We all knew this was coming. Rafael Soriano had opted out after the end of the 2012 season, rejected a qualifying offer and the Yankees weren’t willing to spend the money to retain him. Even so, I’m still a bit bummed about the news that came across the wires a little while ago.

Soriano has agreed to a two-year, $28M deal with the Washington Nationals. The deal is pending the completion of a physical and also includes a $15M option for 2015 if Soriano finishes 120 games over the next two years.

The Yankees, in turn, will get a supplemental first round draft pick for Soriano.

I always felt bad for Soriano who was vilified as soon as he signed with the Yankees after the 2010 season. Fans and media alike were hard on him and he didn’t have a good 2011 season which made things even worse.

He was able to redeem himself and quiet some of those naysayers.

Of course, we all know what happened in 2012. When Mariano Rivera went down with a season-ending knee injury, Soriano stepped in and saved 44 games for the Yankees and helped them win the American League East Division title.

With Rivera returning to the fold, Soriano would’ve gone back to being a setup guy, so he did what was best and is now going to team where he can be the closer and where he will be making big time closer money.

So, I will say one last “UNTUCK!” and wish Soriano well with his new team.

In honor of the man who wore #29 for the past two seasons, here’s something I wrote about him in October on It’s About The Money, Stupid:

Can I admit something? I love Rafael Soriano. I just can’t help myself. There’s something about him that I just really dig.

Maybe it’s the look he has on the mound. You know, the look of a man who wants to beat his opponents senseless. Or maybe it’s the way he untucked his jersey after every save. Or better yet, the way he’d leave the clubhouse without speaking to reporters when he had a bad night. Okay, so that’s not a great trait to have necessarily but the aftermath of his actions coupled with the overreaction of the writers was always pretty hilarious.

Even in 2011 when he was primarily Mariano Rivera’s set up man and had a relatively disappointing season – 2-3 record with a 4.12 ERA and am inflamed elbow – I still had a soft spot for Soriano. I felt like people were piling on him because of his contract and that they were being unfairly critical of him. Hmm, that sounds familiar? Doesn’t it Yankee fans? But I digress.

I was so happy that Soriano made the most of the chance he got to step in during Rivera’s absence this season and that he helped guide the Yankees to 95 regular season wins. With all that said, I am disappointed that Soriano wants to test the free agent market but also understand why he would.

He’s still relatively young (he turns 33 in December), he’s coming off a 40 save season in which he had a 2.26 ERA with an ERA+ 185 and there are a few teams who could use a closer.

If Soriano does opt out [SPOILER AERT - He did], I also see things from the Yankees’ side of things, if they decide to not make an offer.

With Rivera coming back next season and with guys like David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen, it would be a tad ludicrous to spend over $15 million for a set up man. Not like that has ever stopped Yankees President Randy Levine who was the one who went after and signed Soriano in the first place.

But the Yankees are looking lower payroll by 2014 and with Soriano off the books, it will be easier for them to do that.

So if we’ve seen the last of Rafael Soriano in Pinstripes, I’d like to thank him for the job he did, for his quirky behavior and most of all for the #untuck hashtag many of us used on Twitter. It made Yankee victories that much sweeter.

Big thanks to the guys over at River Ave Blues for posting this to their Twitter account:

God bless, YouTube (and the internet).

I think the Yankees may be trying to kill me or at least make me age at least 3-5 years every game they play this week.

This easily could have been one of those games, you know, the kind that makes you want to punch holes in your walls. And it actually was heading in that direction when the Jays took a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning. Phil Hughes was taken out of the game after surrendering all five runs on eight hits. He walked two batters, struck out four and gave up a home run. Yes, I know, shocker.

Derek Lowe came into the game to stop the bleeding and actually did what he was supposed to do. He pitched 1.2 innings of no-hit, no-run ball. Boone Logan also did his job by getting a left handed batter out and then even got a right handed batter out!

Amazing!

The Yankees scored one run in the sixth inning thanks to a Henderson Alvarez wild pitch which scored Nick Swisher from third. That pulled the Yankees to within three.

When the seventh inning started, two moves were made. Toronto replaced Alvarez with Brett Cecil and Joe Girardi pinch hit Eduardo Nunez in place of Eric Chavez.

The Yankees won that move when Nunez singled to start the inning.

Next, Toronto brought in Steve Delabar who promptly gave up a ground rule double to Derek Jeter to put runners on second and third with no outs. Ichiro Suzuki hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 5-3.

In one of the biggest at bats of the year, Alex Rodriguez, worked a walk against Delabar to put runners on first and second with one out.

Robinson Cano stepped in and hit his 46th double of the year which scored Jeter and pulled the Yankees to within one run, 5-4.

Toronto, once again made a pitching change, this time bringing in Aaron Loup who added his own wild pitch which scored Rodriguez from third to tie the game at 5-5.

Just as things were getting good for the Yankees, Nick Swisher lined into a bad luck double play to end the inning.

Still, the Yankees came all the way back to tie the game. Momentum seemed to be on their side.

After Lowe and Logan combined to pitch a scoreless bottom of the seventh the Yankees made things happen in the eighth. They scored two more runs thanks to a walk, a single, a sac bunt, a sac fly and a single. The run scoring sac fly was hit by Nunez and the single by Jeter.

David Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth and the Yankees came up big again in the top of the ninth.

Rodriguez singled, Cano singled and Swisher walked to load the bases against Jason Frasor. Then Curtis Granderson hit a rocket down the right field line for a double which scored both Rodriguez and Cano. The Yankees went up 9-5.

Now, you didn’t think things would end all nice and tidy with a 1-2-3 inning by Rafael Soriano, did you? Come on, kids. You know better than that.

Soriano had to make it so scary that most Yankee fans were looking for brown paper bags to breathe into. He gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs.

Then by the grace of God or some other force of nature, Soriano got Yunel Escobar to ground into a double play. Yes, a run was given up but hey, I’d give up one run for two outs any day of the week. Especially with a four-run lead.

Thankfully, he got Adam Lind to ground out to second to end the game.

Untuck, Yankees win, all that jazz, breathe in, breathe out…

So the Yankees are still tied for a share of first place in the American League East because there was no way Baltimore was losing to Boston because Boston is absolutely horrible.

Anyway, hold onto your butts Yankee fans, these final three games are going to be frightening.

GAME 1: Yankees 4 Blue Jays 2

The Return of Le Pettitte Prince

It had been nearly three months since the last time we saw Andy Pettitte take the mound for the Yankees and boy, did I miss the guy. When Andy took that Casey Kotchman comebacker off his leg in late June, I remember thinking that the Yankees would be fine while he was on the DL – after all, the lead in the division was solid, the rest of the team was healthy, and the pitching seemed to be on the up and up. We all know that my thinking was far too optimistic, if not mortally flawed. Maybe Andy’s absence was not a direct cause of the Yankees sub-standard play in the second half, but it certainly didn’t help.

To be perfectly honest, even though he was supposedly feeling fantastic, I did not expect this line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. While Pettitte didn’t bring his A-game (his command was suspect at times) he reminded us why having been around the block really matters this time of year. Pettitte flashed the grit we know and love, working out of jams in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings. At 68 pitches through 4, it seemed like we would have to settle for only a glimpse at our old friend (he was on a 70-75 pitch limit) but Andy clearly made a case for a 5th inning return. 75 pitch limit? No problem. Pettitte retired the side on 7 pitches, leaving to the warm applause of the *light* crowd in attendance – good enough for his 4th win on the year.

But, but, we had him

The first inning was more or less all the Yanks could ask for on both sides of the ball. Andy Pettitte worked around a walk to Colby Rasmus en route to a quiet inning, and then the bats pounced all over Blue Jays starter Henderson Alvarez in the bottom of the frame. Ichiro, Swish, and Cano went 1B, 1B, RBI 2B to start the game, and it looked like it was going to be a short afternoon for the Blue Jays youngster. After Robbie’s long 2B, however, things settled down in a hurry. Two more runs were plated in the inning on an A-Rod groundout and a Granderson sac fly, but that was all the Yanks were going to get out of Alvarez.

Seemingly on the ropes after only three batters and down 3-0 after 1, Alvarez rebounded by retiring 17 of the next 19 hitters he faced and setting a career high with 7 K. In my series preview, I noted that Alvarez doesn’t generally have swing and miss stuff, but he sure missed a lot of bats this afternoon.

Who broke D-Rob?

David Robertson sometimes picks around the strike zone. We know this. D-Rob also occasionally loses faith in his curveball when he doesn’t bring his A-game. We know this as well. The problem is that we’ve become so accustomed to watching Robertson get into, and then wriggle out of, even the worst of jams. A regression was expected after last year’s frequent “Houdini on the high wire” acts, but it’s still a tough pill for me to swallow. Robertson lacked the ability to put anyone away this afternoon, giving up two 2-strike hits on his way to an overall line of 0.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2K. He was able to freeze two rookies on called third strikes, but everyone else he faced lumped him up. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs, Rafael Soriano came on to bail D-Rob out. After a walk to Anthony Gose, Soriano got Rajai Davis to hit a sinking liner to left field that was snagged on a slide by Ichiro, narrowly averting a Stage IV Bullpen Meltdown.

After the Yankees added an insurance run on two out hits from Ichiro (ground rule double) and Nick Swisher (RBI 1B), Soriano pitched a dominant 9th for his 41st save. Everybody untuck.

Ichiro Suzuki: True Yankee

I like to throw this term around sarcastically because non-Yankee fans do (I’m reclaiming it) but today, Ichiro was definitely my favorite Yankee. Well, that is, after Andy Pettitte came out of the game anyway. Ichiro, hitting leadoff for the resting Derek Jeter, went 3-for-4 with 2 R and a game saving catch in LF to end the 8th. We can’t expect these types of games from twilight Ichiro all of the time (more to come later), but they are so enjoyable when they happen. Do you think Raul and Andruw gave each other “oh man thank goodness that wasn’t one of us out there in left” hugs of relief after the 8th inning catch? I like to think that they did.

GAME 2: Yankees 2 Blue Jays 1

Ichiro Suzuki: True Yankee (closer to serious this time)

Okay for real, Ichiro went 4-for-4 with a SB in the nightcap and drove in the eventual game winning run in the 8th. I wouldn’t lie to you! Are we cool? Do you believe me? Great. Ready for more? Of those 4 hits, 2 of them were doubles…off a lefty. ::head explodes:: It’s okay. I ran through the same gamut of emotions as I was watching the game. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Ichiro accounted for 7 of the Yankees’ 15 hits on the day. He had a direct role in both wins and frankly I don’t see how we sweep without him. As I said above, this isn’t going to happen every game, but it happened twice today – a rejuvenated Ichiro came to play and the Yanks earned 2 much (much) needed wins with his help. No offense to D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar, but if you had told me the tale of September 19, 2012 on July 23, 2012, I’d have packed their bags myself.

David Phelps showed us something

He isn’t flashy. He doesn’t throw smoke. The pitching motion is simple and compact. No facial expressions. A haircut you can set your watch to. The previous statements all describe David Phelps but yet, I’m intrigued. One week ago, Phelps gave the Yankees 5.2 IP of 1 run ball in a critical victory against the Red Sox. That was supposed to be his last start. Three days later, Phelps got 2 big outs in relief in a game the Yankees won against the Rays. Three days after that would bring you to tonight – a game that Phelps was only asked to start because ::dun dun dun:: WEATHER happened! We all feared the WEATHER yesterday, and rightfully so – doubleheader? What will it mean for the rotation? It’s so hard to sweep a DH! Grrrrrrrfffrustration.

You know who didn’t look frustrated? David Phelps. Sure, he did not have great stuff tonight. He was pick, pick, picking and had poor command. But look at the the week he had, detailed above. His relief appearance happened on his throwing day, of course, but that can still go a long way toward mucking up a guy’s routine. When Phelps was at 40 pitches through 2 IP, I thought we were on the fast track to watching Derek Lowe pour sweat all over the mound from the 4th through 7th, effective or not. Phelps was able to reign it in, however, and turned in a gutsy performance with an end line that looks much better than he made it look: 6.2 IP (ties career high), 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. He also pumped out a career high 110 pitches (previous high: 98) on a night that Joe Girardi needed some length from his starter.

Maybe it is because I didn’t expect much when he was called up, but David Phelps, I’m intrigued.

Until tonight, he was Ricky RomeROFL

It wasn’t pretty, but Ricky Romero held the Yankees to 1 ER in 6 IP despite walking 5 and allowing 7 hits. A WHIP of 2.00 over 6 innings is the pitching equivalent of playing with fire, but Romero was able to excape trouble several times by relying on a fastball-changeup combo that had Yankee hitters off balance, expecially A-Rod. Rodriguez ended a potential threat in the 1st by grounding into a double play, and then struck out with men on base in the 3rd and 5th innings. Rodriguez was also K’d by Steve Delabar in the 7th to cap a day he’d soon like to forget: 0-for-7, 5 K, GIDP.

Romero was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce in the bottom of the 2nd when Chris Stewart laced a 2B to left field that skipped up the wall and into the seats, scoring McGehee from 2nd but preventing Ichiro from scoring from 1st. Romero also got some help from his defense, as Colby Rasmus made a strong throw from CF on Ichiro’s 1B to nail Jayson Nix at the plate. As has been the case with Romero for the better part of 2012, it felt as though the wheels were going to come off at any moment, but the Yankees just couldn’t capitalize.

What did I miss?

• Derek Jeter led off the evening game with a single, his 200th hit of the season. This marks the 8th time in his career he has reached the 200 hit plateau. He’s also playing on a bum foot. It’s old hat to say it, but he is pretty amazing.
• Omar Vizquel passed Babe Ruth (yes, that one) on the all time hits list in the afternoon game. His RBI 2B in the 8th inning off David Robertson was the 2, 872nd hit of his career.
• Rafael Soriano saved both ends of this doubleheader for his 41st and 42nd saves on the season. This means that fans who stayed for both games were treated to “El Rey de Monticulo” multiple times today. That is Soriano’s answer to “Enter Sandman” and the title translates to “King of the Mound.” Hard to argue in 2012.

The Yankees go for the 3 game sweep of the Jays at Yankee Stadium Thursday evening at 7:05pm. CC Sabathia (13-6, 3.96 ERA) will oppose Aaron Laffey (3-5, 4.55 ERA) in a matchup of lefties. As I write this, the Yankees sit 1 full game in first place, pending the outcome of the Orioles-Mariners game, which looks like it may go as long as last night’s. Oh boy.

Good afternoon Yankee fans,

The Yankees are no doubt, enjoying their last off day of the regular season – the weather here in the New York metro area is gorgeous. So while the boys in pinstripes may be off spending time with their families, the blogosphere is busy.

Here are some links for you to peruse on this lovely Monday afternoon:

Michael Eder of The Yankee Analysts writes about the Yankees strength of schedule over the next few weeks.

Tyler Kepner write an excellent profile of Rafael Soriano for the New York Times. I am one of those people who loves Soriano. I love that he walks to the beat of a different dummer so to speak.

Doug of High Heat Stats writes about pitchers and unearned runs, specifically CC Sabathia and other elite starters.

Oh hey, look who is returning to the rotation tomorrow! The one and only Andy Pettitte.

(Apologies for the late recap. I was actually at the game and then watched some football when I got home.)

I had a good feeling heading into the Bronx today. I was riding a two-game personal losing streak and I was sure Hiroki Kuroda would put a stop to it.

After he recorded six strike outs for his first six outs of the game, my good feeling remained.

Thanks to timely – and in Russell Martin’s case – explosive hitting, the Yankees jumped out to a 5-0 in the third inning against Rays starter Matt Moore.

When the Rays answered with one run of their own in the top of the fourth, thanks to a solo shot by Ben Zobrist – his 17th of the year, the Yankees came right back and scored another run. This time it was aided by an error by Moore who overthrew the first bag allowed Eduardo Nunez to reach. With Derek Jeter at the plate, Nunez stole both second and third. After Jeter worked a walk and Nick Swisher popped out, Rodriguez hit a ball to the right field wall. Sam Fuld made a nice grab but Nunez was able to score on the sac fly putting the Yankees up 6-1.

And it may have gotten a little dicey in the sixth when the Rays cut the lead to 6-4, thanks to two walks and two singles, I still felt like the Yankees were going to win. Kuroda was able to get out of the inning by striking out BJ Upton who ended up finishing the day with four strikeouts.

Kuroda pitched six full innings, gave up four runs on four hits, walked two and struck out 10. It was his 14th win of the year – a career high. It was also his third career 10+ strikeout game – two have been with the Yankees.

Boone Logan, David Phelps, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano combined for three innings of scoreless ball with Soriano recording his 40th save of the season. Soriano became the fourth Yankee closer to record 40 saves in a season. He joins Dave Righetti (1986), John Wetteland (1996) & Mariano Rivera – who has done it eight times.

The Yankees will enjoy a day off tomorrow before starting a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Andy Pettitte will be returning to the hill. HOORAY!

Some stats (Thanks to @yestoresearch on Twitter):

• Alex Rodriguez is now three RBI from tying Stan Musial for 5th all-time.
• Robinson Cano’s fourth inning double tied Tony Lazzeri for 11th on the franchise doubles list (327).

I apologize in advance for the not-so-clever Ivan Nova cliche but it must be said. Nova was super today. In his first outing since August 21, Nova pitched into the seventh inning surrendering only two earned runs – one was a Luke Scott single given up by Joba Chamberlain – and four hits while striking out eight Rays and only walking two.

Nova was on a pitch limit and when he surrendered a single to Jeff Keppinger to open the seventh inning he was taken out after having thrown 85 – 53 for strikes.

Offensively for the Yankees, Curtis Granderson and Eduardo Nunez went back-to-back in the second inning off Rays starter James Shields. Granderson’s two-run shot was his 39th of the season and Nunez’s solo shot was his first of the year.

In the bottom of the fifth, Derek Jeter hit an RBI single to put the Yankees up 4-0. The Rays got one back in the top of the sixth when Evan Longoria took Nova deep cutting the lead to 4-1.

After Nova was removed in the seventh – following the Keppinger single – Boone Logan replaced Nova and Ben Francisco bunted into a force out, Keppinger was out at second but Francisco made it to first. The next batter, Ryan Roberts, hit a double, advancing Francisco to third. Girardi replaced Logan with Joba Chamberlain, while Joe Maddon countered with Sam Fuld pinch hitting for Chris Gimenez.

That move worked out for the Yankees when Fuld grounded out to Chamberlain. The Yankees weren’t out of the woods yet and Luke Scott made them pay when he singled on a 1-2 pitch from Chamberlain, scoring both Francisco and Roberts, cutting the lead to 4-3.

Chamberlain got the next batter, Desmond Jennings to strike out on three pitches.

In the top of the 8th, David Robertson replaced Chamberlain and retired the Rays 1-2-3. In the bottom half of the inning, the Yankees scored an insurance run, thanks to the heroics of both Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez. Actually, we can add a third person to the equation, B.J. Upton who had trouble tracking down Cano’s ball and it turned into a double. Rodriguez followed with an RBI single, putting the Yankees up 5-3.

Rafael Soriano made things slightly interesting in the ninth. It felt like I was watching John Wetteland circa 1996. Things started off fine when he got Keppinger to pop out to Nunez. Francisco followed that up with a single and Ryan Roberts flied out to Granderson for the second out. Just one more out to go.

Maddon pinch hit Stephen Vogt for Jose Lobaton and he walked. So with two on, two outs and the go-ahead run at the plate, Soriano settled down and got Elliot Johnson swinging the end the game.

The crowd, both at the Stadium and watching on TV exhaled, Soriano untucked and the Yankees high fived, celebrating their 82nd victory of the year.

(Syndicated from The Yankee Analysts)

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve developed a Pavlovian Reflex watching the 2012 Yankees. It goes as follows: Untuck —-> Exhale. Every time.

Last night was no different, as I was holding my breath for the entire 9th inning. Rafael Soriano managed to hang on for his 37th save in 40 chances, but it came with the usual drama of a Fenway Park conclusion. Jarrod Saltalamacchia led off the 9th with a solo shot to right that brought the Sox within a run, and Daniel Nava followed it up with a fly ball to left that pushed Chris Dickerson back as far as the Monster would allow before he brought it in for out number one.

After retiring Mauro Gomez on an easy grounder to Robinson Cano, Soriano stabbed at a comebacker from Mike Aviles that resulted in a deflection and subsequent infield hit. Jacoby Ellsbury represented the winning run for the Sox (of course) but gave Soriano a shot at redemption – a comebacker that Soriano handled cleanly and underhand tossed to Nick Swisher for the third out. That was a dense opening paragraph. A rant, if you will. Untuck. Yeeeesh.

ALL the Home Runs! NOTHING Else!

Familiar sight: The Yankees scored five runs last night, all via the long ball.

Another familiar sight: The Yankees went 0-for-13 with RISP, placing them at 1-for-25 with RISP for the series.

Curtis Granderson threw up a pretty vintage Grandy line: 2-for-5 with 2HR, 3RBI, and 2K, putting him at .235/.324/.489 37HR 89RBI and 170K on the season. Grandy led off the 4th inning with a solo drive off Red Sox starter Aaron Cook, followed by an A-Rod single, and a Robbie Cano opposite field shot to complete the tater sandwich (tired of the food puns yet? No? Okay).

Eric Chavez doubled later in the inning, and Ichiro reached on an error by 3B Pedro Ciriaco (he’s human!) but Chris Stewart remembered to fire up the RISPFAIL machine and grounded out to end the inning. At this point, I figured that my boys would have Cook against the ropes, but the righty bounced back for a relatively quiet inning in the 5th and was removed after a Nick Swisher double to lead off the 6th.

In his 2 previous starts against the Yanks, Cook had allowed 12ER and 19H in 9.1IP.  Since the RISPFAIL machine was purring like a kitten by the time Cook was lifted, this time he escaped with 5+IP and only allowed the 3R in the 4th.

Leading 3-1 in the 7th, Derek Jeter led off with a single off of (noted Yankee double agent) Alfredo Aceves, and Grandy followed up with his second homer of the night – this one a 2R insurance shot.

Complain all you want about the reliance on the long ball, but if a team isn’t going to hit with men on base, they’ve simply got to find another way. I’ll take some HRs here and there, thank you very much.

Hopefully Curtis has turned a corner.  This lineup is significantly better when he is comfortable with his hitting mechanics, and he hasn’t been for the better part of the last 2 1/2 months.

Speaking of turning a corner, Nick Swisher didn’t factor in the scoring, but he did go 3-for-5 with a 2B – his second straight multi-hit performance.  Both Grandy and Swish hit .205 in September last year and were non-existent against the Tigers in the ALDS, so seeing both of those guys start to turn it on a bit here is a promising sign for the offense moving forward.

David Phelps: True Yankee

Okay, I kid, I kid, but still. The guy went out there in the hostile confines of Fenway Park, in September, in a first place tie, and he arguably pitched the best game of his young career. This was not a gem, but it didn’t have to be. Watching the game, I sensed confidence in Phelps, even in the bottom of the 5th when he gave up a leadoff triple to Saltalamacchia (more on this later).

Phelps was poised, trusted his breaking ball in all counts, and did something he has never done before: pitched beyond the 5th inning only allowing 1 run. With Nova returning to the rotation to replace Freddy Garcia, and Andy Pettitte willing himself to health, one would have to think that this may have been Phelps’ last turn at starting in 2012. He’s done everything the Yankees have asked of him this year, and done it in a respectable fashion. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him out of the pen this year, and I would sign up for more of that in the coming weeks. ::thinks of reliever Phil Hughes in 2009, salivates::

On Bullpens and Binders

Joe Girardi loves his Binder. The Binder can be a very just and kind Binder, but the Binder must be honored. The only way to honor the Binder is with MANY PITCHING CHANGES.

Last night, Joe paid great respect to the Binder by using 6 relievers after David Phelps’ exit with 2 down in the 6th. Clay Rapada came on to retire James Loney to end the 6th, but with huge-platoon-split Cody Ross leading off Girardi went to Cody Eppley to start the 7th.

Two batters and a Salty double later we saw Boone Logan who, seemingly exhausted from an afternoon of pitcher’s fielding practice, gave way to Joba Chamberlain after Daniel Nava tagged him for a double. A ground out and yet another double – this time by pinch hitter Mike Aviles – and the Red Sox tightened up the score at 5-3.

David Robertson started the 8th and got two outs before giving up a double to James Loney and turning it over to Soriano, who struck out Cody Ross looking to diffuse the threat (an enjoyable sight, equipped with amusing ripple effects).

A win is a win is a win, and the Yanks needed this one badly, but one has got to think that the pen is going to be a little thin in the final game of this series. Logan, Robertson, and still-healing Joba all threw a fair number of high leverage pitches two nights in a row so they are probably going to be unavailable.

Since Ivan Nova will be going on Saturday, I assume Freddy Garcia will be available out of the pen in game 3 so that provides some depth. I’m fully expecting Joe to be paying the Binder a great deal of respect if we see a close one tonight.

The Moment I Thought the Season Was Over and Other Miscellany

• In the top of the 8th inning, the Yankees had a light rally brewing that involved an error, a poor throw on a SB, a bunt, and a walk to a backup catcher. It may have been difficult to hear over the cacophonous whir of the RISPFAIL machine, but I wailed upon viewing the last out of the inning. Derek Jeter hit a tailor-made DP ball to 2B and in the course of busting it down the line, he seemingly aggravated the foot injury that he suffered against the Rays last week. He came up limping, hobbled a bit up the 1B line, and then was escorted back to the dugout by Girardi and trainer Steve Donohue. It looked ugly but according to Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News, Jeter is still dealing with the same bone bruise in the left ankle and has been for days. No new injury. No worse than it was before. In true Jeter fashion, he insisted that he will play in Thursday’s series finale.  Unless Girardi has him physically restrained, I’d bet the house on it.
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia finished one hit shy of the cycle – a single.  Salty only had 4 career triples in 459 games coming into Wednesday’s game.  He also only had 14 doubles on the year.
• Robinson Cano’s HR in the 4th inning was his 30th of the season, marking a new career high. Yay Robbie.
• Vicente Padilla made an appearance for one batter in the top of the 9th. Unfortunately, it was not Mark Teixeira.
• I find Cody Ross to be sniveling.  I thought so when he was on the Marlins.  I continued to think so when he was on the Giants. Now that he is on the Sox, I no longer feel the need to explain my views.  He is a sniveler, and he sniveled after Soriano struck him out looking with James Loney on 2B to end the 8th.  He made such a stink that he got himself tossed, along with 3B coach Jerry Royster and Manager Bobby Valentine.
• That marks the sixth time this year that Bobby V has been ejected, more than any other manager or player in one season in Red Sox history.

I was really hoping that we would see some Groucho glasses tonight, but I was left wanting more. If you were as well, here is a photo of what could have been:

Tonight the Yanks take on the Red Sox at 7:10pm EST in the rubber match of the three game set at Fenway Park.  The Yanks will send Phil Hughes (14-12, 4.13 ERA) against Felix Doubront (10-8, 5.21 ERA) in a matchup for the home run lover in all of us (33 and 22 allowed, respectively).  Should be fun.

Is everyone breathing normally again? What a game this afternoon for the Yankees! It was close, it was scary, it was infuriating at times, it was exhilarating at times and the Yankees ended up on top.

The Yanks started the scoring in the top of the second off of Tigers starter Doug Fister. With Eric Chavez on first following a single – because all he does lately, is hit - Raul Ibanez launched a ball over centerfielder Quentin Berry’s head which resulted in an RBI triple for Ibanez. Ichiro Suzuki followed that up with an RBI single to make it 2-0.

Hiroki Kuroda was looking good and he held the Tigers scoreless until the fifth inning.

And what an inning that was.

Kuroda surrendered a double to Jhonny Peralta which was followed by an Alex Avila two-run shot to tie the game. Then after Kuroda got two outs and with runners on first and second, Andy Dirks hit a ball to left that umpire Tim Welke initially called foul but then called fair which resulted in a double that scored Berry from second.

Now, the fair ball call was correct – score one for the umpires – but Welke initially called it foul – oh wait, I’m sorry, deduct a point or three for that infraction – all of the confusion seemed to screw up Ibanez a little bit* – of course, having Ibanez playing in the field wasn’t the best choice either but that rant is for another day.

Joe Girardi came out of the dugout to argue and Welke allowed him to vent because he knew he screwed up. But then Girardi went nuclear and was tossed from the game. As he walked over the field he made fun of Welke’s two calls, complete with dramatic arm gestures.

It was pretty damn funny.

According to Jack Curry of YES, who looked at tape of the Girardi explosion, Girardi said to Welke, “I’m protesting this game. You called it a foul ball.”

Luckily, he doesn’t have to do that because the Yankees came back.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland brought in Joaquin Benoit to replace Octavio Dotel who had replaced Fister with one out in the seventh.

After Robinson Cano grounded out, Mark Teixeira hit a 2-0 bullet into the seats in right to tie the game. That ball was out of the park in what seemed like a nanosecond. Not to be outdone, Chavez who as I said, does nothing but hit, clubbed a solo shot of his own – an opposite field home run – in the very next at bat to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

David Phelps and Rafael Soriano combined to pitch two scoreless innings – though both innings were a little sweaty. Poor Phelps was victimized by a wet mound and called for a balk. Then Soriano was called upon to get the final four outs of the game. He ended the eighth on a Peralta fly out to Ichiro.

The bottom of the ninth started off a teensy bit dicey. Soriano gave up a double to Avila which was followed by a single by Omar Infante. With runners on first and third with no outs, Soriano got Ramon Santiago to line out to second, induced a Berry pop out to short and ended the game with a Dirks fly out to centerfield.

Say it with me now, UNTUCK!

Some interesting notes:

• Kuroda’s daytime ERA is 0.84
• Ibanez finished 2-4 with a double, triple, an RBI and a run scored
• Clay Rapada picked up his third win of the season
• Soriano picked up save number 27
• And finally, the man, the myth, the Chavez: In this series he was 9-16 with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI, scored six runs and increased his batting average from .264 to .289. A-Rod who? (Kidding)

*Ibanez in his postgame interview on YES said he was going off the noise of the crowd so he didn’t see Welke call it fair. He assumed it was foul then heard the crowd going crazy.