Popping the Corks

Thursday the Yankees passed a difficult test in their quest to win the championship: they celebrated clinching a playoff spot without suffering a single injury, no small feat when Shelley Duncan is in the clubhouse.

A few random thoughts:

• Joba Chamberlain's picture on his official MLB player page freaks me out. It's like some sort of very disturbing photoshop job.
  
  
• Robinson Cano has been showing a lot of extra power of late, not just hitting home runs, but hitting long home runs the opposite way. Thanks to the fantastic you can see that he's hit nearly half of his 19 home runs to left and center field. It's one of the reasons why I think Cano is going to be much more consistent next season.
  
  
• As Thursday's celebrations began, YES' cameras clearly caught Jason Giambi dousing Doug Mientkiewicz with champagne and Mientkiewicz exclaiming "God that's #@!$ing cold!" This, my friends, is what digital video recorders were made for.

The Asterisk

In non-Yankee baseball news, fashion designer Mark Ecko will be donating Barry Bonds' record breaking 756th home run ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame after branding an asterisk into it. Ecko, who is a big fan of graffiti art, bought the ball for $752,467 (which makes me wish he would've ponied up the extra $3,533 to make it $756,000 even) and held an online poll allowing fans to decide what to do with it. 47% of fans voted to brand it with the asterisk and donate it to the Hall of Fame, 34% voted to donate it unblemished, and 19% voted to shoot it into space.

As a baseball history geek, I kind of like the result, not because I think Bonds' achievement should be denigrated, but because its a symbol of the era that achievement occurred in. I think fifty years from now fans will come to the Hall of Fame to see the ball and be reminded of how badly baseball owners and players dealt with the steroids issue, and how that affected the fans' view of the game.

Off to see the Wizard

You might think that since I've advocated resting players to get ready for the playoffs, I'd be ready to slam Joe Torre for breaking the Joba Rules on Sunday. If so, you'd be wrong. The Joba Rules were certainly a great idea, minimizing the risk to a very valuable arm as Chamberlain adjusted to a bullpen role, and pitched more than 100 innings for the first time since his sophomore season at Nebraska. However, anyone who thought that the Yankees' were going to keep to those rules in the playoffs was crazy. So, it makes sense to get Joba ready for what might be a slightly heavier workload in the postseason. Its especially important for him to be able to warm up and be available to come in mid-inning. With his ability to get strikeouts, he is definitely the man you want on the mound in a tight game with runners on base.

In more entertaining news, after yesterday's game the Yankees left for their final road trip of the season, which meant it was time for some rookie hazing. As in years past, the veterans stole the rooks' clothes from their lockers and replaced them with new outfits. Last year, it was George Steinbrenner turtlenecks and blazers. The year before it was cheerleading uniforms. This year, with a dozen rookies, the Yankees' were able to put on their own production of the Wizard of Oz. Here's Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Shelley Duncan and Phil Hughes as Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man:



Additionally, the Daily News has shots of Edwar Ramirez as the Wicked Witch of the West, Kei Igawa a flying monkey, Chase Wright as the Good Witch of the East, and Ross Ohlendorf as a palace guard. Plus, a guy by the name of Rob managed to get pictures of Igawa's translator Yumi Watanabe as a talking tree, and strength coach Dana Cavalea as the Mayor of Emerald City. Sadly, I wasn't able to find pictures of Munchkins Matt DeSalvo and Alberto Gonzalez, or of flying monkey Tyler Clippard and palace guard Bronson Sardinha. Hopefully I'll be able to catch them once they start their run on Broadway.

Sneaking Up

I know I said I was going to go over the playoff roster options, but that voice in my head won't let me write about anything but the division title. For weeks I've been saying that even if the Yankees stayed hot, they wouldn't have a chance at the division unless Boston stumbled. Well, Boston most definitely stumbled, losing three games against Toronto after having lost the series against the Yankees over the weekend. With the title suddenly in reach, we have to ask two questions: How hard should the team try to win the division, and what are their chances?

