ALDS Rotation Announced

Joe Girardi met with the media a few minutes ago to discuss his starting rotation for the first round. The Yankees will be playing against the Orioles, who have not annouced a game one starter yet but things are leaning toward Jason Hammel.

Game 1: CC Sabathia
Game 2: Andy Pettitte
Game 3: Hiroki Kuroda
Game 4 (if neccessary): Phil Hughes

I like the move because Kuroda will be pitching the first game at Yankee Stadium, a place where he has had success in his Yankee career.

Thinking about the Postseason Roster

The Yankees have some choices to make regarding their roster heading into the postseason. Most of the spots are locks, but there are others that are up for grabs, and it can be taken by a pitcher or a position player. First off, the Yankees infield is set. Locks for the postseason roster in terms of position players are: Russell Martin, Chris Stewart, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Eduardo Nunez, Alex Rodriguez, Eric Chavez, Raul Ibanez, Ichiro Suzuki, Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. Brett Gardner fits on the roster because of his speed and now that he has the ability to hit, I don't think Girardi would mind at all to give him late inning at-bats after coming into a game to pinch run.

Pitchers who are locks for the roster are: CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Rafael Soriano, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan, Clay Rapada and David Phelps.

In my opinion, the most optimal thing to do in terms of the rotation alignment would be to start Sabathia in game one followed by Pettitte in game two. That means having Kuroda pitch the home opener and having Hughes follow in a game four. The reasoning behind that is because Kuroda and Hughes have both pitched great at home this season. Giving Andy Pettitte more rest than he has already gotten may throw him off because he is a guy who reacts to long rests.

That leaves the Yankees with two tough decisions. Who will occupy the final two spots on the roster? Position players who seem to be on the brink include Andruw Jones, Casey McGehee, Francisco Cervelli and Chris Dickerson. Right off the bat, you eliminate Cervelli from the mix assuming Martin will catch every inning of every game barring injury. Stewart is going to sit on the bench anyway. Having Dickerson on the lineup seems redundant because you already have Gardner on the bench as a left-handed bat serving the same purpose Dickerson would be serving. Casey McGehee doesn't look like a fit despite being a right-handed bat in the infield. However, should something happen to Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher is totally capable of taking Teixeira's spot at first. Same deal with Alex Rodriguez who has Eric Chavez to back him up. That leaves Andruw Jones. Jones looks like he is finished. He hit well under .200 in the second half of the season and his lefty/righty splits are equally appalling. He does not give you confidence in the field anymore as he has looked terrible in the outfield many times this season. However, Jones is still a home run threat off the bench despite being terrible this season outside his run in early July against Boston.

Assuming Joe Girardi does not include Jones on the roster, which I am starting to believe he won't, it gives the manager two additional relievers to work with. With the final two spots, it would not surprise me at all to see Derek Lowe and Cody Eppley to occupy the final two roster spots. Girardi likes to mix-and-match and giving him more of these options would serve as optimal choices. The roster will likely be annouced tomorrow as the Yankees report to the Stadium for workouts.

Sorry Andruw, but it looks like your Yankee career is over.

American League East Champions

Well, the Yankees have done it. They have clinched the top spot in the American League East without needing the help of the Tampa Bay Rays. All of the negativity by everybody questioning this team during their second half struggles has been answered as the Yankees come all the way back, fighting off the Orioles multiple times for the division lead and they get the lead for good on the final day of the season. Robinson Cano put on a show as he belted two home runs and drove in six runs, matching a career high. Curtis Granderson delivered big as well with two home runs, adding four more RBI to his name. Every Yankee had a special game because in the end, they did what they needed to do. This is a perfect time for the Yankees to start heating up offensively. Now, they must take the next step in their climb toward a twenty-eighth world championship.

The Yankees will open the ALDS on Sunday against the winner of the one game wildcard. The Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles will square off in Texas on Friday night to determine the team that will advance into the first round of the postseason to face the New York Yankees. It was amazing to watch the Athletics win the game against the Rangers today as they put the finishing touches on their regular season and came out with the American League West title over the Texas Rangers who were alone in first place for almost 200 days! This is a special season for baseball not only because of the extra wildcard, but more importantly because of the teams playing in the wildcard game and the magic of the teams who were thought to be in last place before the season began. Oakland and Baltimore have shocked the baseball world and have proven that payroll means nothing.

The Yankees clincher was a special game for me to watch because they truly earned it this season. Last year, the Yankees clinched early and I believe that it was part of the reason they made such an early exit in the playoffs. This season however, the Yankees have been playing their best baseball when they needed to play it and that energy should carry over into the playoffs. I'm just ecstatic that the Yankees will not play the Oakland Athletics in the division series. I would not want to face that team right now after their second half surge and after they took the Rangers' first place spot. Detroit should watch out for the Athletics because the A's do not look like they can be stopped right now.

