The Yankees had another one of their lackluster, didn’t hit was runners in scoring position debacles in losing to Toronto 3 to 2 today at Rogers Centre this afternoon.  The Orioles nipped the Red Sox tonight leaving the American League East tied with 4 games to go.  You’ve heard my complaints all year in this space about this ballclub.   Despite the many flaws, the countless injuries, the complete lack of clutch hitting, and inconsistent pitching this team should still win the division.  Yet its biggest impediment is now coming from the manager’s office.  Joe Girardi must stop making so many bad moves or the Yankees will be playing in 5 days on Wild Card Friday.

I can go on all night about how the Yankees managed to blow a 10 game lead to a inferiorly talented Orioles team.   Yes, it is despicable but that is baseball and the eb and flow of a 162 game season wears on teams.   New York righted the ship these last few weeks winning 14 of 20 after that putrid run they had through late July and August.  This week has been a microcosm of Joe Girardi being the ugliest wart on a team full of them. The inexcusable happened Tuesday in Minnesota.  The Orioles had lost and the Bombers had a 3 to 1 lead entering the bottom of the 7th against the Twins.  9 defensive outs and the lead in the East was 2 with 9 to play.  The Yankee skipper did not have the bullpen up to start the 7th with the maddeningly inconsistent Phil Hughes on the mound with a pitch count over 90.  That in itself is incompetant.  Hughes naturally allowed the first 2 runner to reach.   He then got a pop up which be promptly followed up with a walk to load the bases.  Hughes then stuck out Pedro Florimon and was about to face Denard Span whom he had dominated all night.  Girardi couldn’t help play the percentages in is binders and had to meddle in the outcome of the game.  He brought in lefty Boone Logan to face the lefty swinging Span and Logan instantly blew the game.  Treating Hughes like he’s David Cone circa 1996 and then like he’s the 39th man on the roster is too dumb to comprehend.

Which brings us to this afternoon.  Toronto started lefty Ricky Romero so naturally Girardi played automatic out Andruw Jones.  To compound the continuous mistake he batted strikeout machine Curtis Granderson in front of Jones.  Leading 2 to 1 in the 3rd New York loaded the bases with no one out for the 2nd time in 3 innings.  Unlike the first inning they couldn’t make even solid contact as Granderson popped out and Jones whiffed.  Eduardo Nunez hit a liner that would have cleared the bases but it found the glove of Adeiny Hechevarria.  Girardi’s endless loyalty to Jones will lead to his downfall.  Girardi clings to the stats in his binders yet the stats say Jones is hitting just .205 against lefties this year.  He has no business playing against them but Girardi plays him because of past success.  Jones is clearly washed up and his past success needs to be forgotten yet Girardi refuses.

Yankee GM Brian Cashman needs to order Girardi to play his best lineup from here on out and stop tinkering.  The Yankees are tied for the division with 4 games left.  It’s time to cut it out.   Girardi’s only concern should be when to remove pitchers at the appropriate times.  The Yankees face Henderson Alvarez Sunday who is a scrub in every sense of the word, but of course has his 2 highest strikeout totals of the season against these same Bronx Bombers.  Joe needs to DH Alex Rodriguez and play Eric Chavez at 3B and get a win.  When Mark Teixeira is activated Monday he needs to get Raul Ibanez onto the bench.  To take that a step further if Brett Gardner is capable of hitting next week he needs to be in there.  At that time Nick Swisher can DH and A Rod can go back to 3B.  No more playing hunches or instincts.  Go with your best or get lost.  It’s up to Girardi to make sure he doesn’t lead this team into the abyss.

On July 18th Huroki Kuroda threw a rained shortened, 7 inning, 6 to nothing shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays in a getaway day contest at Yankee Stadium.  The Victory gave the Yankees a 10 game lead in the American League East.   Just 49 days later that lead is gone as New York was beaten once again at Tropicana Field by the Rays 5 to 2.  The Orioles drubbed those same Blue Jays 12 to 0 in Toronto.  The Yanks head into tonights unpleasant matchup with Matt Moore and the Rays in a dead heat with Baltimore.  They are just the 3rd team since the 6 divisional format went into place in baseball in 1990 to blow a double digit lead.  They join the ’95 Angels and the ’06 Tigers in that unfortunate distinction.  To make matters worse for New York with the win Tampa is now just 1.5 games out of first.  That means the Yanks have just a 3.5 game cushion on the final wild card spot.  The fact is this is totally unfathomable, and at the same time unacceptable for a club with this talent and payroll.  How they respond this last 27 games will surely effect the makeup of the franchise going forward.

