WHY ARE THERE BYB YANKEE NOTES? WHY NOT?

Here are some Yankee notes I wanted to pass your way so you can keep informed on what's going on in Yankeeland. Expect a lot to happen because, as you know, if the Yankees don't win the playoffs and the World Series, no matter how many games they win in the regular season, it's a failure. That's the Steinbrenner way. Anyway, check out what's happening:
Eric Chavez: According to Joel Sherman, HERE, Eric Chavez is thinking about retiring. Craig Calcaterra from Hardball Talk had this: "Chavez had more plate appearances this year than he had had since 2007 — a whole 175 of them — but the magic is long gone. He hit .263/.320/.356 with two homers in a utility role that, thanks to yet more injuries, was more limited than it otherwise would have been given A-Rod’s injuries. It’s hard to conclude anything other than 'it’s time.'"

Selfishly, I love Chavez in the role he had in the Bronx and I'd love to have him back in that capacity. That's not fair to him though and I wonder if he'd want to try and find a full time gig just one more time or if Sherman is right, maybe Chavez really is "leaning" toward retirement. We shall see.Jorge Posada: MLB Trade Rumors had a report saying that the Yankees are showing little interest in Jorge Posada now that the season is over. Read about it HERE. MTR had this: "The Yankees used him almost exclusively at DH this summer, in part because his defensive skills behind the plate have eroded, but also because of long-term concerns about head injuries. Posada did appear in 14 games at first base in 2011 (eleven starts)."

If I had my say, Jorge Posada would retire a Yankee and immediately become an advisor for the catchers. That won't happen. Look, Jorge Posada auditioned this ALDS. He proved to many teams that he can still hit. Jorge doesn't want to leave the Bronx, but he wants to play and if he can get a job for a couple bucks somewhere else and still swing the bat, he may just go for it.
CJ Wilson: Jon Heyman believes that the Yankees are favorites to snatch CJ Wilson when he becomes a free agent. I say, how does he know? The playoffs are still going on and the Rangers are in the ALCS. Could there really be some kind of dialog between the Yankees and Wilson's agent or is this just a guess? I believe the Yankees will make a big push for the "Pretty boy" as I refer to him, but not if the Yankees resign CC Sabathia if exercises his opt-out clause. Read about the story HERE.Kevin Long: George King III had a piece about the Yankees and their lack of the "big hit" in the ALDS. Read about it HEREKing quotes long: "

"We scored almost 30 runs in five games and that's six runs a game... If you look at it that way we hit, but if you don't come up big in the postseason, it's magnified."

"We scored some runs but unfortunately it's not about that, it's about winning games... We had plenty of offense but when it came down to getting the big hit, you've got to get the big hit. We didn't."

I love Kevin Long. At the end of the day, the big boppers didn't get the big hit, that's not Long fault. Bottom line.

More Yankees news when it's needed. Stay with us on Bleeding Yankee Blue. Thanks.

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WHY THE YANKEES BENCH WILL BE KEY

There is no doubt that the Yankees have players that have contributed in every way this season and the bench is pretty decent. But not all of them can come to the ALDS. Let's check out some of the names this year that have contributed.

Andruw Jones did what we needed him to do hitting lefties and hitting home runs this year. It’s clear that Andruw Jones has slowed down, but I was happy he was there. Here are his numbers this year:

This season he's 46 for 186. He has 12 home runs and 32 RBIs. His average is .247.

In my ALDS scenario, Andrew Jones will not be joining us. Although looking at the way guys like Chris Dickerson and Greg Golson contributed to last night's loss to the Rays...Golson getting picked off third with a chance to win the game, Jones may now make my list. You know what I mean? The other factor that comes in consideration is whether or not Jesus Montero is OK. Last night he was lifted from the game and there were concerns about his availability in the ALDS. We will have to see. If Montero is healthy, clearly I would platoon with Jorge Posada in the DH role. Again, maybe Jones gets to be there too.

I like speed as you know and that’s where Eduardo Nunez and Chris Dickerson would have come into play in my scenario. Although, Dickerson didn't impress me last night.

