Cause for Concern

These last two horrible games with the Seattle Mariners have really been eye-openers. I know, I know. They've faced two of the best pitchers in baseball: Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez. They are both very, very difficult and very, very talented. You've got two aces against the 4 and 5 starters of another team. Even though these games have been in the Bronx, you wouldn't be wrong in assuming that Seattle should have won both of them. But there are several causes for concerns with this Yankee team, which holds just a one game lead in the A.L. East.

The number one concern has been the offense. This has nothing to do with who they faced; rather, it's the type of approaches they take at the plate. It also has everything to do with the fact that the bottom of the lineup is absolutely terrible. Francisco Cervelli's magic is over, which is why the guy was in Double A before coming to the Yankees in 2008. The combination of Chad Huffman/Colin Curtis doesn't produce much, but they're not supposed to. It's Brian Cashman's fault that the bench is not full of guys like Jerry Hairston and Eric Hinske. Mark Teixeira looks like he will not come out of his slump this season, and I believe he needs to undergo an eye exam. Finally, you've got guys like Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, and Curtis Granderson who do nothing but swing at almost every single pitch instead of trying to run up Felix Hernandez's pitch count and possibly see a Seattle relief pitcher on the hill in this series.

The second concern that's really not a surprise to anyone is this bullpen. Chan Ho Park and Chad Gaudin have both been useless acquisitions. They're so bad that Michael Kay and Al Leiter make a huge deal out of it when one of them throws a scoreless inning. Joba Chamberlain either strikes out the side or gives up four runs. Boone Logan looks like he should be pitching in A-ball. And tonight, Damaso Marte did a great job with Russell Branyan, who completely owns the Yankees, as Branyan went deep again at Yankee Stadium.

If the Yankees fail to reach the post-season this year, I believe that Brian Cashman should be fired. I know the owners typically have something to do with what happens in the off-season, but this falls on Cashman. He signed Nick Johnson instead of Hideki Matsui or Johnny Damon, and Johnson hasn't played since the first week of May. Instead, Francisco Cervelli catches, and Jorge Posada DH's. Neither of them are hitting much at all. The Granderson trade hasn't worked out all that well. Austin Jackson looks like a pretty good player, and the Yankees gave up two much for a guy who can't even hit .250. Finally, the Yankees traded Melky Cabrera for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan. Vazquez has been just OK, while Logan hasn't been able to get anyone out.

Tomorrow is an absolute must win game, but no one will get to watch it. For some odd reason, the Yankees have four consecutive 1:00 games coming up at Yankee Stadium. Either way, C.C. Sabathia's got to put a stop to this madness and beat the Mariners. Of course, the Yankees visit Seattle next week, so we'll see Lee and Hernandez again. By the time the Red Sox face the Mariners, I'm sure Lee will be traded to the Mets, and it won't be Hernandez's turn in the rotation.

Thanks, Yanks

After a genius Yankee decision to skip Phil Hughes to keep him on his "innings limit," Hughes turned in his worst outing of the season as the Yankees dropped a game to Cliff Lee and the weak-hitting Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Thanks to a solid outing by John Lackey against the Rays, the Red Sox are now just one game out in the AL East, despite missing two key parts of their lineup. And if anyone needed to see an audition from Cliff Lee, tonight was it. I don't care if he gave up four runs. He's pitched three consecutive complete games, and he owns the Yankees.

I'm not sure there's too much to say tonight other than the disappointment in Hughes, which may or may not have been directly affected by the skipping of his most recent start. Hughes' trouble may be attributed to rust, but I saw a problem with pitch selection. He threw too many fastballs. I'm not sure if it's because he doesn't trust the hook, but he was unable to put away hitters with two strikes, especially batters at the bottom of the Seattle lineup. Whatever it was, I just hope we're not talking about the skipping of Phil Hughes anymore this season. Unless, of course, the Yankees want to sign Cliff Lee.

Things do not get any easier for the Yankees offense tomorrow, as C.C. Sabathia takes on Felix Hernandez. Tonight's game was a perfect example of what the Mariners were supposed to be this season. They still do have two pitchers that would be aces on almost any other team. As ridiculous as it sounds, tomorrow may as well be a must-win game for the Yankees. Losing a series to Seattle at home is completely unacceptable.

A.J. Bad in L.A.

Before I was even able to get in my house this evening, the Yankees had a 3-0 lead thanks to a couple of walks and a Tex Message. The sad part? I immediately said to myself: "The Dodgers shouldn't worry. A.J. Burnett is pitching." I really couldn't have been more right. Not only did we have to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, but they also shoved two of baseball's most obnoxious personalities in the booth: Reggie Jackson and Tommy Lasorda. Then, we were treated to a normal four hour game, and a fifth consecutive terrible game from A.J. Burnett.