If there is one thing I hate being right about it is the Yankees.  If you’ve read this blog before you know I have not been enamored with this team from day 1.  To summarize I feel like Tony Pena is the only member of the coaching staff worth his salt.  The roster is filled with dogs and choke artists(Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira to name the main culprits).  If I had my druthers the only returning Yankees to Tampa next spring off the current roster would be named Sabathia, Kuroda, Rivera, Jeter, and Rodriguez.  We know that is not even close to possible but I can dream.  It is motivated by anger seeing a team go 19 and 25 over a 44 game stretch while the Orioles have gone 29 and 15 in that time frame.

Do I think the Orioles and there -19 run differential can keep up this torrid pace?  No.  They play the Yanks for 4 this weekend in Baltimore and do not see them again this year.  They have 6 games left against Tampa, and have a West Coast trip with a stop in Oakland t0 play the equally hot Athletics.  They could also run into Felix Hernandez in Seattle.  That is troublesome for any team especially one playing well over its collective head like the Orioles.

Will the Yankees decide to show up and play baseball and right the perverbial ship during that time?  They have less than 7 hits in each of their last 5 contests.(But no please don’t fire Kevin Long).  That is their longest stretch of games with 7 hits or less since 1990.   It is there continued obsession with the homerun and lack of smart at-bats that has them here.  All that being said should New York pony up and beat Moore tonight ,and Brandon Morrow beats the O’s in Toronto the Yanks can turn this around rather quickly.  They would arrive in Maryland Thursday with a 1 game lead.  If they take 3 of 4 it would extend it to 3 as they head to Boston to take on the “Dead” Sox.  The big “IF” is does this team have that “pony” in them?  I have my doubts but we shall see.  Tune in!

The Yankees are set to take on the Orioles again at Yankee Stadium in about an hour with their AL East lead at a miniscule 2 games.  Last night in the Bronx the Yankees were dominated by journey-man righthander Miguel Gonzalez in Baltimores’ 6 to 1 drubbing.  Gonzalez threw 7 shutout innings while striking out 9 in beating New York for the second time this year.  The Yankees have lost 9 of their last 15 ballgames.  Baltimore has come from 10 games back on July 18th and are threatening to keep New York out of the playoffs completely as Oakland and Detroit are playing well in the Wild Card Race.  New York needs a win today behind David Phelps in a big way.

I don’t like being right about this Yankee team as this is where I though it was heading.   Sure they are beat up without A-Rod.  CC Sabathia missed about a month.  The injuries piled up even more so after losing Mark Teixeira last week.  Injuries are a part of the game and it should not matter to a team with an over $200 million payroll.  As I’ve stated to me this club just doesn’t have what it takes.  The fact of the matter is Curtis Granderson has been bad all year, and extremely awful lately and is hitting just .235.  He is 3 for his last 22 with one of the hits coming on solo homerun in garbage time last night with the team down 6-0 in the 9th.  Nick Swisher who had been red hot coming into last night went all Nick Swisher in a big game and got the old “golden sombrero”, whiffing 4 times.  Robinson Cano continues to be the enigma he is and waste at bats.

Today is September first and some new faces arrive as rosters expand.  Maybe Eduardo Nunez injects a little life into the team with his speed.  Maybe Francisco Cervelli will fire up a pitcher,and that guy will get a big out.  Perhaps the Yankes win these next to games over Baltimore behind Phelps and Hughes and head down to Tampa with a 4 game lead.  Maybe that energy and the return next week of A-Rod help turn this thing around.  I have my doubts but it is baseball.  Nothing surprises me.

