HANGIN' ON AT WRIGLEY

The Yankees looked flat pretty much the entire 2 games in Wrigley field. It was sad. That wasn't until literally the 9th inning today that a spark happened.  Hey, better late than never I guess.

The Yankees won today 4-2 and they were down 2-0 until the 9th when they tied it up 2-2.  Then, as they approached the 13th inning, they scored 2 more.

But let's start with the pitching first. Chase Whitley started and pitched well.  he went 4.1 innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 run.  I liked what I saw from the kid and to be honest, I'd keep him up even after CC and company comes back... he earned a spot in my mind.  The second run was given up by Adam Warren in the 7th.

The Yankees scoring all happened with their backs against the wall. In the 9th inning and as MLB.com reported, "Ichiro Suzuki grounds into a force out, shortstop Starlin Castro to second baseman Darwin Barney. Mark Teixeira scores. Brendan Ryan scores. Yangervis Solarte out at 2nd. Ichiro Suzuki advances to 1st, on a throwing error by second baseman Darwin Barney."

Now it was 2-2 and in the 13th, there was a wild pitch and Brendan Ryan scored. John Ryan Murphy then singled in Yangervis Solarte.  That's 4-2 and that's a win ladies and gentlemen.

Final: Yankees 4 - Cubs 2.

P.S. I tip my cap to Jeff Samardzjia today... 7 innings, allowed just 4 hits and 0 runs. Good work. You had great stuff. I can't believe this guy's winless this season.

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FORGET 2ND BASEMAN MARK ELLIS... HE'S OFF THE TABLE

I had just mentioned that the Yankees should consider Mark Ellis instead of someone like Darwin Barney.  Read THE YANKEES MAY BE GOING AFTER BARNEY....

Well, quick note... Mark Ellis is off the table signing a 1 year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.  According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch... the deal will be official this week:

#Cardinals nearing a one-year agreement with Mark Ellis. Deal could be finalized and announced early this week. #stlcards
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) December 15, 2013

So there you go.

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

THE YANKEES MAY BE GOING AFTER BARNEY...

Because Omar Infante was signed by the Kansas City Royals the other day, (read WHO'S ON SECOND? INFANTE? I DON'T KNOW... THIRD BASE), There was an interesting Tweet that came from Bruce Levine of MLB.  He wrote:

Yankees interest in Cubs Darwin Barney may pick up . (Royals sign Omar Infante) teams talked earlier.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 14, 2013

That's right Darwin Barney. Not Barney Miller, not Barney Rubble or Barney the Dinosaur... Darwin Barney.  Many of you don't know who Darwin Barney is, which is why I made that immature joke. 

(In Photo: Darwin Barney)
Darwin Barney is a 28 year old Cub who's been with the team since 2010.  He's a second baseman and shortstop.  He's a career .246 hitter, with 16 homers and 130 RBIs.  In 2013, he hit .208.  Defensively, he's good though.  Then again, Brendan Ryan is great defensively, why are we even considering Barney? Maybe Barney Miller IS a better option. 

(In Photo: Mark Ellis)
And aren't there other options out there, maybe even free agent options like Mark Ellis that are available to play second? I mean, we spent a ton on McCann and Ellsbury and then we just stopped, even refusing to give Infante a fourth year. All I'm saying is, Levine can speculate all he wants, but the last thing I want is another infielder that can't hit. 

 

(In Photo: Darwin Barney)

Look, no one said Robinson Cano would be easy to replace, but the options aren't exactly extraordinary, you know what I mean?

Go have breakfast... we'll give you an update later.

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.