CORY WADE JUST KEEPS CLINGING

Quick note about our friend and former New York Yankee Cory Wade.

According to KFFL.com, "The Kansas City Royals signed free-agent RP Cory Wade (Rays) to a minor league deal Friday, Nov. 22."

The guy just keeps on getting jobs and hopefully he'll get up to the big show again.  He's a good soldier and had a good run with the Yankees in 2011 when he went 6-1 with a 2.04 ERA in 39.2 innings, and 40 games. He hasn't been in the majors since he left the Yanks after a terrible 2012.  That doesn't mean he can't rebound, which is why the Royals are taking a chance on him with a minor league contract.

Good Luck Cory.

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CORY WADE FOUND A JOB

Just to keep everyone in the loop.  The other day in THE TALE OF 2 EX-YANKEE PITCHERS, 
I wrote that Cory Wade who was with the Tampa Bay Rays had been released.

Today we find out that Wade was signed by the New York Mets. It's a minor league deal. ESPN (HERE) writes: "Thin in relief help at Triple-A Las Vegas, the Mets have signed ex-Yankee Cory Wade. "

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THE TALE OF 2 EX-YANKEE PITCHERS

I just wanted to update you on a few guys we learned to love while they were in pinstripes.

Cory Wade who was with the Tampa Bay Rays has been released.  The Rays put that out yesterday:

ROSTER MOVES: OF Jason Bourgeois accepts outright assignment to Durham; RHP Cory Wade granted his release by #Rays
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) August 27, 2013

According to Sports Talk Florida, HERE, "He signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay back in May after struggling through 16 innings with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate. Wade, 30, saw a drastic turnaround in the Rays organization, pitching to a brilliant 2.17 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 49 1/3 innings of relief for the Durham Bulls."

The other guy is Chien-Ming Wang.  According to MLB.com, the Jays have designated Wang for assignment.  They write HERE, "...Wang's departure also opens a spot on the 40-man roster.  Wang lasted only three innings in Saturday's 8-5 loss to the Astros, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk. He went 1-2 in six starts for the Blue Jays this season, pitching to a 7.67 ERA with 14 strikeouts and nine walks over 27 innings."

There you go. Where they will wind up next is anyone's guess.

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REMEMBER CORY WADE? HE'S STILL WORKING

The Tampa Bay Rays have announced that they signed former Yankee Cory Wade to a minor league deal. Jason Mastrodonato of MLB.com writes HERE, "The 29-year-old has shown inconsistency at the Major League level, posting a 3.65 ERA over four seasons. He had a 6.46 ERA while striking out 38 batters and walking eight in 39 innings with the Yankees last year."

Carry on Ladies & Gentlemen.

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CORY WADE CLAIMED

Just a quick item for you involving our old friend Cory Wade. It's being reported HERE that Wade has been claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. Cory Wade's run in pinstripes appears to be officially over.

While Wade was in New York, these were his numbers: 7-2, 4.23 ERA, 68 K, 16 BB, WHIP 1.208.

Good Luck to Cory, we had fun didn't we?

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CORY WADE DFA'D

Just a quick note from Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.  He Tweeted earlier today that Cory Wade was Designated for Assignment today. Here is Feinsand's Tweet HERE.

Wade didn't have a very good 2012.  He had a 6.46 ERA with a 1-1 record and pitched 39 innings.  He was sent down to the minors at one point in the year because he just lost his way.  Anyway... we just wanted to keep you in the loop.

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PETTITTE REVVED UP, YANKEES WIN IN MINN

The Yankees came off an exciting series against the Oakland A's which they had two walk-offs the first 2 games. But Sunday their winning streak came to halt in a tough loss to the A's. Last night, the Yankees kicked off a series in Minnesota against a Twins team that has struggled all season. The Yankees struck first in the top of the first against rookie pitcher Liam Kendriks as Alex Rodriguez had an RBI fly out and Nick Swisher followed him with a two run home run to put the Yankees up 3-0 to start the game.

