there, the worst takes place. It is only a matter of time before the inevitable shoe drops.
What is it about this team that makes the Yankees turn into a remake of the ’62 Mets? This is not some isolated occurrence. Once it happens for a certain amount of years, no longer can you coin the term “it’s just one of those things”.
The Los Angeles Angels have made life hell for the Yankees for most of this decade. Yes, they have been good over this stretch of years (they were World Series champions in 2002 – beating the Yankees to help get there), but whenever games are being played in the Pacific time zone and that ballpark, it is where it appears ghost really do exist.
I think back to Game 5 of the 2005 Division Series in Anaheim where on a drive to right centerfield, outfielders Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield collided with each other as the ball dropped to the ground. It was the second playoff elimination as the hands of them in four years. Along the way, many missed opportunities and very unusual bounces always seem to go the way of the Halos.
Something has to explain why the Angels are 17-5 against the Yankees in that building since 2005. In this span, only the weirdest of coincidences happen. It is where the inconceivable and unexpected is a regular event with no surprise. Seeing them on the schedule is to already mark a minimum of two losses for each three game series, and in other cases, just call it a sweep before it ever gets started.
If there were a way to forfeit the games, that probably would not be a bad idea either. It sure would beat the alternative of what we saw for three games out there this weekend.
In being swept out of Anaheim after last nights 5-4 disaster, the Yankees continue to prove that they are the best team in baseball when it comes to beating up on mediocre competition. However, put the Red Sox or Angels (in Anaheim) up in their face, and they melt like ice cream on a 100-degree day as their record against those teams reached an abominable 2-12 (a repulsive 0-11 if you only count the road games out West).
It is a miracle that they play them to a near even pace at home, but even then at times the Angels mysterious magic appears. It doesn’t matter whom they have in the lineup or what starting pitcher is on the mound. Take the numbers that each hitter currently has up until the point they are playing the Yankees and simply throw them in the garbage because it’s meaningless.
Players that might have been struggling or down in the dumps find the Yankees to be a helpful elixir. It would be funny if it weren’t the sad truth and almost have a cartoon-ish attribute to all of this.
No player is the face of this entire oddball scenario than Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick.
On the surface, he appears to have all the tools necessary to be a successful big leaguer. For whatever reason, in his four years in the majors, he has never been able to put it all together.
Except when Kendrick is facing the Yankees.
He was sent down to the minors earlier this season because he couldn’t hit nor field, but was called back up to the big club just as the team wearing NEW YORK across the chest was coming to town for the weekend.
Over the past three years, Kendrick’s average of .468 (37 for 79) and OPS (1.168) against the Yankees dwarfs over every team he has faced with a minimum of 50 at bats.
Manager Mike Scoscia obviously knew these numbers and elected to put them to work this weekend. Kendrick was five for 13 back in May and proceeded to go (to no surprise) 4 for 7 with three RBI’s and looked like the second coming of Joe Morgan.
It’s not only him, but also Chone Figgins. You would think that having him face better pitching would fix this problem because for years the diminutive man would make continuous great plays, and get hit after hit after hit. Granted, the man is hitting .310 this season and has improved as a hitter over the years. But against the Yankees, he looks like Ted Williams.
Before this season, he was 13 for 35 (.371). By luck, he was held down this year to only six for 23 (.260). Yet, with Sabathia trying to hold the game at 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, it was once again Figgins who would come up with a triple in the left centerfield gap and then, as it were scripted, scored on a bloop single to give the Angels the deciding run in their one run victory.
And these bloop hits…how does this keep happening?
Each game in that park features numerous falling singles that are perfectly placed to ridiculousness. Several of them fell in again on Friday night and have been falling in for years.
It did not matter that Torii Hunter and Viadimir Guerrero were on the disabled list. It never matters.
First, it was Kendry Morales looking like Babe Ruth drilling a three-run homer to center field to give the Angels the lead in the fifth inning. Later on, with Brian Bruney in the game trying to keep the deficit at 7-6, Erick Aybar cranked a three-run homer around the foul pole to make it a decisive 10-6 margin. On Saturday, one of their top prospects Brandon Wood, helped them rally from their second four run deficit of the series by hitting a two-run homer to right center as part of their seven run rally in the fifth inning, the second day in a row in which they had rallied from four runs down to take the lead.
