The Off-Season Officially Begins

The World Series is over. The San Francisco Giants sweep the Detroit Tigers in four games. The Tigers looked awfully familiar to a team they swept the series prior to getting swept. Now they know how it feels to be on the losing end of a sweep. Overall, the team with better pitching won. When Justin Verlander choked in game one of the World Series, you knew that things were going to go in the Giants' direction.

As for the Yankees, the off-season officially begins as twelve Yankees file for free agency. Among them were Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Russell Martin. Also, the short list for Gold Glove qualifiers was announced today. Russell Martin, Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano are all finalists at their positions in the American League.

In other news, the Yankees have officially picked up the options on Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and David Aardsma. Cano is a lock to remain a Yankee next season, as he is the best hitter in their lineup. Without him, there would be a huge hole that would not be filled by anyone currently on the roster. Curtis Granderson is another story. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a deal to get either a starting pitcher or an outfielder. The center fielder hit 43 home runs in 2012, but struck out over 200 times in the regular and postseason and did not hit for average.

Looking Back

Before the season began, I made win total predictions as to where I believed teams would finish after 162 games. Some were accurate, others were embarrassing. Too bad I can't look ahead in time when I make my predictions in late March.

My predictions for the AL East:

New York Yankees: 97-65- Y

Tampa Bay Rays: 91-71- W

Boston Red Sox: 90-72

Toronto Blue Jays: 83-79

Baltimore Orioles: 69-93

 

Actual Records:

New York Yankees: 95-67- Y

Baltimore Orioles: 93-69- W

Tampa Bay Rays: 90-72

Toronto Blue Jays: 72-89

Boston Red Sox: 69-93

 

The Yankees were a safe choice for the division title and I was only two games off. I was dead-on about Tampa Bay and they were only one win short of my prediction. I did have them making the playoffs as one of the wildcards over Baltimore. Their hitting was not able to get them into the playoffs even though their starting pitching was fantastic. I'm not embarrassed about where I had the Baltimore Orioles. Everyone had them in the cellar of the American League East. Boston was a huge disappointment as Bobby Valentine crashed and burned in Beantown. Toronto had a disappointing season after they were projected as the dark horse of the division. Their starters were all on the DL and Romero had a terrible year.

 

My Predictions for the AL Central:

Detroit Tigers: 95-67- Y

Cleveland Indians: 83-79

Kansas City Royals: 81-81

Minnesota Twins: 80-82

Chicago White Sox: 74-88

 

Actual Records:

Detroit Tigers: 88-74- Y

Chicago White Sox: 85-77

Kansas City Royals: 72-90

Cleveland Indians: 68-94

Minnesota Twins: 66-96

 

Until late September, the White Sox were in position to win the Central crown until the Tigers went on a run. Combine that with a Chicago collapse and the Tigers ended up winning the central by three games. I originally predicted the White Sox to finish last because of their new manager, combined with Adam Dunn's and Alex Rios' terrible 2011. I was wrong about them, but the team ended up coming up short. I believed the Indians would improve on their 2011 season but they turned out to finish terribly. Kansas City was a surprise team that I originally had finishing with a .500 record with their great young players, however their pitching didn't hold up and they floundered down the stretch.

 

My predictions for the AL West:

Texas Rangers: 94-68- Y

LA Angels: 91-71- W

Oakland Athletics: 73-89

Seattle Mariners: 70-92

 

Actual Records:

Oakland Athletics: 94-68- Y

Texas Rangers: 93-69- W

LA Angels of Anaheim: 89-73

Seattle Mariners: 75-87

 

A group of nobodies came together at the Coliseum in Oakland and put together a season that no analyst could have predicted. They overcame a thirteen game deficit in the division in late August to take the AL West Crown from the Rangers on the final day of the regular season. The Angels spent a ton of money to bring Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson to their team and didn't even make the playoffs. Don't forget about Mike Trout's MVP worthy season. They still managed to miss the playoffs with all that talent despite Jered Weaver winning over twenty games.

