Kuzul

  From Chad Jennings :

“I’m not going to lie,” Burnett said. “Dave is a big part of what we do here, and who I am and who our starters are. On the other hand, I’ve been pitching for 11 years now. I think I’d be able to make the adjustment on my own out there.”

“(Eiland) not here is a big loss for all of us,” Burnett said. “I’m not going to point fingers and make excuses at all. I’m out there throwing pitches whether Dave’s in the dugout or not. He’s corrected me enough where I should have it in my memory what Dave says. I’m a man. I’m a professional athlete who’s got a big contract, who’s here for a reason, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to do that on your own.”

Joe Girardi understood his right-handers, while Mike Harkey, Eiland’s substitute, isn’t as understanding.

“I don’t discount that,” Joe Girardi said. “I wish I knew what exactly it was because we would try to straighten it out. Yeah, Dave has an impact on all of the pitchers. Could it (be part of the problem)? Yeah, but I can’t tell you that’s exactly what it is.”

“I don’t think it’s any tougher than it’s always been,” Harkey said. “As a coach period we’re going to go through ups and downs. You’re going to have guys that struggle, and everybody’s going to sit there and put their heads together and try to find answers to it.”

I think comfort on the mound is one of the biggest factors to being a successful pitcher in this league. When pitchers aren’t in their comfort zone, they tend to struggle, so I get where AJ is coming from. And based on this evidence it appears he might be on to something. These are his four starts since Eiland left the team (hat-tip to commenter Pinstripes for the data):

• @ Tor: 6 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 3 HR
• @ Bal: 6.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
• vs. Phil: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
• vs. Ariz: 4 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3 HR

That’s good for an 0-4 record and a 10.35 ERA.

• His ERA before Eiland left: 3.28
• ERA now: 4.83

However, he’s still a professional and it’s his job to work harder on correcting his problems, whether Eiland is there or not.

What do you think? Does Burnett have a valid excuse or should he just shut up and pitch?

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First off, A-Rod was removed from today’s game just as a precaution, according to Joe Girardi. “Just being cautious,” Girardi told the media after the game . “With the little bit of rain, I just thought it made sense.” A-Rod also said he feels “really good.”

Regardless, Girardi will remain cautious as the Yankees head out west for a couple interleague matchups against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, and plans to look at both players as day-to-day. Here’s more from Chad Jennings :

“Joe Girardi has used the DH spot to give Rodriguez (groin, hip) and Posada (foot) at-bats while limiting the stress as they continue to recover from injuries. He said Posada could possibly catch two out of three in each series, but said how Rodriguez and Posada feel when they arrive to the ballpark will determine if they play or not.

“’We’ll go day by day just to see how each one of them is feeling. I think that’s the only thing that we can do,’ Girardi said. “You want to play them as much as you possibly can, but you have to go day by day. That’s the situation we’re in now.'”

Posada will probably lose more time over the trip than A-Rod will, but we’ll see how it works out. Either way, this is a smart move by Joe.

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WP: P. Hughes (10-1) LP: M. Pelfrey (9-2)
SV: M. Rivera (16)

It’s felt like a long time in Yankeeland since the last victory at Yankee Stadium. Well, maybe that’s because I’ve been at the past three games and the Boys from the Bronx have managed to score a measly 4 runs in 27 innings.

From a “bleacher creature” prospective, it’s been extremely difficult to keep positive unless blood alcohol level was increased above .08. Having to deal with incredibly obnoxious Phillies fans was no doubt most difficult. Although I have more respect for Mets fans, that was not exactly a walk in the park last night either. However, things would change drastically on Saturday.

Saturday afternoon promised to deliver a pitchers duel between two of New York’s finest. Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey , both 9-1, have blossomed into fantastic starters for the Yankees and Mets. Both took the mound looking to gain ground in the standings as well as bragging rights.

It certainly didn’t take long for the Mets to get on the board. On the second pitch of the game, Jose Reyes crushed an 0-1 fastball deep into the right field seats to give the Mets a quick 1-0 lead. “Not again” resonated throughout the minds of Yankee fans at the stadium as Mets fans applauded the efforts of Reyes.

Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles to have runners on the corners for Mark Teixeira . Although Teixeira grounded into a double play, started by Alex Cora , Gardner would score to tie the game 1-1.

Henry Blanco worked a one-out walk in the top of the third to bring up Reyes. The walk would come back to bite Hughes as Reyes would once again take him yard to give the Mets a 3-1 edge. Angel Pagan would walk, only to be thrown out by Jorge Posada . Hughes then struck out David Wright to end the top half of the frame.

Gardner would lead off the bottom of the third with a single up the middle. He would advance to second base on a Swisher groundout and Teixeira would come to the plate. Mark sent a ridiculous “Tex Message” into the right-centerfield seats to tie the game at three. This home run ended Mike Pelfrey’s homerless streak at 31.1 innings, the second longest active streak in baseball.

And as the Yankees came back up to bat in the bottom of the fourth, the damage still wasn’t done. “Leadoff walks will come back and bite you.” Yes, they will and they certainly did. Posada worked a leadoff walk and Curtis Granderson smashed a ball into the right field seats to put the Yankees up 5-3.

The Yankees and Mets would exchange zeroes heading into the top of the eighth inning. Pagan hit a 2-out double into rightfield off Joba to bring the tying run to the plate in David Wright. Joba Chamberlain would throw three straight curveballs to Wright to make the count 1-2. A slider in the dirt was all it took to put away Wright as a resurgent Chamberlain left the mound pumped with adrenaline.

Mariano Rivera would come to the mound in thenin9th to record a one-two-three inning for his 16th save of the year and preserve a 5-3 victory in the process.

The Yankees improved to 42-26 while the Mets dropped to 39-29. Tomorrow’s game is at 1:05 pm in what will definitely be a pitchers duel between two kings of New York pitching, CC Sabathia and Johan Santana . All the action can be caught on the YES Network or WCBS 880.

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After some concerned surfaced yesterday about his sore foot, A.J. Burnett was cleared to start Monday in Arizona after a problem-free bullpen session this afternoon.

“It was a good day today,” Burnett said. “It didn’t bother me. I was worried yesterday and the day after my start, but not today. I’ll be good to go for Monday.”

… It feels “night and day different” since Thursday. Girardi said he’s confident Burnett will be able to pitch as scheduled in Arizona.

So the Yankees are two-for-three for the day on the injury front. Aceves is working his way back and Burnett is fine. Jeter did sit out today’s game with a sore heel, but he’s not scheduled to have any tests so I don’t think it’s too big a deal.

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Seriously, how much does that picture piss you off?

For the third straight night the Yankees offense was a no show as the Yanks fell to the Mets 4-0 at the stadium. This time it was lefty Hisanori Takahashi who shut the Yankees down, holding them scoreless over six innings. His final inning was his roughest.

Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira singled with out to put runners on first and second. Alex Rodriguez was up and with the Yankees down just 1-0, a hit would most likely tie the game. A-Rod, who went 0-for-4, grounded out weakly to first and moved the runners to second and third. Robinson Cano then walked to load the bases, but Jorge Posada hit a weak grounder to David Wright and the rally was dead.

The Yankees would have chances again in the eighth and ninth, but by that time, thanks to the Yankees bullpen, the Mets lead had grown.

Chan Ho Park started the eighth, and following a walk to Ruben Tejada and a double by Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan extended the Mets lead to 3-0 with a two-run double. David Wright then grounded out before Boone Logan came in.

Logan did a good job getting out of the eighth, but in the ninth he gave up three straight hits and the Mets’ fourth run.

Now, with a four-run lead and no save situation, Raul Valdes came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and things got a little interesting. After Posada flew out, Cervelli singled and Granderson singled to put two on.

Jerry Manuel had seen enough and it was now a save situation so he called on his closer Francisco Rodriguez. Brett Gardner then had the at-bat of the night, drawing a walk after a 12-pitch battle that saw him foul off seven pitches. The Yankees now had the tying run at the plate and two outs to work with. Obviously, they didn’t do too much with those outs. Jeter struck out on three pitches, and Swisher popped out in foul territory to end the game.

With 11 men left on and an 0-for-9 with RISP, this one is on the offense, with a little help from Park and Logan. One area that was not a problem tonight was starting pitching.

I saved any talk about Javier Vazquez for last because it’s the only part of the game to feel good about and I figured I’d end with something positive. Javy was very strong over seven innings, allowing just a run on three hits and three walks, while striking out four. Two of those hits, and the Mets only run aganst him, came in the first when Wright doubled and Ike Davis following with an RBI single.

Vazquez walked two straight batters in the sixth, but he was never in trouble the rest of the night. This is the sixth time in seven starts that Javy has looked like the starter we thought we signed this offseason, and he deserved a better result than his sixth loss of the year.

So, after winning nine in a row at home, the Yankees have now lost three straight. Luckily, the Rays are have also dropped three in a row and the Yanks are still tied for first. On the other hand, Boston has won four straight and is just one game behind.

It will be a battle of nine-game winners in the Bronx Saturday afternoon as Phil Hughes will face Mike Pelfrey. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. and the game is on. YES!

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(Triple-A) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (39-29) beat Lehigh Valley (26-41) 4-1: Box Score – Recap

Batting:
Reid Gorecki RF: 1-for-4, RBI (17), BB, 2 R, 2 SB (7)
Colin Curtis CF: 2-for-5, 2B
Eduardo Nunez SS: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI (31)
Juan Miranda 1B: 0-for-3, BB
Jorge Vazquez 3B: 0-for-4
Jesus Montero DH: 3-for-4, 2B, 3B, R – average up to .248
Eric Bruntlett 2B: 0-for-3, BB
Rene Rivera C: 0-for-4
Greg Golson LF: 1-for-4, 2B, R

Pitching:
Dustin Moseley (W, 4-4): 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K (3.72 ERA)
Zack Segovia (H, 3): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (4.88 ERA)
Jonathan Albaladejo (S, 23): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (1.10 ERA)

Pitches-strikes : Moseley 99-66, Segovia 14-11, Albaladejo 13-11.
Groundouts-flyouts : Moseley 7-3, Segovia 1-0, Albaladejo 0-0.

(Double-A) Trenton (40-25) lost to Binghamton (33-34) 1-0: Box Score – Recap

Batting:
Justin Chrstian LF: 1-for-4
Austin Krum CF: 1-for-4
Daniel Brewer RF: 1-for-4, 2B
Brandon Laird DH: 0-for-3, BB
Matthew Cusick 3B: 1-for-4
Jose Gil C: 1-for-4
Marcos Vechionacci 1B: 0-for-3
Luis Nunez SS: 2-for-3, 2B
Justin Snyder 2B: 0-for-3

Pitching:
Hector Noesi (L, 3-1): 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (2.31 ERA)
Wilkins Arias: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K (3.03 ERA)

Groundouts-flyouts : Noesi 6-9, Arias 0-3.

Batting:
Jack Rye RF: 2-for-4, RBI (23), BB
Jose Pirela SS: 0-for-4, BB, R
Corban Joseph 2B: 1-for-5
Bradley Suttle 3B: 1-for-4, R
Melky Mesa CF: 1-for-3, BB, R
Neil Medchill DH: 2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI (21), R
Trent Lockwood 1B: 0-for-4
Mitch Abeita C: 2-for-3, 2 2B, BB
Francisco Santana LF: 0-for-3, BB

Pitching:
George Kontos (L, 0-1): 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (10.13 ERA)
Adam Olbrychowski: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (2.05 ERA)
Philip Bartleski: 3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (4.24 ERA)
Brad Rulon: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, WP (2.50 ERA)
J.B. Cox: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K (27.00 ERA)
Noel Castillo: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (2.45 ERA)

Groundouts-flyouts : Kontos 1-2, Olbrychowski 0-0, Bartleski 1-4, Rulon 1-1, Cox, J 0-1, Castillo, N 0-1.

(Low-A) Charleston (31-36) lost to Rome (28-39) 4-1: Box Score – Recap

Batting:
Slade Heathcott CF: 0-for-4
JR Murphy C: 1-for-4
Jimmy Paredes 3B: 1-for-3, BB
Zolio Almonte RF: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, R
Robert Lyerly 1B: 0-for-3, BB
Kyle Higashioka DH: 0-for-3, BB
Deangelo Mack LF: 1-for-3, BB
Kelvin Castro SS: 1-for-4, RBI (20)
Emerson Landoni 2B: 0-for-4

Pitching:
Josh Romanski (L, 1-2): 5.2 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (4.98 ERA)
Ronny Marte: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 WP, HB (2.87 ERA)
Ryan Acosta: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (5.27 ERA)

Groundouts-flyouts : Romanski 7-3, Marte, R 1-1, Acosta, R 0-2.

(Single-A Short-Season) Staten Island (0-1) lost to Brooklyn (1-0) 5-3: Box Score – Recap

Batting:
Casey Stevenson 2B: 1-for-4, 2B
Francisco Arica C: 1-for-4, R
Carlos Urena PH-C: 0-for-1
Shane Brown LF: 0-for-4, BB, R
Kyle Roller 1B: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI (2), BB, R
Kelvin De Leon RF: 0-for-3, BB
Ferraro DH: 1-for-4, RBI (1)
Jose Mojica SS: 1-for-3, 2B, BB
Garrsion Lassiter 3B: 1-for-4, 2B
Eduardo Sosa CF: 2-for-3, BB

Pitching:
Shane Greene: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HB (3.86 ERA)
Preston Claiborne: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (0.00 ERA)
Zachary Varce (BS, 1)(L, 0-1): 1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (27.00 ERA)
Richard Martinez: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (0.00 ERA)

Groundouts-flyouts: Greene, S 9-1, Claiborne 1-0, Varce 2-0, Martinez, Ri 5-2.

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Regular Season Game 66

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES (41-24)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner LF
Francisco Cervelli C
Ramiro Pena 3B

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettite (8-1, 2.46 ERA)

PHILLIES (33-30)
Shane Victorino CF
Chase Utley 2B
Placido Polanco 3B
Ryan Howard 1B
Jayson Werth RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Ben Francisco DH
Carlos Ruiz C
Wilson Valdez SS

Pitching: RHP Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 4.80 ERA)

Phillies vs. Pettitte

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WP: J. Moyer (7-6) LP: A. Burnett (6-5)

It was game five all over for A.J. Burnett tonight against the Phillies. Burnett, who has now allowed 16 earned runs in his last 16 innings, never gave the Yankees a chance tonight as their home winning streak came to an end at nine.

Falling behind too many hitters and struggling with command, especially with his curve ball, led to Burnett exiting the game after just three and a third innings awful innings. Philly knocked him around for six runs on six hits and three walks, and besides lasting 1.1 innings longer, tonight’s game really was similar to his game five stinker.

Game Five: 2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
Tonight: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K

Philly did most of their damage in the third, scoring four times. The big blow of the inning was a three-run triple by Shane Victorino with one out. Burnett gave up two more in the third on two solo homers, one by Ryan Howard , and the other off the bat of Jayson Werth .

I’m as disappointed with his start as the next fan, but what really pissed me off was when he failed to cover first on Chase Utley’s grounder in the fourth. It happened last night with CC too, but at least he was pitching a decent game. When you hand the opposing team six runs, the least you can do is get your ass over to cover first.

The ancient one, Jamie Moyer , had the Yankees completely lost tonight, holding them to just two runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out five over eight innings. Especially frustrating after seeing watching Boston knock him around for nine runs on nine hits in an inning pitched just five days ago.

Both Yankees runs came via the solo homer; Robinson Cano’s 14th homer of the season in the second, and Jorge Posada’s ninth in the fifth. Other than that, the Yankees really got nothing going all night against Moyer. With the win tonight, Moyer becomes the oldest pitcher ever to win a game against the Yankees.

The one good thing that came out of Burnett’s poor performance was that it led to two really nice outings from Boone Logan and Chad Gaudin .

Logan came into the game in the fourth with one out and runners on the corners, but was able to get out of it by striking out Ryan Howard and getting Raul Ibanez to ground out to second. He remained in the game for the next two innings and didn’t allow a baserunner. Gaudin was equally impressive, throwing three perfect innings.

Like they always seem to do, the Yankees made thing interesting and gave themselves a chance to at least tie it in the ninth off Brad Lidge . With two out and nobody on, Mark Teixeira started things off with a walk and then took second on defensive indifference.

Alex Rodriguez then drove him home with a double and Cano singled to move A-Rod to third and bring the tying run to the plate in Jorge Posada . Lidge fell behind 2-1, and served up a hanging slider right down broadway, but Posada, who was expecting a fastball, took it for strike two. Lidge then threw another slider, this time a nasty one diving low and in that Posada swung over for strike three.

Tampa lost, a couple relievers showed they’re not completely useless, and the Yankees continued to show why they’re never out of a game. So, it wasn’t a completely lost night.

Andy Pettitte heads to the mound in tomorrow’s rubber game as the Yankees look to take the series, and Kyle Kendrick will get the start for Philly. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. and the game will be on YES.

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From Forbes :

Add another accolade to the Steinbrenner family trophy case. Their New York Yankees have dethroned Manchester United as the world’s most valuable team brand. It is the first time since we started tracking brand value–the portion of a team’s overall value that is derived from its name as opposed to its market and league–across sports three years ago that the Bronx Bombers have topped our list.

The Yankees brand is worth $328 million (21% of their $1.6 billion total team value), while we calculate the Man U name to be worth $285 million (16% of their $1.835 billion value). The two teams swapped spots as the Yankees saw a merchandising frenzy thanks to a 27th World Series title and the opening of their new stadium. Gross sales of World Series and Yankees championship-emblazoned products totaled $450 million last year, while the new ballpark spurred 40% growth in sponsorship revenue. Local TV ratings on YES Network (Forbes is a partner in a show on YES) were up 11%, even as most baseball teams saw ratings decline. Also helping push the Yanks to the top was a strengthening U.S. dollar, which gained 17% on the British pound over the 12-month period we reviewed.

Here’s the top ten:

1. New York Yankees — $328 Million
2. Manchester United — $285 Million
3. Real Madrid — $240 Million
4. Dallas Cowboys — $208 Million
5. F.C. Barcelona — $180 Million
6. Bayern Munich — $178 Million
7. Arsenal — $176 Million
8. Boston Red Sox — $163 Million
9. New York Mets — $158 Million
10. New England Patriots — $156 Million

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WP: P. Hughes (9-1) LP: B. Moehler (0-3)
Even though Phil Hughes wasn’t at his best, the Yankees were able to slug their way to a 9-5 win over the Astros to complete the three-game sweep.

It was a weird start for Hughes, who didn’t have his best stuff all and had trouble hitting his spots day, but still managed to hold the Astros to just a run on three hits and two walks over the first five.

Meanwhile, the Yankees, who were shutdown over the first three, scored three in the fourth and four in the fifth to blow the game open and take a 7-1 lead.

Robinson Cano began the scoring with his 13th homer of the season, a solo shot to tie the game at one. With two out in the inning, Ramiro Pena gave the Yankees the lead with a two-run bloop single to right with the bases loaded.

Jorge Posada followed up his grand slam on Saturday with another one on Sunday to extend the Yankees lead to six. It’s the first time a Yankee has hit a grand slam in back-to-back games since Bill Dickey , all the way back in 1937. Babe Ruth was the only other Yankee to achieve this feat, doing it twice, once in 1927 and again in 1929.

After being handed a 7-1 lead, Hughes’ lack of command finally caught up with him in the sixth. Carlos Lee led off the inning with a single. Hughes did retire the next two batters he faced on just four pitches, but the next three batters would be Hughes’ last.

Geoff Blum put runners on second and third with a double. Then, Tommy Manzella battled through a 10-pitch at-bat to drive in both runners with a single.

Former Yankee Kevin Cash capped off the rally, and ended Hughes’ day, with a two-run homer to left. The five runs allowed in just 5.2 innings bumped his ERA over 3.00, but it was still enough for Hughes to pick up his league-leading ninth win of the year.

Damaso Marte came in to replace Hughes and struck out Michael Bourn to end the inning.

The Yankees didn’t waste any time pushing that lead back to four, scoring twice in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Swisher drove in the first with a single. Two batters later, Brett Gardner picked up his second hit of the day and drove in the Yankees ninth run. Besides the two hits, Gardner also stole his 22nd base of the season, and he made a great leaping play in the seventh to rob Carlos Lee of a double.

Chan Ho Park pitched the seventh and needed just eight pitches to get through the inning. Joba Chamberlain followed Park with a 10-pitch, scoreless eighth.

Then, even though they were up four, the Yanks went to Mariano Rivera to finish off the game. He struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth and the Yankees had their 40th win of the season.

With the Marlins beating the Rays, the Yankees also moved into a tie with the Rays for first in the division. Today’s win also finishes off a 16-game stretch that saw the Yankees go 12-4.

Before I forget to mention it, Chad Huffman went 1-for-4 with a walk in his major league debut. His hit was a slow roller to short that he beat out for an infield single, and came in his first AB in the third.

Like I said before the Yanks have an off-day tomorrow before they start a three-game series with the Phillies on Tuesday in a rematch of last year’s World Series. The pitching matchup in the opener is a good one, with CC Sabathia facing off against Roy Halladay . First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. and the game will be on MY9.

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