Speaking of leads…why have one when you are playing there?
In the period where the Yankees have only won five of 22 games there, they have had the lead an incredible 17 times. They are not getting beaten to pulp as if this were the Varsity taking on the JV squad. What happens here is very much like when a basketball team makes a run at different points of a game.
When the Angels begin to string together hits that is when you sense they are making their surge. Unlike basketball, there are no timeouts you can call to slow the momentum. It continues like an avalanche. Every so often, it gets so out of control that it effectively ends the ballgame.
You can trace that all the back to the 2002 Division Series. In Game 3, the Yankees held a 6-1 lead in the middle innings and then the Angels made their run and nothing could be done to stop it. The Angels won that game and in Game 4 did the same thing again after trailing by several runs. You can sense it coming and there is nothing to stop it.
When the Yankees try to pull away or come back, they always run into the most unlikely of luck. Hard hit balls find the gloves of fielders. Think back to Game 2 of the Division Series in 2005 when the Yankees had a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and a chance to blow them out and take a 2-0 lead in the series. A hard hit ball handcuffs Figgins as he is on the ground flat on his back, and he has the presence of mind to be able to get up and throw the runner out to save one run, potentially two. What happens? The Angels score three runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead and eventually tie the series.
On Sunday, the Yankees had two more chances to take the lead. Trailing 4-2 in the seventh, they loaded the bases with no out and after Mark Teixeira struck out, Alex Rodriguez hit a hard hit ball that found Figgins’ glove (like always), stepped on third base and fired across for a double play to get out of the inning with nothing. 
What did the Angels do in the bottom half of the inning? Score an insurance run on a bloop hit.
The very next inning, they loaded the bases again after scoring a run to make it 5-3. With Nick Swisher up, he would look to have tied the game with a hard base hit up the middle. Instead, the ball was caught by a combination of Oliver’s shin and the glove and they were able to turn a double play to get out of the inning.
Was I surprised? No.
After so many years, I’ve become accustomed and desensitized to the outcome.
What makes it worse is that there is a high probability that in order for the Yankees to advance to the American league Championship Series, it is the Angels and this stadium, their long decade nemesis, which they will have to get by in order get where they want to go.
As it stands, unless they win the AL East, they would be playing them again with the Angels having the extra home game. If that is going to be the case, then we may as well starting counting the days until next spring.
Unless the Yankees can somehow finally break through this hex.
Right now (and for the last half decade), Angel Stadium is the last place the Yankees want to be in a “must win” situation.
Spooky.
Hughes dominance out of pen a revelation
NEW YORK – There was a time no too long ago (about a month) when the question was whether the Yankees had anyone capable of pitching the late innings to get the ball to Mariano Rivera.
New York’s bullpen was in a severe slump. Each game became an edition of “Bullpen Roulette”, with Joe Girardi needing to keep a bottle of Pepto Bismol to get him through the innings when his starter would leave the game.
Along the way, as the bullpen began to show improvement, the team found a pitcher who was able to get outs consistently, quickly and in such dominant fashion that he has been able to add an additional boost to a career that appear to be on the path to reinvigoration.
Welcome Phil Hughes.
Or, as he was once dubbed, “The Phranchise”.
It has been an incredible turnaround. No one could have foreseen this taking place. After starting the season in the minors as a means to get his innings up, he was back up to the club when Chien-Ming Wang’s struggles found himself on the DL. Hughes struggled again to be acclimated, but slowly you began to see some better results.
Wang’s return to the rotation meant Hughes was going to be shifted to the bullpen for the first time in his career, but not before leaving without a memorable eight-inning, shutout performance.
It had been a long road back to the majors for the Yankees young right-hander, who has seen his career range from “phenom” to “injury riddled” to “ineffective and inconsistent” over the last two-plus seasons.
We have seen his highs and his lows since he came up to the club in April 2007. There was the game he pitched in Texas where he carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh inning before attempting to snap off another devastating breaking ball (one of many he had that night) and wound up severely injuring his hamstring in the process, missing nearly four months.
He returned. In Game 3 of the Division Series, when Roger Clemens showed the world his career clock had reached midnight in the third inning, the ball was given to Hughes with the Yankees season hanging by a thread. What he delivered was a memorable performance and provided a glimpse of what the future held in his right arm.
