WHY THE 2012 YANKEES WILL LOOK DIFFERENT: PART 2

Let's take a look at the Yankee catchers... who will stay and who will go?
Francisco Cervelli: .266, 4 HR, 22 RBI in 43 games. Cervelli may never be a star catcher, but he’s energetic and calls a great game. He’s currently recovering from a concussion and there’s no telling if he’ll ever be the same (see Brian Roberts or Sidney Crosby). If he’s able to recover, the Yanks should bring him back to reprise his role as well as filling in at other infield spots.

Russell Martin: .237, 18 HR, 65 RBI in 125 games. Martin is a terrific catcher. His batting average dropped from the NL, but his home runs and RBIs are on par. The pitchers love him and he’s tough as nails. If he’s not resigned someone in the front office needs their
head examined.Jesus Montero: 20 for 61, 4 HR, 12 RBI in 18 games. Montero is the real deal, offensively. Defensively, he’s average at-best. Yes he’s 21 and will continue to improve. With all of the high profile veterans on the team, the Yanks are not in a position of carrying a full time DH. Nor at 21 does Montero want to pigeon holed as just a DH. I say trade him now, while his value is at its highest, for top level Major League-ready pitching. Many disagree. That's what opinions are for.
Jorge Posada: .235, 14 HR, 44 RBI in 115 games. Look, Jorge has had a fabulous career but a 40 year-old catcher needs to know when to hang up the spikes. I know he says he wants to play next year, but I can’t imagine him in any other uniform. I know where Jorge should spend
2012, but more on that later.

Austin Romine: .286, 6 HR, 47 RBI in 85 games at AA Trenton. Obviously, Romine needs to show what he can do at a higher level. He looked sharp behind the plate during September. Hopefully a full season at AAA will do him some good and we’ll see him in 2013.

-- Lem Allen, BYB Freelance Writer
bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com



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WHY MONTERO TRADE TALK IS RIDICULOUS

(Photo: Getty)
The Yankees season is over and already it's starting. John Harper has a piece out titled Yankees may part with catcher Jesus Montero in order to get the top pitcher they sorely need. Read it HERE.

John Harper makes you think and I like him a lot, but the suggestion that Montero should go is already getting me aggravated. The Yankees have lost and I get the need to want to panic, but it's not like we didn't have the parts to perform, we did, we just never had the timely hit. Yes, we need a pitcher, but I find it ironic that after all the hype about how Montero was the real thing and how the Yankees PR machine went into overdrive in September proving the Yankees were right to NOT trade Montero in the Cliff Lee trade last year, that suddenly, Montero would be available. Honestly, I think the story is bogus and I don't buy it.

The reason is simple, Jesus Montero can hit and he can catch. Austin Romine, it appears, can catch and not hit, yet at least. You're not going to unload this Montero's bat especially after he had a terrific fall run in the pros.

In 18 games, Montero had 20 hits in 61 at bats. He batted .328. He had 4 home runs and 12 RBIs. Yes, he struck out 17 times but this small sample proves this kid's got a future. Don't forget, Reggie Jackson struck out 2597 times in his career, yet, he was considered one of the greatest home run hitters in the game. I'm not comparing Montero to Reggie, but I am making a point; Montero's young, it's early, patience at the plate will come, you just can't give up that bat, it's too early.
(Photo: Getty)
Austin Romine's defense behind the plate was awesome this fall, but his bat needs some work. In 19 at bats, Romine struck out 5 times and only had 3 hits. Again, yes, it's a small sample, but the fall is your audition and while Montero made more plate appearances, he took advantage of that and shined, Romine did not.Also, let's not forget Jesus Montero's appearance in the ALDS. He had 2 hits in 2 at bats and had an RBI. I'm not saying Montero will be a superstar, although, from what I've seen, he can be.

