Yanks Win Two of Three in Baltimore

The Yankees ended their regular season by winning two of three this weekend to the Orioles in Baltimore. There really is not much to say about these games as New York was simply playing out the string in anticipation of the postseason. Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte both pitched poorly in the first two. Mariano Rivera blew a save on Friday night in an extra innings loss, giving up 3 runs. The Yanks overcame Pettitte’s rocky start to win on Saturday. The hope is clearly that these pitchers were getting their bad outings out of the way before October and that these outings are not the outset of slumps.

Chase Wright picked up a win in the regular season finale. The lasting image of Wright’s season was a disastrous April outing in which he gave up four consective homers to Boston. It is good that the young guy gets to end his season on a high note. This is the kind of thing he can use as a stepping stone as he prepares for 2008.

Alex Rodriguez finished the regular season with a .314 batting average, 54 homers, 156 RBI’s, 143 runs, 24 stolen bases, a .422 on base percentage, and a .645 slugging percentage. If he is not the unanimous choice for MVP, somebody clearly filled out a ballot incorrectly. A-Rod was the embodiment of an MVP this year. Not only were his numbers better than everybody else’s, he came through just about every time he was up in a key spot. A-Rod had countless big hits, carrying the team through a rough start and ultimately into the postseason.

The Yankees now will head out to Cleveland to begin the ALDS on Thursday.

Constructing a Postseason Roster

With the end of the year coming, the Yankees need to start constructing their 25 man roster for the Division Series. Most of the choices will be rather easy, but the team does need to decide a few close calls and the ratio of bench players to relievers. These are my recommendations (not predictions):

The Lineup

1. Johnny Damon LF

2. The Great Jeter SS

3. Bobby Abreu RF

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Hideki Matsui DH

6. Jorge Posada C

7. Robinson Cano 2B

8. Doug Mientkiewicz 1B

9. Melky Cabrera

Explanation: There really is not much to justify right here. The only thing really debatable is leaving Jason Giambi out of the starting lineup. Giambi would either DH or play first base. Johnny Damon covers much more ground in leftfield than Hideki Matsui so he should be in the field. The Yankees really do not want to lose Matsui’s bat. That leaves first base. Mientkiewicz is clearly an offensive downgrade. However, he is a solid 8th hitter and plays first base much better defensively. Over the course of a 500 at bat season, Giambi’s production at the plate will more than compensate for his deficiencies in the field. In a five game series, any one defensive lapse can send a team home. Over fifteen at bats, Jason might go into a slump and not outhit a mistake. Defense is paramount in the postseason. The Yankees have plenty of offense even without Giambi in there.

Bench:

1. Jason Giambi 1B

2. Shelley Duncan 1B/OF

3. Jose Molina C

4. Wilson Betemit IF

5. Bronson Sardinha OF

6. Alberto Gonzalez IF

Explanation:  Giambi is a big lefty bat off the bench, and Duncan is a big righty bat off the bench. Molina is an excellent backup catcher. Betemit is an excellent utility infielder. Sardinha makes the team because of his ability as a pinch runner. Due to the nature of the Division Series, the Yankees can afford to take an extra position player. Gonzalez gives the team another infielder in case of an emergency so that the team does not have to do something crazy like the times Gary Sheffield had to play third base.

Rotation:

1. Chien-Ming Wang

2. Andy Pettitte

3. Roger Clemens

Explanation:  The Yankees are likely going to play an eight day series with Cleveland. That will allow the team to use its top two pitchers, Wang and Pettitte, both twice on full rest. Wang gets the Game 1 start because it allows him to pitch Game 4 in Yankee Stadium, where he has been more successful than on the road. Clemens gets the nod over Mike Mussina and Phil Hughes for Game 3 only because of the tender condition of his body. By using him as a starter, the Yankees allow Roger to prepare himself to pitch on a given day. If he worked in relief, he might have to warm up more than once. That could wreak havoc on his body. He also would not know when he was going to pitch, meaning he could not design his workout routine around a day circled on the calendar. That could put him on the mound in less than optimal shape.

