HOW THE TRADE DEADLINE WENT DOWN FOR THE YANKS

The trade deadline came and went quickly. The Yankees are always tied to a lot of names, but this year it felt different to me. Maybe it’s because this year we weren’t chasing after a huge void on the team, or that front of the line pitcher. This year it was about the extra support, so that sounds easier to get, right? Well….there was a lot of hype right down to the wire but all the talk didn’t pan out to be as exciting. Check out some of the names and how it went down.

Casey McGehee: Welcome to pinstripes! The Yankees do get some infield help with McGehee, trading him to the Pirates in exchange for Chad Qualls. McGehee is a right-handed hitter who primarily plays 3rd base and hits with some power. His .230BA isn’t particularly impressive but, he has does have a nice .807 OPS against lefties this year, which will come in handy. He is a decent defender, and gives Girardi some extra versatility freeing up Jayson Nix to take some starts in left field if needed so Andruw Jones can take some more turns as a DH. McGehee is an upgrade over Ramiro Pena because he is a little more consistent offensively. He definitely gives the Yankees some more options, just don’t count on him stealing any bases, speed is not one of his strengths. Another positive to this trade is he is under team control and arbitration eligible through 2014.

This move definitely gives the Yankees more help in the infield, and frankly, I am surprised that the Pirates gave him up in exchange for Chad Qualls who had a 6.14 ERA during his brief role with the Yankees. In the end, Qualls would have inevitably been cut now that Joba has been activated from the disabled list so there is no down side to this move.

Carlos Lee: The Yankees checked in on Lee. With the uncertainty with Tex’s injury, I can see why they were talking to the Marlins. Lee has a no-trade clause, so when the Marlins asked him about him accepting a trade to the Yankees, he was quick to turn it down. I guess playing as a back-up to Tex wasn’t an option for him. This talk quickly went no-where and he is still in Miami.

Ryan Dempster: The one that got away. The Yankees expressed interest in him on Monday, and they were in heavy discussions with the Cubs. The buzz about this on Tuesday was crazy. Sources were reporting new information every hour. Dempster even said that he would be interested in waving his 10-and-5 rights to join the Yankees so it sounded promising, and who wouldn’t like to see a reunion between Larry Rothschild and Dempster in the Bronx? As the last hour of the trade deadline approached, it still sounded like both the Cubs and the Yankees were very far apart. The Cubs had interest in Angelo Gumbs and Dante Bichette Jr but the Yankees didn’t like the asking price. In the last 10 minutes a teaser was leaked saying that the Yankees “may have” acquired Dempster, but it was just that…a tease and he is now a Texas Ranger.

Shane Victorino: The Yankees were definitely interested in him before Ichiro. The asking price was too steep for us, but the Dodgers were willing to pay up.

Brendan Ryan: The Yankees made an offer to the Mariners, but they declined. Brendan would have been a nice upgrade over Ramiro Pena because he is one of the best defensive shortstops in the game. He is also arbitration eligible for one more year making him very affordable and his experience at also second and third base would have been a plus, but no such luck here.

The trade deadline has come and gone…but teams can still make some moves. It will be interesting to see what else develops over the next couple of weeks, and how teams benefit from these moves. The race to the postseason is here….can you feel it? Get ready; it’s going to be a fight to the finish!

The Waiver wires next...let's see what the Yankees do.

--Jeana Bellezza ,BYB Writer and Editor

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YANKEE CHECKLIST: TRADE DEADLINE AFTERMATH

It's not the first time the Yankees believed in their team enough that players on the trading block didn't wow them enough to make deals. Bottom line, the Yankees may have made 1 small deal today trading Chad Qualls to the Pirates for Casey McGehee (Read about the trade HERE) but over the next 2 months it could prove important. Why?  Let me break it down my way, not with stats and sabermetrics and analysis from top experts ... Just my way...my brain thinking about how things have unfold and could unfold.

It's my opinion that the Yankees made a smart move not trading for Ryan Dempster. Now, I know they were in "talks" with the Cubs, but they didn't pull the trigger. Why? Well,  I believe that the combination of Freddy Garcia and David Phelps proves better than Ryan Dempster and to give up guys for Demp seemed forced to me.  Maybe the Yankees didn't like who the Cubs wanted in return or maybe they just realized that Demp wasn't the guy.   You don't make trades just to make them and I'm happy no deal was done.