Harper suggests that one Major League scout said Cashman may flip Montero to the San Francisco Giants for Matt Cain. I don't see it. Why would the Giants trade away one of their top pitchers for hitting? Money? Maybe, but I've watched the Franchise on Showtime and I see how dependant the Giants are on likes of Cain. Yes, if Cashman can trade someone on the farm and not part with Montero, I see this as a great scenario, but what do I know?

Harper continues: "Cashman, of course, was willing to trade Montero for Lee in July of 2010 in a deal that was nearly made with the Mariners. Since then he has said publicly that it would have to be a pitcher on that same ultra-elite level for him to even consider dealing Montero.

Still, while Cashman says the organization is committed to Montero as a catcher, not just a DH, questions about his defense remain. When Francisco Cervelli missed the last few weeks of the season because of a concussion, the Yankees called up Austin Romine to back up Russell Martin, even though Montero was already here."

Look, again, I get it, it's panic time, but is it at Montero's expense? Personally, my gut says no.
Look, the New York Yankees may have lost the ALDS this season, but they had the best record in the American League and Montero contributed.

What ever happened to Patience? Remember that? Everyone needs to take a deep breath... the Yankees may have lost the ALDS, but we didn't die. Let's not panic.

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WHY VETERANS & YOUTH A GOOD MIX FOR BRONX BACKSTOP

(Photo: Getty)
It won’t be an easy decision for Joe Girardi, but with Francisco Cervelli season to be over, read HERE, the Yankees won’t have a backup catcher. True, Joe Girardi stated that Russell Martin would not need a backup… but let’s face it, what if Martin makes another joke (story HERE) and gets tossed in Game 1 of the ALDS? The Yankees will clearly need one then, won’t they? Luckily, having Jesus Montero or Austin Romine to choose from is not exactly a bad problem. Couple that with veteran Jorge Posada who’s on the bench, chomping at the bit and we have the catching role pretty solid. Veterans and Youth, it’s a good mix.

No one really knows what will happen with Romine and Montero yet, but I suspect at least Montero is going to the ALDS. Austin Romine is a very good defensive catcher, but Jesus can catch as well and in my opinion, you just can’t bring both. I feel like you still need 11 pitchers and you also don’t want to short change the bench. Read WHY I KNOW THE YANKEES 2011 ALDS ROSTER. I broke it down the way I see it. Again, it’s my opinion, there are plenty of scenario’s out there.

While Jorge Posada is the Yankees DH, Jesus Montero is a more logical Designated Hitter merely because you pounce on hot hitters and Jesus is hot right now. That being said, look for Girardi to go with Posada against righties and Montero against lefties. Montero has been hitting and hitting nicely and has a young, hungry energy. Posada has postseason experience and Lord knows that adrenaline will start pumping for him like it has for years in the postseason. Just the surroundings alone will get Posada going. Whatever Girardi chooses must be decided on their defense as well as their hitting. Yes, the ALDS is a short series, but there is nothing wrong with having players that can do more than ride the bench. Montero can be your DH and catch. Posada can DH, pinch hit, play first base and catch. Options are key, the Yankees have them…again... veterans and youth, and that’s a good mix if needed to back up Russell Martin.

Check out the numbers of our catchers and DH’s this season:

Russell Martin: 98-413, 17 HR, 17 2B, 64 RBI

Jesus Montero: 20-57, .351 AVG, 4 HR, 12 RBI

Jorge Posada (batting lefty off the bench): .270 AVG, 14 home runs, 39 RBIs

Austin Romine: 3-18, .167 AVG, 1 BB, 4 K

If Girardi can figure out a way to bring Romine, Posada and Montero, I think you will see a decent batch of talent, but I’m not so sure I see it happening. But, what the hell do I know? I’m just a blogger in my basement wearing my worn out REGGIE T-shirt.