The Yankees woke up this morning after beating the Red Sox 4 to 1 last night behind Hiroki Kuroda’s latest gem with the best record in the American League.   With all due respect to the Red and Nationals New York is playing like the best team in baseball.  After their little 12 of 18 losses snooze they have clearly righted the ship.  They enter play tonight at 72-49 with a 5 game lead over the surging Rays.  As we all know they have done this at less than full strength.  The credit for that goes to one many, GM Brian Cashman.  Without his bargain shopping the Yankees would be the Red Sox and I shutter to think of that.

I will repeat this until they proove me otherwise but I still don’t think the Yankees as constructed can win a World Series.  Part of that is the team that General Manager Brian Cashman has assembled.  I just don’t think it will happen as they have too many guys that rely on the home run.  I have already highlighted in this space the foibles of Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, and Curtis Granderson.   At the same time it can not be taken lightly that the Yankees are 72-49 and going to the playoffs because of Cashman.  The signing of Kuroda for 1 year and $10 million may be on par with the Nationals getting Gio Gonzalez as the pitching move of the offseason.  He has allowed 7 earned runs in his last seven starts and has become the ace of staff with CC Sabathia on the DL for the second time.  I would make the argument that Kuroda should start game 1 of a series even with Sabathia at full strength.  Cashman will no have to work hard in the offseason to make sure “Hiro” is back in the fold.

Cashman has also nailed a number of other below the radar moves.  Ichiro seems revitalized in pinstripes and is batting over .300 as a Yankee.  Casey McGehee has come up with some big hits since being acquired for a guy about to be dfa’d in Chad Qualls.  Eric Chavez looks like the Oakland Eric Chavez from the “Moneyball” era and Raul Ibanez was obviously the right signing over fan favorites Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon.  Freddie Garcia, David Phelps, Cody Eppley, and the recently acquired Derek Lowe all have contributed.  Many of us cringed at most if not all of those guys.  That is he is the GM and we are not.  Cashman alone deserves all the praise for the Yankees current record.

I will never be the head of the Brian Cashman fan club because I think his misses outweigh his hits during his tenure as Yankee GM.  The Pineda injury being the biggest one of those misses.(not helped with his arrest on D.U.I. charges today) It also bothers me that the organization hasn’t really evolved in is selection of Joe Girardi and his idiotic staff.   You all know I don’t like this 2012 team in the least ,and we are going to be stuck with a lot of those Cashman misses like Teixeira for a long time.   However I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t praise Cashman for what he has done right and this season most of his moves have come up golden.

The Yankees took another one on the chin last night losing to the Tigers and Justin Verlander 7-2 in Detroit.  Verlander punched out 14 Yankees in his 8 innings of work.  The loss put New York’s lead in the East at just 5.5 games over the Orioles.  The Bombers have lost a pathetic 11 of there last 17 contests.   A disturbing trend continued in last nights defeat as Curtis Granderson struck out three more times giving him a horrid 133 on the season, while dropping his average to .243.  This is a problem the Yankee organization needs to address and quickly in the offseason.

Curtis Granderson is a fun player to watch in Pinstripes.  His swing is tailor made for the short porch in rightfield at Yankee Stadium .  The 94 homers he has hit as a Yankee make that quite obvious.  He is an above average defensive centerfielder who misjudges the occasional flyball.  However if he can get to it he catches everything.   Granderson is an even better person off the field doing a ton of charity and philanthropic work.  Granderson is the type of athlete we should all hope our kids look up to.  Even with all those positive attributes the guy has become a hinderance on the field to the success of this Yankee team and needs to be shown the door.

Yankee GM Brian Cashman keeps stressing the Yankees will be under the new luxury tax threshold that begins in baseball in 2014.  That includes plans to sign both Granderson and Robinson Cano to new contracts since both become free agents after next
season.  Signing Cano is a must despite his enigmatic personality and tendency to give away at-bats.  Granderson is showing he is quite expendable and should be used as a trade chip to help upgrade the pitching.  133 strike outs are way too many based on the
needs of the current Yankee lineup and its continual reliance on the homerun.  Brett Gardner could move to centerfield and the Yankees can fill in around him in the outfield with gap hitting, low strikeout, high on-base players in the mold of David DeJesus or Billy Butler.  This would help get the ever unclutch Mark Teixeira, and the aging A-Rod get better pitches to hit in key  R.B.I.situations when opposing teams know a “k’ machine like Granderson is not due up.