On the surface, "How hard should the Yankees try to win?" seems like a silly question. Winning is their goal in every game. However, you have to look at the bigger picture and ask what their overall goal is. Is it to win the division, or is it to win the World Series? It may seem like semantics, but its actually an essential question for determining the team's strategy for the rest of the season. If you want to win the division, that means you should be sending your best players out there. However, since the Yankees already have a sizable lead in the Wild Card race, if they want to win the World Series, they should be gearing up for the playoffs. This means using backups while your best players get some rest. I'm not just talking about the ones with nagging injuries, like Giambi, Matsui and Damon. Everybody on the team could use a day off. Sure, taking the division from the Red Sox would be sweet, but I don't think anyone on the Yankees wants it more than they want to win the World Series, and Joe Torre needs to plan accordingly.

Of course, there's no reason that the Yankees' can't win the division while getting themselves ready for the playoffs. Its not like they'll stop trying to win games just because the regulars are resting. So, let's take a look at what their chances are by looking at their schedule and Boston's. The Yankees have nine games left, three against Toronto at home, then three in Tampa and three in Baltimore. Meanwhile the Red Sox have eight games, two in Tampa, two at home against Oakland, and a final four against Minnesota. The Yankees definitely have the advantage in strength of schedule, playing more games against teams that are either bad (Tampa Bay) or bad and completely falling apart (Baltimore). That said, Oakland and Minnesota, while not bad teams, are pretty mediocre and the Red Sox do have the home field advantage. So, the story's the same as it ever was. The Yankees need to stay hot, and Boston needs to stumble just a little bit. Its going to be an interesting week.

I'll be in the right field bleachers Sunday afternoon, if anyone wants to say hi. You can look for me in section 39, row H.

The return of the Moose

One month ago Mike Mussina was falling apart, and people (myself included) were at a loss for what the solution might be. By pulling him from the rotation, though, it seems the Yankees have stumbled upon the answer; Moose just needed some rest. In retrospect, its actually kind of obvious that a 38 year old man might benefit from some time off.

Anyway, where his first start after rejoining the rotation was merely good, last night's was excellent. His fastball was up to a respectable 90mph with good life, and his curve had some excellent snap to it. Like his pitches, Moose seemed to have some extra life in him, making five plays in the field, including a great reaction play on a line drive at his head. Granted, neither the Orioles or the Blue Jays will ever be mistaken for Murderer's Row, so we should temper our excitement. That said, as long as he pitches well in his next start, I think he's locked up his spot in the postseason rotation.

That, of course, assumes that the Yankees are going to need a postseason rotation, and things are looking good on that front. Both Detroit and Boston have lost their last two games, putting the Yankees four and a half games up on the wild card and two and a half back for the division title. Even better, the magic number has shrunk to seven with only eleven games remaining. All the Yankees have to do now is not collapse and they're playoff bound. So, I don't think it's premature to start talking about the playoff roster, which I'll be doing on the off day tomorrow.

Thunder Tuesday 9/18

Minor League Monday comes in a little bit late this week, partially because I had a piece of glass removed from my left hand yesterday, and partially because I'm a sucker for alliteration. This week we celebrate the Trenton Thunder and their win over the Akron Aeros in the Eastern League Championship Series.

It was actually a pretty unusual series for the Thunder, who made their way to the championships on the strencth of their starting pitching. However, their three best starters didn't do much in this series. Alan Horne and Daniel McCutchen were both hit hard, and Jeff Marquez didn't even get to pitch.

Instead, the team relied on stellar relief work, and, in the last game, an unexpected outburst from one of the worst offenses in the league. In that last game, the Thunder scored ten runs off 16 hits, including a home run and three singles from series MVP Matt Carson.

So, I send a hearty congratulations to the Trenton Thunder in my last minor league of the season.

Makin' Me Sweat

Never let it be said that I'm not man enough to admit when I'm wrong, even when no one would know. I didn't get around to writing it before the game, but I didn't think Roger Clemens should have started tonight's game. I simply did not believe that his elbow could stand up to the Red Sox offense. Granted, Clemens said he could pitch, but I'm pretty sure he'd say the same thing if he were run over by the bus. He's just that kind of Texas son of a gun. The Rocket, however, was pretty sharp, pitching an efficient six innings, allowing only one unearned run, while striking out four and allowing only six men to get on base. While he had only thrown 87 pitches at that point, Joe Torre wisely decided that he didn't want to push Clemens' elbow to hard and turned things over to the Joba Chamberlain.