 

My predictions for the NL East:

Philadelphia Phillies: 90-72- Y

Atlanta Braves: 88-74- W

Washington Nationals: 85-77

Miami Marlins: 83-79

New York Mets: 72-90

 

Actual Records:

Washington Nationals: 98-64- Y

Atlanta Braves: 94-68- W

Philadelphia Phillies: 81-81

New York Mets: 74-88

Miami Marlins: 69-73

 

I was dead wrong about this division. I didn't have the Washington Nationals making the playoffs and they finished the season with the best record in baseball. The Braves secured a wildcard spot as I predicted they would. The Phillies were awful this year but were in a wildcard race in September which boosted their record to a respectable place. Roy Halladay was not the same this season and Ryan Howard's absence early in the season took a toll on the team, not to mention Cliff Lee's inability to get a win until mid-summer. The Mets were surprisingly good until the All-Star break. After the break, they were awful and forgot how to hit. They evened their record to match the prediction I set for them in the pre-season. The Marlins spent a boatload of money on Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell. Their season was a major disappointment after the team did not respond well to Ozzie Guillen. Heath Bell lost his job as Marlins closer, leaving Jose Reyes as the only bright spot for the Marlins after they traded every one of their regular players by the trading deadline.

My predictions for the NL Central:

St. Louis Cardinals: 88-74- Y

Cincinnati Reds: 86-76

Milwaukee Brewers: 84-78

Pittsburgh Pirates: 77-85

Chicago Cubs: 74-88

Houston Astros: 65-97

 

Actual Records:

Cincinnati Reds: 97-65- Y

St. Louis Cardinals: 88-74- W

Milwaukee Brewers: 83-79

Pittsburgh Pirates: 79-83

Chicago Cubs: 61-101

Houston Astros: 55-107

 

My original prediction for the number of wins that St. Louis would amass came into fruition, marking my first exact record prediction to actual record of the season. However, I had St. Louis winning the division coming off their World Series title after just making it into the playoffs in 2011. Looking back, I thought about making the Reds the winners of the division but something told me that they couldn't do it after coming off a mediocre season in 2011. The Brewers were not able to retain Prince Fielder, but they made a little run at the end for a wildcard but ultimately lost that to the Cardinals. The Cubs and Astros were horrific this season. They are the AAA teams of the Central as of today. Houston will join the American League next season and I believe the designated hitter will help them, but their pitching is still awful.

 

My predictions for the NL West:

San Francisco Giants: 90-72- Y

Arizona Diamondbacks: 88-74- W

LA Dodgers: 85-77

Colorado Rockies: 81-81

San Diego Padres: 73-89

 

Actual Records:

San Francisco Giants: 94-68- Y

LA Dodgers: 86-76

Arizona Diamondbacks: 81-81

San Diego Padres: 76-86

Colorado Rockies: 64-98

 

I was correct in choosing the Giants to win the western title but my pick for Arizona getting one of the wildcards did not exactly go as planned. Most of Arizona's hitters took a step back in 2012, leaving people scratching their heads about what changed from 2011. Before the season started, I was having a hard time choosing who would come in second in the division, going from the Dodgers to the D'Backs and ultimately chose to stick with Arizona. The Dodgers made a mega-trade with the Red Sox in August which sent Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Nick Punto and Carl Crawford to the Dodgers. Even with all of those bullets, Los Angeles still fell short of the playoffs in 2012. Magic Johnson and Co. are probably kicking themselves for making that kind of boneheaded move.

 

Overall, I had more good predictions than bad ones. I am proud of how I made my choices and look forward to doing so again at the end of Spring Training in 2013.

The To-Do List

The Yankees have a long laundry list of things that they need to address in the off-season, beginning with their everyday players. Nick Swisher will surely be gone after some team offers him a ridiculous contract that the Yankees will not be willing to match. This leaves a hole in right field. They have internal options in Chris Dickerson and Eduardo Nunez, who would have to learn the position. However, they also have another free agent coming off the books who will probably be a Yankee in 2013. Ichiro Suzuki should re-sign with the Yankees on a deal of two years at most. He is clearly not the player he once was but showed signs of the superstar who began his career at the Major League level in Seattle. Assuming Brett Gardner is not traded, he should be the Yankees everyday left fielder. Curtis Granderson's 2013 option worth $15 million has been picked up by the Yankees so unless he is included in some package for an outfielder, Granderson should be patrolling center field at Yankee Stadium for a third straight season. My ideal outfield for next season would start with Brett Gardner playing a sprakling left field. Curtis Granderson would obviously be the center fielder assuming he does not get traded. If Granderson is traded in the off-season, Brett Gardner deserves the center field job. Ichiro will round out the outfield assuming the Yankees retain him in free agency.