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WHY BYB YANKEE NEWS IS GOOD FOR YOU

A few notes about some of the Yankees that are such brief updates, I wanted to just let you know about them and didn’t want to waste your time with an entire post. I added alittle of my opinion as well... so sue me. Check it out:

Joba Chamberlain: Joba sent about a tweet earlier today to let all of Yankeeland know that he started catch today. It is important for 1 important reason, Joba Chamberlain is on schedule. That’s good, especially after Tommy John Surgery, it takes several weeks to get back on track. Joba's up to his 14th week. I know, everyone’s forgotten about good ol’ Joba. With the bullpen we have right now, who needs him, right? I like the kid and I'm looking forward to him returning. No doubt if Joba Chamberlain was healthy he’d be contributing in that amazing pen too. It just so happens he got hurt... that’s life and that’s baseball. By the way, speaking of our awesome pen, be sure to read WHY THE YANKEES PEN IS THE BEST IN BASEBALL.

Francisco Cervelli: Cervelli has been battling concussion symptoms for a few weeks now and it was revealed today by Joe Girardi that Cervelli will not be on the postseason roster. Read HERE. This is Cervelli’s 3^rd concussion. Well, look, my only point is, do we really need Cervelli anyway at this point? We have Russell Martin as our primary catcher and kids like Austin Romine and Jesus Montero anyway. Plus, Jorge Posada is on the bench and I’m sure ready to pounce if needed. The other underlying question are of those three guys, which of them will make the postseason roster to back up Martin. With Cervelli now on the shelf and normally the backup catcher, the Yankees will clearly need to bring 1 backup and 1 bench guy, I would guess. I suspect if the Yankees had to choose, they would pick Jorge Posada for bench help as well as for veteran experience. I suspect they’d bring Jesus Montero because of his power bat as well as his back up catching abilities. Who knows, maybe they can bring Romine too. I'd love to see Romine and Montero both on the postseason rosters.

Phil Hughes: Phil was supposed to pitch today but due to back spasms, they scratched him at the last minute for Hector Noesi. What a year for Hughes, he’s had plenty of problems this year. It seems the back spasms have been bothering him for about a week and started when the team was in Toronto. This is the first time in Hughes career that he’s experienced back issues. Read HERE.

When more Yankees notes come about, I’ll be sure to bring them to you here at Bleeding Yankee Blue. Promise.

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WHY BYB YANKEE NOTES ARE AWESOME

Lots of Yankee name dropping and lots of information coming out of Yankeeland, take a look:Mariano Rivera: The New York Times has a story about how Mariano Rivera saying he’d like to play center field at least 1 time before the end of his career. Sure after 600 saves, that’s the logical next step, but let’s be honest, even though I’m curious about how he’d do, why are we talking about this? We in sports are constantly talking about how we hate old guys in the outfield, right? Even when Johnny Damon was here, many thought he just couldn't hack centerfield, and he was younger than Mo and a trained outfielder. When the discussion came about about Derek Jeter eventually moving to the outfield (Read it HERE), sports writers were suggesting how silly it was. Outfield is about youth and speed out there. I will say this though, Mo is one of the most athletic pitchers out there and he’s got some speed in him. I bet if anyone was to do it, Mo could. Read about it HERE.

Francisco Cervelli: If you didn’t know, you know now; Cervelli was put on the 15 day DL because of concussion symptoms. Read about it HERE. The Yankees also have a lot of catchers right now, so what’s the rush, right? Between Russell Martin, Austin Romine, Jesus Montero and maybe Jorge Posada, we got home plate covered. According to Billy Eppler, a Yankee scout, this was done so there is a record of it. I can see it now, they’ll give Cervelli a clean bill of health…and he’ll fist pump.

Pedro Feliciano: With rotator cuff surgery just completed for Feliciano, you can kiss this lefty goodbye. I just read Dan Barbarisi’s piece HERE and it pretty much maps out the fact that Feliciano will never pitch as a New York Yankee. I was fun while it lasted. Actually, no it wasn’t, this was a silly signing because it was suggested he was hurt when he came to the Yankees. Pedro pitched a lot for the Mets and it’s clear, they killed this poor guy's career. Maybe one day he’ll get back out there, but not in New York, that’s for sure.