Unfortunately, Curt Schilling was just as sharp, if not more so. He only needed 69 pitches to get through seven innings, giving up only one run off a solo homerun by Robinson Cano in the 5th. Considering that Chamberlain was available for two innings, and Mariano Rivera was pretty well rested too, it seemed like we might be in for a long night, waiting for someone to scratch out a run against these dominating pitchers. Derek Jeter, perhaps having plans for the rest of the night, had other ideas.

After Melky Cabrera struck out to start the eighth inning, Doug Mientkiewicz managed to get on with a single. It was then that Joe Torre made a gutsy, brilliant call. Rather than have Jose Molina try to sacrifice Mientkiewicz into scoring position, Torre sent in Jason Giambi to pitch hit. What made this decision so surprising was that the only catcher who could replace Molina, Jorge Posada. For those who don't know, when you have a DH take over for a player in the field, the pitcher has to take over for that player at the plate. Torre, however, saw his chance to get a run and took it, deciding to worry about the pitcher's at bat when it came.

The gamble worked out beautifully, as Giambi singled and Damon grounded into what would have been the third out had Torre used Molina to sacrifice. Since Torre didn't, though, the Captain had the opportunity to come through in the clutch, and he did so in style, knocking a home run over the Green Monster to put the Yankees ahead 4-1. That would be all the offense the Yankees' needed, though the bullpen would make it close.

In the bottom of the 8th, Chamberlain gave up the first earned run of his short career when Mike Lowell took him deep for a solo home run. The 21 year old remained poised, as he came right back against J.D. Drew. Joba the Hutt struck him out with a breaking ball that Drew watched go by like he was frozen in carbonite.

The real nailbiting came in the botton ninth, which Mariano Rivera started by walking Jason Varitek. A Julio Lugo double would score him, and a hit batter followed by another walk would load the bases with two outs for David Ortiz. It's funny how Yankees/Red Sox games always seem to come down to big moments like these, where the game is on the line and each team has exactly who they want on the mound and at the plate. This time the moment was Mo's, as he got Ortiz to Big Papi out to shortstop with the classic cutter inside. The perfect ending to a game that was everything this rivalry is supposed to be.

Even though the Yanks won the series, without the sweep they're too far back to have a realistic shot at the pennant. However, by winning five of their last six against Boston, they've proven that they're more than ready to meet them in October. As far as getting to October, they remain two and a half games ahead of Detroit for the Wild Card, and their magic number drops to 10.

Wow

I'm a little too drained to write anything in depth about tonight's incredible, improbable win , but there is something I must share. I know that the Yankees are still four and a half games behind the Red Sox. I know that they have to win the next two games to have a chance at the pennant. I know that even then, their chances are slim. I know all these things, yet I can't help hearing this voice in my head; this voice that says, in a thick Boston accent, "Bucky freakin' Dent."

Love in the stands

When I was last at the stadium, one of the odd things I saw was a marriage proposal on the Jumbotron that read "Dear Sharon, I love you forever! Will you marry me? Streety Bird". As I read it, I thought to myself, "Who would actually call themselves Streety Bird?" Now, it seems, I have the answer:



How can something so wrong be so hilarious?

Save Me

This is the kind of loss that drives me nuts. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth and the heart of the Blue Jays' order coming to the plate, Joe Torre hands the ball to Chris Britton. Meanwhile, Mariano Rivera watchs his team lose from the bullpen.

Torre has allowed himself to become a slave to the save. Granted, he's not alone in this. Most, possibly all, major league managers refuse to bring in their closer unless its a save situation, letting a statistic dictate their strategy. Don't get me wrong; I'm a big stat geek, but they're only supposed to inform your decisions, not make them. Sometimes the most crucial situation in a game isn't a save situation, because baseball is more complicated than the eight lines that make up the definition of a save.