The need for young pitching is so critical to the Yankees going forward if they are going to continue to field a winning team.  All of the Yankee top young arms from Nova to Banuelos, Betances, Campos, and Pineda are injured or have regressed.  CC Sabathia will continue to be solid if not spectacular as time goes on though the length of his long terms deal unless he finds a way to increase his lost velocity.  The problem is solid not spectacular does not start and win game 1 of playoff series.

Granderson is a prime aged centerfielder who could become a teams’ cleanup hitter in exchange for an ace like starter.  Trading him this winter will make the Yankees exponentially better in 2013 and going forward.   It will also help shed that much desired payroll.  It will be painful to see Curtis go but in life sometimes even good relationships have to end for the best interests of everyone involved.

A lot has changed in my life since my last post 2 weeks ago.  There was a great reason for my lack of entries about my favorite team.  My wife Angela gave birth to Declan Jeffrey on July 17th.  The newest Yankee fan weighed in a 9lbs 22oz.  He likes sleeping a lot, his older sister is always telling him “Hi”, and 11 days into life his favorite Yankee is Jayson Nix(you all know why).  Life is good when you have a great family, and I am a lucky man.  Now on to some quick hits on what’s been happening with the Bronx Bombers since that last entry.

The Yankees took 2 of three from the Angels who added Zach Greinke in a trade with the Brewers today.  The way things look now these Angels will once again be a huge problem for the Bombers come October.  You see they do all the things well on the baseball field the Yankees don’t.  They run the bases, they bunt, they pitch well in big games.  There 20 year old phenom and best player, Mike Trout may already be better than the Yankees best player as Robinson Cano continues to be an enigma.  I think Mike Scioscia would manage circles around Joe Girardi.   You know from this space I don’t love the 2012 incarnation of the Yankees.  I just think the Angels would have no problem beating them in a series.

With a nice series win over a quality opponent the Yankees then went out and swept the Blue Jays.   Jose Bautista hurt his wrist in game 1 of the series and was promptly put on the DL which obviosuly helped.  That same game was highlighted by a Raul Ibanez tie breaking Grand Slam in the 8th inning.  CC Sabathia returned the next night from his injured groin and delivered 6 shutout innings for the win.  The sweep was completed by Hiroki Kuroda who pitched a complete game in a 7 inning rain-shortened affair.  The victory had the Yankees full of confidence as they headed out west with an M.L.B best 57-34 ledger.

That confidence was misguided as the Bombers were promptly swept in Oakland by the torrid A’s.  Each maddening loss was by just 1 run.  2 of the 4 defeats were in walk-off fashion.  The dagger was the 12 inning loss in the finale of the series last Sunday in which Rafael Soriano blew a Sabathia victory by allowing a game tying homer in the 9th to Seth Smith.   The Oakland series put all of the flaws of this ballclub on full display.  The Yankees tried to hit homeruns in a pitchers park and walked just 1 time in the series.  They failed to hit with runners in scoring position(.240 in the 4 games).  Most importantly they did not make big pitches when it counted.  The sweep against the A’s showed why the Yankees would not be favored in a playoff series against Texas, Anaheim, or even Detroit.

The Yankees arrived in Seattle to take on the Mariners licking their wounds.  They thought it would be best to trade for the Mariners best player not named Jesus Montero and aquired Ichiro Suzuki for 2 minor league pitchers.  The Yankees hope the 40 year old Ichiro will be ignited by a pennant race, and help offset the loss of Brett Gardner to elbow surgery.  The Bombers took 2 out of 3 winning Suzuki’s Yankee debut in game 1 behind another Kuroda gem during which the righty punched out 9 in 7 innings of 1 run ball.  They won the rubber game on Jayson Nix clutch, 8th inning, bases clearing double in what would have been another ugly loss full of RISP failures.  The lone loss was very costly and came at the hands of King Felix Hernandez.   Felix not only dominated the Bombers, but broke A-Rod’s hand in the process with a changeup that got away landing the 3B on the D.L. for 6 weeks.