Well, it's been a fun regular season and I have enjoyed writing each and every one of these blogs for my readers to enjoy. I hope that everyone will continue to read my posts as the Yankees head into the playoffs and will continue reading into the off season and beyond.

Thank you and I look forward to this upcoming postseason. Hopefully for the Yankees, it will be a special one.

Game 162 lineup: It all comes down to this

Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Raul Ibanez DH
Russell Martin C

SP: RHP Hiroki Kuroda

One.

Ibanez, Yankees walk-off the Red Sox in twelve



I was debating about having the title of this post being something to do with tonight's hero Raul Ibanez but opted to go with the more important fact. The Yankees magic number to clinch their division stands at one game. One. If they win tomorrow OR if the Orioles lose tomorrow, the Yankees automatically win the American League East and if they win they have a great shot of the best record in the American League. If the Yankees were going to lose this game, it would have been a heart-breaker because they had chance after chance to grab a lead against Jon Lester. The wrong hitter was at the plate both of those times. Teixeira hit some bad luck by hitting into two straight double plays with runners on first and third with one out. I don't blame Teixeira because he has not been in a game in a long time before last night. Also, he did not want to re-injure his calf by running hard to first in the first inning. However, the Yankees would get one run back on an Eduardo Nunez RBI infield single when Granderson reached on an infield single and advanced to second on an error. Granderson then wasted no time and stole third to allow Nunez to drive him in.

Rafael Soriano gave up a crushing blow in the ninth when James Loney hit a ball into the second deck of the right field seats to add to a Boston lead. However, Raul Ibanez came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth as the tying run and blasted a two-run homer into the short porch. Ibanez has meant so much to this team and keeps getting big hits. Ten of his nineteen home runs this season have come in the sixth inning or later. Also, Ibanez pinch hit for Nunez in the ninth, meaning he had no time to adjust to game atmosphere as he was entering his first at-bat in the ninth inning with all the pressure on him. The Yankees went on to load the bases and did not get the winning run in until the twelfth when Ibanez came up again to face a tough lefty in Andrew Miller and hit a ground ball to the opposite field to score Cervelli from second. Cervelli set the tone in the inning by earning a two-out walk against Miller in his first big league plate appearance of the year.

The Yankees now control their own destiny and the odds are in their favor tomorrow night in terms of winning their division. They need a Baltimore loss or a Yankee win. Hiroki Kuroda will start game 162 in hopes of helping the Yankees clinch their division in the final regular season game of the year.

Wow, what a game tonight...!

Game 161 lineup: All aboard!

The Yankees need a win and an Orioles loss to clinch the division tonight. It has been raining all day at the stadium but the rain is expected to subside by game-time to a lighter drizzle. Also, Dustin Pedroia will be playing tonight with a broken finger after reporters made fun of the Sox lineup yesterday. Pedroia says he will change the culture.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Russell Martin C
Curtis Granderson CF
Eduardo Nunez DH
Ichiro Suzuki LF

SP: RHP David Phelps

Yankees Rout Sox in Crucial Game, Alone in First

Tonight was a huge offensive night for the Yankees as they tagged the Red Sox pitching for ten runs, nine of which came in the second inning where they hit four home runs. It was important for the Yankees to set the tone early on a night where they desperately needed a victory. As it so happens, the Orioles lost their game to Tampa Bay to give the Yankees a one game edge in the division with two games left in the season. This victory speaks volumes as to how much the Yankees want to win their division. What was once a ten game lead atop the AL East has turned into a dog fight to see which north-eastern team will come out on top. Many other good things happened for the Yankees tonight in their biggest win of the season.

Mark Teixeira came back from his calf injury and did not miss a beat when he blasted a two-run home run in the Yankees nine run second inning. Teixeira in the lineup does so much for the Yankees as he fills it out to its completion. It gives the Yankees so much depth that they have Eric Chavez batting ninth in games against righty starters. Also, Brett Gardner received his first at-bat since his elbow injury nine games into the season in April. He grounded out but him stepping up to swing a bat in a game says a lot to the Yankees as to his perseverence after essentially being told that this would be a lost season for him. If Gardner can get a start under his belt, it would not be unfathomable for him to be included on the postseason roster. Lastly, Melky Mesa was given his first career big league at-bat and singled up the middle for his first Major League hit and collected his first career RBI as Nunez scored the Yankees tenth and final run of the game.

CC Sabathia gave the Yankees eight solid innings of two run ball and gave the Yankees pen a rest after finding out David Phelps would be getting the start over Ivan Nova tomorrow night. If Phelps can give the Yankees three or four shutout innings tomorrow, the bullpen can come into the game to record double digit outs. He will be facing a weak AAA Boston lineup and Jon Lester will be on the mound for the Red Sox so the Yankees will not have an easy time getting runs if Lester pitches to his potential.

The Yankees clinched a playoff berth last night after the Rangers beat the Angels

The Yankees magic number for the division: 2