For example, when its the bottom of the ningth in a tie game, when just one run ends the game, and the other team's best hitters are coming to the plate, I say that you want your best pitcher on the mound. If that means that a lesser pitcher facing lesser hitters picks up a save, then so be it. If you end up losing the game altogether, then at least you can say that you gave your best.

A Belated Minor League Monday 9/12

I've been experiencing some technical difficulties, so I'm afraid this week's Minor League Monday has become Minor League Wednesday.

While the Yankees spent the last week marching towards the playoffs, their minor league affiliates were mostly exiting the playoffs. To start, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees were knocked out in the first round of the International League playoffs, winning only one game of their five game series with the Richmond Braves. Part of this can be blamed on the fact that the team recently lost its best hitter, Shelly Duncan, and three of its best pitchers, and three of its best pitchers, Ian Kennedy, Chris Britton and Brian Bruney. That's life in the minor leagues, I suppose. They did keep it close, losing by one run in two of their losses and by two in the third.

Also knocked out of the first round were the Staten Island Yankees, losing the first two games of their three game set with the Brooklyn Cyclones. In the first game, the defending champions fell victim to shoddy defense when first baseman Taylor Holiday who bounced a throw to the plate, allowing the winning runs to score. In the second game, they were simply outmatched by the Cyclones' pitching, as starter Dylan Owen combined with three relievers for a 15 strikeout performance, allowing only one run.

The lone spot of good news came out of Trenton, as the Thunder beat the Portland Sea Dogs three games to one to get themselves into the Eastern League Championship Series. The Thunder won the same way they've been winning all year, with dominant pitching. The pitching staff allowed only three runs in their three wins, capped by a shutout in the final game by starter Jeff Marquez and relievers Eric Wordekemper and Justin Pope.

The Thunder have also been helped out by the late season promotion of hot hitting center fielder Austin Jackson, who I wrote about last week. Jackson knocked in three runs, including the game winner, in the opening game of the championship series against the Akron Aeros last night. I'll be sure to recap the entire series on Monday.

Sunday Notes

In the past five games, Alex Rodriguez has:

• Hit seven home runs.
  
• Hit two home runs in an inning
  
• Broken his own record for most home runs by a righthanded Yankee with 49.
  
• Passed Mel Ott, Eddie Murray and Ernie Banks on the all-time home run list with 513.
  
• Broken Mike Schmidt's record for most home runs by a third baseman in a season with 49.
  
• Joined Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, as the only Yankees to ever hit 50 home runs.
  
• Saved Western California from sinking into the ocean by turning back time and stopping the missiles unleashed by Lex Luthor.

Actually, that last one might be Superman. Its hard to tell them apart sometimes. Regardless, he curently stands at 52 home runs on the season, 15 more than the next guy in the league, and 516 for his career, good enough for 17th on the all-time list.

As much fun as it is to be playing the "how great is A-Rod?" game, he's actually not the best story of the week. That honor belongs to Harlan Chamberlain, Joba Chamberlain's father. By now, most of you probably know the Yankeeography-ready story of the Chamberlain family, and if you don't Peter Abraham wrote a nice feature last month for our sister paper, the Journal News.

With the Yankees traveling to Kansas City, the closest Major League team to his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, the elder Chamberlain had his first opportunity to see his son in pinstripes, along with a boatload of friends, family and fans from the University of Nebraska. It was a little corny and manipulative, but I couldn't help getting a little misty eyed watching Harlan, with tears in his eyes, pumped his fist in celebration as Joba struck Ross Gload out on a nasty slider.

In less heartwarming news, Derek Jeter didn't play today after leaving last night's game with a sore knee. The official diagnosis is patellar tendinitis, which is a weakening of the tendons in the knee. He's expected to be ready for Tuesday's game in Toronto, though he may be used as a DH to keep him off the astroturf. It doesn't sound major at the moment, but tendinitis is a chronic condition, so it's worth keeping an eye on.

Anyway, with today's win and Detroit's loss to Seattle, the Yankees hold a four game lead in the wild card and the magic number shrinks to 16.