Joe Girardi needs to be criticized for one thing in this game: leaving Burnett in. Early on, with the Yankees trailing 5-4 with runners on the corners and one out, he elected to let Burnett bat instead of sending up a pinch hitter in a sacrifice fly opportunity. Burnett laid down a bunt to put runners at second and third, and the 36-year-old shortstop struck out. Then, Burnett proceeds to allow the first two baserunners in the next inning to reach, and THEN Girardi pulls him. Gotta scratch my head on that one.

The Yankees had a couple of things on display today: some of the worst pitchers in the American League, and the weakest bench. A.J. Burnett, Boone Logan, and Chan Ho Park are completely atrocious. Burnett has been bad for a month, and Logan and Park can never give you a scoreless outing. Their bench is comprised primarily of four players: Kevin Russo, Chad Huffman, Colin Curtis, and Ramiro Pena. None of these four men are proven hitters, so in a National League park, other than a backup catcher, you don't have very many options to send up to bat.

I'm not complaining about one loss. For the most part, things in Yankeeland are positive. The team has won three of five on this West coast trip, and the team has a two game lead in the A.L. East. You never wish injuries on people, but the Red Sox suffered a bad blow today when it was announced that Dustin Pedroia has a broken bone in his foot. Clay Buchholz also hyper-extended his knee running the bases today in San Francisco and left the game after one inning (see Chien-Ming Wang, 2008). That being said, A.J. Burnett needs to get it together. I'm not a big proponent of removing a guy from the rotation, especially a head case like Burnett. But something needs to happen soon. Thank goodness the Yankees have him for three more full seasons after 2010.

GRAND Finale

Sadly, I did not watch every single pitch of Wednesday's rubber match between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks. But I woke up when it counted. In one of the ugliest games you'll ever see, the Yankees turned in a memorable 10th inning victory, capped off by another clutch Curtis Granderson homer, followed by a Harry Houdini act by the greatest closer of all time. After pitching a perfect ninth and grounding out in the tenth, Mariano Rivera loaded the bases with no one out, only to retire the next three hitters on two pop ups and a strikeout. The guy never ceases to amaze me. No matter what, you always have faith that he's going to get out of it, even if the game DID take place in Arizona, probably his least favorite stadium in baseball for obvious reasons.

Why was the game ugly? Because the Yankees really had every opportunity to blow the Diamondbacks out of the water. Dontrelle Willis started for Arizona, and walked SEVEN batters in just over two innings, yet left the game with the score tied at 2. For a while, despite countless opportunities, it looked like the Yankees were going to drop the series to the hapless Diamondbacks. Javier Vazquez was not as sharp as he has been, but it was the bats who needed to be blamed in the early going. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano each hit into two double plays, and the Yankees had several runners thrown out on the base paths, killing rally after rally.

Damaso Marte came in to pitch the sixth inning and showed why Joe Girardi has lost faith in him. He gave up a run without surrendering a hit. Two walks, a balk, and a wild pitch later, the Yanks were on the verge of a 5-4 loss. But fortunately, former Met Aaron Heilman came on for the save and did his best Marte impression, giving up the tying run without yielding a hit. Props to A-Rod for the clutch sacrifice fly.

I really have to give Curtis Granderson a lot of credit. I've heard plenty of people ripping the Jackson, Kennedy, and Coke for Granderson deal, and I've been one of them at times. Jackson was off to a good start and Kennedy has not pitched badly out in the desert. If you looked at Granderson's stats without watching a game, you'd think he was really choking in New York. But the guy was out for a month, and almost all of his homers have been clutch. Two of his homers have been game winners in extra innings, another beat the Mets this past weekend, one came off of Roy Halladay, and another was a GRANDerson slam that knocked out the Orioles. He never complains, runs his mouth, or watches the ball leave the yard.

The best part of the night, however, came after the game was over. YES Network's Kim Jones interviewed Rivera after his magical 10th inning, and instead of talking about himself, he told Jones, "We played horrible. It's unacceptable." Mariano Rivera is one of the greatest Yankees of all time. I cannot wait to see him enshrined in Cooperstown one day.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Apologies to my faithful readers for my lack of postings this weekend, so here's your wrap up from this weekend's series in Toronto, which was saved by today's come from behind 4-3 victory. Javier Vazquez looks like a new man, Robinson Cano is by far the 2010 Yankees' MVP, and Mark Teixeira looks like a bad minor league player at the plate.