Bullpen:

1. Mariano Rivera CL

2. Joba Chamberlain SU

3. Luis Vizcaino MR

4. Phil Hughes MR

5. Ron Villone Lefty MR

6. Chris Britton MR

7. Mike Mussina LR

Explanation:

With only one set of back to back games, there really is not much reason to carry anything beyond a ten man staff in the Division Series. There also is no need for more than one long reliever. Mussina fits that bill. This would allow Phil Hughes’ power arm to slide into short relief. He would need to be supervised under his own set of Joba Rules since his arm is not used to relieving, but anything he gives is a boost. Villone gives the Yanks a lefty to utilize. His experience and recent streak of good outings are major pluses. Britton gets the nod over the likes of Edwar Ramirez, Kyle Farnsworth, Jose Veras, and Ross Ohlendorf. He is simply the most consistent of the bunch.

Again, this is only what I would do. The roster construction will likely look different. Mussina has most likely nailed down a starting role. Farnsworth will probably be on the roster due to his perceived track record. Gonzalez is probably not going to be on the team. This is only the way the way I feel would best utilize the resources on the roster, given the type of series the Yankees will likely be playing.

Yankees 3 Devil Rays 1: Hughes Finishes Strong

The Yankees beat the Devil Rays 3-1 last night at Tropicana Field to keep their faint hopes of winning the East alive. Coupled with a Boston loss, New York’s win moved the team to within 2 of the division lead. Even on a night when six regulars sat, this team kept on winning.

Phil Hughes looked great in his final tune up for the postseason. The righty gave up just 1 run on 4 hits in 7 innings. He is peaking at the right time. Phil is very nice insurance to have with Roger Clemens’ status up in the air. In a way, his injuries might have been blessings in disguise. They did no serious damage to his arm, but they did force him to sit, limiting his innings. Now he is hitting his stride, while he might be hitting the wall from fatigue had he pitched an entire season.

Joba Chamberlain pitched a shutout inning in his second straight day of work. The Yankees are making a very risky move by letting him do this. They do need him, but they also need to think of the future. However, New York does seem dead set on using him on consecutive days. It is best for him to get his feet wet in meaningless games, opposed to throwing him directly into the fire.

It was a good night for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. Shelley Duncan, Bronson Sardinha, and Alberto Gonzalez all got hits. Jose Veras pitched a strong 9th to pick up the save. This came on top of a pair of veterans coming through. Johnny Damon had an RBI double, and Jose Molina’s 2 run single provided the winning margin.

The Yankees now head to Baltimore to close out the regular season. Mike Mussina will pitch the opener for New York. Moose has pretty much clinched a spot in the postseason rotation through his recent great work and the health issues of others. It still behooves him to stay on this roll. The Yankees do not want to go into October with any doubts about him.

Roger to Rehab in Florida

The Yankees have announced that Roger Clemens will remain in Tampa when the team leaves for Baltimore to rehab his hamstring injury at the Yankees’ minor league facility. He is expected to throw a simulated game at some point to prepare for his first postseason start. This is a sound decision by the team. With a postseason spot all but clinched, there was no need to run him out on the mound this week. At the minor league facility, the Yankees can control all conditions, especially the mound, and the simulated game will keep him sharp, while straining him less.

In Their Own Words

Here are some quotes from the celebration:

Joe Torre: “”I can’t say enough about the passion of these players. We never stopped believing all year…I always had it in my mind that we would celebrate this. You can’t allow yourself to settle for something, but I don’t think this is settling on our part. The accomplishment was to get to the postseason.”

Alex Rodriguez: “It’s been an unbelievable ride, and I could not be more proud of every member of this team. We went through a lot of adversity, and a lot of people counted us out…Joe Torre is our leader and the reason we are here…This feels like home. It’s hard to believe that I played for another two organizations. So much has happened to me here, adversity, some success, that I feel like anything but New York feels weird to me now. The one thing about New York, the tough times are tougher than anywhere. But the special times are as special as anywhere. New York is a special place. I love New York.”