Play it again, Alex

Last night's game was almost a repeat of the night before. They were both pitcher's duels early, until the Yankee offense, led by a player with two homeruns, explodes in the later innings while the Yankee pitching keeps dominating. The funny thing is that while the results were much the same, the players weren't.

Joe Torre shuffled his lineup, resting Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu. Surprisingly, Alex Rodriguez was able to talk himself into the lineup after rolling his ankle the night before, though he was limited to DH duty. It turned out to be a pretty good decision, as Rodriguez hit his 47th and 48th homeruns in the 8th inning (yes, he hit both in the same inning), tying his own record for most homeruns hit by a righthanded Yankee.

Last night's two homerun star, Jorge Posada, was replaced by Jose Molina, though Posada did come in as a pinch hitter in the 7th. Molina filled Posada's large cleats well, knocking in the Yankees' first run in the 3rd with a solo shot that just snuck by the left field foul pole.

The most important performance, though, belonged to Philip Hughes. It was Hughes' first start since Dave Eiland, his pitching coach in Triple-A came up to New York to see him. I'm not sure what, if anything, Eiland did, but Philip Hughes: Ace of the Future was back last night. Jose Molina barely had to move his glove as Hughes was in complete command of his fastball, curve and change. He had a little trouble with his slider, which kept diving in the dirt, but three strong pitches were all that he needed to stymie the Mariners. With Roger Clemens' elbow woes and Mike Mussina's sudden inneffectiveness, the hope that Hughes can be a dependable starter down the stretch and into the playoffs is a welcome one indeed.

A couple of random notes:

• Wilson Betemit earned my eternal respect when he walked to the plate to the strains of Pearl Jam's "Better Man". Its almost as good as Hideki Matsui using Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song".
  
  
• One of the downsides of rosters expanding in September, at least for fans, is the sheer number of pitching changes a manager can make. While the Yankees were scoring eight runs in the seventh, Seattle manager John McLaren seemed to change pitchers with every swing of the bat. Every time I looked at the bullpen to see who was coming in, it seemed like there were a dozen guys left there. All told, Seattle made seven pitching changes, painfully extending the game.
  
  
• Before he was a coach, Eiland was a reliever for the Yankees, Padres and Devil Rays. He holds the distinction of being the only player in major league history to give up a home run to the first batter he faced and to hit a home run in his first at-bat.
  
  
• The Yankees' magic number for the wild card is now 20. I'll try to put up some kind of counter in the coming days.

Wang to the rescue

Monday was just a terrible day for the Yankees. First came the news that Andy Phillips' wrist was fractured when he was hit by a pitch on Sunday, and will miss 4-6 weeks, which is essentially the rest of the season. If it wasn't for bad luck, Philips wouldn't have no luck at all.

Then, Roger Clemens left last night's game after allowing five runs over four innings in order to get an MRI on his elbow, which was "tightening up," according to Joe Torre. All that's known right now is that Clemens will definitely miss his next start, but he insists he'll pitch again this season. Of course Clemens is the kind of guy who'd say that if his hair was on fire, so I think I'll wait and see what happens after he heads back to Houston to see his doctors and get a cortisone treatment.

Finally, after Clemens left the game, the Yankees went on to lose the game 7-1, allowing the Mariners to narrow the Yankees' lead in the Wild Card race to just one game.

All of this meant just one thing; it was time for the Taiwan Kid to ride to the rescue. Chien-Ming Wang pitched a classically Wangesque game, throwing the sinker low in the zone and watching the opposition hit it right into the ground. The first seven batters he faced all hit ground balls, only one of which snuck through the infield for a hit, and out of the 26 batters he faced a ludicrous 17 of them were retired on ground balls. Supporting Wang's dominance were Jorge Posada, Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano, who had four hits each, including two homeruns by Jorge, leading the Yanks to 12 runs.

As big of a blowout as it was, though, there were a couple of scary moments in the game. In the bottom of the seventh, Alex Rodriguez turned his ankle sliding into third base, and in the top of the eighth, Wang had to leave after retiring the first batter (on, of course, a ground ball) due to tightness in his lower back. Thankfully, the word is that they're both fine, though A-Rod may need a day or two off and Wang will probably get an extra day of rest before his next start (which shouldn't be a big deal with the off day on Thursday).