Andy Pettitte made his first away game start coming of the DL and he pitched excellent! He silenced the Twins in the bottom of the 1st and lead himself to 6 scoreless innings... another scoreless appearance. Curtis Granderson hit his 40th home run of the season in the 4th to put the Yankees up a commanding 4-0 lead.

Home runs, plus a dominant Pettitte equals a good day for the Yankees. Liam Hendriks would settle down all until he gave up home runs to Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez in the 7th which would end his night. Joba Chamberlain worked another 1-2-3 for the Yankees in the bottom of the 7th. Cory Wade would come in to pitch the 8th but gave up a home run to Pedro Florimon to end the shut out. Joe Girardi would take the ball from Cory Wade and bring in Justin Thomas to get out of the 8th. Justin Thomas came back out into the 9th but gave up 2 base-runners and Joe Girardi would take the ball from him to bring in David Robertson. David Robertson who has been very good down the stretch gave up a triple to Chris Parmelee that would cut the lead to 6-3. David Robertson would buckle down to strike out the next batter and get Pedro Florimon to ground out to end the ball game.

Player of the Game: Andy Pettitte. It was a hard choice, but you can't ask any more from the guy like this! He has been consistent for us since his return in May and I'm excited to see him back for the playoffs.

Final Score: Yankees 6 - Twins 3


If you are wondering, the Yankees plan to call up David Aardsma today from the 60 day DL. The Yankees signed him as a free agent this off season. He is a former closer for the Seattle Mariners. BYB is looking forward to seeing him back in the pros.

--Sam Thaler, BYB Contributor
Twitter: @samt1836

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"LOOKS LIKE I PICKED THE WRONG WEEK TO QUIT DRINKING!"

Holy cow, what a game! As the distinguished Jack Curry said in the Yankee post-game wrap, "I don't really know where to begin."  I don't really know where to start myself with this wild affair featuring the Yankees and Oakland A's, but I will begin with pitching, or the lack thereof.  The two starters were awful.  Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin actually juggled his rotation to get a start for Travis Blackley in Yankee Stadium. He lasted all of two innings and allowed four runs, but only two were earned.  Blackley could have employed a lawyer to argue non-support, as third baseman Josh Donaldson made an error in the first that directly contributed to the first unearned run.  That argument would have required someone with the skill of Perry Mason to make the case, because Blackely was just as culpable.  He allowed two hits and three walks in the first inning alone.  In the second, Blackley allowed two more hits and contributed a wild pitch as another unearned run scored thanks to another Oakland error by second baseman Cliff Pennington.

The Yankees had similar pitching problems but without the errors.  Ivan Nova was erratic.  He allowed three straight doubles to start the game, and the first two Oakland runners scored.  Nova recovered to pitch a solid second inning, but then yielded a HR to Stephen Drew to begin the third.  Ivan then loaded the bases via two walks and single, and Joe Girardi had seen enough of Mr. Nova.  Reliever Clay Rapada allowed a run in the fourth inning and the score was knotted at 4-4 after four.  Both teams would scramble for pitching for the rest of the day thanks to the ineffective starting pitching.

The game stabilized somewhat as each team added one run over the next three innings.  Raul Ibanez hit a solo, pinch-hit HR in the fifth for New York to give the Yanks a 5-4 lead.  Oakland added a run in the seventh on a walk to Yoenis Cespedes, a single by Brandon Moss, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Chris Carter.  The A's run tied the game at 5-5 and it stayed that way over the next five innings.  If you need help with that math, the game was tied at 5-5 through twelve innings.

The Yankees squandered a golden opportunity to score in the twelfth inning as they benefited from a hustle double by Raul Ibanez.  Unfortunately, Raul was gunned down at home on a contact play.  Ibanez had advanced to third on a passed ball, but was put out on a ground ball to Pennington at second.  Girardi had the contact play on with one out, and Oakland catcher Derek Norris held the ball as Ibanez crashed into him at home plate. The Yankees put two more runners on base via walks (Curtis Granderson & Eric Chavez) and that loaded the bases.  They were left loaded as Derek Jeter was retired via fly ball to right.