Mark Teixeira is a lock at first base, as is Robinson Cano at second. Cano is an interesting story as he has one option year remaining on his contract before he hits free agency for the first time in his career. The Yankees need to make him an offer this winter before he comes to free agency next October and yields enormous contract offers from other teams. Cano deserves to be the highest paid hitter on the Yankees but the number of years that he wants, which is rumored to be at ten, could put up a stop sign for the Yankees. They have already gotten burned on a ten year deal that they will net get out of for another five years in Alex Rodriguez. This brings me to the controversial Yankees third baseman. A-Rod is owed approximately $115 million through the next five years. After the way the Yankees treated him in the postseason, they should do everything they can to find a team interested in Rodriguez and his contract. Derek Jeter should be ready for opening day after undergoing ankle surgery late last week.

Next, the Yankees have to move over to their pitching situation, which is in more flux than their position player scenario. Beginning with Andy Pettitte, the Yankees have to see if the lefty is ready for another year in the big leauges at age 40. He will definitely be a one year commitment so the Yankees will not have to worry about him asking for a multi-year deal. Hiroki Kuroda is similar to Andy. He likes one year contracts and will play on them going forward. He was tremendous for the Yankees this season after coming in from the Dodgers. Next, Michael Pineda has not thrown a pitch for the Yankees after he was obtained from the Mariners for Jesus Montero before the season began. Assuming he is healthy, Pineda could be huge for the Yankees moving forward. He is cheap and young, a direction the Yankees need to go in moving forward. If his velocity is back to what it was when he pitched for the Mariners, the Yankees have a special picher on their hands. Moving forward, Ivan Nova and David Phelps are very formidable options as a sixth starter assuming the rotation consists of CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and Michael Pineda.

Lastly, the Yankees will face the risk of signing Mariano Rivera after the closer suffered a season ending injury in Kansas City in May. The Yankees don't know what they are getting from Rivera. He is one year older and less than one year removed from major leg surgery. Rafael Soriano will opt out of his contract in pursuit of a multi-year offer from a team in need of a closer.

So, the Yankees have a busy off-season ahead of them. I don't expect wholesale changes, but expect the Bombers to make a couple of key moves in order to improve the club for 2013 and beyond.

Yankees Embarrassed in Sweep

With CC Sabathia pitching a possible elimination game for the Yankees of game four of the ALCS, the Yankee fan had supreme confidence that this series would go to a game five. Instead, CC Sabathia comes out with nothing in the tank despite an extra day off, which could have played a role in his inability to get outs today. Combine Sabathia's personal struggle to get his pitches over, his defense abandoned him for what seems like the tenth time this season. Sabathia failed to get out of the fourth inning and gave up six runs on eleven hits to the Tigers. To make matters worse, Teixeira booted two balls in the third inning and Chavez nonchalantly picked a ball up on the ground in the first inning and failed to make the second out of the inning. So to set the blame entirely on Sabathia would be foolish. His defense played like they were ready for a round of golf and they decided to pack their bags before twenty-seven outs were recorded.

To add to the Yankees' embarrassment, their offense was historically terrible in this series. In addition to hardly scoring in this elimination game, they were getting no-hit through five innings and struck out a boatload of times against Scherzer. To say this was a postseason collapse would be an understatement.

The Yankees 2012 campaign has come to a crashing end. There should be interesting changes to this team for next season. They have many questions to answer as far as contracts and trades are concerned. Free agents this off-season are: Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Nick Swisher, Hiroki Kuroda, Ichiro Suzuki, Russell Martin, Eric Chavez, Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones. Next season will be option seasons for Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson.

The Yankees should give contracts to all but Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones for the 2013 season. Robinson Cano's option year will definitely be exercised and I see them playing Granderson next season before letting him walk. As far as Alex Rodriguez is concerned, at this point he needs to go to a different team. He is a lighting rod that is a distraction to the Yankees at this point. He is not the player he was three years ago and the way management has treated him in the postseason should be a red flag as to how they feel about him going forward.

As for Swisher, he has divorced himself from the fans and that alone will earn his ticket of the Bronx. In addition, his postseason struggles have been so horrendous that I don't think the Yankees want to give him a big contract.

Game 4 ALCS lineup: A-Rod on his way out?