No doubt Eduardo Nunez has a terrific bat and great speed to do damage on the base paths. I would never suggest putting Nunez in as a late inning defensive replacement, because, let’s face it, he’s not good defensively. Last night he made his 20th error of the year. How embarrassing. But in a tie game in the 9^th inning at home, I’m pinch-running him no doubt.

Eric Chavez is a must have and apparently he's probably a starter now that word is out that Alex Rodriguez has a cranky knee. Read about that HERE. The reason I like Chavez... he gets on base. He seems to be clutch at the right time, plus, as I've stated, he plays third base and first base, if things get desperate. I’ve always liked Chavez, I just hope Mr. Fragile can hold it together.

Jorge Posada is our Designated Hitter, but in the event he doesn’t get the call for the DH against lefties, he is clearly a late inning pinch hitter, he can substitute at first if needed, as we saw last night and if the world came crumbling around Yankeeland, we could slot him in at catcher. We have options.

Options are good Ladies and Gentlemen and our bench looks good. If things click, we have incredible shot to win the ALDS, whomever it will be. After all, we’re the God damn New York Yankees, right? We can do this, I have faith.

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WHY HUGHES TO ALDS A NO-GO

Look, Phil Hughes has had a tough year. We all know he can pitch, after all, he’s young and talented, but sometimes when your back’s against the wall, literally, and it’s the last week of September, you need to come to the realization it ain’t happening this year. Luckily for Phil, Girardi has an idea.

After the most recent setback with Phil's cranky back followed by the epidural shot, Joe suggested that maybe the best thing for the Yankees and Phil would be the bullpen for the ALDS.

Joe said: “I think you have to think about it. Just because he hasn’t thrown in a while.”

Now, I think that's interesting, although to tell you the truth, in the first round of the ALDS, I would suggest NOT bringing him. Phil hasn't contributed. He's not 100% and even tonight, he didn't impress me against the Rays.

Now yes, it's true, I wrote a piece awhile back called WHY THE PEN IS WHERE PHIL HUGHES BELONGS and at the time, I meant it. But Ladies and Gentlemen, this is September and it's way too late. I personally don't think Hughes can add anything to the first round of the postseason. If anything, let him work out some kinks now, have him throw bullpen sessions while the Yankees take care of business in the ALDS and if things look promising, Hughes is welcome to the ALCS. Otherwise, time to move on in 2011, see you in 2012. Sorry to sound harsh, but that's the reality in my opinion.

Phil Hughes is a talent but since that injury in Texas where he was pitching a no-hitter back in 2007, I feel like Phil's got a case of Nick Johnson-itis. Bad luck and injury is Phil Hughes right now. Can we straighten out the ship? Yes, but much like Eric Chavez, who’s incredible when he’s healthy, bad luck follows you everywhere.

So, what do you think? Should Hughes stay home in the ALDS or should he join the bullpen. Be sure to vote in our poll.

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WHY THE YANKEES MAGIC NUMBER IS 2

That's right, I said it... the Magic number is 2 to win a playoff spot and the Magic number is 3 to win the division. Go Yankees Go!It's always a breath of fresh air when a young kid comes out and rises to the occasion. Ivan Nova pitched wonderfully tonight. He looked like a gritty veteran and if you had to trust him, you could.

Ivan Nova is ready for the playoffs, no doubt. Nova's line tonight was great... 7.2 innings pitched, he allowed 6 hits and no runs. Nova struck out 3 and walked 3. Best of all, Nova is 16-4 this season. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a Rookie of the Year candidate.The Yankee offense was there tonight, but one thing the Yankees didn't do, was pile on. They left a ton of men on base and there were plenty of opportunities with men on base to just blow it wide open. For some reason, the hitting was there early and then, we hit a drought and nothing happened. That being said, we looked decent with our hits and we got what we needed. Nova helped that alot because he was dominant tonight, but with the Rays, you just don't know what can happen.
Curtis Granderson had a major hit tonight in the 2nd inning. He's was the guy that got things moving for the Yankees. He was 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs. I'd love to see this guy get the MVP this year. It's going to be tough but every game lately, he's damn good and his name keeps coming up.Eric Chavez was 2 for 5 with and RBI and a run as well. Chavez has such a knack for joining in the rally. I feel like he's always included in big moments. He's a great ballplayer who took a job with the Yankees, when many didn't want him. It's been a great marriage and I'm happy he's in the Bronx.

