Monthly Archives: May 2009

While Angel Berroa continued to sit idle on the Yankees’ bench, the team designated right-handed pitchers Steven Jackson and Eric Hacker for assigment to make room for catcher Kevin Cash, in wake of the injuries to both Jorge Posada and Jose Molina, and veteran right-hander Brett Tomko, in wake of the bullpen’s struggles and his own dominance in spring training and Triple-A Scranton.

This all amounts to very little as Jackson was on the 25-man roster for nine days in April without ever getting into a game, Cash is serving as a back-up to Francisco Cervelli and has gone 1-for-10 since being recalled, Hacker struggled in three starts for Scranton (0-1, 7.88 ERA), and Tomko has thrown just 2 1/3 innings since being called up. Still, it’s worth noting no that Jackson and Hacker have reached their destinations.

In both cases, that destination is Indianapolis, as in the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A club of the Pittsburgh Pirates. There they join former Yankee farmhand Daniel McCutchen and aspire to join the major league team which features former Yankees Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens in its rotation, those last three having gone to Pittsburgh along with outfield prospect Jose Tabata in the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte trade. Here’s a quick look at each of these former Yanks as well as Romulo Sanchez, the hard throwing reliever the Yankees obtained in exchange for Hacker.

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It weren’t pretty, but the Yanks took a broom to the Twins last night, capping off their thrilling “Walkoff Weekend” (TM) with a 7-6 win to complete a four-game sweep of Minnesota and extend their winning streak to six games.

Unlike the previous three games, most of the action in last night’s contest took place in the first inning. The Twins pushed across a pair of first-inning runs against Andy Pettitte, with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau each delivering an RBI single, the second enabled by Melky Cabrera missing the cutoff man on the first allowing Mauer to go to second.

Unfazed, the Yanks scored four against lefty Glen Perkins before making their first out as Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon singled then Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez each homered to left field. After Nick Swisher flied out to the warning track, a shot that looked like a third-straight homer off the bat, Robinson Cano sliced a ground-rule double into the stands along-side left field and Melky Cabrera singled him home. After a passed ball and a Ramiro Peña fly out, Francisco Cervelli hit a chopper up the middle that somehow missed Perkins’ glove, then hit the side of second base, avoiding both diving middle infielder. On the YES broadcast, Ken Singleton remarked that, “if there ever was a seeing-eye base hit, that was it.” Cervelli’s hit plated Cabrera with the sixth Yankee run and drove Perkins from the game with just two outs in the first.

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey held things down from there with 4 1/3 scoreless innings, while the Twins tried to chip away. Michael Cuddyer led off the fourth with a solo homer to make it 6-3. Carlos Gomez singled, stole second, and scored on a Denard Span single in the sixth to make it 6-4. Span later hit a solo homer off Edwar Ramirez in the eighth, but that came after Teixeira added a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the seventh, this one from the left side of the plate, the second time he’s switch-hit homers in a game this season.

That extra run proved to be the winning margin. With Mariano Rivera having thrown 44 pitches over three innings the previous two days, Joe Girardi gave his closer the night off. Lefty Phil Coke, who relieved Ramirez and struck out Morneau for the last out of the eighth, was given the ninth in Rivera’s place. It wasn’t pretty. Coke’s first two pitches to leadoff man Joe Crede, who entered the game with a .296 on-base percentage, were balls. He recovered to go 2-2, but Crede fouled off four full-count offerings and ultimately drew a ten-pitch walk. Matt Tolbert then ran for Crede and moved to second on a wild pitch, to third on a groundout that required Teixeira to range far to his right, and home on another groundout. With two outs, Carlos Gomez, who entered the game with a .286 on-base percentage, nearly replicated Crede’s at-bat, getting ahead 2-0, then even at 2-2 and ultimately working a seven-pitch walk. Mike Redmond seemed to be doing the same thing (2-0, then 3-1, then a pair of full-count fouls), but mercifully grounded to Cano for the final out of the game. Coke’s performance made the news of Brian Bruney’s impending activation (expected tonight) all the more welcome, though to the always forthcoming Coke’s credit, he humorously confessed to having been unnerved by the situation.