On Friday night, I had hoped it was just an off-night for the Yankees. Burnett simply cannot pitch in Toronto. I kind of have the feeling that he gets the Roger Clemens syndrome of being "too pumped up" and overthrowing constantly. He gave up two home runs to Babe Ruth Bautista, and the Yankees could not hit Brett Cecil. I figured it wasn't much of a big deal coming off of a five game winning streak. The Yankees hit some balls hard, and Burnett kept serving up meatballs.

Saturday was the dagger game of the series. Andy Pettitte was again fantastic, and Derek Jeter provided the early power. As usual, the power hitting Alex Gonzalez (yes, Gonzalez, not Rodriguez) cranked his 12th bomb of the year off of Pettitte, which would eventually send the game into bonus cantos. However, the Yankees squandered a golden opportunity earlier in the game to score a run, which would have given the Yanks a 3-2 win in nine innigs. Again, the Yankees couldn't catch a break, as Derek Jeter lined into a double play with runners on second and third. Other than Chad Gaudin, who thinks it's a good idea to walk the first batter he faces on four pitches, the Yankee bullpen was excellent. But, guys like Tex, A-Rod, and Cano did nothing at the plate, and the Yanks lost in 14.

Today, I was unhappy for seven innings, but the Yanks salvaged a win north of the border before a well-deserved off day Monday. Javier Vazquez was brilliant against a potent offense, making one bad pitch all day to Yankee-killer Vernon Wells. Once again, the Yankees were leaving runners on third with less than two outs. And once again, Derek Jeter was the culprit. However, the gutty, gritty Yankees started an eighth inning rally when Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner each "took one for the team." Despite more brutal at bats from the meat of the order, a wild pitch, a Joe Girardi ejection, and a two run hit from Robbie Cano propelled the Yanks to victory.

All in all, it was not a miserable weekend. The Rays lost 2 of 3, and the Red Sox somehow lost a game to Baltimore today. It's on to Baltimore for three, so as a Yankee fan you have to be VERY happy that the Orioles were overdue for a victory, and picked one up against Boston today.

Sweep Dreams

When you're in a pennant race, and you're playing the Baltimore Orioles you expect a sweep. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, or where the games are being played, but these are the games that you'll look back on if your team falls a few games short of reaching its goal of playing in October (or even November). The New York Yankees, now just 2 games back of first in the AL East, have done what they've had to do against the worst teams in the American League, especially on this home stand. CC Sabathia got back on track, and Alex Rodriguez and Brett Gardner provided the power as the Yankees knocked off Baltimore, 6-3.

I do have to give CC Sabathia a break. He earned his fifth victory of the season today, but he could easily have eight wins already (Andy and Phil lead the team with seven). On three different occasions, he had victories taken away from him. He tossed 4 2/3 innings at Fenway Park on May 8th before they put the tarp on the field, preventing CC from getting the final out to go five innings and earn his win. At home against Boston, CC handed a 5-1 lead over to Joba Chamberlain in the eighth inning and, well, we all know what happened there. And CC was very shaky this past Saturday, but left the game after six leading the Indians 10-5, only to have Joba and company cough it up. So instead of being 5-3, CC Sabathia could easily be 8-3 and well on his way to winning 20 games.

Everyone who played today contributed, the sign of a good team. Every batter had a hit other than Francisco Cervelli, who caught a great game and finally got on the same page as Sabathia. A-Rod showed his trademark opposite field power, Brett Gardner already has established a career high for dingers in a season, and Joba Chamberlain pitched "another" perfect eighth inning. It's painful not being a kid anymore, because these summer weekday games really interfere with your productivity at work. So instead of watching YES, I was confined to the GameCast, sweating it out as Mariano allowed the first two batters in the ninth to reach. But, Mo was Mo, and he retired the next three.

On to a slightly different topic, kudos go out to Armando Galarraga and the rest of the Detroit Tigers for the way they handled Jim Joyce's costly mistake. Thursday afternoon, as Joyce was behind the plate at Comerica, the Tigers had Galarraga bring out the lineup card and shake hands with Joyce, who was in tears. I have to give Galarraga credit for the way he handled himself in the heat of the moment, almost laughing it off when the runner was incorrectly called safe at first base. One out away from perfection, and I honestly don't know what I would have done. You get the feeling that baseball is getting closer and closer to instant replay on safe-out calls, with each team probably getting a challenge or two throughout the course of a game.