A-Rod's injury, by the way, led to the first major league at-bat for our former Attorney General, who seems to have found a new job rather quickly. Or maybe that's Alberto Gonzalez with a "z".

Anyway, tomorrow's rubber match pits the struggling Philip Hughes against Jarrod Washburn, who's been tough on the Yankees in the past. I'll be in Tier Box 635, Row F if anyone wants to say hello. Once again, just look for the shiny, shiny head.

Minor League Monday 9/3

Before we get to this weeks awards, I want to congratulate the Gulf Coast League Yankees for winning that league's championship over the GCL Dodgers on Friday. Also, an extra congratulations goes to shortstop Walter Ibarra, who gets my playoff MVP award for a .571/.600/.643 performance that was highlighted by an eighth inning double that scored the winning runs in the one game playoff against the GCL Twins that got the team into the finals.

Now, onto the last hitter and pitcher of the week of the 2007 regular season.

Hitter of the Week - Austin Jackson, CF, Tampa Yankees (Single-A Advanced):

Jackson has been one of the better stories for the Yankees this season. He was drafted in the eight round of the 2005 draft out of Ryan High School in Denton, TX. An excellent basketball player, the Yankees gave him an $800,000 signing bonus, a record for an eigth round pick, to lure him away from Georgia Tech. A tremendous athelete, his baseball skills were very raw and he hit .260/.337/.346 in his first pro season at Single-A Charleston.

In the first few months of the 2007 season, it didn't look like he had learned a thing putting up a nearly identical .260/.335/.374 in Charleston. In the middle of June, however, the Yankees decided that the best thing to do was to promote him to Tampa. It was a decision that didn't seem to make much sense, but its certainly worked out. Since his promotion, Jackson has torn up the Florida State League, hitting .345/.398/.566 with 10 homeruns, more than he had hit in an entire season and a half at Charleston. He's been even more unstoppable this past week, hitting a ludicrous .632/.667/1.053, with 3 doubles, a triple and a homerun. He had a hit in all five games this week, including a 4 hit game on Friday where he fell one triple short of the cycle. In a system which is lacking in hitting prospects, Jackson has established himself as one of the Yankees' best.

Pitcher of the Week - Ryan Pope, RHP, Staten Island Yankees (Short Season Single-A):

Pope was drafted in the third round of this year's draft out of, of all places, the Savannah College of Art & Design (the Yankee scouting department is nothing if not thorough). Righthanders who throw in the low 90s with average command aren't particularly hard to find, so picking one in the third round was rather puzzling, especially since Pope hadn't even proven himself against the caliber of players you'd find in a Division I program.

So far, however, its looking like a good decision, as Pope has definitely proven himself against professional hitting in the New York-Penn League. in 42.1 innings, he's struck out 45 and allowed only 10 walks, 38 hits, and 14 runs, good enough for a 2.13 ERA. In two starts this week, he pitched 11.2 innings, allowing only 9 hits and 2 earned runs. Even more impressive was his command, as he struck out 15 while walking only 1.

Next week will bring the playoff edition of Minor League Monday, as Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Trenton begin their chase for the championship on Wednesday.

Catching Up

Sorry this post is a couple of days late, but I've been a bit under the weather. As I mentioned in my last post, I was sitting in the left field bleachers as the Yankees completed their sweet, sweet sweep of the Red Sox. Chien-Ming Wang took a no hitter into the seventh, something that impressed me even more than it would normally because he didn't seem to have his best stuff. As I saw it from way out in left field, Wang had trouble hitting the bottom of the zone with his sinker, and the Sox were able to take it for a ball instead of grounding out the way most hitters do. Wang, however, was able to compensate with his four-seam fastball and his splitter. Its a testament to Wang's growth as a pitcher that he can still get guys out when he doesn't have his best stuff.

Here's a couple of pictures of the man in action:




I had a much better view of the Yankee bullpen, so here are pictures of Joba and Mo warming up: