(Syndicated from It’s About the Money)

If you predicted that this ragtag, seems to have been formed by flinging excrement at a wall team of lovable rejects would be 24-14 at this point in the season, you are a lying liar who lies.

With that said, seeing these Yankees atop the American League East standings at this point in the season is still extremely satisfying. I know it’s still early and that anything can happen but for the moment, these Yankees are definitely must see TV.

Take yesterday’s doubleheader for example. Even though they dropped the first game, these guys made me want to keep watching. I got to see Corban Joseph make his MLB debut, David Phelps pitched a great game even though he picked up the loss in the first game and even going into the top of the ninth, I felt like they could possibly make a comeback.

Alas, it was not to be but I wasn’t too disappointed because there was a second game to follow.

And when that game started, I was excited to see Vidal Nuno make his MLB debut as a starter and to see what he could do. He also didn’t disappoint, throwing five innings of scoreless ball. Vernon Wells collected two more RBI, Lyle Overbay had another extra base hit and the aforementioned Joseph picked up his first MLB hit, a double. And he was driven in by Austin Romine who picked up his first MLB RBI. Even Alberto Gonzalez, who was called up just before the doubleheader, got in on the fun and got two hits in that second game.

I also can’t forget about young Adam Warren, who came in to relieve Nuno, got a four-inning save while only allowing two hits and striking out four.

Last year on May 13, the Yankees lineup looked like this:

There is one guy from that lineup, Robinson Cano, who went 1-9 in yesterday’s doubleheader. Isn’t that amazing?

Yesterday, the YES Network posted this graphic during their telecast:

We all know about the injuries, we’re reminded of them everyday when we read stories about the Yankees and as we watch games, holding our collective breath whenever someone hustles down the first base line or makes a diving catch but when you see all of them listed like that, it really hits you how amazing this season has been thus far.

Joe Posnanski posted a piece on Hardball Talk this morning called Yankees School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and while he focuses mostly on Vernon Wells, even he can’t believe what’s been happening this season.

I’ve been a Yankee fan all my life, even when I was just listening to a crowd cheering on the television while lying in bed as a young child and in recent years, I’ve become accustomed to seeing an All-Star or former All-Star at every single position. Honestly, this season has been more of a treat to watch. Seeing guys like Wells and Overbay contribute to the team when people were laughing at the Yankees for picking them up is extremely gratifying. And watching as the kids, like Joesph, Romine and even Preston Claiborne, seamlessly fill in while guys are making their way back has been a lot of fun.

Of course, this doesn’t mean I’ll be upset when those perennial All-Stars return to the lineup, I’m just not in that big of a hurry to see it happen because right now, I’m liking my first place ragtag team of misfits.

Happy Saturday afternoon, Yankee fans!

Here are some stories for you to read about the boys in Pinstripes:

• George King of the New York Post writes about Eduardo Nunez‘s new arm motion. It seems the Yankees realized something needed to change – um, duh? – and that it wasn’t Nunez’s range, it was his throwing arm. Well, yes.
• Nunez tweeted this message late last night: “God bless me on this new season so I can show people that talk bad about me that they are wrong!” In other words, “Suck it, haters.”
• Phil Hughes may throw as soon as tomorrow – he’s been cleared to play catch – and may be back and pitching by March 14. Hooray!
• Dave D’Alessandro of the Star-Ledger writes about Robinson Cano‘s 2013 and the expectations Cano will be facing as he inches toward his new contract. I hope Cano has a typical, out of his mind type of contract year. That would be fun for us to watch.
• This piece by Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News talks about how some Yankee fans are still not ready to accept Kevin Youkilis into their Yankee fan arms. Well, my advice to them is suck it up and get over it already. Youkilis is a Yankee, you can’t do anything about it so stop acting like petulant children.
• According to Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees Blog, Melky Mesa has pulled out of the WBC.

And finally, today’s lineup against the Tigers:

Gardner CF
Ichiro RF
Cano 2B
Teixeira 1B
Youkilis 3B
Hafner DH
Diaz LF
Nix SS
Stewart C

Nova RHP

The pitchers also scheduled to pitch in today’s game are: Rapada, Aardsma, Kelley, Montgomery, Daley and Rondon.

The game will be on the YES Network at 1:00 p.m.

(It is currently 12:53 a.m. and “How Will I Know?” by Whitney Houston is playing on the 80s Music Choice channel as I begin this post. I figured I’d give you an idea of the frame of mind I was in when I wrote it because I am planning on scheduling this post to appear on the site at 9 a.m. just in case I oversleep because I stayed up late to watch the Oscars.)

First things first, this is going to sound a bit nit-picky but as I was looking at Google News for links to put into this post, I kept seeing article titles that say, “Curtis Granderson Breaks Arm,” and that is actually annoying me because he didn’t break his own forearm. It wasn’t like he was diving for a ball and landed on it strangely, J.A. Happ was the one who broke Granderson’s forearm with an errant pitch so let’s not get it twisted, okay? Thanks. Like last season when “Alex Rodriguez broke his finger.” No, Felix Hernandez of Seattle Mariners broke Alex’s finger. Thanks again.

And by the way, my friend’s mother likes to make voodoo dolls, so Mr. Happ better look out because I may be asking for one.

Another thing that’s been bothering me all night is the fact that I was witnessing fans of other teams laughing at Yankee fans who were upset about Granderson’s bad break. More specifically, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays, the team whose pitcher injured Granderson. Did these people not learn from their experiences last season when they lost their entire starting five to injury and lost Jose Bautista to a wrist injury for an extended period of time? You don’t make fun of a guy when he gets injured. It’s not good juju. Plus, they have Jose Reyes and Josh Johnson who both could be injured by April 2 and out for the entire year. Their team’s home field is made of fake grass layered on top of concrete, if Melky Cabrera attempts to make a diving play like the one he made robbing Robinson Cano of a base hit in yesterday’s game, he could break his face or something.

Thirdly, can people please stop declaring the Yankees dead? It’s still February. Is Granderson’s injury bad? Of course it is but if everything goes as scheduled, he’ll be back a month into the season. It’s not a season-ending injury and the Yankees can just plug someone into left field. I know some of you are thinking, “But Stace, they already lost like 1800 home runs with Martin and Swisher leaving for other teams.” Again, it’s way too soon to panic. Does anyone else remember 2007? The Yankees were 12 games out as late as June and they still made the playoffs. Everyone just needs take a few deep cleansing breaths and calm down. I promise, it will be fine.

Next, I briefly touched upon this subject on Saturday but just in case you missed it, trademark judges ruled that an entrepreneur can’t register “Baseballs Evil Empire” because that moniker belongs to the New York Yankees.

“The record shows that there is only one EVIL EMPIRE in baseball and it is the New York Yankees.”

I love this so much that I think the Yankees need to go all out and let everyone know that they are indeed the Evil Empire. They should embrace the evil by dressing Stadium security guards in Imperial Army uniforms and by playing the Imperial March during their lineup intros. Okay, maybe not.

And lastly, Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York tweeted this during the Oscars telecast:

“I didn’t think Seth MacFarlane was that bad. But I listen to Joe Girardi for a living.”

Some people thought it was a good zinger. I thought it was stupid but hey, what do I know?

(By the way, as I ended this post at 1:19 a.m., the 80s channel was playing “Baby Don’t Forget My Number” by Milli Vanilli. Oh, and I’m joking about the voodoo doll. Not about my friend’s mom making them but about me ordering one. Happ’s safe, for now…) 

In the last several weeks, I have gone through the harrowing experiences of first upending my life and moving, followed immediately by, like all other Tri-Staters, weathering a pair of historic storms in the Northeast. Catastrophic events really have a way of putting things into perspective. For the last 12 days I have done little other than prepare for the worst, check in on relatives and friends, and find different ways to offer my services to those suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. While recovery is far from over, it is nice to return to social media and the warming baseball hot stove as a means of coping with the tragedy that my beloved city has endured. I am thankful for the fact that the members of my household (in Brooklyn) and my parents’ household (in Staten Island) made it through without issue. My thoughts are with those who suffered loss, and I will continue to be committed to aiding relief efforts in any way I can, including providing reading material as a distraction.

I apologize for my long absence, and aim to continue to accomplish my goal of forecasting the Yanks’ offseason moves.

- Mike

Young Robinson: A Star is Born

If you are anything like me, you pay a lot of attention to what is happening in the lower levels of the Yanks’ system. Not all of us, however, are lucky enough to have spent a few years living in the bucolic borough of Staten Island with the ability to check out the Baby Bombers at the underrated Richmond County Ballpark. That was when I first laid eyes on that sweet swing. Sure, he’s put a bit of muscle on since 2001, but the mechanics are almost identical. If you’ve never been to a NY Penn League game, well, you aren’t necessarily missing all that much. Often the young’ns can appear nervous, or even awkward, and the play tends to be a bit sloppy. The rosters are comprised mostly of raw international free agents and mid-to-late round amateur draft selections. You can probably probably figure out why I found Robbie to be memorable. The same smoothness and quiet confidence that stands out at the major league level put him in a league of his own in the NYPL. After seeing him stroke two doubles and make a diving stab in the field on an August night in 2001, I made it a point to remember that somewhat unique name: Robinson Cano

If Robbie wasn’t seen as a prospect by the Front Office at age 18, he definitely elevated himself to that status at age 19. He split the season between the Staten Island Yankees and the Greensboro Bats of the South Atlantic League, flashing impressive power for his age and slugging 15 HRs in 599 ABs. After another impressive showing in his age 20 season (split between High-A Tampa and AA Trenton), Cano found himself on the list of the Top 10 2B prospects in the game. As a result, that wasn’t the only list Robinson would find himself on after the 2003 season – he was also on the list of prospects the Yankees offered to the Texas Rangers in the Alex Rodriguez deal. Texas would opt for 2012′s most famous defensive replacement, Joaquin Arias, instead.

We all know the rest. To sum up: With the A-Rod trade, Alfonso Soriano was out as the Yankees 2B for the foreseeable future. After stopgaps such as Enrique Wilson and Tony Womack sputtered in 2004-2005, Robbie made his major league debut on May 3, 2005. After an inauspicious beginning in the basement of the Yankees’ development system and several failed trade attempts, Robinson Cano was here to stay.

Fast Forward

On October 30, 2012, the Yankees shocked no one by choosing to exercise Robbie’s $15 million option for the 2013 season, ensuring that we are unlikely to know the future of Cano in pinstripes until, at the earliest, sometime next December. If we can expect a season similar to Robbie’s last 4, then the Yankees will probably consider that figure a bargain. From 2009-2012, here is Cano’s average offensive output:

Games: ~160
AB: ~628
AVG: .314
HR: ~29
2B: ~46
OPS: .899
bWAR: ~6.4

In that time, he has made 3 All-Star teams, earned two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards, and is coming off a season where he set career highs in HR, OPS, OPS+, BB, and runs scored. At age 30, he is without a doubt in the heart of his prime, and the best offensive player in a lineup laden with firepower (even if the gunpowder is getting a little stale, if you catch my drift). The Yankees paid Cano $39 million for a cumulative bWAR of 25.3 from 2009-2012. Let’s assume they will get somewhere between 6.5-7 bWAR out of Robbie for $15 million in 2013. Using a league average cost per win of about $2.5 million, it’s safe to say that newly retained superagent Scott Boras will want the Yankees to compensate Robbie for the perceived $25-$30 million they “owe” Cano for the discounted production they’ve received over that extension. Oh, and he’ll want that in years and dollars. What will the Yankees do? And how does this fit with the looming $189 million plan for 2014?

Playing Hardball

This past week, we began to hear some rumblings about what a potential contract negotiation between Robbie (and Scott Boras) and the Yankees would actually look like, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be pretty. Long gone are the days of the free spending Boss, willing to override the GM and endorse mammoth checks for marquee players. This is the era of what can be called “Cashball” – a much richer cousin of Moneyball but with the same approach and eye for a bargain. Alex Rodriguez had to negotiate his bloated contract directly with the Steinbrenner family. Rafael Soriano got his cushy deal from blowhard Randy Levine. But even those types of negotiations are likely over. Remember when Cash played the villain in the Jeter negotiations? Yeah. I have a feeling we are going to see that guy again.