Which brings us to this weekend series with the last place Red Sox.  New York pummeled the Sox last night capped off by Curtis Granderson’s grand slam in the 10-3 route.  A common theme in sports is 1 days hero is often the next days goat.  That was true for Granderson this afternoon as Curtis botched a fly ball in the 9th inning into a triple that broke a 6 all tie.  The Yankees picked up a shaky Sabathia by rallying from a 6-1 deficit.  The big blow was Mark Teixeira’s dramatic 2 run homer off of his nememis Vicente Padilla in the bottom of the 8th.  The loss does sting a little as completing the rally would have but their blood rivals 12.5 games back of them in the division.  Gluttony is not becoming however especially in sports.

Until the last out of the World Series when I am convinced otherwise I still do not believe this Yankee team has the makeup of a champion.  Despite all the warts of this club the league is clearly down.  The Yankees are tied for the best record in the majors after 100 games with Washington and Cincinnati at 60-40.  They have the biggest lead of any team in the game at 8.5.  Ichiro is basically like having Gardner(who’s return I deemed a must for success).  Sabathia is having a “bad” year for him at 10-3 and 3.57 because he has rarely been dominant.  The injury thing has gotten ridiculous, and the team has continued to jumped over every hurdle.  The bullpen will get Joba Chamberlain back in  the next week.  Andy Pettitte and A-Rod will both be back in late August in time to tune up for the postseason.  You just never know, GM Brian Cashman may pull a blockbuster off before Tuesday’s trade deadline.  All things considered the Yankee Universe is not a bad place to reside these last 62 games.  Despite it being painful sometimes it should mostly be fun.

The New York Yankees kicked off the second half of the season with a dramatic 6 to 5 win over the Angels Friday night at Yankee Stadium behind Mark Teixeira’s 2 homer, 5 R.B.I night.   The Bombers continue to have the best record in baseball despite a number of warts and injuries.  As I have stated time and again in this space I do not like this club from top to bottom.  I simply do not believe it is capable of winning World Championship # 28 as it is currently constructed without some roster changes.  Below are those 5 recommended moves. Some are very realistic, and some are pipe dreams.  What are blogs for anyway right?

1. Brett Gardner needs to get healthy and be placed in the second spot in the order.  The Yankees miss Gardner’s speed, defense, clutch hitting, and the fact he doesn’t swing from his heels every time up.  He has played in just 9 games this season due to an elbow injury in his non-throwing arm.  GM Brian Cashman announced last weekend that Gardner is swinging off a tee in his rehab.  Cashman stated that barring any more setbacks Gardy should be back by months end.  Now whether Joe Girardi puts him in the 2 hole remains to be seen.  It is just a logical move as if the Yankees struggles with runners in scoring position continue.  Gardner is almost always on second when gets on as he is just about automatic to swipe second.  He is also a true table setter and may help Robinson Cano, Mark Teixieira, and A-Rod excel more in those critical R.B.I situations.

2.  C.C. Sabathia needs to return from his minor groin injury and dominate like an ace.  C.C threw a 30 pitch bullpen session today and declared himself good to go to start Tuesday against the Blue Jays.  He will make the final determination after a full bullpen Sunday.  Sabathia was named an all-star with his 9-3 record, 3.45 e.r.a, and 105 puchouts but did not pitch because of the groin injury.  He has only 1 truly dominant start this year which was his complete game gem against the Braves on June 18th.  C.C. has always pitched better in the 2nd half as the weather heats up during his 3 previous years in pinstripes.  The big fella needs more of that this year in order to get on a roll and become an automatic win every time out.   That should start Tuesday against Toronto, and hopefully carries on through October.  Being a horse is nice and all in giving up 3 or 4 runs a night over 7 innings, but that is not enough.  This ballclub needs dominance from its # 1 starter.  Maybe if Sabathia got a little ticked off and pitched inside frequently with his 4 seamer he would make hitters a bit more  uncomfortable and be able to deal some gas.  C.C. has been worth every penny of the free agent contract, and massive extension the Yankees bestowed upon him.  He needs to take the next step in becoming a Yankee legend with a memorable stretch run of stellar performances to finish off 2012.