The Yankees have Joba Chamberlain back now (Read HERE), so no doubt that's stability in the pen and he looks to have a great summer and fall. "Joba's in the best shape of his life." That's all I read about and now he's back and I'm so psyched for the big lug. His energy will help the club.

Mark Teixeira's wrist injury isn't serious and that's a good thing.  Maybe he's out a few days. Not a big deal. Larry Bowa on MLB said it best yesterday; you put Nick Swisher at first, you keep Ichiro in right where he's familiar and you keep platooning Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez on left until Tex comes back. Then, it's IGS in the outfield. I would subscribe to that.

The Yankees pitching is good on paper and I say that because there have been hiccups. I feel like it's taken some time for them to get really going. But August is here and they will. This is when CC Sabathia can really turn it on.

Luckily for us, Hiroki Kuroda has become a huge surprise and Phil Hughes is working out the kinks and has looked good as of late.  Look, we only need 4 starters for the playoffs and not knowing if Andy Pettitte can come back hurts, but we need to work through it. Well, we can. I believe.  And don't for a second think that Cliff Lee was ever an option for the Yankees at today's trade deadline. I think we learned our lesson with him. Cliff Lee and his lovely wife don't want any part of New York.

If they did, they'd be here. That was never going to happen ladies and gentlemen, and I wasn't quite sure why it kept surfacing on Facebook and Twitter. No, if the Yankees were really desperate for pitching, they would have pursued someone...and they still could! But I believe that the Yankees know their pitching is fine, they just need alittle momentum and a whole lot of RISP help.

Yes, runners in scoring position is a problem for the Yankees. But anyone who thought Ichiro would show up and everything would be fixed is wrong. Give the Yanks a few more days to get this team rolling with some new blood, Casey McGehee, Ichiro and trust me, it will come together.

In the end, the Yankees did the right thing this year. They picked up the little pieces that could prove big. And yes, even though the deadline is past, moves that had been discussed or have a framework can still go through by August 31st. What am I getting at? All I'm saying is Cashman's sneaky... Who knows if he still has another poker in the fire. He may and we may find out about it soon enough. Either way though, the Yanks will move forward no matter what. After all... We have a championship to win, don't we?

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YANKEES ARE ONE RUN SHORT AGAIN. WTF?

One of the nation's most respected news magazines reported in it's most recent issue that the midwestern drought in our country is worsening.  The story characterizes the situation as a "creeping disaster."  The article went on to say that droughts unfold in slow motion, day after dry day.  That sums up the Yankees circumstance right now.  Four straight losses to Oakland on the last road trip followed by a general malaise that has produced four more losses since that series with the A's.

The Yankees now stand at 3-8 over the last eleven games. Yankee pitchers have allowed 12 home runs over the last ten games.   Freddy Garcia allowed 3 runs on 9 hits in his 6 innings of work.  His line could have been even worse had the Yankees not turned three double plays behind him.  Garcia was charged with the loss and falls to 4-5, 5.10 ERA on the season.

The Yankee bullpen was almost as bad, allowing two more runs in three innings of relief.  Boone Logan pitched two-thirds of an inning.  Ironically he retired the first two batters, both right hand hitters, but allowed a walk and hit to the two left-handers he faced, giving the Orioles a 5-2 lead.  David Phelps yielded a hit and a walk in relief of Logan. 

 The Yankees had rallied with two runs in their half of the seventh with back-to-back home runs from Eric Chavez and Ichiro Suzuki.  Suzuki's home run was the 100th of his career and extended his Yankee hitting streak to seven games. 

Later on, Chad Qualls bailed the Yankees out of further trouble by retiring JJ Hardy and Chris Davis.  His effort preserved one last chance for the Yankees in the bottom of the inning.

 

The Yankees entered the ninth inning 0-34 this season when trailing after eight innings.  Despite a Nick Swisher double to lead off the ninth inning and a walk to Chavez, the Yankees could not score the tying run.  Raul Ibanez struck out, Ichiro grounded into a fielder's choice, and Russell Martin struck out.  The Yankee record fell to 0-35 when trailing after the 8th.

Joe Girardi was his usual glib, rationalizing self following the loss.  The only real concern he showed was regarding the wrist injury to Mark Teixeira.  He seemed to incur the injury diving for a ball to his left.  Teixeira's post-game comments revealed that he was actually injured in one of his at bats against the Red Sox last night.