As for Teixeira, he was hitting .182/.354/.338  with three home runs and 10 RBIs on May 3, but has hit .351/.397/.789 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs in his last 14 games. Though his average will take a while to rebound (he’s still at just .239), he’s on pace for 45 homers and 127 RBIs, even with that slow start factored in. On-pace numbers can be very misleading, and Teixeira’s current single-season best for home runs is “just” 43, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Tex comes very close to those numbers come late September. Teixeira’s career month-by-month splits show steady improvement with each flip of the calendar, and his defense was an important part of the Yankees’ sweep of the Twins. He’s going to be a lot of fun to watch the rest of the way as, by extension, are the Yankees.

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Here’s what a five-game winning streak will do for you. All of a sudden, the Yankees are just a game and a half behind the Red Sox and have the fifth-best record in the American League, a half-game behind fourth-best Detroit. They’re 7-3 over their last ten games, which is second in the AL to only the Rangers (8-2) over that stretch, and have won their last three series.

As for how this winning streak has come about, obviously the walk-off magic of the last three games has been the key feature, but the Yankees were only in position to make those comebacks because of how well they’ve been pitching, and how well they’ve been playing in the field (think Mark Teixeira’s game-saving dive and throw to home in yesterday’s game). Over the last five games, which is once through the starting rotation, the Yankees have allowed just 14 runs, or 2.8 per game. The only Yankee starter to last fewer than six innings or allow more than two runs in that span was Phil Hughes, who gave up three runs in five innings on Friday night. Collectively, the starters’ ERA has been 2.84.

The bullpen, meanwhile, has been even better. In 16 1/3 innings over the last five games, the pen has allowed just three runs for a 1.65 ERA. All three of those runs were charged to Phil Coke, and two of them came on solo home runs by Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. The only time a reliever has replaced a starter mid-inning during this streak came yesterday, when Jonathan Albaladejo replaced A.J. Burnett with the bases loaded and two outs and struck out Jason Kubel to strand all three runners. The Yankees also haven’t made an error since the first game of this streak.

Andy Pettitte got things kicked off with six innings of two run (one earned) ball in Toronto on Thursday. Now, the streak has wrapped back around is asking him to keep it going as well as to complete a sweep of the Twins, who have to be going slightly batty after losing three straight on Yankee walk-offs.

Alex Rodriguez gets a half-day off at DH today as Ramiro Peña fills in at third and Hideki Matsui rides pine against lefty Glen Perkins. The switch-hitting Peña has had just three plate appearances against lefties this season (one walk, two Ks), so it’s nice to see him getting some exposure from the right-side, though it again begs the question, “why is Angel Berroa still taking up a roster spot.”

As for Perkins, his first three starts of the season were excellent (8 IP each, 4 runs total), but since then he’s posted a 7.25 ERA, going five or six innings and allowing four or five runs in each of his last four outings, three of them Twins losses.

From his blog, Baseball Nerd, Keith Olbermann on how Vin Scully almost became the Yankees’ announcer…According to Olbermann, here is Scully’s story (thanks to Baseball Think Factory for the link):

“When the Yankees let Mel Allen go in 1964, I got a phone call from the man who they had brought in to run their broadcasting operation, Craig Smith,” Vin began. “He had been in charge of the World Series broadcasts forever, so I’d known him about ten years by then. And he asked me if I’d like to come home to New York and become the lead announcer. He offered a very handsome salary, and a long contract.

“Well, I was amazed, as you can imagine. I’d found a wonderful home here in Los Angeles, but remember, this was only seven years after the Dodgers left Brooklyn. I was still a New Yorker through and through. Plus, here was a chance to work again with Red Barber. And recall, too, that this was just before the Yankee dynasty collapsed. As much as Mr. O’Malley had done here and in Brooklyn, the Yankees were still the marquee name in sports. If it had been 1958 or 1959, when I still missed New York so, I would’ve said yes before he hung up the phone.”

“So, I thought long and hard about that one. But I had a young family, and I think we had all just truly adjusted to living here – takes just about seven years, I think – and in the end I turned it down.”