3.  Joba Chamberlain needs to come back and throw heat in the bullpen and Andy Pettitte needs to return in August.  After Joba suffered his buffoonish ankle injury during spring training jumping on a trampoline with his son it was speculated he might never pitch again.  This new injury was an added, unwanted surprise since Chamberlain was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.  Well Chamberlain has began a rehab assignment in Tampa.  He hit 97 mph on the gun his first time out, and is scheduled to pitch 2 innings on Saturday.  If all goes well he could return to the team by August 1st. This would thankfully signal the end of the long man out of the ‘pen Girardi hates to use, and hopefully cut down on the innings Boone Logan pitches.  As Joba is solid against both righties and lefties.  As for Pettitte his unretirement is what turned the team around after its early season struggles.  The Yanks were just 19 and 15 when he made his season debut on May 13.  They have gone a staggering 34-18 since then.  It was a huge blow to the rotation to have him break his leg.  Pettitte showed he could still get big leaguers out , and even dominate them at times.  The Yankees will need his veteran prescence to be a game 3 starter on the road in the playoffs behind C.C., and Ivan Nova come October.

4.  The Yankees need more out of Alex Rodriguez.  A .265 13 home run, 38 R.B.I. stat line while being completely healthy is not acceptable.  I grade him a little higher than most of the fans and media that follow the Yankees.  Rodriguez has earned that because of his 09 post-season performance, his work ethic, and the intangibles he brings to the field every day.  You cannot however defend a player of Rodriguez’s caliber having just 24 extra base hits.   So if he is truly healthy how does the team get more out of him?  I think he needs to become the Yankee’s version of David Ortiz, and become a full time DH.  To do that New York should trade for an every day 3B like the Phillies Placido Polanco.  Philadelphia is going to sell at the trade deadline if they cannot sign Cole Hamels to a long term extension and they continue to fade.  Polanco would add a clutch bat who is not a homerun hitter to this power obsessed Yankee lineup.  Brian Cashman could pitch it to A Rod that he is already a Hall-of-Famer and that he could finish out his career as a modern day Edgar Martinez.  You worry as an organization about the ramifications of not being able to rotate the DH on a daily basis, and the small potential damage to A-Rod’s ego a move like this may cause in the offseason.  The blow would be lightened significantly if a world championship is the result.  This move would also signal the end of the Raul Ibanez era which woudn’t be such a bad thing.

5.  Some how some way get Felix Hernandez from the Mariners.  This is the ultimate pipe dream as a Yankee fan but what the heck.  Mariner GM Jack  Zduriencik owes Brian Cashman for fleecing him in the Michael Pineda deal last winter.  Sure Zduriencik stated at the All Star Game in Kansas City that he is not going to trade Hernandez under any circumstances.  That is just stupid as Seattle is going nowhere fast, and has no chance of winning in the next 2 years before King Felix hits free agency.   Stranger things have happened and it never hurts to ask.  Cashman should be dialing as you read this  The Yankees could offer the M’s a Hershel Walker-esque hall with a package built around Phil Hughes, and either Dellin Betances or Manny Banuelos in addition to a boatload of other prospects.

The first three should happen no problem.  Gardner, Joba, and Pettitte will return in some capacity and C.C. will certainly spin a few gems at minimum.  A Rod should also improve slightly no matter what, and finish with 22 to 25 homers and 80 some R.B.I’s no matter where he plays.  Regardless of where you insert it into the lineup a new, contact focused, gap hitting bat is the key addition needed to change the overall makeup of this Yankee team from a strong regular season ballclub to a playoff dynamo.