In the thirteenth inning, Freddy Garcia imploded.  Garcia had pitched well for three innings (10, 11, & 12), but in the 13th, he allowed a single and back-to-back HR's to Jonny Gomes and Cespedes.  Justin Thomas relieved Garcia and allowed yet another Oakland HR, this one off the bat of Chris Carter.  The Yankees appeared defeated at that point as the A's lead ballooned to 9-5 through 12.5 innings.  Miraculously, the Yankees rallied with singles from Suzuki, Rodriguez, and Cano to load the bases.  Ichiro scored via wild pitch and Eduardo Nunez followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Rodriguez.  Suddenly the A's lead had shrunk to 9-7.  Having a career day, Ibanez ripped a HR to right field that went "high and far" and tied the game at 9-9!  Wow! 

 (In Photo: Melky Mesa / Eduardo Nunez)

Cory Wade pitched like a closer in the 14th inning, as he retired the A's one, two, three.  In the bottom of the inning the Yankees got a lead-off single from Chavez and Melky Mesa made his major league debut in a pinch-running capacity.  Jeter sacrificed him to second and Suzuki was promptly intentionally passed.  ARod ripped a single to center and Mesa could have cruised home, but he missed third base!  He returned safely to the bag and the Yankees had the bases loaded.  Cano bounced back to the pitcher who fired home to force Mesa.  I'm really not making this up!  This stuff actually happened!  Nunez hit a fairly routine ground ball to first that should have ended the Yankee threat, but the A's first baseman, Brandon Moss, made an error that will live in infamy, especially if the A's miss the playoffs.  Suzuki strolled home and the Yankees had a 10-9 victory.  What else can I say?  Believe it; the Yankees still have a one game lead in the AL East division race, as the Oriole juggernaut rolled on in Boston with an extra inning victory of their own.

Saturday's unbelievable final:  New York 10  Oakland 9! 

Oh and for you youngsters out there who have never seen the film Airplane, Lloyd Bridges is the picture at the head of this recap and it's one of the more famous lines in the film, along with a few others...we found a clip on YouTube with those lines.


Enjoy the clip and the win! Go Yanks!

--Frank Gentry, BYB Writer

Twitter: @yankeefrank23

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THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT; YANKEES SWEEP JAYS

Even with a 7-3 record in the last ten games and a four game winning streak, the New York Yankees held only a paltry half-game lead in the AL East Division race entering the series finale with the Blue Jays.  Perhaps an even scarier part of the equation is the lack of a safety net.  The Yankees do hold a 4.5 game lead over the Angels for the final wild card slot, but all you really get from that is a "play-in" opportunity for the the real playoff show.  This new playoff structure makes wining the division crown an essential ingredient for a chance at long-term survival in October. 

 

The Yankees got help from aging veterans Andy Pettitte and Ichiro Suzuki yesterday in the sweep of a double-header, as they moved on toward that elusive division championship.  The Yanks would need plenty more of the same on Thursday night and for the remainder of the regular season schedule.  Unfortunately, the game did not start particularly well for the Bombers.  The offense looked anemic for two innings, mustering only a Russell Martin walk. 

 

Meanwhile starter Phil Hughes allowed a pair of early runs on two doubles, two walks, two hit batsmen, and a single.  The Yankees trailed 2-0 after 2.5 innings. 

 

In the bottom of the third, the Yankee offense stirred a little and produced a run on an Ichiro Suzuki solo HR to right field that cut the Toronto lead to 2-1.  In the fourth, Toronto's starter Aaron Laffey faltered and second baseman Kelly Johnson committed a costly error.  The Yankees took advantage of three walks issued by Toronto pitchers around the Johnson error.  Red-hot Ichiro ripped a double to right field to make those Jays' transgressions costly. 

Ichiro's hit scored two runs (Martin and Granderson).  After another walk, to Jayson Nix, and an RBI single by Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher powered his third grand-slam HR of the 2012 season.  It was also the 10th grand-slam HR of the season by the Yankees, equalling the team high in that category.  The Yankees lead was 8-2 after four innings.