The Yanks fly north of the border for a weekend series with the Blue Jays. Toronto can hit it out, but they are coming off back-to-back brutal ninth inning losses at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays. If not for two blown Blue Jay leads, we'd be talking about the tied-for-first New York Yankees today. You want to look for at least two out of three victories for the Bombers, who will then head to Baltimore before returning home to play the lowly Houston Astros.

Your Daily Phil

Once again, I must apologize to my faithful readers. I have received comments lately that I am not my normal self. There have not been complaints, groans, criticisms, and any other unpleasantries that often frequent this hallowed website. Tonight will be another complaint-free night after one of the most boring Yankees games of the season. Phil Hughes was dominant, the bats stayed hot, and the Orioles stood absolutely no chance as the Yanks won game two of this must-sweep series, 9-1.

Robinson Cano continues his push toward the American League MVP Award, and Phil Hughes is emerging as a Cy Young candidate. Robbie is riding a hitting streak, and is absolutely pulverizing everything. You still get the feeling that Tex and A-Rod still have not completely gotten it going, but guys like Cano, Swisher, and Granderson are really picking up the slack. Jorge Posada's return makes the lineup ten times better. Plenty of protection for A-Rod and Cano, while you have an All Star in Granderson hitting seventh.

Ok, let's have some complaints. This time, they aren't really Yankee-related. Nice job by the Toronto Blue Jays proving that they're really not that good. Somehow, for the last two seasons, they haven't had to play the big boys of the American League until June. And after two major ninth inning collapses, they've given the Tampa Bay Rays plenty of life and ruined their season.

I also had the painful privilege of watching poor Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers in the ninth inning as he inched closer and closer to a perfect game, which would have been the THIRD on this young season. Austin Jackson made a fabulous catch in center field for the first out. After an easy second out, it appeared that Galarraga had a perfect game after receiving the throw from first baseman Miguel Cabrera at the bag.

But umpire Jim Joyce completely blew the call, costing Galarraga a chance to have hit name etched in history. The best part of the whole situation was watching Miguel Cabrera screaming at Joyce as the game continued, and Jim Leyland was barking like crazy after the game concluded. Another game ruined by pathetic umpiring. I'll bet anything that this leads to baseball's eventual establishment of instant replay for almost EVERY call, not just homers.

Back to business, the Yankees must sweep the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow. It's time for CC to have a good start, and the Yankees must conclude this home stand against two of the worst teams in baseball with a 6-1 record. No excuses, no exceptions. I can't say I'm a big fan of weekday games, especially now that I spend my days working for the man, but at least the Yankees won't have to deal with arriving in Toronto super early Friday morning.

JAV A Night

As I've always said, Javier Vazquez is the guy I want on the mound in a must-win game. OK, I haven't said that at all, but tonight he tamed the dangerous Baltimore Orioles lineup by throwing seven solid innings and getting out of a bases loaded jam, earning his fourth win of the season, tying him with supposed ace CC Sabathia. These are games that the Yankees have to win, and the Orioles basically handed it to them tonight as the Yanks took game one of this critical series, 3-1.

Tonight we had a great Javier Vazquez, and a good Joba Chamberlain. Both have been inconsistent and cost the Yankees some victories. Vazquez was completely lights out until the sixth, and appeared as if he might get a loss in the seventh. Believe it or not, Joe Girardi stuck with him and he escaped the Orioles rally with the game tied. After Miguel Tejada and Ty Wigginton gave the Yankees two runs in the bottom of the frame, Joba had a shut down inning, and Mo was Mo.

Curtis Granderson has really looked impressive since coming back from injury. For months, we've all heard about how he cannot hit lefties, but tonight, he took one into the seats. And it's a homer that does not go out of Comerica, so Curtis has to be smiling and enjoying his new right field porch. The Yankees' bats really did nothing other than that, but a win is a win. When you have an off night, the Orioles still know how to give away a game.

Once again, a victory did not come without a cause for concern. Yesterday it was Derek Jeter's hamstring, and today, it was Mark Teixeira's foot, which was bruised on a foul ball. Fortunately, it's nothing serious, but it's concerning that the Yankees seem to have a player leave with an injury almost every single game. Before Jeter on Monday, it was Robertson on Saturday and Moeller on Sunday.

The Yankees must sweep this series. They have Phil Hughes and CC Sabathia going against the Orioles over the next two days. I totally understand that the Orioles are a "big league team" and can win on any day, but they really do look pretty pathetic. Phil needs to continue his dominance, and CC needs to figure out how to get his fifth victory on the year.