Stories popped up today from Dan Duquette and Keith Olbermann mentioning that the Yankees and Marlins have been talking extensively on a deal that would send Alex Rodriguez to Miami in exchange for salary relief or in exchange for Heath Bell and less salary relief. Cashman refuted the rumors however, with the way the Yankees have been using Rodriguez in the postseason, I don't see him coming into spring training in 2013 as a Yankee.

The lineup:
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez DH
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner CF
Eduardo Nunez SS

SP: LHP CC Sabathia

Season on the Brink

The Yankees had to face none other than Justin Verlander tonight after getting shut out by Anabal Sanchez and Phil Coke in game two of the ALCS. Verlander came as advertised. He was flat out nasty tonight and the Yankee hitters did not stand a chance despite constantly working the counts in their favor. Verlander nibbled for much of the game, leaving the hitters assuming that the at-bat would end on a positive note. The at-bat ended, but not the way they wanted it to. Ichiro got the only two hits that Verlander allowed through eight innings. In the ninth, Eduardo Nunez, who was starting at shortstop at Alex Rodriguez's expense took Verlander deep after fighting off nasty fastballs and off-speed pitches. Leyland allowed Verlander to face Gardner, who went 0-4 in his first start since April 17. Gardner, despite making an out drove up Verlander's pitch count to the point of where Jim Leyland was forced to go to the bullpen for the final two outs. The Yankees did not go down quietly, but ultimately Raul Ibanez struck out against Phil Coke on a nasty 3-2 slider with the tying run in scoring position.

From a starting pitching perspective, this was a game where you knew that it would only take one run to give Verlander a win. Phil Hughes started the game nicely before allowing a solo home run to Yankee killer, Delmon Young. Ultimately, in the same inning Hughes was taken out with what the team says is back stiffness. Fake injury or not, it was probably the best thing to do with Hughes who is a three-run homer waiting to happen. The bullpen was solid, giving up only one run the rest of the way. However, that run would cost them the game.

The Yankees find themselves in a deep hole going into tomorrow. They are down 0-3 and a loss tomorrow night would end their season with a sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. One positive in a world of negatives for the Yankees is that CC Sabathia will be starting. If you are going to go down, you want it to be with your ace on the mound. Sabathia has been stellar in September and his two starts against Baltimore in the ALDS, so a win tomorrow night would give the Yankees a glimmer of hope in what was a otherwise weak series where the Yankees could not get a hit to save their season.

Game 3 ALCS lineup shake-up

Brett Gardner LF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Raul Ibanez DH
Russell Martin C
Eric Chavez 3B
Curtis Granderson CF
Eduardo Nunez SS

SP: RHP Phil Hughes

Swisher turns Sour

During the game last night, Nick Swisher had a tense vibe about him and gave his most loyal fans in right field the cold shoulder. After the game, Marc Carig caught up with the free-agent-to-be right fielder and discussed what was transpiring between him and the fans out in right field. Swisher’s answers were very disrespectful, hinting at the most loyal fans being the main culprits the heckling. On Friday night, Swisher missed a ball lined to right field that went past the outfielder and rolled to the wall to allow Detroit to score the go-ahead runs in extra innings where they would end up beating the Yankees in twelve frames. According to Swisher, the fans were suggesting that he was responsible for Jeter’s injury. Derek Jeter went for a ground ball and rolled over, suffering a fractured left ankle which has sidelined him for the remainder of the Yankees’ postseason.

The resolution for Nick Swisher is simple. Start getting hits. Swisher has been historically awful in his postseason career, posting a sub .150 average in four postseasons with the Yankees. The fact that a ball lined right to him was able to go to the wall and score Detroit’s go-ahead run only added fuel to the fire. Swisher has a chance to undo all the wrong that he has gotten himself into. He can do that tomorrow night with a decent offensive performance against Justin Verlander.

Chances are that Nick Swisher’s time in pinstripes has come to an end, and he is going out in a sour way with the fans. The thin-skinned player is taking fans’ frustrations too close to heart and turning his struggles over to blame the fans. Swisher is leaving the Bronx, and it couldn’t be at a more fitting time. Fans’ love for the right fielder has turned to heckling and impatience after Swisher has continued to struggle in the postseason.