 

Phil Hughes seemed intent on keeping Toronto in the game.  He allowed a two-run HR to Moises Sierra in the fifth and the Jays cut the lead to 8-4.  Hughes was removed after that fifth inning having thrown 102 pitches.  Hughes did manage to strike out four batters in the fourth inning, becoming only the second Yankee pitcher to achieve that feat in club history, but overall his outing was less than satisfactory and required an already over-worked bullpen to pitch nearly half of the game.

 

After the Yankees added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on a Granderson double, a Nix double and RBI, and an RBI single by Jeter, Derek Lowe righted the ship with two scoreless innings.  In fact Lowe pitched so well that pundits were wondering aloud why Girardi had removed him from the game at that point with New York holding a 10-4 lead.  The decision almost proved costly as Cory Wade and Joba Chamberlain conspired to yield three runs on five hits in a scary eighth inning.  Suddenly, the seemingly safe lead was down to 10-7 and Girardi was forced to warm Raphael Soriano for the fourth time in three days.

 

Soriano could not go, and David Robertson was assigned the closer role for the night.  DRob was more than up to the task as he struck out the side in the top of the ninth.  Robertson earned his second save of the season and preserved Phil Hughes' 16th win of 2012.  The Baltimore Oriole juggernaut was off on Thursday, so the Yankee win gives the club a full game lead in the standings with only thirteen games to play. 

 

The ugly, but very happy, final on Thursday night:  New York 10  Toronto 7.       

--Frank Gentry, BYB Writer

Twitter: @yankeefrank23

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THE 7 KEYS TO THE YANKEES FINAL STRETCH

The Yankees are in a dog-fight right now for a spot in the playoffs. The Baltimore Orioles are hot on their tail and the Yankees have been in a slide since being 10 games up on the division. Their record, as of this writing, is 25-29 since July 18. To be fair, they have missed their biggest contributors for a significant amount of time. CC Sabathia missed 12 games with his second stint on the DL this season. Andy Pettitte was out for the entire second half of the season, but is scheduled to come back on September 18. Alex Rodriguez was out for 35 games. Ivan Nova went on the 15-day DL, although it seems he was playing hurt prior to that. Mark Teixeira has an injured calf, has missed 15 games prior to the latest injury, and figures to be out until the last week of the regular season.

Therefore, their poor record is not completely surprising. The Orioles, on the other hand, have been 34-20. They have a legitimate shot at taking the division and potentially knocking the Yankees out of the playoff picture entirely. However, let us assume that the Yankees do well enough to win the A.L. East. What then? Who makes the roster? How many pitchers is Joe Girardi going to carry? Does this team have what it takes to compete against a playoff team, hungry for a championship? Will we embarrass ourselves with a quick exit in the first round? Here are some thoughts on the key factors that will determine the outcome of October baseball.

• CC Sabathia - It’s been a while since CC looked, well, like CC. If the Yankees are going to go far in the postseason, CC needs to figure it out before October. Even then, he may not be the best candidate for Game 1 starter. The velocity on his fastball has noticeably dropped, as has been well documented, and his slider does not have the same bite. His ERA in September is over 5.00. Since July 18, he has only had two dominating starts - August 3 against Seattle and August 24 against Cleveland. Both are last-place teams. I’m just saying. 

• Andy Pettitte - Andy has not pitched since June 27. He will start his first game since then on September 18. By my schedule, he will have four starts to tune up. He will face Toronto, Oakland, Toronto again, and finally Boston. There is much hope that Andy will be back to his A-game immediately. There's a lot riding on it. Most pitchers do not hit the ground running after being on the 60-day DL. Add to that the fact that he is 40 years old, and you have to admit that there is a good amount of risk here. Pettitte's return gives the Yankees some powerful options. It allows the Yankees to play Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda as the #1 and #2 starters, putting Sabathia in the #3 role. I know that's not a comfortable thought, but we have to be realistic. We will get our first look on Tuesday, hoping for the best.

• Alex Rodriguez - Alex has been on fire since his return from the DL. He has gotten a base hit in every game but one, and he has shown some good power. There is no doubt that his absence had an impact on the rest of the lineup, with the hitting disappearing while he healed. This offense does not go anywhere without him. So, knowing he can be injury-prone, keeping him healthy and hitting is critical.