Nevertheless, if Girardi believes that his team can continue to coast in the manner of the last eleven games, perhaps he should hearken to the words of the Judas Priest rock anthem, "You got another thing coming!"
Final score in this game Orioles 5  Yankees 4.  Could be another hot dry day tomorrow.  

--Frank Gentry, BYB Writer

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AROD HURT, YANKEES LOSE... WHAT ELSE CAN GO WRONG?

In what may be the highlight of this game, three separate Yankees - Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez - were hit by pitches, while Raul Ibanez was also almost hit. None of them were as concerning as the one that hit Alex Rodriguez. He was taken out of the game with his wrist immobilized, and the injury turned out to be a fractured wrist that will send him to the DL, read HERE. The timetable for his return is estimated at 6-8 weeks, but there is no official word until the team returns to New York, but this is another blow to a team that has suffered the loss of several key players over the season.

As far as the game goes, Felix Hernandez came into this game leading the American League in strikeouts and with eight consecutive games without a homer. The Yankees ended that streak early, as Curtis Granderson went yard on the third pitch of the game, giving the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. The Yankees, while not exactly taking King Felix apart, did hold him to only four strikeouts through seven-plus innings.

Freddy Garcia, for his part, pitched well at certain points. At one point, he had retired 11 batters in a row, with a season-high eight strikeouts. That strikeout total was his highest since last May 4th, and he pitched 7 1/3 innings - the most in a game since last July 25th. He did, however, give up a home run to Michael Saunders on a mistake pitch in the first, and he ran into trouble in the 3rd, giving up two more runs.

The Yankees' hitting woes continued, as they went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, leaving a total of seven men on base and grounding into two double plays. Their best opportunity came in the top of the fourth, with the bases loaded and one out. However, they were unable to capitalize as Hernandez shut down the heart of the Yankees order.

(In Photo: Boone Logan)

Once Garcia came out of the game, it almost all fell apart. Chad Qualls and Boone Logan failed to record a single out, and the Yankees gave up a key insurance run. For a team that started out with an excellent bullpen, Joe Girardi has to be concerned about how they are performing now. Good opposing teams now have a legitimate weak point in the Yankees defense on which to focus.

In other interesting observations, Mariners runners challenged Ichiro's arm early by running aggressively from first to third on two separate occasions. Both runners came around to score. However, we all got to see just how strong Ichiro's arm is. In the end, it was another frustrating loss for the Yankees. 

Final Score: Mariners 4, Yankees 2.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer




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NAIL-BITER 'TIL THE END BUT YANKS COME UP SHORT

 

The Yankees didn't win it today.  They literally went until the very end grinding it out and climbing back into the game like they have done so often, with a crowd at the stadium cheering their guts out and then, after the Alex Rodriguez pop out, the crowd became quiet and walked out wondering what will happen to Alex Rodriguez, a once mighty force, now just a ballplayer in a bad, bad rut.  We here at BYB want Alex to succeed.  We want Alex to explode and we are doing our best to root hard for the guy in the hopes that he comes up big (THE SECOND HALF WILL BE ALL ABOUT ALEX)...but we're still waiting.   But more on that in a moment.

Jered Weaver is a damn good pitcher.  He really did well today and the Angels came out to win after losing the last 2 games of this series.  Weaver went 7 innings, allowed 10 hits and gave up only 5 runs.
 He struck out 4.  Only flaw for him was he gave up 3 home runs...one to Alex Rodriguez, one to Curtis Granderson and one to Eric Chavez. Give the guy credit though, he's a darn pitcher and he got the best of the Yankees, getting the W today.

Ivan Nova wasn't the guy we've been seeing lately, but you can't get mad at the dude.  Nova allowed 6 runs today on 9 hits in just 6 innings.  I wished better for him but it wasn't his day.  After him, Chad Qualls got rocked and that was the big difference in the game.  Qualls had 1.1 innings of work and allowed 4 hits and 3 runs.  Don't be ripping on Qualls just yet, he's fairly knew to the Bronx and every pitcher has a bad game once in a while.  The most important thing to remember is the Yankees won this series, 2 games to 1.

It was a big day for Eric Chavez, 3 for 3 with 2 runs and an RBI.  You need to love Chavez, he knows his role, he understands it and is comfortable with it.  This in turn allows him to play well.  Gotta love him, one of the best moves the Yankees made getting bench help this off season.  I was actually surprised Girardi chose to pinch hit Andruw Jones for Chavez in the 9th.  I say if you're having a hot day, you keep the "hotness" going... you know what I mean? Anyway, no biggie.

Derek Jeter (1-4), Curtis Granderson (2-4), Robinson Cano (2-3), Mark Teixeira (1-4) and Raul Ibanez (1-4) all contributed today... as well as Chavez.  What can you say, the 9th inning we quickly changed the score from 10-5 to 10-8... but we ran out of gas with ARod coming to the plate.

(ARod after popping up to end the game in the bottom of the 9th)To me, the biggest disappointment was ARod popping out in the 9th with the bases loaded.  The frustration after the pop out wasn't "Damn I blew it", it was "Damn, the fans are gonna start riding my ass." ARod not only was down on himself when the game ended, hopefully he'll take that home with him, come back tomorrow, take extra batting practice and learns from the sting today because Yankee fans are losing patience.  

(ARod throwing his gum)
The guy wants to be loved and wants to be the guy he once was.  I get age, I get slowing down and I have to tell you, it sucks, but it's clear, Alex is just a regular ballplayer these days.  Anything positive he can offer is great, but we need to face reality now things may be winding down.

Final Score: Angels 10 - Yankees 8. We won the series ladies & gentlemen, that's a good thing...remember that.

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HUGE YANKEE COMEBACK ON FRIDAY THE 13TH

On Friday the 13th, the Yankees scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and then were suddenly on their way to a come from behind win. It's a win the Boss would love to see if he were still here.  Today is 2 years since his death.  How ironic.  These are the types of games any true sports fans love.  The Yankees beat the Angels tonight in Game one of this series and momentum now needs to go their way for the weekend.  Sure, I'm stating the obvious, but it's important now, more so because we've now started the second half.

Give CJ Wilson credit, he pitched well against the Yankees tonight and there is no denying, he had it in the bag but Scott Downs lost control.  How do you think their conversation went after the game?

Hiroki Kuroda went 7.1 innings, gave up 8 hits and 5 runs. He struggled a bit and actually got a no decision. Chad Qualls got the win and Rafael Soriano got his 21st save of the season.  Atta boy...and untuck.

The best play of the game had to come from Nick Swisher, a great catch that for sure may have been a game changer and the Yankees may not have come back.  Everything happens for a reason...Swish kicked ass tonight in the field.  Good for him.

Derek Jeter had 2 hits tonight, Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 16 games and Mark Teixeria was 2 for 5 with 5 RBIs. Teixeira homered 2 times and I think it's safe to say, he's back. He hit the game tying 3 run homer in the 8th. I'd love to see his average rise to the .300 mark.  That would be vintage Teixeira.

In the end, it was Russell Martin who knocked in the go ahead run.  Russell Martin needed that big time because he's struggled terribly in the first half. Hopefully that hit is the sign of something good for him.

This is what Nick Swisher said about the game tonight, brought to you by My 9 Sports:

Yankees win tonight 6-5. Another game tomorrow.... I can't wait.  Go Yanks, Go!

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WHAT I MIGHT DO AS THE YANKEES GM

On June 25th the Yankees defeated the Indians 7-1, Hiroki Kuroda got an impressive win throwing 7+ innings of 1 run ball with 7 strikeouts, propelling the Yankees to their 13th win in their past 16 games, and their 8th straight. Sure, it happened 2 weeks ago, but it was significant, it was the beginning of something good for the Yankees, a gelling if you will. The bombers were really clicking on all cylinders and the whole city knew it.

 Then, on June 27th a couple of hours before game time the Yankees announced that CC would be put on the 15 day DL for a groin strain, read HERE. At that point, I was still optimistic for the Yanks because they still had another left hander in the rotation, old reliable Andy Pettitte.  But that changed when Andy went down with a come backer off the bat of Casey Kotchman, busting his ankle, read HERE. It's devastating, but this isn't a cause for complete, "abandon ship" type of concern... we should however look further than who we have to fill the holes, my opinion of course. Why? Because since those injuries, some of the moving parts just aren't working and there is need for improvement....outside the organization.

 Let's break it down. Cory Wade has been good, but not recently.  That was why he was sent down and it's my opinion that he shouldn't have even been in last night's game against the Red Sox, read WADE HAPPENS. They Yankees picked up Chad Qualls and while I'm not exactly sure how effective he really is yet, I'm not exactly pleased with Wade's recent performance and I'm not too confident in Qualls ability.

I'm thinking another solid reliever in that bullpen could really do wonders. If I were assigned the Yankees GM role for the day, I would work very closely with the Houston Astros to make a trade for Brett Myers & Wandy Rodriguez a rental starter and reliever that could really help our club.

• Brett Myers is a former starter turned closer who really can do either.  Throughout his career he has been a starting pitcher on the Phillies (2002-2009) and the Astros. Sure, there were 2 seasons in 2007 when he was with the Phillies and became a closer for a good portion of the season after former Yankee Flash Gordon went down for some time. Bottom line, Myers did such a good job that when Gordon came back, Myers stayed as the closer for the rest of the season recording 21 saves. 

This year Myers was appointed closer when Mark Melancon was traded to the Red Sox. This season Myers has 18 saves already with a 3.54 ERA. He is a solid option to shore up the Yankees bullpen and in my opinion, a better option than Chad Qualls or Cory Wade.

• Wandy Rodriguez is the other piece to this potential deal.  He is the ace of the Astros pitching staff and is a proven left handed pitcher.  Rodriguez has posted an ERA under 4 every season since 2008.  He could be the piece that can fill the void as a lefty with 2 lefties out. Plus, the Astros are a team in serious rebuilding mode. They easily traded Houston fan favorite Lance Berkman to the Yankees in the summer of 2010 for just 2 mid level prospects. 

If Brian Cashman could work the Astros again and get a trade going again, give up a few low level prospects and get the Astros to eat some salary on Myers and Rodriguez, I'd be all over this.

Sure, there are other pitchers out there, but we all know Cole Hamels is just too expensive for the Yankees, Read HERE. How about Huston Street who's a good target (read HERE), and Matt Garza whom the Yankees really like and has already proven himself in the AL East, read HERE, but I tell you what, it's my opinion Myers and Rodriguez could be the best option by the deadline, a reliever and starter, both rentals, both reliable and both for low level prospects. If I'm the Yankees GM for a day, that's what I'd do, what about you? Comment.



--Will Cohen, BYB Contributor




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YANKEES ARE LOST IN ST. PETERSBURG

Don't look now but the Yankees are on a 2 game losing streak.  Sure, it's not the end of the world, but it was not a good night.  3 errors in one game.  Wow.  It's weird how things happen.  Before this game even started my buddy Dave said to me simply, "I don't know what it is but I feel like with momentum going the Rays way, Nova is going to get shelled tonight."  Sometime fans have gut feelings.  It's amazing how that happens.

 In 6 innings tonight, Ivan Nova allowed 7 hits and 6 runs, 3 earned and struck out 5. That was followed by Clay Rapada and Chad Qualls.  Qualls gave up another run.  There's your 7 runs for the Rays.

The Yankees started off strong but fizzled tonight.  Whatever, it was a nice start but what the hell? We lost it.  Overall, the Yankees scored 4 tonight all off James Shields.  The guy is just a good pitcher and if Nova didn't give up so many, we'd have a game tonight.  We didn't and to be honest, you can't even fault Nova tonight. The guys been great all season.  We just need to accept it and come back tomorrow and win.

DeWayne Wise hit another home run tonight.  Give this guy credit, he knows his role, he's accepted it and he's delivering whenever he's in the game. Derek Jeter, Raul Ibanez, Robinson Cano, DeWayne Wise all have 2 hits each.

Now onto the errors. 2 errors were committed by Russell Martin and one happened to change game momentum the Rays way. That's not a good situation. Look, I hate to sound a bit down on Martin, I like the guy a lot, but the truth is Martin and his back could truly be a problem if his back problems continue.  You have to wonder if that was a factor tonight. Sure, we could use Chris Stewart on those days his back acts up, but let's face facts, this can be a problem, not only for the Yankees, but for his future.  Think about that.

The third error tonight was by Eric Chavez who is not only a former gold glover, but also filled in for Mark Texieria tonight. Hell, this sucks, but think about it this way, Chavez doesn't play much 1st base, he's alittle rusty. Sure, I hate errors, but I give him a pass tonight.

My opinion on this game is simple.  Losses happen, but 2 in a row against an American League rival sucks.  I love my Yankees, but I need a win right now.  This is nuts to me.  

Finally... let me say this.  I was watching the post game show.  I respect Bob Lorenz and Jack Curry so much, but why were they still questioning an ump call on Robinson Cano's slide home and whether or not Jose Molina tagged him or not.  The games over, you can't go back. Turn the page.  I hate that.

Final tonight: Rays 7 - Yankees 4

Bottom line, tomorrow is the Fourth of July, we need a win, it's America's birthday and we're the New York Yankees! Let's do this!

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THE YANKEES SHELL GAME

The Yankees are making moves and doing it at a rapid rate.  Sure, there are plenty of moving parts and moving players that no one really knows about, or, they do but they’re not around fast enough to get to know them. That’s the Yankees shell game this season, making smart, cheap moves that can either help us on the big team down the stretch or be traded by the July 31^st deadline or will help our future.  Believe me, all these moves will play a part at some point, or at least that’s the thinking when they made them.  I’m about the name several players, some you’ve heard of, some you haven’t but go with it. We’re here to educate, not confuse you.

 (In Photo: Luis Torrens)

Ben Badler of Baseball America says the Yankees signed a Venezuelan catcher named Luis Torrens for $1.3 million.  You can read about it HERE. He’s a 16 year old who used to be an infielder and was ranked as the 2^nd best international shortstop according to Baseball America. 

Badler also had information on a Dominican Shortstop named Yancarlos Baez.  He is also 16 and signed for $650,000. Baez is a switch hitter with speed.. You can read more about Baez HERE.

(In Photo: Matt Antonelli, left)

Remember Matt Antonelli? The Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Orioles on May. (Read HERE.) Well, he has been designated for assignment to make room for Chad Qualls.  You can read about that HERE.

(In Photo: Danny Farquhar)

Finally, remember we wrote in THE BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE NEWSSTAND IX how Danny Farquhar was designated for assignment when the Yankees signed Chris Schwinden? Good news for Farquhar, he has cleared waivers and is now with Trenton’s AA. I said good news because I can only assume he’s happy he still in the Yankees system. Probably not fair for me to speculate, I mean who wants to be send down to the minors...

Anyway there you go, names you may not be too familiar with now... but you will.

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"60% OF THE TIME, IT WORKS EVERY TIME."

Sure, you can sit there and tell me that mix and matching the bullpen with Rays batting should have lead to a Yankee win tonight in the Trop and sure, that statement may be true. But I thought as though there was too much overmanaging with the pen tonight... I don't know, that's just me. Oh, and that error by Mark Teixeira may have contributed too, but whatever. I'm not hammering my Yankees tonight...it was just a tough loss.

I'm not a Girardi hater, but I do hate the binder. I can close my eyes and see Girardi sitting at the post game Q & A right now. Then Mark Feinsand would ask "Do you think you mixed and matched too much?" I can see Joe looking dead in his eyes saying "60% of the time, it works every time."

OK, sure, the Yankees pen has been rolling. I love them right now, but if there are guys that can handle and inning or 2, you don't need to bring in lefties if they are rolling through the inning. Sometimes breaking up momentum for a lefty specialist breaks the flow. That's my opinion of course.

Now look, games against the Tampa Bay Rays are games we need to win. We didn't tonight, but when you look at each set of games, the bottom line is, we need to win the series, not 162 games. Bottom line, you win every series, you make the playoffs. That's why even though this loss stings, the Yankees know they need to just win the next 2 now.

Freddy Garcia pitched well tonight. I was proud of him. It was like old times, or should I say, last season. Freddy went 5.1 innings, he has 5 hits and only allowed 2 runs. Look, it's not outstanding, but it's good for what we needed. After that, you knew Girardi's binder was chomping at the bit and yes, it broke loose and the mix and match showed it's head.

Cody Eppley to Boone Logan to David Robertson to Clay Rapada to Chad Qualls. Look. This isn't game 7 of the World Series, and what I mean is, I find it hard to believe that the Yankees needed all these pitchers to hold down the mighty Rays. DRob clearly can handle an inning or 2, Cody Eppley can as well. Rapada and Boone are lefty specialists but did we need both of them tonight? My guess is it was probably just overdoing it. At the end of the day, all Joe's mix and matching didn't work tonight, but I suspect we didn't really need to in the first place.

Tonight's Yankee offense consisted of a few doubles, one by Derek Jeter and one by Mark Teixeira and a sacrifice fly by Curtis Granderson. Matt Moore pitched 7 innings, allowed 9 hits but only 3 runs. He held down the Yankees pretty good, tip your cap. Again, what are you going to do, it's a big loss, but it's not the end of the season. In the end, the Yankees will be back...tomorrow they win game 2 and then on to win the series against the Rays.

Sure, 60% of the time, it works every time...but... that doesn't make sense.



Final tonight: Rays 4 - Yankees 3.

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