Derek Jeter: “”We’re just getting started. “It feels good and we’re in the playoffs, but we have a lot of work left. This is a starting point. We haven’t accomplished anything yet…It’s been the most difficult one. We really battled. We didn’t hang our heads, and we continued to battle all season long.”

Andy Pettitte: “”Two months into the season, you’re thinking, ‘My goodness, what is this?’ This wasn’t what it was supposed to be about. You can’t allow yourself to be there. You’ve got to come in with a positive attitude and continue to press forward.”

Mariano Rivera: “Everybody counted us out, and we hung in there. Here we are.”

Doug Mientkiewicz: ” “When your manager breaks down and cries, it hits you right between the eyes…I know as an opponent playing against them, it seems like every year, something happens early and everyone writes them off. They want to jump on the bandwagon and say, ‘This is the first year the Yankees aren’t going to make it.’ Then you look up Oct. 1, and who’s got the 8 o’clock FOX game? The Yankees.”

Shelley Duncan: “It’s our time of the year, baby!”

George Speaks

After staying relatively quiet throughout the season, George Steinbrenner issued a statement in response to the Yankees clinching a postseason spot.

I’m elated we have clinched the playoff spot. After a tough first half of the season when everyone seemed to lose faith except for our players and our fans, the team has really stepped up and shown themselves to be the champions that they are. With hard work and determination, we were able to clinch a playoff position and are now heading into our 13th consecutive postseason. I congratulate our players, Joe Torre, and Brian Cashman. I really like the mix of veterans and younger players who have contributed to this comeback. It has been exciting to watch them play, coalesce and pull together. The fans and I look forward to the team accomplishing our ultimate goal — bringing a world championship back to New York.

Yankees 12 Devil Rays 4: See You in October

The Yankees beat the Devil Rays last night at Tropicana Field. The triumph clinched a 13th consecutive postseason berth. After an unbelievable roller coaster regular season, the Yankees celebrated a probable Wild Card with more emotion than almost any of their division triumphs over the past decade. There was no doubt that this was special, considering all the team had fought through.

Chien-Ming Wang nailed down the postseason spot with a terrific 6 inning outing, giving up just 2 runs and scattering 7 hits. The victory gave Wang his 19th win of the season, matching last year’s win total. This is pretty impressive considering the time he missed in April.  Wang is one of the biggest reasons that the team was able to celebrate last night in Tampa. He was one of the five players to carry this team through a rough stretch, along with Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, The Great Jeter, and Andy Pettitte. Without those guys, the Yanks would have never been able to stay within striking distance when nobody else was playing. It was only fitting that Wang got to close the book on another triumphant season.

The offense, which saw a 5 run lead evaporate on Tuesday night, was not going to give the Rays a chance.  The Great Jeter was at the middle of things, as usual. His homer in the 4th tied the game at 1. It provided a spark which the Yankees rode to a 12 run night. The Great Jeter had 3 hits and 2 RBI’s. Johnny Damon and Jorge Posada joined him in the 3 hit club. Robinson Cano had a pair of hits and 5 RBI’s. Doug Mientkiewicz continued his remarkable September resurgence with 4 hits.

“Nobody believed in us,” is one of sports’ most tired cliches.  Under normal circumstances, those woulds would ring incredibly hollow from a $200 million team. However, it truly applies in this case. Pundits across the nation were giddy to write off the Yankees after a horrible start. They clearly influenced what already is a spoiled fanbase. These fans gave up on the club. They called for the team to be broken up. They even vehemently denounced Joe Torre and demanded his dismissal. Fortunately, Brian Cashman runs the team instead of a bunch of fans with knee-jerk reactions. Times of instability call for stability. Joe Torre was ripped for being too laid back, but his laid back nature kept this team calm when it easily could have pressed and dug itself into a deeper hole. Just read the comments by the players today discussing how much they adore Joe. This is a guy for which they would do anything. A manager who motivates his team like this and commands that kind of respect is a valuable commodity. The front office and the fans would do well to remember that, even if this is another short October.