• Mark Teixeira - Tex is another key contributor to the team. When both he and ARod were out, you would have thought the team took the summer off. He is supposed to be out 10-14 days, but there is no guaranteed return date. The worry here is that he will not be back in time to build up to full strength. Although he is supposed to be ready by the first round, we really will not know what we are getting when he is back in the lineup. Remember when he came back against the Orioles on September 8, he clearly could not run well and had to go one base at a time. His recovery and availability will be very important to the team.

• Ivan Nova- Nova came out on his return against the Rays and pitched brilliantly. Maybe I am a little biased, because I have loved this guy ever since he came up, but he gives the Yankees an edge that is hard to find. In last year's postseason, until his injury, he was the one starter that looked strong and reliable. With the question marks around whether or not Pettitte will be ready, Nova is the next best option.

• The Rest of the Starters - Phil Hughes has looked very impressive in the last month. He also has good starts this season against Chicago and Baltimore, not so good against Detroit and Texas. He may be a mix-and-match kind of guy. Freddy Garcia is pretty much out of it, and I expect that he will probably be left off the roster, even as a reliever.

• The Bullpen - The closer is pretty much locked up, as Soriano has been impressive. He is in the third in the majors for saves this season, not having had the closer role until the middle of May. David Robertson looks strong most of the time, but there is always an appearance where he looks very hittable. Joba Chamberlain could be a powerful weapon if he is really back and healthy. David Phelps is another strong pitcher who can be part of the bridge from the starter to the closer. The rest is a crap shoot. Boone Logan looks overworked, but has had some shining moments. Cody Eppley, Derek Lowe, Clay Rapada, Cory Wade, and the rest of them all give me agita. They have an occasional shining moment, but you never know what you're going to get. This may force Girardi to carry 11 pitchers, if not for anything else, to manage the fact that you never know what you are going to get from any one these guys.

In all, the Yankees have some serious talent on their roster. They certainly can win it all, if they can pull it all together. The problem is that we are talking about a lot of ifs. If the starters can pitch well, and if the relief pitchers have good days, and if the hitting can come together and start scoring runners in scoring position with a probability greater than 25%, then we'll have an exciting October. If not, we'll live with the misery knowing that we had the horses to take us all the way, but that we just couldn't get everything on track.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

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YANKEES WIN BIG OVER ORIOLES

2 Recaps tonight on BYB.  In case you missed it earlier, here's Frank Gentry's recap titled IT'S ALIVE!. And here's mine...

The Yankees had to go to bed with a bad taste in their mouth last night as first base ump Jerry Meals cost the Yankees the game. There were other reasons why the Yankees lost that game, but that doesn’t erase Meals’ gaffe. Either way, the Yankees had to move on. The AL East was tied going into the fourth game of the set, but the offense and bullpen carried the Yanks to a huge 13-3 win on Sunday afternoon.

The offense seemed to be clicking of late since the return of Alex Rodriguez. Coming into this game they had scored at least five runs in three out of their past four games. (It would have been four straight if not for the missed call be Meals on Saturday) But on Sunday, the Yanks capitalized for 13 runs on 14 hits. Six of the nine starters had one hit each except for Nick Swisher, Steve Pearce, and Andruw Jones. Six different players had at least one RBI including Curtis Granderson who went 3-for-3 with five RBI.

He was a triple short of the cycle and he entered the game in the sixth as a pinch hitter for Andruw Jones. My favorite of the day, Derek Jeter, the captain, had a homer and 3 RBIs.  You can't beat it, the Captain is King!

The bullpen had to pick up 17 of the 27 outs thanks in part to another ineffective start by Freddy Garcia. (Though in fairness, he cruised through the first three innings, allowing just one hit before imploding for three runs in the fourth) The game was 5-3 at the time when Garcia was pulled, and the bullpen did marvelous, combining for 5.2 innings of one hit, no run, nine strikeout, and two walk ball. Joba relieved Garcia and he looked fantastic as he struck out four batters in a scoreless 1.2 innings. Boone Logan followed with a scoreless inning before Cory Wade (remember him?) pitched two scoreless, no hit innings while punching out three. Derek Lowe pitched a perfect ninth to seal the deal.