Chien-Ming Wang and Brian Bruney both pitched in Triple A on Sunday.  Chad Jennings reports:

Wang looked good on Sunday. His velocity was slightly lower than Tuesday — maxed out at 92 mph instead of 93 — but the movement on his sinker was better, and Wang said he was happier with his ability to get ahead in the count and locate his fastball down and in. He faced rehabbing Travis Hafner three times and got two routine groundouts before a bloop, broken-bat single.

“Performance-wise he was terrific,” Cashman said. “This was a much better hitting club. Columbus is a much better offensive club than the team he was facing last time, but his stuff was better last time, to be honest, although he performed great in both outings. He didn’t have the slider that he had last time. His changeup was better today than last time. His fastball velocity was a little bit lower this time than it was last time. At the same time, he handled the lineup and got a lot of groundballs. Facing guys like Hafner kind of tells you a little something you want to know. I think he had some groundouts and that broken-bat single to center. I know Hafner is on a rehab assignment and he’s a guy who can really do some damage if you’re making mistakes, not making some pitches, and (Wang) made his pitches. That tells you a lot.”

Jennings also has updates on Bruney, Ian Kennedy and Steven Jackson. Man, Jennings is good, isn’t he?

And so it goes for the Yanks who won another close game against the Twins on Sunday (man, the Twins just don’t win in New York). Johnny Damon hit a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Bombers a 3-2 win. 

Photo via SI.com.

It was a tense game, with AJ Burnett and Kevin Slowey tossing up zeros through the first six.  Burnett had some good stuff,  but he also walked six batters.  Slowey was outstanding –efficient and effective.  The Yankee hitters made him look like an ace.  AJ ran out of steam in the seventh and the Twins took a 2-0 lead.  The Yanks tied it in the bottom of the inning, one run coming on a solo shot by Alex Rodriguez. 

Some nail biting in the eighth, as the Twins left the bases juiced without scoring a run–Mark Teixeira made an outstanding grab and throw to the plate for the second out.  And some more in the bottom of the frame as the Yanks finally chased Slowey.  Hideki Matsui came to the plate with the bases full and two out.  He faced the lefty Jose Mijares, a chubby, funny-looking guy.  Mirajes fell behind 3-0 and then threw a strike.  Then Matsui offered at two pitches out of the strike zone and whiffed to end the inning.  A poor at-bat. 

Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth and gave up a lead-off single to Joe Mauer.  He spotted a fastball outside for strike one–the same spot he struck Mauer out looking on Saturday–and then got him to foul off a good inside cutter.  Don’t go back outside, I yelled from home.  Mauer isn’t that dumb.  But outside Rivera went.  Unfortunately, he didn’t go outside far enough and Mauer, expert hitter that he is, went with the pitch and lined a single to left.  But he was stranded at first as Rivera retired the next three batters. 

It never gets old watching Rivera apply his trade.

Then things got dramatic in the bottom of the ninth.  Nick Swisher walked and was replaced on the bases by Brett Gardner, who was sacrificed to second.  Then, in one of the more remarkable plays in recent memory, Franciso Cervelli lined a ball hard up the middle.  It first looked as if it would go into center field for a game-winning single.  But Mirajes slapped the ball with his glove, behind the back, as he was falling toward third base.  The ball was knocked straight back to Mauer who had moved in front of the plate.  Cervelli sped up the line, Mauer faked a throw to first and then peaked over his left shoulder where he saw Gardner racing down the line.  Mauer put on the brakes and double-backed to the plate. 

A foot race.  Mauer, who is an enormous man for a catcher (and a tremendous athlete to boot), took five giant steps, dove and nailed Gardner in plenty of time.

It was a risky play by Gardner, but I have to imagine that he would have been safe against anyone else other than Mauer.  That was some kind of play, a bona fide web gem. Mauer is a great player.  Had the Yankees lost, I was going to title the post, “Speed Kills.”  Happily, I shelved that idea when Damon launched a line drive homer off Jesse Crain into the second deck in right field in tenth.   Alfredo Aceves got the win.