The Yankees and Red Sox kicked off the final series before the All-Star break this weekend with one of their typical contests usually held in New England’s living room.   In a contest that brutal to watch for the most part the Yankees prevailed 10 to 8 in a brisk 3 hours and 59 minutes Friday night at Fenway Park.  New York has the best record in baseball at 50 and 32 after the victory.  The loss dropped the Red Sox 8.5 games behind the Bombers at their 42-41 clip.

Video of this game will not be put in any archives or time capsules documenting the greatness of baseball.  Both starting pitchers Hiroki Kuroda for the Yankees, and Josh Beckett of the Red Sox game up 5 runs in each half of the 43 minute first inning.  Neither right hander figured in the decision.  The Red Sox used 5 relievers behind Beckett, while the Yankees used 4 in back of Kuroda.  The teams combined to throw 348 pitches as the hitters grinded out each and every at bat.  There was bad defense, bad base running, and bad managing all around.  The pitching star of the game was de facto Yankees closer Rafael Soriano who retired all 4 batters he faced(2 on k’s) in recording his 20th save.

Hitting was the name of this game as each team belted out 14 knocks a piece.  A Rod went 3 for 4 with an R.B.I. for New York.  Mark Teixeira, one of my favorite whipping boys went 2 for 4 with 4 R.B.I.’s.  Tex delivered a huge 2-run triple in the 7th inning that turned a 7-6 deficit into an 8-7 lead that the Yankees would not relinquish.  This was just the second win all season for the Bombers in a game in which they did not hit a single home run

The Carmines were lead by Big Papi who went 3 for 4 with an R.B.I.  A-Gon went 3 for 5 with an R.B.I, and Jared Saltalamacchia belted a 3 run shot of off Kuroda in that ridiculous first inning for his only hit in 5 tries.

The two teams play a day night double header Saturday.  This all but guarantees we are  in for another 8 hours or so of baseball, especially with the starting pitchers involved.   Freddy Garcia opposes Franklin Morales at 12:05 while Phil Hughes and Felix Doubront match up in the nightcap at 7:05.  These games will not conjure up memories of some of the Pedro/Mussina duels of yore.

The Yankees are going to make the playoffs despite all their flaws and injuries unless something insane happens.  It just would be nice if they could get 3 out of 4 in this series to push Boston to 9.5 games back at the break.  That is even more critical with Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford set to return from the diabled list to the Sox lineup in the 2nd half.  No matter how they look at this exact moment the Sox are still the Yankees biggest threat in the A.L. East because of their talented roster, and goofy ballpark.  If New York can manage to keep them down it will make things a lot less stressful for them in route to October.

The Yankees have the best record in  baseball at 44-28 as they play the Indians today in a getaway day matinee this afternoon at The Stadium.  They skuffled a bit after the Braves ended their 10 game winning streak last Tuesday in losing 2 out of 3 to Atlanta.  They went across town and won some ugly games in beating the Mets 2 of 3 in the Subway Series rematch.   The rubber game sunday night was highlighted by Robinson Cano hitting a monster homerun in the 8th inning off of Miguel Batista propelling the Yanks to a 6-5 win.  The blast reminded me of how great and at the same time how frustrating Robbie can be.

In the Yankee clubhouse full of perennial All Stars and First Ballot Hall-of-Famers Robinson Cano is now the alpha dog.  He is the best player on this team bar none.  It is not even debatable.  He has a .307 career batting average in his 8 major league seasons.  He is a 3 time all-star, 3 time recipient of the silver slugger award and has a gold glove on his mantle.  So far in 2012 he is hitting an even .300 with 17 homers.   Nice numbers to be sure, but not where they should be for a player of his caliber and talent.

Robinson Cano has just 39 RBI’s and has hit a putrid .164 with runners in scoring position so far this season.   There are instances like on Sunday night where he still seemingly doesn’t give 100% on defense.  In that game he was involved in 3 Yankee errors(he was charged with just 1) that allowed the Mets to come back from a 5-1 deficit and helped cost CC Sabathia a win.  After the game Cano even complained to the media about the error he was charged with on the grounder by Justin Turner that opened the flood gates for the Met big inning.  If he make the play there is 2 out and no one on and CC probably cruises to victory. Instead it gave the Mets life.  Cano was also seen on camera after his long homer bragging to Andruw Jones about the blast.  Knowing he contributed to the Yankees blowing the lead Derek Jeter finally had heard enough and threw a towel at Cano to get him to shut up.  It was interesting to see the frustration Cano gives us fans carrying over to his teammates.