Cashman also deserves his share of credit. He really did an awful job developing a bench over the offseason. However, he made up for it by rebuilding this team on the fly during the season. The one quality bench player the Yankees had going into the year was Melky Cabrera. For the second straight year, injuries forced Melky into a starting role, and Melky ended up providing the team with an enormous spark. Cashman clearly knew what he was doing when he refused to trade Cabrera over the offseason. Wilson Betemit and Jose Molina provided major boosts. Shelley Duncan infused this team with enthusiasm. Andy Phillips helped stabilize first base until Doug Mientkiewicz returned. Cashman also was not afraid to turn to youth in the pitching staff. Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy helped to fill what were gaping holes on the staff. Cashman has done a brilliant job rebuilding the farm system over the past few years. The fruits of his labor could not have come up bigger.

There are too many people deserving of praise to possibly fit them all into this spot, but it is only fair to make sure that a pair of valuable contributors no longer with the team get the credit they deserve. Miguel Cairo did a nice job holding down the first base position before Phillips won the job. He proved to be a valuable stopgap, and his intelligent and scrappy play is missed. Scott Proctor also played a role early in the year as one of the few reliable bullpen options Joe Torre had. It helps when a trustworthy reliever is as durable as Proctor. Joe could throw Scotty out there almost every day and expect a quality result. Those two are gone but not forgotten.

It has been a wild run, and there could be over a month left in it. This club has captured the heart of its fans. These guys are so easy to root for. Here is hoping that this team keeps it going for as long as possible because I do not want this dream season to end.

Yanks Back in the Dance

Take that, Steve Phillips!

October of Redemption Possible

It is probably premature to think of the postseason since the Yanks have clinched nothing yet. However, there exists a realistic possibility that New York can exorcise all of the demons from recent October failures over the next month to win a 27th title. Everybody knows how the Yankees have not won the World Series since 2000.

In 2006, New York lost to the Tigers in the ALDS. With another win, the Yanks will clinch a postseason berth and eliminate the Tigers in the process. Gary Sheffield will watch the postseason on television as a symbol that the Yankee teams comprised of old, overpaid, selfish superstars is coming to an end.

The Yanks lost to the Angels in the ALDS in 2002 and 2005. Los Angeles is a possible opponent for New York in the first round this year.

If the Yankees won that series, they would likely be up against Boston, the team that ended their 2004 season in as heartbreaking a fashion as humanly possible. A rematch would be a chance to avenge that loss as well as a chance to get even with Josh Beckett, Boston’s ace. Beckett ended New York’s World Series dreams in 2003 with a complete game shutout to clinch the championship for the Marlins.

A win there would put the Yankees back in the Fall Classic. It would only be fitting if the Yankees faced Arizona, the team that sent them into this spiral with a stunning Game 7 win in the 2001 World Series. A new dynasty could be born at the expense of the team that ended the old one.

This is clearly all speculation. However, there remains the possibility that the Yankees can return to baseball’s pinnacle and obtain revenge on all of those who have kept them from reaching that summit in the process.

Clemens Shut Down for Regular Season

The Yankees announced that Roger Clemens will not pitch for the rest of the regular season due to his hamstring injury. This conjures up bad memories for Yankees fans of overpaid, old starters like Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson sustaining injuries just before the start of the postseason and subsequently pitching poorly to help get the team eliminated. The only good is that Roger’s problem does not need major surgery to be corrected, unless this hamstring problem is really a cover for his elbow acting up, which is a real possibility. Hamstring problems need rest. The rest of Roger’s body can use it too. He has pitched two of his best games this year against Detroit and Boston this year off long layoffs. This is not terrifying, considering Phil Hughes can step right into the October rotation in the very worst case, but it is worthy of at least some concern.