Some additional thoughts:

With Ivan Nova now healthy I can only help but wonder if this is in fact Freddy Garcia’s last start with the Yankees. As we’ve seen for weeks now, the guy just runs out of gas in the middle innings. I like him as a multi-inning reliever out of the ‘pen, but not as a starter. These games are important and the Yankees need length out of their starters. Maybe the couple of weeks Nova had off helped him. If he can pitch anywhere near what he did in the second half last season it would be a huge lift to the team.

I thought Joe Girardi did a really good job of managing this game. Last week I criticized him pretty heavily in my post titled YANKEES OUT MANAGED IN BAD LOSS TO ORIOLES. But in this game there is really no need to critique him. I thought pinch-hitting Curtis Granderson for the ultra-slumping Andruw Jones was the right move, as well as how he handled the bullpen. Good job, skip.

Final was Yankees 13- Orioles 3.

Thanks to this win the Yanks are back on top in the AL East standings by one game over the Orioles and two ahead of the Rays. The Bombers will get a much needed day off on Monday before playing a three game set in Boston. Hiroki Kuroda (13-10, 3.14) will oppose Jon Lester (9-11, 4.99 ERA) in the opener on Tuesday.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse



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IT'S ALIVE!

Mark Teixeira hurt again, an umpire working the plate who is likely carrying a bit of a grudge against the Yanks, Girardi and a prominent New York sports reporter yelling at each other, an aging and diminishing starter going for the Yankees, and the club is on the verge of falling out of first place and perhaps even the playoff race!  This is not the ideal scenario that most Yankee fans envisioned as the Yankees march inexorably toward the conclusion of the 2012 season. But in the end, the Yankees are in fact alive!

The Yankees brought a losing record against the Orioles (8-9) into the Sunday matinee and series finale.  If the surging Orioles could hurt CC Sabathia, with his diminishing velocity and command, the way they did on Saturday, Yankee fans were surely shuddering to think about the possibilities today with Freddy Garcia pitching.  Garcia in 2012 is definitely the dictionary definition of declining pitching skills!  A game characterized as a "must win" for the Yankees felt more like an episode of the TV reality show Survivor! 

Of all the issues facing the Yankees, the only one that really mattered today was Freddy Garcia.  The other stuff was either in the past or just media hyperbole.  The Yankees came to play on Sunday in spite of Garcia's continuing problems.  He lasted only 3.1 innings and allowed three runs on three hits, a hit batsman, and a walk.  His effort was not what the Yankees hoped for but the bullpen and the Yankee offense bailed him out.

Derek Jeter singled in the first inning and later scored on a Robinson Cano single to left field.  That run was only a harbinger of what was to come.  In the fourth inning, Oriole starter Zach Britton imploded.  He allowed three hits, four walks, and four runs before being removed by Buck Showalter.  In the sixth inning, Oriole reliever Jake Arrieta surrendered a pinch-hit HR to Curtis Granderson.  The Granderson opposite-field blast gave New York a 6-3 lead through six.  The Yankee bullpen, specifically Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan, provided scoreless relief in their 2.2 innings of support for Garcia's poor start.

The Yankees added two more runs in the seventh on a hit batsman, an intentional walk to Cano, and singles from Russell Martin and Granderson.  The Granderson hit drove home the two Yankee runs of the inning.  The Yankee lead had grown to 8-3 thanks to the offensive outburst and the continuing good work from the bullpen.  Cory Wade pitched the seventh for New York and struck out two Bird batters.

In the eighth inning, more Yankee offense produced five runs to lock the game away and give New York a 13-3 lead.  Derek Jeter hit a two-run HR.  Russell Martin drove in a run on a single to left and Granderson, who did not start the game, finished his huge day with a two-RBI double to right.

Kevin Gregg was the Oriole pitching victim in the productive eighth inning.  Cory Wade pitched his second inning of perfect relief in the bottom of the eighth and struck out a third Baltimore hitter in the process. 