That’s five straight. Let’s hope it is the start of what will prove to be a winning season. I’m piggish. I want to see them get the sweep. But even if they don’t, we’re all entitled to some pie tonight.

And who doesn’t like pie?

It’s even cooler today than it was yesterday–actually, it warmed up nicely by the end of the game on Saturday. 

AJ Burnett is in an ideal situation.  He hasn’t pitched great, needs a strong outing, and hey, the Yanks have a modest four-game winning streak that needs tending.

Let’s hope he comes out aces and not…like this famous knucklehead.

This is how winning streaks are built–by winning the close ones. The Yanks snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Friday and they survived a shaky outing from their set-up relievers, and got big time contributions from the Boras Boys, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, to beat the Twins in extra innings on Saturday afternoon, 6-4.

The M&M boys from Minnie did their thing too–Joe Mauer homered for the second straight day and Justin Morneau hit his third dinger of the series (and his second against Phil Coke), but the Yankees’ demolition duo got the last laugh.

During the broadcast, Paul O’Neill said that the team hasn’t defined itself yet and I couldn’t agree more. It’s hard to figure who they are yet. For all of their top-shelf talent, they are not a crisp team fundamentally; Melky Cabrera made a crucial mistake, over-throwing the cut-off man, in the eighth, which allowed the go-ahead run to score. I also get the feeling that too many of the hitters are tantalized by dreams of the home run highlight in big spots (Nick Swisher, I’m looking in your direction). Nevermind the mess in the bullpen–had the Yanks lost the game, I was going to title the post “Where’s that confounded bridge?”

Still, they’ve won plenty of games in the late innings this year, haven’t they? That’s got to count for something.

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Watching Friday night’s game I was struck by just how difficult it is to play the game and remain healthy. First, there was the play at first base where Carlos Gomez almost took Mark Teixeira’s hand off. “That’s twice,” shouted an angry Teixeira to Gomez (I didn’t catch the first incident). Teixeira does not strike me as a red ass, which made his outburst more compelling. He knew how close he was to being seriously hurt (I looked away from the TV when they showed the replay of Bubba Crosby running through Brian Roberts’ left arm several years back). Then in the ninth, Brett Gardner slipped on first base and wiped out, his legs getting tangled like a young Colt. Nothing twisted or turned, Gadner recovered and still managed to reach third.

None of this shows up in the box scores, of course. But they were both hold-your-breath moments. Fortunately, nobody came up lame.

This afternoon, Joba Chamberlain, who, according to the New York Times, is trying a new pre-game routine, hopes to lead the Yankees to their fourth-straight win.

It is cool, foggy, and wet in the Bronx today, with rain in the forecast. 

Perfect day some of this…Break it down, Biba:

Last night’s contest between the Twins and Yankees felt like a loss for the home nine for most of it’s three hours and 37 minutes. Phil Hughes kept his team in the game by working out of jams in the second and fourth innings, but he used up a lot of pitches in doing so. The Twins took an early lead when Justin Morneau led off the second inning by golfing a curveball that dove well below his knees into the box seats in right. They got another run in the fourth on a sac fly, though that was all they got out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation. Morneau then went deep again in the fifth, on a cutter up in the zone that didn’t cut, to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, home plate umpire Wally Bell’s strikezone was ridiculous. He called Johnny Damon out on a pitch that traced the front line of the right-handed batters box in the first inning, then called him out on a pitch that traced the front line of the left-handed batters box in the third. That was too much for Damon to handle. After the second called third strike, Damon wheeled around and told Bell that was twice he had done that to him, holding up two fingers for emphasis. He then pointed to the location of the two pitches with his bat, immediately earning an ejection. As soon as Damon began to gesture with his bat, Joe Girardi sprinted to the plate to try to protect his hottest hitter, but he got there too late. As it turned out, what seemed like a bad break for the Yankees turned out to be one of their keys to victory.