Now that Brian Cashman is clearly in control of the Steinbrenner purse strings, Yankees fans should prepare themselves for the reality that the majority of other teams’ supporters must face every year – sometimes star players are allowed to walk. For now, the point is moot. We are guaranteed one more year of our homegrown star, and there isn’t any reason to think that it will not be a MVP-caliber one. We should, however, ready ourselves for that inevitable moment next December when Cashman may tell Robbie and Scott to “test the waters” the same way he did with Derek Jeter. Robinson will turn 31 in October of 2013, and is rumored to be looking for a deal in the range of 7-10 years, with an average annual value comparable to what Prince Fielder received from the Tigers. While Prince signed at age 28, his poor defense, non-premium position, and body type may have tempered any advantage his age may have given him over Robbie. In Boras’s eyes, the two players may be monetarily equivalent. There’s also a strong possibility that, despite being older, Robbie may be worth even more.

So how would, let’s say, a 7 yr/$175M deal fit into the Yankees’ plan to get under – and stay under – the luxury tax starting in 2014? You don’t have to be a mathlete to realize almost immediately that it doesn’t, especially not with A-Rod, Tex, and CC on the books at a high AAV for a few more years. The Yankees don’t want to overpay for what may turn out to be an unproductive twilight for Robbie at a non-2B position, and Robbie feels like he already gave the Yankees their hometown discount in his last deal. Neither side looks prepared to give in at this point. Will this be a tragic ballad for Yankee fans, or a power ballad that caps a Hall of Fame career to the raised lighters of the NY faithful? Luckily, this is one decision that need not be made this offseason.

The Yankees made this one easy for me by picking up the option (we knew they would), but for continuity purposes:

2013 Status: STAYS

Next Up: What does one do with a Swisher?

Some news to pass along tonight.

First, Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter both were awarded Silver Slugger Awards. Here’s the announcement from the Yankees:

Earlier tonight, Louisville Slugger announced that New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and shortstop Derek Jeter were recipients of 2012 American League Silver Slugger Awards, marking the seventh time in the last eight seasons that multiple Yankees have received the honor in the same year. The Yankees were one of three teams to win more than one award this year, along with Detroit and Washington.

For Cano, it marks his fourth career Silver Slugger Award, and third straight (also 2006). Cano becomes the first Yankee to win Silver Sluggers in three consecutive seasons since shortstop Derek Jeter won four straight awards from 2006-09, and just the fifth Yankee overall to accomplish the feat since the award was first presented in 1980 (also Dave Winfield, 1981-85; Don Mattingly, 1985-87; and Jorge Posada, 2000-03). His four Silver Sluggers match the most for any American League second baseman (also Roberto Alomar, Julio Franco and Lou Whitaker), and only Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg (a seven-time winner) has more among Major League second basemen.

Cano batted .313 (196-for-627) with 105R, 48 doubles, 33HR and 94RBI in 161 games in 2012, tying his career high in doubles (also 2009) and establishing a career high in home runs. Cano led all Major League second basemen in games played (161), hits (196), doubles (48), home runs (33), RBI (94) and batting average (.313), and tied the Rangers’ Ian Kinsler for most runs among Major League second basemen (105).

For Jeter, it marks his fifth career Silver Slugger Award, after also taking the honor in four straight years from 2006-09. Among American League shortstops, only Cal Ripken Jr. (eight) and teammate Alex Rodriguez (seven) have won the award more times since its inception in 1980. Jeter is the only Yankees shortstop to ever win a Silver Slugger Award.

The Yankees shortstop hit .316 (216-for-683) with 99R, 32 doubles, 15HR and 58RBI in 159 games in 2012, marking the most hits in the Majors this past season and his second-most hits in a single season (219H in 1999). Jeter also ranked among AL leaders in at-bats (first), average (fifth) and runs (ninth). He also tied Miguel Cabrera for the most multi-hit games (64) in the Majors.

Congratulations to them both.

The other bit of news is that Tino Martinez will not be hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox, he will be the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. Yeah, that came out of nowhere but congratulations to him as well.

The American League Championship Series is only two games old and there’s been more drama packed into those two games than what’s usually written for a soap opera sweeps month.

You start with Derek Jeter’s broken ankle. Add to that the Yankees’s offensive woes. Then sprinkle in Nick Swisher’s sadness over being chided by the fans in the stands for his poor performance and add a dash of Alex Rodriguez, who also is having an abysmal postseason, actually saying the right things.

Mix them all together and you have a recipe for high drama.

Jeter’s broken ankle

Seeing Derek Jeter being helped off the field on Saturday night was not fun at all. The feeling of dread that consumed every Yankee fan from here to Siberia was similar to the feeling of dread we all had the day when Mariano Rivera tore his ACL. Doom and gloom were in the air and the Stadium turned into a funeral home when the Tigers ended up winning Game 1 by a score of 6-4.

Jeter was by far the best hitter in the Yankee lineup during this postseason and as evidenced last night, he will be missed.

Word is that Jeter will most likely need surgery on his ankle and he won’t even be with his teammates in Detroit for Games 3 and 4 – Game 5 if necessary.

The Abysmal Offense

So much has been said about how bad the Yankees offense is. It is truly an unbelievable sight to behold. It seems like every batter starts in an 0-2 hole and can’t recover. Another amazing stat is that the Yankees have been scoring more from the ninth inning on than they are in innings 1-8.

How is that even possible?

Are the guys they’re facing unstoppable? Not really. They’re not terrible either. It’s a combination of the opposing pitchers having a game plan for the Yankee batters and the Yankee batters failing to make any adjustments.

How many times do I have to see Robinson Cano flailing at pitches outside of the strike zone? Enough is enough already.

And not that Cano is the only guy in the lineup having problems – the team’s average is .205 so far for the playoffs – but he seems to be the one that looks the most out of sync. He also now owns the Yankees’s playoff record for futility with an 0-26 streak at the plate.

Can you believe that? In all the years the Yankees have been around and have been in the playoffs, Robinson Cano of all people now owns that record.

It’s as if someone put a curse on this team. Silly fans, we all thought the injuries throughout the season were bad. They were nothing compared to this.

The Boo Hoo Fans Are Booing Me Crew

After last night’s game, Nick Swisher had a lot to say about the fans. Most of it wasn’t good and it seems he is really trying to leave New York on a bad note. Given his pending free agency, how he performs in the playoffs and how the Yankees are looking to cut payroll in the future, Swish definitely has one foot out the door.

When speaking to reporters after the Yankees’s 3-0 loss in Game 2, Swisher unloaded on the fans in right field.

While admitting he’s a sensitive guy, Swisher noted that fans were blaming him for Derek Jeter’s injury during Saturday night’s game. In case you missed the disastrous 12th inning, Swisher lost a ball in the lights which turned into an RBI double for Delmon Young. It put the Tigers up 5-4. Jhonny Peralta came up next, hit the ball to Jeter and all hell broke loose.

It’s very silly for anyone to say that Swisher caused Jeter’s injury. Jeter has been playing on a bum foot for the better part of a month. He had been hobbled, been getting cortisone shots so he could play and the ankle was weak to begin with.

And what would have happened if Swisher made the play, got the second out of the inning but Peralta still hit a ball to Jeter even with the defensive alignment changed with a runner still on second.

Would it still be Swisher’s fault?

Swisher probably should have kept his mouth shut. I understand he’s frustrated and that he’s not used to Yankee fans turning on him but the way he’s behaving now is similar to the way he behaved when he wanted out of Chicago in 2008.

And who of all people actually sided with the fans? Who said he didn’t blame them for getting on the Yankees for underperforming? That’s right kids, Alex Rodriguez.

“We haven’t scored a run in a long time. I’m right there with them. You can’t blame them.”

To be honest, I don’t know what to even think of all of this. One thing you need to know about me is that I don’t boo my team. I just don’t and I really can’t stand when other people do it. But I also can’t police other people at a game, as much as I’d like to. They have every right to scream and yell and act like dunderheads as much as I have the right to sit quietly and not participate in the madness.

Who knows? Maybe the change of scenery will be good for the Yankees. It’s weird to say this but they may not be booed as much in Detroit as they were at home.

So what can we take away from all of this drama? Well, for one thing, the American League Championship Series is seven games for a reason. Yankee fans know all too well that it’s never over until the final out of the final game. Is there a chance the Yankee offense can recover, remember how to hit and make this a series?

Of course they can. Today’s off day will probably help a lot.

Will they do that?

We’ll find out tomorrow night.

After tonight’s game, Derek Jeter was interviewed on the field at Yankee Stadium and said these words:

“Now, the real season begins…”

For the Yankees, their postseason begins on Sunday. They were able to beat up on the wretched Red Sox tonight and with the help of the Tampa Bay Rays beating the Baltimore Orioles in Tampa, they won the American League East Division outright.

The Yankees clubbed four home runs tonight and with a total of 245 on the season, set a new franchise record. The record they surpassed was 244 held by the 2009 World Series Champion team.

Is that an omen? Let’s hope so.

Hiroki Kuroda held the Red Sox to two runs one seven hits in seven innings and earned his 16th win of the season. Kuroda and Phil Hughes tied for the most wins on the staff. They also became the first set of Yankee right handers to win that many since Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina, who did it in 2001 and 2003.

Back to the home runs, they were hit by Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson. They each finished with two. Cano had a big night. He was 4-4 with six RBI. Granderson reached a career-high with his 43rd home run.

So now the Yankees get to rest until Sunday when they will be meeting the winner of Friday’s Wild Card game between the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles.

Two things stick out in the standings. Wait, no, three things.

1. The Yankees have sole possession of first place again.
2. The magic number is now 2 to clinch the Division.
3. Holy shit, the Red Sox are really 69-91 and 24 games out?!

This is exactly the game Yankees fans were hoping for this afternoon when the Red Sox lineup was posted.

Jokes were made about the Red Sox throwing the game. Even Boston’s beat writers were joining in on ripping on the lineup Bobby Valentine came up with.

And the Yankees needed to beat up on a team that was trotting out six guys who were in Triple-A at one point in the season and who was without both Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury.

It was a must-win situation.

CC Sabathia started things off with an eight-pitch two strikeout, first inning and the Yankees were on their way.

The Yankees, in a shocking turn of events, didn’t score any runs in the first inning which had been their specialty this year against the hapless Red Sox. Instead, they waited until the second inning tonight to drop a nine-spot on Boston.

Clay Buchholz started for the Red Sox but was not in the game as that second inning ended. He became the only Red Sox starter in the live-ball era to allow eight earned runs in fewer than 2 IP against the Yankees.

Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin and Mark Teixeira who returned to the lineup tonight, all hit home runs in the second inning.

Cano’s was one of the longest hit at the new Stadium, Martin’s was reviewed – and upheld – and Teixeira’s was his 24th of the season. Oh and Cano, just for good measure, added a double in that second inning. He finished the night 3-5, all three were extra base hits.

Sabathia earned his 15th win of the season and thanks to a strong eight-inning performance, reached the 200 inning plateau. He gave up two runs on four hits with two walks and seven strike outs.

From Jeff Quagliata, research guru for the YES Network, “CC Sabathia one of just 2 pitchers since 1995 to throw 200 innings in 28 or fewer starts – the other was Cliff Lee in 2010.”

Freddy Garcia came in to finish the game in the ninth and induced two ground outs and struck out one batter.

The Yankees victory coupled with the Orioles’ loss in Tampa helped to give the Yanks a one game lead (again) in the American League East with two to play. The magic number is down to two.

In a cute moment, Melky Mesa came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning and hit an RBI single – his first major league hit – which scored Eduardo Nunez. While he was running to first, the YES Network cameras caught Eric Chavez yelling, “Touch the base!!” from the dugout.

That guy Brett Gardner, remember him? He actually came to bat in the ninth, ahead of Mesa. He ground out but advanced Nunez to second. The good news is he didn’t break!

Some facts:

• Yankees have scored 9 or more runs in three of their last four games.
• Alex Rodriguez tied Stan Musial for 5th on the All-time RBI list with 1,950.
• Granderson and Martin hit back-to-back home runs in that explosive second inning. It was the 12th time the Yankees have done that this season.
• Nick Swisher hit the 250th double of his career.

 

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.

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)