MISSING: Offense

The Yankees bats have quieted when they have needed them most in this series. Aside from the outburst in the ninth inning of last night's game, the Yankees have not been able to score in any other inning against a pedestrian Tigers pitching staff. Down 0-2 in the series, they now have to face Justin Verlander in game three in Detroit. Getting at least a split at home was crucial for the Yankees because they knew Verlander was waiting for them in the third game of the series. Tonight, the Yankee offense was non-existent after getting shut out by Anibal Sanchez and the rest of the Tigers bullpen. Kuroda was fantastic tonight and should have gone eight innings to allow one run. Instead, a blown call at second base cost the Yankees an additional four pitchers and an additional two runs to trail by. Raul Ibanez cannot hit 1-9 in the Yankee lineup and another guy has to step up now that Jeter is out for the remainder of the postseason. Alex Rodriguez continues to look helpless at the plate and Cano, who has set an MLB postseason record with consecutive hitless at-bats. Cano has been complaining to the umpires a lot in the postseason, but he is the only person to blame for his slump, which is probably the worst of his career. After ending the season so hot, how is it possible to get so cold in a matter of single digit games?

The Yankees have a tall mountain to climb if they want to get back into this series and it will start by facing Justin Verlander on Tuesday night in Detroit where he will square off against Phil Hughes, who actually beat Verlander in Detroit earlier in the season. If Verlander beats them, which is a probable outcome based on the Yankees offensive slump, they will essentially be out of the World Series hunt in a painful way. Let's see if they are able to muster something up against Verlander and suddenly come out of their offensive dip.

ALCS Game 2 lineup

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

SP: RHP Hiroki Kuroda

The Captain Goes Down in Extra Inning Loss

This was a winnable game for the Yankees as Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki powered the Yankees back into a tie in the ninth inning against Tigers closer Jose Valverde. However, the story after this game will not be the team's inability to get a big hit aside from Ibanez's at bat. It will be about Jeter rolling his ankle in the twelfth inning as the Tigers scored two runs off David Phelps.

Derek Jeter has had problems with his leg for about a month now, but this time it looked like it was as bad as it's been all season. This could have been avoided all together if the Yankees would have scored the winning run in the tenth or eleventh inning. As a matter of fact, they had chances throughout the ENTIRE game to blow it open. However, when they needed a hit most, the batter either struck out or grounded out. Alex Rodriguez had another disgusting day at the plate. Swisher continues his postseason woes as he not only struggles offensively but also defensively as he missed a liner hit right at him and allowed it to roll to the wall.

Tomorrow afternoon, Hiroki Kuroda will try to give the Yankees their first win of the series to even it up before heading into Comerica Park in Detroit where Justin Verlander will be waiting in game three.

ALCS Game 1 lineup

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

SP: LHP Andy Pettitte

ALCS Roster change

The only change of the ALCS that the Yankees made to their roster was taking Eduardo Nunez off of the roster. With all four of the Tigers starters being right handed, the Yankees do not need an extra righty bat off the bench. However, they do add RHP Cody Eppley to the 25 man roster because of the Tigers lineup being almost completely right handed.

ACE-ALCS

CC Sabathia put the Yankees on his back this afternoon and went the distance to advance the New York Yankees to the American League Championship Series. The performance that Sabathia gave his team is the definition of ace. Sabathia was as clutch as he has been as a Yankee, putting the Yankees on his back and giving them their first trip to the Championship series since 2010. Sabathia had all of his pitches working for him and the Orioles aggressiveness helped keep his pitch count low to enable him to go all the way tonight. There was one inning where Sabathia got into trouble and allowed a run to score in the eighth but that would be all that Sabathia would allow as he pitched his way through the eighth inning, leaving the bases loaded. Sabathia is the first Yankee starting pitcher to pitch a complete game in the postseason since Roger Clemens in 2000. That is a remarkable statistic that CC Sabathia will now hold next to his name. He definately earned his paycheck tonight. Sabathia took the three runs that he was provided with and ran with it all the way to the finish line.

Speaking of offense, the Yankees looked dead through the first four innings of the game. Jason Hammel was keeping batters honest and not many balls were being hit hard. Mark Teixeira led off the fifth inning with a single lined over the shift into right field. He then stole second base after Baltimore had not been holding him on first for the entire series. Teixeira stealing second base was a momentum shifter in the Yankees direction as Raul Ibanez came up in a big spot and singled up the middle to score Teixeira from second. Later, Ichiro would add to the lead with an RBI double to score Jeter from first base. To cap the scoring, Curtis Granderson, who looked horrendus throughout the entire series added to the lead with an insurance solo blast into the second deck in right. Granderson also had a line drive single in the game, which is a great sign for the Yankees. If Granderson starts to hit he will be a huge threat in the series against Detroit.

Tomorrow night at the Stadium, Andy Pettitte will take the ball for game one against the Detroit Tigers who beat the Athletics in five games behind Justin Verlander. Fortunately for the Yankees, Verlander pitched for game five and will not start game one of the ALCS.

My prediction for the next series: Yankees in six. Verlander will win his game, but the rest of the Tigers staff doesn't scare me at all. The Yankees do well against right-handed pitching and have good numbers against Fister, Sanchez and Scherzer. They have even beaten Verlander twice in the 2012 regular season. With that being said, I give the Yankees an edge in the starting rotation and as long as they do not let Cabrera beat them, the Yankees should do well in this series.

Game 5 ALDS lineup: A-Rod out

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

SP: LHP CC Sabathia

It Will All Come Down to One

The Yankees blew a game that they had several chances of winning. They stranded islands on men in scoring position and used their entire bullpen. That is the story of their season and it came back to bite them when they needed to get over their RISP woes most. Tomorrow, CC Sabathia will make his second start of the series to try to send the Yankees into the American League Championship Series. The Yankees face a dilemma even if they make the next round: CC Sabathia will not start game one. That is a huge blow for the Bombers. Technically, they did this all by themselves with their inability to get a big hit tonight. The game went thirteen innings and the Yankees just wasted a ton of energy and bullpen arms. Now, because they weren't able to get it done tonight, they will burn their ace in a game that never should have happened.

Lost in the shuffle was Phil Hughes' start. He went 6.2 innings and allowed just a run on a home run to the hot Nate McLouth. The Yankees starting pitching has been fantastic this entire series, and it is a shame that that will be overshadowed by the lack of clutch hitting. Too bad Raul Ibanez couldn't repeat what he did last night. Too bad Alex Rodriguez failed again with runners on base. Too bad the Yankees have wasted every opportunity given to them in these four games.

Last year, the Yankees were eliminated in the fifth game of the ALDS against the Tigers. This year, they face a similar fate against the Orioles after they had countless chances to make a laugher out of this series. It is late, the Yankees lost and I am tired. I will go to bed and will wake up in the morning hoping for a game five miracle tomorrow afternoon at 5PM.

Game 4 ALDS lineup

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

SP: RHP Phil Hughes

RAUL DELIVERS TWICE!

Just when you think the Yankees are dead, a man named Raul Ibanez comes to the plate. The man who has saved the Yankees season time and time again came to the plate in a crucial spot. He was batting in place of a man who may have cost the Yankees a few wins along the way. Raul Ibanez is the man, and he is the most clutch player the Yankees have had in years. This is the second time in a week that Ibanez saved the Yankees season. Tonight, he got greedy and got both of the big hits of the game; A game-tying solo shot off Jim Johnson in the ninth inning and a walk-off solo blast off lefty Brian Matusz in the twelfth inning. The script could not have been written any better and the Yankees should be on their hands and knees, bowing down to the king of big moments for the 2012 Yankees.

Kuroda made that walk-off possible by delivering eight plus innings of two run baseball to an Orioles team that was ready to call it a night up two games to the Yankees one game. Raul Ibanez had other plans tonight as the Yankees go up 2-1 in the series and look to advance to the American League Championship Series with a win tomorrow night. Some of the pressure is taken off Phil Hughes tomorrow as he is pitching in a game four with the Yankees having the series lead. The Yankees are now playing to advance and the Orioles will be playing to keep their season alive. Still, the Yankees have to go out and win tomorrow night to keep this from going to a fifth game after the momentum shift in the Yankees direction tonight.

Joe Saunders will make the start for Baltimore tomorrow night. Saunders has been great for the Orioles and performed well in Baltimore's one game playoff against the Texas Rangers last Friday. The Yankees have a long road ahead of them but they can put tonight behind them knowing they hold the upper hand.

ALDS Game 3 lineup: where is A-Rod?

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

SP: RHP Hiroki Kuroda

Yankees Failure with Men on Base Haunts Them

It feels like I have been telling the same old story about the Yankees all year. Just when you think they have turned a corner in their runners in scoring position problem, the Yankees come back tonight and leave ten men on base and ended up losing by just one run. The Yankees had opportunities all night to get big hits off of the Baltimore starter but mustered only two runs, one of which was earned. The Yankees displayed a pathetic effort tonight offensively. This is why winning the first game is so important. If the Yankees went into tonight down 0-1 in the series this loss would have stung even more than it already stings. For the players in the Yankee dugout, they will have two whole days to sit and think about how they failed to get big hits in this game. Hopefully it eats at them to the point of them coming out with red hot bats on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium where they will try to wrap up the series in front of the home crowd. The Orioles were able to do what the Yankees were not able to and ended up edging out the victory at home in front of their bandwagon fans. I won't get into that however.

Andy Pettitte pitched his heart out tonight, going seven innings and allowing only three runs. He kept the Yankees in the game the whole time but as they have done many times this year, they were unable to come up with the big hit against the Orioles pitchers. Pettitte falls short of winning his 20th postseason game but was very worthy of getting it tonight. If you take out the third inning, Andy Pettitte only gave up one run and the Yankees probably win the game.

It's up to Kuroda on Wednesday night to give the Yankees a series lead against the O's who seem to have all the momentum at the moment. If Kuroda's home statistics are any indicator of how he will do on Wednesday night, then the Yankees should be wrapping this series up on Thursday night in a game four. First though, they need to win on Wednesday before thinking about taking the series. Even before winning on Wednesday, the Yankees need to get their situational hitting together if they want to advance in this postseason.

Game 2 ALDS lineup

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

SP: LHP Andy Pettitte

Ninth Inning Rally Gives Yankees 1-0 Game Advantage

The Yankees entered play today having had three straight days off. As if that was not enough, the game was delayed by almost three hours due to rain. That didn't stop the Yankees from scoring in the first inning as Jeter singled up the middle to lead off the game and Ichiro wasted no time by doubling him home. Ichiro would get sloppy right after however, as he was tagged out trying to steal third with no outs in the first. That caught stealing gave the Baltimore starter Jason Hammel some momentum through the game as he only allowed another run in 5.2 innings of work. The Orioles would score a pair off CC Sabathia on a Nate McClouth single that temporarily gave the O's a lead before the Yankees came back the following inning by scoring one run on a Teixeira single off the right field wall but Teixeira was tagged out trying to advance to second. That was the Yankees' second base-running blunder of the night which cost them an additional out in the fourth with a runner at third base.

After giving up a pair of runs, CC Sabathia buckled down and went one out short of a complete game in what would turn out to be a 7-2 rout of the Orioles as the Yankees came back big time in the ninth. What was important for CC Sabathia was pitching around a JJ Hardy lead-off double in the eighth to retire the 3-4-5 hitters in order. That performance may have shifted the momentum of the game toward the Yankees side of the dugouts as Russell Martin led-off the ninth inning with a go-ahead solo blast off closer Jim Johnson who was brilliant in the regular season. Johnson would go on to give up five runs to the Yankees potent offense while only collecting one out in the inning. It was important for the Yankees to score in the ninth to stop Baltimore from believing they could come back in the bottom of the inning. An experienced playoff team knows how to perform when it's crunch time. The Yankees put their experience on display as they went on to beat the Orioles by a final score of 7-2.

The Yankees lead the series 1-0 and will play tomorrow night in Camden Yards once more. Andy Pettitte, the pitcher with the most wins in postseason history, will make the start against the Birds. The Orioles will counter with left handed starter Wei-Yin Chen. If the Yankees come out of these first two games with a split, they should be happy; however, the Yankees will be looking to come home to Yankee Stadium on Wednesday to wrap this series up with Kuroda on the mound in front of the home crowd.

Game 1 ALDS lineup

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

SP: LHP CC Sabathia

Nova, Jones not on ALDS Roster

CATCHERS
Russell Martin
Chris Stewart

INFIELDERS
Mark Teixeira
Robinson Cano
Derek Jeter
Alex Rodriguez
Jayson Nix
Eduardo Nunez
Eric Chavez

OUTFIELDERS
Nick Swisher
Curtis Granderson
Ichiro Suzuki
Brett Gardner
Raul Ibanez

STARTING PITCHERS
CC Sabathia
Andy Pettitte
Hiroki Kuroda
Phil Hughes

RELIEF PITCHERS
Rafael Soriano
Dave Robertson
Boone Logan
Joba Chamberlain
Clay Rapada
Derek Lowe
David Phelps

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

Lineup: Teixeira back!

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

SP: LHP CC Sabathia