Derek Lowe cleaned up the ninth inning and New York salvaged a series split in the four-game series and earned a season series split with Baltimore at 8-8.  Baltimore has not won a season series against the Yankees since 1997.  With a day off tomorrow, the Yankees can relax in Boston and hopefully begin to feel better about their chances down the stretch.

Sunday's final:  New York 13  Baltimore 3. Alive Ladies and Gentlemen... the Yankees are alive as we go to Boston...

And we're doing something fun on this Sunday evening, not only do I have today's recap and perspective, but Jesse Schindler does as well.  Look for his later this evening... and enjoy both of them. Thanks for reading us at Bleeding Yankee Blue, we appreciate it! 

 

--Frank Gentry, BYB Writer

Twitter: @yankeefrank23

 

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YANKEES OUT MANAGED IN BAD LOSS TO ORIOLES

It seems like most fans of the New York Yankees do not like Joe Girardi as manager of their favorite team. I, for one, am not one of those fans. I think he’s a solid, above average manager. However, in a rough 8-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the rubber game of their three game set, Girardi looked the exact opposite of an above-average manager. Let’s recap without bashing the skipper too much…

Phil Hughes started, and he was effective early on, but he simply ran out of gas in the sixth. The Yanks manufactured (more on that later) a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 3-1 game. Hughes immediately walked Nate McLouth to lead off the sixth before allowing sharp singles to Adam Jones and Matt Wieters. He was clearly done as his fastball velocity was steadily declining and his breaking stuff didn’t seem as sharp as it was early on.

Hughes was left in to face Mark Reynolds, who hit a mammoth homer in his last at-bat, and predictably Reynolds went deep for a back-breaking three-run bomb. I simply do not understand why Hughes was left in the game there. Cody Eppley had been warming and Hughes was running on fumes. In total, Hughes went 5+, allowed five runs on eight hits while punching out six and walking just one.

Anyway, in the inning prior, the Yanks had a two-run lead against Randy Wolf, who came in to replace the injured Chris Tillman, but decided to play for just one run. After Chris Dickerson (more on him in a bit) worked a walk, Jayson Nix, who is pretty good against lefties, sacrificed him to second. The Yanks ended up scoring the run, though, so I guess it’s mission accomplished even though they could have done a lot more.

Speaking of Wolf; we know he’s left handed, so it would be wise to pinch-hit the right handed bats off for the weaker left handed bats that were originally in the lineup to face the righty Chris Tillman, right? Well, Girardi decided to only pinch-hit Andruw Jones for Chris Dickerson, who hit a two-run homer earlier in the game, when he could have done so earlier for Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez, or Ichiro, who are all underwhelming against left handed pitching. Wolf, who got cut by the Brewers not too long ago, pitched 3.1 innings while allowing just one run against the starting Yankee lineup that struggles against left handed pitching. Go figure.

It was 6-3 in the eighth and the mix-and-match bullpen roulette came in to make matters worse. Five different pitchers (Joba, Justin Thomas, Derek Lowe, Boone Logan, and Cory Wade) combined to allow two runs on three hits and two walks. Thomas retired the only man he faced while Wade retired all five men he faced (including three in the ninth). The bullpen is pretty damn thin after Rafael Soriano and David Robertson. Wade looked pretty good today, so could he help solve some of the bullpen woes? I sure hope so, because the Yanks really need it.

Some quick positives; Chris Dickerson played a pretty damn good game today. He hit a two-run homer off Tillman in the second while drawing a walk against Wolf in the fifth. He also made two great catches. One of those came in the fourth on a nice running grab in left center field. The other came in the seventh to rob Adam Jones of at least extra bases, if not a home run. Well done, Chris, well done.

The Final, again, was Orioles 8- Yankees 3. 

The Yanks’ division lead is now cut to 2 games, and they have to travel down to Tampa to take on the Rays. It’s a three-game series and game one is a Labor Day matinee as CC Sabathia (13-4, 3.40 ERA) faces James Shields (12-8, 3.91 ERA). Hopefully CC can give us a big start and a big win to build some momentum. We sure need it.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse



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