The Yankees got on the board with a Derek Jeter solo homer in the bottom of the fifth, but Hughes had thrown 93 pitches over five innings, and Joe Girardi decided he’d rather take his chances in trying to get four innings out of his bullpen than to run Hughes back out there again. Jonathan Albaladejo pitched a scoreless sixth, but Joe Mauer greeted Phil Coke in the seventh with a lead-off homer into Monument Park. That made it 4-1 Twins with Joe Nathan lurking just a couple of innings away.

Francisco Liriano wasn’t sharp in his six innings of work, but he was effective. He walked six Yankees, but only gave up four hits and stranded two men in the second, three in the third, and two in the sixth. Jesse Crain relieved Liriano and got two quick outs to start the second, then Brett Gardner, who had replaced Damon after the latter’s ejection, came to the plate and shot a would-be double down the left field line. I say would be because in the fourth inning, Nick Swisher hit a ball to the exact same place, down the left field line toward where the stands turn to run parallel withe foul line. On Swisher’s hit, left fielder Denard Span hustled over, scooped up the ball with his back to the infield, and fired a strike to nail Swisher at second base. This time, Span looked ready to try the same trick, but rather than ricocheting off the wall, the ball took a sideways bounce off the grass and rolled past him toward the outfield wall. As soon as the ball got past Span it was clear Gardner had a triple, but third-base coach Rob Thomson kept his windmill going and Gardner came all the way around for an inside-the-park home run, flopping head-first onto the plate easily ahead of Span’s throw.

As exciting as Gardner’s inside-the-parker was, however, it only counted for one run, and the Yankees proceeded to load the bases and strand all three runners after it, then strand another man in the eight. So it was 4-2 Twins heading into the ninth with Joe Nathan coming in to shut the door. The one ray of hope for the Yanks was that they had the heart of the order due up and Nathan was pitching for the fourth night in a row.

Gardner, in Damon’s spot, led off by taking four pitches to run the count even at 2-2. He then fouled off a fifth. Took ball three to run the count full, then laced the seventh pitch of the at-bat deep into the right-center-field gap. Carlos Gomez botched the carom briefly and though Gardner slipped on first base, he was still able to scramble to his feet and pull into third with an easy triple. Mark Teixeira followed by grounding a single just to the center field side of second baseman Matt Tolbert, who playing Teixeira to pull. That plated Gardner to make the score 4-3 and brought Alex Rodriguez to the plate as the winning run. Nathan threw six balls to Rodriguez, who took all six though Bell called two of them, pitches which again traced the front line of the right-handed batters box, strikes. That put the winning run on base for Hideki Matsui. Matsui battled Nathan for six pitches, but ultimately struck out swinging on a full-count slider inside that bounced in front of the plate. Nick Swisher followed with what looked like a game-tying single to right, but Justin Morneau was playing far enough off the bag to make what seemed like a game-saving play, backhanding the ball and flipping to Nathan for the second out.

The runners moved up on Swisher’s out and with two out and the winning run in scoring position, Girardi sent Ramiro Peña in to run for Rodriguez. With first base open, Ron Gardenhire had Nathan walk Robinson Cano to load the bases and bring up Melky Cabrera. Nathan threw one pitch to Cabrera, a fastball right down the middle, and Cabrera served it into the gap in left-center for a single that plated Teixeira and Peña and gave the Yankees both the win and their only lead of the game.

Jose Veras got the win for retiring one batter in the ninth, though Edwar Ramirez pitched a scoreless inning and a third before him, but the win had many authors, not the least of which was Gardner, who didn’t start the game, but went 3-for-3 with eight total bases and two runs scored. You know things are going well when your best hitter gets ejected and the guy who comes in off the bench to replace him winds up as the star of the game. The Yankees have now won three straight and have pulled within 2.5 games of the Red Sox, who lost to the Mariners last night. Joba Chamberlain pitches today hoping to help the Yanks match their season-long win streak of four games.

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Minnesota Twins

2009 Record: 18-17 (.514)
2009 Pythagorean Record: 16-19 (.457)

2008 Record: 88-75 (.540)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 89-74 (.546)

Manager: Ron Gardenhire
General Manager: Bill Smith

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (93/93)

Who’s Replaced Whom:

25-man Roster:

1B – Justin Morneau (L)
2B – Matt Tolbert (S)
SS – Nick Punto (S)
3B – Joe Crede (R)
L – Joe Mauer (L)
RF – Michael Cuddyer (R)
CF – Carlos Gomez (R)
LF – Denard Span (L)
DH – Jason Kubel (L)

Bench:

R – Mike Redmond (C)
L – Brian Buscher (3B)
R – Brendan Harris (IF)
S – Jose Morales (C)

Rotation:

L – Francisco Liriano
R – Nick Blackburn
R – Kevin Slowey
L – Glen Perkins
R – Scott Baker

Bullpen:

R – Joe Nathan
R – Jesse Crain
R – Matt Guerrier
L – Craig Breslow
R – Luis Ayala
R – R.A. Dickey
L – Jose Mijares

Family Leave List: OF – Delmon Young (R)

15-day DL: RHP – Boof Bonser (labrum and rotator cuff surgery)

60-day DL: RHP – Pat Neshek (TJ)

Typical Lineup:

L – Denard Span (LF)
S – Matt Tolbert (2B)
L – Joe Mauer (C)
L – Justin Morneau (1B)
L – Jason Kubel (DH)
R – Joe Crede (3B)
R – Michael Cuddyer (RF)
R – Carlos Gomez (CF)
S – Nick Punto (SS)

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Finally Friday.  I’m goin to the record shop.

Dig this Demo:

Then I’m off to Brooklyn for barbeque and the Yankee game with Johnny Red Sox. Be nice to see A Rod crack one tonight. And it’d be cool if Phil Hughes can throw a good game too.

Am I right or what?

Francisco Cervelli, who was struggling to maintain sea level against Double-A pitching, has looked competent as a major league hitter, but it is his catching skills that draw the majority of my praise. After watching Cervelli catch two games against the Orioles last weekend, I came away thoroughly convinced that he’s a keeper. From a defensive standpoint, Cervelli does everything you want a catcher to do. He squarely sets his target, and as he receives the pitch, he frames the ball skillfully, holding his glove in place in order to give the home plate umpire a longer look. (In contrast, some Yankee fans might remember the way that Matt Nokes jerked his glove back toward home plate, which is just about the worst way to frame pitches.) Cervelli moves smoothly and quickly behind the plate, allowing him to backhand wide pitches and block those thrown in the dirt. On stolen base attempts, Cervelli comes out of his squat quickly and follows through with strong and accurate throws to second base.

On the offensive side, Cervelli will probably never hit with much power, but he is patient at the plate and willing to take pitches to the opposite field. If Cervelli can mature enough offensively to become a .consistent 270 hitter who continues to draws walks, he will become a very good backup catcher. That might sound like an example of damning with faint praise, but solid No. 2 receivers have become like gold in today’s game. There are only a handful of standout backup catchers in either league: Chris Coste in Philadelphia, Henry Blanco in San Diego, Kelly Shoppach in Cleveland, and Mike Redmond in Minnesota. Cervelli has a chance to become the Yankees’ best backup catcher since a fellow named Joe Girardi, who last played a game in pinstripes in 1999. Yes, it’s been that long…

As uneven as the Yankees’ play has been through six weeks, they haven’t experienced the same kind of schizophrenia displayed by their Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton Yankees. The Scrantonians began the International League season by winning 23 of first 28 games, and they did so by clubbing the opposition with a powerhouse offense. Then came Scranton’s recent four-game stretch. Through Wednesday night, Scranton’s offense had failed to score a run in 44 consecutive innings—a simply remarkable run of futility. The Triple-A Yankees have suffered four consecutive shutouts, in addition to six scoreless innings left over during a previous loss last Saturday. Suddenly, Scranton’s record is a more earthly 23-10.

So what happened? As with the major league Yankees, injuries have hit Dave Miley’s team hard. Second baseman Kevin Russo and outfielders Shelley “Slam” Duncan and John Rodriguez, representing a third of Scranton’s starting nine, are all hurt. And the healthy players are slumping, none worse than third baseman and former No. 1 pick Eric Duncan. Duncan was wallowing in an oh-for-33 hammerlock before finally breaking out with a double on Wednesday. The slump, which dropped Duncan’s average from .309 to .206, probably cost Duncan what little chance he had of a promotion to the Bronx.

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 “I’m sorry, guys,” Oritz said. “I don’t feel like talking right now. Just put down, ‘Papi stinks.’ ”
(Boston Globe)

Mark Teixeira has not hit well so far this season.  After one week, Alex Rodriguez is not there yet.  The Yanks are a .500 team.  The Red Sox, however, are playing relatively well while getting nothing from David Ortiz.  It has gotten to the point where you have to wonder if Ortiz, a proud bear of a man, will ever be half-the player he was in his prime.  Yesterday, he reached a new low, stranding twelve runners on base.  Mo Vaughn, your life is calling.

Couple of big dudes on the mound on Thursday night in Toronto. You know from CC, baseball’s answer to Andre the Giant. But Brian Tallet, is just as tall and he looks even taller because he’s not as wide as Sabathia. Sporting a scrubby mustache, Tallet looks like he stepped out of a time machine from 1987. He could be Frankie Viola’s cousin, or an extra from the movie Copland.

Either way, both men pitched well, each allowing just a couple of runs. But Sabathia was just that much better as the Yanks earned a satisfying 3-2 win over the Jays. There wasn’t much hitting. Alex Rodriguez’s timing is not back fully–he hit a couple of deep fly balls and put some good swings on a few other pitches that he just fouled off and was robbed of a double by Scott Rolen. But Brett Gardner made a nice throw from center field and scored the game-tying run in the seventh (he was driven in on a classic bloop single to right by Derek Jeter).

Hideki Matsui’s solo home run was the difference and our man Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth, striking Rod Barajas out swinging to end it.

The Yankees improve their record to 17-17 and finish the six-game road trip 4-2.

Baby steps, but it’s a start.

We’re all waiting for the Yanks to go on a run. That would entail winning a mess-o-games in a row. They’d have to start with tonight. Tonight would be nice.

Roy Halladay dominated the Yanks two nights ago. Time for CC Sabathia to return the favor. His last start was stellar. He’s expected to be on par tonight.

C’mon, big fella. You’re the Rock.

I take a closer look at the AL-leading Blue Jays over at SI.com today:

Thus far the Jays have split their first two games against the struggling Yankees. Their one win came behind Halladay, but their loss on Wednesday night saw Richmond and Murphy get their BABIP comeuppance, Hill leave the game after fouling a ball of his shin and the offense manage just two runs despite receiving four free passes from Andy Pettitte. They’ll face CC Sabathia on Thursday night, with Sabathia coming off a complete-game shutout at Baltimore.

The Jays play two-thirds of their games against the AL East in the second half, but they have six games against the second-place Red Sox over the remainder of May, three games against the defending NL champion Phillies in June and a run of 13 games against the Phillies, Rays, Yankees and Rays again leading up to the All-Star break. We’ll have a much better idea of how good Toronto is by the end of that stretch . . .

Meanwhile, here are Ted Berg and MetsBlog’s Matt Cerrone on tonight’s pitching matchup:

I still love this scene.

Another old friend of Bronx Banter, poet, historian, and editor, Glenn Stout, has just started a blog. Glenn’s new book, Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World, the story of the first woman to swim the English Channel, is due out this summer. I’m in the middle of reading it. Did you know that women were not allowed to swim during the Victorian Age? Thinking about it now, it makes sense, but man, I never knew that. Terrific book, by the way, and not just for young women. I’ll get together with Glenn to talk about it as the release date approaches.

For now, bookmark Glenn’s blog, Verb Plow. He’s sure to fill it with thought-provoking goodies.

Jeff Pearlman, author of one of two new books about Roger Clemens, wasn’t impressed with the Rocket’s performance earlier this week on ESPN radio.  No suprise there, but I have to admit, I like the defiance that Clemens is displaying.  It may be pathetic, delusional, or both, but it is keeping in line with his personality, and for that reason, I think it’s amusing as hell.  Clemens has turned into Slim Pickens riding the bomb.

Hey, don’t mess with Texas, right?