His name was mentioned in trade discussions for Johan Santana, but General Manager Brian Cashman never blinked to trade the then 21-year old. He looked at him as part of the team’s new future and a cheaper and possibly more effective alternative.
In 2008, he was given a spot in the rotation without challenge. Unfortunately, he was never ready to assume the position.
He struggled from the outset. For a pitched touted for his control, Hughes now could not find the strike zone and had base runners on constantly. Last season, he amassed 58 runners in only 34 innings pitched and putrid 6.62 ERA. His velocity, only ranging between 93 and 95, was now barely registering 90 MPH on the guns.
Something was wrong.
It turns out he was pitching injured.
In an April start against the White Sox, he was forced to leave the game after two innings due to a rain delay. What the team did not know was the he had fractured a rib that same night sneezing. Hughes made his next start against Detroit and struggled again. Manager Joe Girardi insisted he was going to stick with him in the rotation, only to find out hours later he was going to be put on the DL and did not return until late September when the Yankees season was all but over.
Hughes has been hardened by failure, and in many ways is the antithesis of his other young teammate Joba Chamberlain. They have separate personalities. While Joba is open with his emotions on the field, Hughes is stoic, almost cerebral in a sense. Unfortunately, that does not make the highlights and plays on the emotions of a crowd. Only injuries that have held him back from unleashing his full potential.
Moving to the bullpen was only to serve as a temporary pit stop on his road to being a future Yankees starter as early as next season. He needed to build up his innings count to allow him to be a starter, but the team had a need for him out of the bullpen.
After being placed in several one and two-inning stints, it slowly became apparent that Hughes was pitching better out of the pen than he was as a starter. Problem was that he was not being used as a “real reliever”. Simply put, Girardi was placing him in low leverage situations that allowed him to be successful with a margin of error. Most relievers can manufacture enough guile and moxie to pitch an inning when their team is winning or losing by three or four runs. But how about having the ball with your team leading or trailing by a run?
For Hughes, it didn’t matter. Slowly, he began to work his way up Girardi’s Trust List and his first real “big moment” came when he pitched a hitless, scoreless 1 1/3 innings at Citi Field in the Yankees 4-2 win over the Mets.
He came into the game with two outs in the sixth inning (it was his first time entering in the middle of an inning) and on one pitch, induced a fly out. He came back the next inning and shut the team from Queens down.
After another scoreless inning on Tuesday against Seattle where he only needed nine pitches, the calls came for him to the main bridge to Mariano Rivera, as Brian Bruney was slowly to regain his early season form after coming off two stints on the DL with an elbow injury.
Bruney pitched the opposite of Hughes that night by giving up two runs that wound up tying the game. Girardi initially resisted giving Hughes the ball, placing his faith in Bruney, but the results on the field were all one needed to look.
Pitching back-to-back days for the first time as a reliever this weekend against Toronto was no problem for the Yankees new bullpen savior. It was another test that he succeeded brilliantly.
He has been a different pitcher. No longer nibbling and trying to trick hitters. The 92 MPH on the gun now see him reaching back and firing darts at 95 and 96 MPH on the corners, giving hitters no chance with the ability to drop in his 12 to 6 curveball at any moment to make you look foolish.
The current numbers are eye popping: 
14 2/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 16 K, 1.26 ERA, 0.63 WHIP
There was nothing to indicate that he would be THIS dominant as a relief pitcher. Now, you no longer hear the “Joba should be in the pen” discussion that has been going on over the past three months this season during the times in which he hasn’t pitched well (case in point, this past Sunday).
The Yankees have their guy for right now. Projection wise, he is not going to be there forever. However, the team needs him in this role and Hughes has taken a liking to it. When he was asked several weeks ago if he would rather be pitching out of the bullpen or starting in AAA-Scranton, he said unquestionably that he wanted to stay here even if all he had to do was be the teams bag boy.
He is undaunted out there on the mound now. Since he’s been placed there, the trio of Hughes, Phil Coke and Alfredo Aceves has pitched like the best pen in baseball and the numbers clearly show it.
Whether it be starting or relieving, this much is clear, Phil Hughes has arrived in the big leagues and he is not leaving anytime soon.