Robinson Cano should be as good or better than Josh Hamilton or Miguel Cabrera.  Like Cabrera, Cano will never get confused with Pete Rose because the game comes so easily to him.  Cano just can’t continue to get caught openly dogging it like Sunday on the Turner grounder.  Like most of the Yankee hitters I do think hitting coach Kevin Long contributes to some of his bad habits at the plate.  Cano has an team option in his contact that will be picked up for next season.  He will be a free agent prior to the 2014 season which will be his age 32 season.  The Yankees will almost certainly have to sign him to a mammoth contact.  It will be in that contract that Cano will have to decide whether or not he wants to be a really good player finishing up a solid career, or if he wants to become a great player and sure fire Hall-of-Famer.  To do that he will have to start producing on a night in night out basis, hit better with runners in scoring position, and carry this team on his bac and lead the Yankees to a World Series Championship thus truly earning that alpha dog status.

I was in New York yesterday for work and got a chance to see the Yankees take on the Braves at the stadium last night as the Bombers went for their 10th straight win.  You know from my posts I don’t love this team.  I don’t think as constructed they can win World Series title number 28.  What I will say is I saw a hell of a game as New York actually played to it’s talent in its 6 to 2 to win over the Braves in winning that 10th straight ballgame.  The white hot Yankees now have the best record in the American League as they enter play on Tuesday.  No matter what I think, that is an impressive feat no matter how you spin it.  That is especially true when you consider what this club has dealt with in its first 66 games of this 2012 campaign.

The atmosphere in the Boogie Down Bronx is always cool and no place I’d rather be on a summer night.  I have been to a number of regular season games since the new stadium opened but have not felt the buzz I felt last night in that yard since the magical 2o09 season.  Last night was truly electric and the Yanks did not disappoint.

CC Sabathia, who has pitched the worst of the 5 starters during the teams current hot streak was amazing.  The big fella went the route allowing just the 2 Atlanta runs on 7 hits.  He struck out 10 and walked just one.  CC is a true horse for this team and did what aces do.  It bears repeating that he is worth every penny of the money the Yankees pay him.

Derek Jeter was vintage Derek Jeter in the win.  The captain went 2 for 4 and turned a 2 to 1 deficit in the bottom of the 5th into a 3 to 2 lead the Yanks would never relinquish with a clutch 2 out 2 run single with the bases juiced.  A clutch hit with runners in scoring position has been a constant bone of contention this season for New York, but not for the captain on this night. He would add another 2 out rbi hit in the 7th, and make a sparkling diving stop and flip to Cano to quell a Braves rally.  Mark Teixeira, who might actually be worthy of his contract when batting righthanded hit a monster solo shot.  Robinson Cano, who seems to be ignoring idiotic hitting coach Kevin Long’s preachings these last few games hit a laser of a homerun to dead center.  He has homered in consecutive games and both of them have been bombs where he has stayed up the middle and was not trying to be so pull conscious.  Those at bats are indicative of his true swing before Long started to monkey with it.

Parity abounds across baseball.  The Yankees are going to make the playoffs unless CC and Cano get hurt.  Anything is possible.  Brett Gardner is hopefully going to man up after receiving a cortizone shot and platelet injection in his ailing right arm last week and get back on the field just before the all-star break.  That will improve the clutch hitting and the running game instantly.  The Yankee bullpen, already the best in baseball is going to get a boost from the returns of Joba Chamberlain  and David Aardsma before the summer is out.   Who knows maybe Brian Cashman will pull off a blockbuster trade and acquire a stud pitcher.  Maybe he will get Nick Swisher out of town before he becomes a free agent in the fall or find an upgrade for the tiring Raul Ibanez.  I still feel he needs to do something.  If he can’t this great stretch of baseball we are seeing from these Yankees in June will mean nothing as it will be another disappointing October at the corner of 161st and River Ave.