The last out of the game was a double play, 6-4-3 and it was exciting... playoff bound exiting.

Final Score: Yankees 5 - Rays 0

The Red Sox lost tonight to the Orioles 7-5. Wow. They lost another one. Loving this.

A day night double header for the Yankees tomorrow. Phil Hughes pitches the first game and CC Sabathia will pitch number 2. If the Yankees win 1 game tomorrow against the Rays they secure a spot in the postseason... how sweet it is.

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WHY NICK SWISHER IS RED HOT

(Photo: Getty)
Red Hot Nick Swisher is doing his thing... and I'm thrilled about it. It took a while. Swisher had a very slow start and I was alittle concerned that not having Swisher's bat in the lineup would hurt the Yankees. Luckily, he clicked at the right time and things are happening for the guy. Last night Nick and Eric Chavez did alittle reenactment of the old Oakland days both with 2 RBIs in the Yankees loss. Last night still stings, they should have won that game. This season, Swisher is up to 23 home runs, just shy of his Yankees record of 29 which he had in both 2009 and 2010. His average is up to .261 this year, not great, but respectable considering where he's been this season. His best average was .288 in 2010... his worst was in 2009 when he batted .249. But what's my point? Swisher is about to help my New York Yankees get to the playoffs any way he can, because he has the talent, he's on a hot streak and he has all of us, his popularity and fan base to feed that ego we love so much. And I don't mean ego like Swish is arrogant, he's not, but one thing that makes him tick is the spotlight, and us rooting for our boy is something he craves, bottom line.How can you not like this kid? Energy and talent are a good start. His popularity is a constant fascination with me and we are trying desperately to talk with Swisher for a BYB Exclusive for all of you. We want to know...what makes him tick? We'll get it, it takes time. In the meantime, be sure to check out WE WANT NICK SWISHER TO HOST SNL. It's on Facebook and Beth Hucke runs it. She is currently holding a contest over there in coordination with Bleeding Yankee Blue's Fan of the Week.

Here are the rules: "Have something on that is Yankees related and hold a sign up that either says "Bleeding Yankee Blue or "BYB". Send the pics to WE WANT NICK SWISHER TO HOST SNL by next week and they will put them in an album on their Facebook page for voting. Then, the winning pic will be featured on Bleeding Yankee Blue as fan of the week."(Photo: Getty)
Beth is great and runs a terrific page. It all started for her because she digs Nick Swisher. The guy is just a ray of sunshine. He, Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson roaming the Yankee outfield is something that I'm proud of. I've stated it before, I'd put our outfield of GGS against any outfield in baseball. We have speed, athleticism and power as well as clutch hitting. I wrote WHY GGS IS AOK back in February of this year because I had a good feeling about our guys. Now, yes, it's true, Granderson has slowed down a bit and Nick Swisher got a late start, but everything I said about my guys is true. The outfield is fantastic. Read what I wrote about Swisher for instance:
"Switch hitting and confidence seeping from his pores, this guy knows his job and without a doubt delivers all the time. I would however like him to strike out less. Hopefully Long worked with him on that as well. Now, Swish doesn't run a lick, and we knew that about him when we signed him, but concentrate on that bat. 58 home runs with the Yankees in 2 years and had 171 RBIs. His career home run numbers are 162 home runs in 9 years and every year he averages 20 or more and back in 2006, he even had 35. That's power, plus, over the winter, working with Kevin Long may have revitalized the guy. I expect him to be on a tear this year."

A tear? OK, it's starting now, but not too bad of a prediction. Look, bottom line, if there is one thing I believe in, it's my New York Yankees. Last night's loss was a tough one, but now we must win the next 2 against the Jays. Every year the run to the finish line is tough, and every year, we need to get there. Nick Swisher, while starting late is contributing wonderfully right now. Hopefully this hot streak continues through the playoffs as we complete our Quest of winning number 28 in the Bronx. I can almost taste it, can you?

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WHY YANKEE FANS NEED LEADERS NOT LOSERS

The Blue Jays played like champions tonight. The Yankees, well, that's another story. Yes, we started strong, but when you fold like a house of cards, there's really no excuse. I'm a broken record at this point, you can never, EVER lose to a division rival this close to the playoffs...but we did and now we have to move on and win tomorrow as well as the rest of this series without a doubt.
CC Sabathia is my guy, but one thing is happening right now, and this is just a hunch; too much rest for the big guy may not be a good thing. Look, this is simple for me to understand and I think I'm right. In the Yankees haste to make sure we have a 6 man rotation to give them time to figure out what pitchers are strong enough, we have left 1 very important pitcher's opinion out of the equation, and that's CC Sabathia. CC doesn't like a rest longer than normal and he's voiced his opinion. I found this nugget that I spoke about a week ago brought to you by the Bergen Record:

"Sabathia prefers to work on four days' rest, but manager Joe Girardi is mindful that his ace left-hander has thrown 239 pitches over his past two starts." Read the full piece HERE.

This may offer nothing to you, but it offers a lot to me. Joe, while trying to help CC may be hurting him. Yes, we need Sabathia strong for the playoffs, but if our ace is messed up with extra rest and he can't pitch effectively, hey, we'll be losing and won't be IN the playoffs. My suggestion? Joe needs to give CC what he wants and it's time to make a rotation decision so we can narrow it to 5. It's getting late early.

But enough about my educated guess, the Yankees lost tonight, and that does not make me happy. CC went 5.2 innings tonight. He allowed 10 hits, and 4 runs and struck out 8. Was he incredible? No, but he grinded hard, but again, you need to question his rest schedule. Sabathia left the game with the bases loaded in the 6th and Luis Ayala was able to get out of the inning. Thank God.(Photo: Getty)
Rafael Soriano pitched the 7th inning tonight and had 3 strikeouts. That, my friends was definitely the pitching highlight of the night for me.

Boone Logan got the loss tonight... what else is new? He left the game in the 9th inning after Adam Lind hit a double off of him. Adam Lind is a lefty. Boone Logan is a lefty. I'm just making a point here... this is ridiculous already. Anyway, Cory Wade came in. Jose Molina, the former Yankee was the guy who killed us all tonight. Molina drove in the winning run in the 9th off Wade, a heart breaker if you will.
(Photo: Getty)
Offensively, Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez did some great work tonight, but it wasn't enough. Swisher had a single and a double tonight with 2 RBIs. Chavez crushed a homer to center and had 2 RBIs.

Final Score: Blue Jays 5 - Yankees 4

I'm not happy, in fact, I'm aggravated. The Yankees need to win, especially against a 4th place team. Next up is Bartolo Colon and Lord knows, I am uneasy about him pitching. The last win Colon has is from July. That says a lot. I'm getting worried Ladies and Gentlemen, please soothe me.

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WHY THE YANKEES DE-THRONED KING FELIX

The Yankees needed this win, no doubt. They lost 2 of 3 in Anaheim to the Angels and they wanted to get off on the right foot against the Mariners in Seattle. But going into the game it looked like a tough task. King Felix Hernandez was going for the Mariners against Phil Hughes. So it was their ace against our number five guy. But, as John Sterling says; "You just can't predict baseball". He's right, as the Yankees were able to knock Felix around for the tune of six runs in six innings during the win.The Yankees were able to use a little small ball in the third inning to get their first run off Hernandez. A couple of singles by Brett Gardner and Chris Dickerson put runners at the corners and the Captain, Derek Jeter, drove in Gardner on a grounder after Dickerson stole second. The offense then exploded in the 5th as Mark Teixeira hit a solo shot--his 37th of the season--Chris Dickerson hit a mammoth two run homer, while Eric Chavez and Brett Gardner each had RBI hits. Also, catcher Austin Romine went 1 for 4 and picked up his first career big league hit. Good job Austin, hopefully that's just the first of many.
Phil Hughes was pretty good in this one. He went six innings, allowed one run on five hits and three walks while striking out three. It's now back to back good starts following his two sub-par outings against Oakland and Boston. Scott Proctor and Luis Ayala pitched the final three frames when the game was 9-1. Too bad they didn't have Andrew Brackman or Dellin Betances pitch in this one.

Final Score: Yankees 9 - Mariners 3

It's always good to win the first game of a three game series. The Yankees now have their biggest lead in the AL East this season, and it's at four games ahead of the free falling Boston Red Sox. The Yanks send out A.J Burnett (9-11, 5.27 ERA) to square off against Charlie Furbush (3-8, 4.84 ERA) tomorrow evening.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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WHY THE YANKEES DID 9-11 JUSTICE

On the way to today's game, I actually couldn't think of anything other than how excited I was to be seeing Jesus Montero catch for the first time in his big league career. For a little while, I totally forgot what day it was.

You may have noticed that of all the regular writers here, I'm the only one who has not put up a 9/11 piece. I wanted to wait until now. I was younger and I don't remember much. I do remember my dad who worked about 30 blocks from the World Trade Center and I called to make sure he was OK. Thank God he was.

But I wanted to write my post today because there were a combination of things happening. Today wasn't just a baseball game, it was symbolic of rebirth. The Yankees snapped a 4 game losing streak, plus, I got to see both Jesus Montero and Austin Romine's first time behind the plate in the Bigs, and the Yankees just snapped back into form. There wasn't a much better day to do it on than 9-11, a day when America changed and was reborn itself. Initially, that rebirth manifested itself as fear, but soon we grew stronger as a Nation. People can say whatever they want about these tragic events, and on the surface, it may appear that it tore the Nation apart, but everyone became more patriotic that day and I feel we're closer than ever.Now, I'm not trying to say a Yankees' losing streak is similar to one of the worst disasters in the history of mankind, no. What I'm saying is it really felt good seeing the Yankees come together, regrouping and jumping back to life just in time to honor 9-11, it was almost symbolic. Perhaps it serves as just a tiny reminder that we can all recover from struggles, whether it's in baseball or in life.
Today's recap goes like this. The Yankees dug themselves into an early hole when Freddy Garcia served up a 2 run-homer to Howie Kendrick in the 1st with none out, but Robbie Cano and Eric Chavez pieced together a run to bring them within one with a pair of singles and a wild pitch in between.

The Yankees coughed that run right back up when Freddy threw a wild pitch by Montero, who predictably had trouble blocking Freddy's splitter, scoring Bobby Wilson. Freddy did a good job of working out of a 2nd and 3rd, 1 out jam to limit the damage, and given the final result, it turned out to be a huge escape.After Tex struck out, Cano drilled a solo shot into right field, one that didn't even seem like it was going to make it to the track off the bat. That brought the deficit down to 1. The Yankees loaded the bases with 2 outs for Brett Gardner, but he couldn't capitalize and the inning ended with no further damage.Peter Bourjos opened the game up to 5-2 Angels with a 2-run shot into left field, but the Grandy Man fired right back with his own 2-run blast, driving in Derek Jeter, to make the game 5-4.

Freddy then proceeded to give me a heart attack by loading the bases with one out, but he masterfully got Mark Trumbo to pop up and Callaspo did the rest for the Yanks by grounding out.

After a pair of 1-2-3 innings for each team, the Yankees jumped into action with back to back singles by Gardner and Jeter. The Angels brought in Scott Downs, who struck out Curtis Granderson, and then Mark Teixeira lifted a sac fly into center field which I assumed would have tied the game... but that's when Peter Bourjos made perhaps the most pathetic fielding error I have ever seen. He seriously closed his glove before the ball was even there and it just bounced off. I've seen guys lose balls in the sun or the Tropicana Field dome and I see guys misplay line drives all the time, but I have never seen a guy camp under a ball and just close his glove right in front of it. This actually gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead, which Rafael Soriano and David Robertson held onto for Mo, who recorded his 599th career save and his 40th of the season. Man, I was so close to seeing 600, it would have been sweet.

A few additional highlights:

• Montero played behind the dish for the first time today, and threw out his first attempted base stealer with a bullet to Cano. He went 0 for 3 with an intentional walk. While Montero didn't dazzle, he has already built up a big enough reputation to get walked intentionally.

• Austin Romine replaced Montero in the 7th inning and guided Soriano, Robertson, and Mo through three shutout innings. He allowed one stolen base when Torii Hunter stupidly walked right in front of him as he was trying to throw out Bobby Abreu, which the umpire failed to acknowledge.

• Granderson is now one homer short of the 40 home run milestone, and Cano is at 25, looking to make a run at 30. Granderson also brought his RBI total to 111. He may be hurting his MVP case with his slump lately, but if he can get his average back to .270 and his OPS back to about .950, he'll be hard to vote against. Just needs a few great nights.

• Jeter upped his average to .297 with a 2 for 5 day. In other news, the media remains silent on anything and everything related to Jeter as he continues to tear it up.

• Cory Wade took the win today, bringing his season record with the Yankees to 5-0. What a gift he's been.

• Freddy wasn't sharp at all (5.0 IP, 5 ER), but as he always does, he made sure things didn't get out of hand and kept the game within reach. Gotta love a veteran.

• David Robertson lowered his season ERA to 1.19 and continues to earn the title of best relief pitcher in baseball this year, even better than Mo. It'd be a shame if DRob didn't get a few votes for the Cy Young Award. Justin Verlander has certainly earned the award so I'm not saying to give it to him, but the kid has had a better statistical season than Mariano ever had (outside BB/9). Let that process for a moment...

• The Rays completed a 3 game sweep of the Red Sox, closing the Red Sox' wild card lead to 3.5 and increasing the Yankees' lead to 3.5. Can you say “September choke”? I can.

Final Score: Yankees 6 - Angels 5

Just a perfect day of Yankees baseball with the assistance of one horrible error. Got to see a couple of potential legends in the making catching for the first time (Trust me, I'll be telling this story in a few decades) and watched Mariano's march to the Saves record. They couldn't have possibly done a better job of lifting our spirits on this sad day.

--Grant Cederquist, BYB Staff Writer



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WHY SEPTEMBER LOSSES TO DIVISION RIVALS STINKS

The Yankees lost today. That's 2 in a row to last place Baltimore, but more importantly, it was 2 losses to Buck Showalter who, at this point in the season has 1 mission; beat the Yankees. The season's over for the Orioles, there is nothing else to try and prove. All Showalter needs to do now is play each game against the Yankees and win it like it was Game 7 of the World Series. He did that today and he won.

Ivan Nova didn’t have great stuff today and look, it’s going to happen. Nova’s had a good run, but a combination of he, Boone Logan, Scott Proctor and Rafael Soriano contributed to the loss. People can blame only the bullpen today and yes they contributed, but it's not only on them. You can also solely blame Nova, but that’s only part of it too. Today was a classic "team loss", the pitching wasn’t great all around.

In the 11^th today, Proctor allowed Robert Andino to hit a ball to left to knock in the winning run. Before that, in the 8^th, Andino knocked in the tying run against Soriano. Hey, we can at least give Andino credit for having a great game. That's baseball.

Earlier in the game, Boone Logan, who’s the Yankees lefty reliever who's put into games to get lefty hitters out, couldn’t get a lefty hitter out, and so, Girardi took the his lefty reliever out after the lefty Orioles hitter, well, hit him. That gave the Orioles their 3^rd run of the game, but that run was Nova’s, not Boone's. Boone's sole job was to get out the lefty and not let the run score.

The Yankee offense consisted of Derek Jeter and Eric Chavez both contributing to 2 RBIs each. Jeter got a 2 run single in the second inning. Chavez had 2 hits today.

For me though, the biggest plays were defensive and both were made at home plate. Between the strong throws and Francisco Cervelli nailing the O’s at home, twice, there was nothing better. In the 7^th, Nick Markakis was trying to score from first base on a Vladmir Guerrero double and was nailed at the plate. In the 8^th inning, Mark Reynolds was trying to score on a Chris Brown single, the Yankees got him. It was well exceuted and well done. As Cervelli told ESPN, "[Home plate] is my house, so nobodies going to come inside."

Bottom line, you never want to lose to a division rival in September, and we did. Time to get serious Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s getting late early. We need to get as many wins as possible now, it's the only way to get to the playoffs.

Final Score: Orioles 5 – Yankees 4.

The Yanks are going back to Cali now for a series against the Angels starting tomorrow night.. Bartolo Colon is set to go against a very good Jered Weaver. Let me also say that Weaver is hitable and the Yankees have hit him in the past. This game is winnable. Colon needs to get back to his own self and pitch his heart out. Quite simply, if we can snipe a few runs off of Weaver and Colon can hold the Angels through 6, there’s no reason why we can’t win this game.

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