Ian Kennedy: Anyone notice one of our old babies is “All groweds up” as Vince Vaughn famously said in Swingers. Ian Kennedy is 19-4 with the Arizona Diamondbacks this year. Good for him. I never really cared for Kennedy because I probably bought into all the hype of Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes at the time. One things for sure though, Kennedy is surging and he’s the only one having a good season out of the three. It makes you think, that’s all. Read about Kennedy HERE.

When more names and more info is available on anything Yankees, we'll give it to you. Keep it here on Bleeding Yankee Blue.

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WHY POSADA SHOWED YOUTH IN YANKEES LOSS

I've been longing for the day it would happen again and last night, it happened. Jorge Posada was able to gear up again, squat behind the plate and re-live the ultimate, catching for the New York Yankees again. It was a thrill to see. I wrote about it in AN OPEN LETTER TO JORGE POSADA. I wrote about my love for the guy and to do what the team needed of him. Last night, he did and in my mind, he shined. Unfortunately, it was due to the fact that Russell Martin got his thumb tweaked pretty bad on a ball bending it back. We'll have to keep an eye on that.
Last night there was nothing good about the Yankees, except to see Posada catch again. The Yankees lost the game 6-0, the Angels looked good, Russell Martin got hurt and don't look now, but the Yankees have lost 4 in a row. Luckily, the Red Sox keep losing, or we'd be in a bad bad place. There's no denying though, we need to start winning... now.

Posada looked overexcited, which isn't to say it's a bad thing. He knew he had a shot and was playing harder than ever, you could see it. He was on a mission, proving to the world on a stage in Anaheim that a 40 year old can still catch, still has skill and will not be denied. If you couldn't see that in Jorge's eye last night, you were watching the wrong highlight. It was good to see this guy give it one more shot, I just hope they give him a few more.Dan Haren was real good, he kept the Yankees shut down all game. This is a guy that was in Yankees trade talk, remember? Even the Yankees know what Haren's all about. The Yankee offense consisted of 4 hits. Derek Jeter clubbed a ground rule double. There was a Jesus Montero single. There were 2 other singles and that was it.
The big story clearly wasn't the offense, it was pitching. See, CC was CC through when he allowed only 1 hit, then it fell apart in the 7th inning. The Yanks were down 1-0 and Girardi put in Hector Noesi and suddenly the Yankees had a hole to dig out. Joe Girardi does that, he uses Hector Noesi probably more than he should to rest the bullpen. I don't blame Noesi, he had a bad night. I don't blame anyone, the Angels are hot right now, they're entitled to be hot.

But it's more than the pitching, it's the injuries. Suddenly the Yankees have question marks, and it seems like it's all at once. Russell Martin has a tweaked thumb. Alex Rodriguez is now going to be out for 4 days with his own tweaked thumb. Nick Swisher has elbow tendinitis and is day to day and Cervelli has concussion like symptoms. It all seems to be happening at the same time. What the Yankees cannot do is panic and that goes for all of Yankeeland too. Today is September 11th. They need to reach back deep today, win one for New York and for America and get some confidence back and move on.

Final Score: Angels 6 - Yankees 0

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WHY A CERVELLI FIST PUMP MEANS PASSION

Michael Kay is a Yankee fan, there’s no denying it. I’m not sure why he claims to be neutral, I mean, I know why he does, but he shouldn’t . Yankee fans are Yankee fans and Kay is one. You can hear his excitement on a Yankee walk off home run, it’s much different than when the opposing side cranks one. So, his negative analysis of Francisco Cervelli clapping as he touched home plate against the Red Sox last week still drives me nuts, probably because passion on the field has been part of the mindset of ballplayers since kids have been playing in Little League. Why is Kay so misguided on this one? Kay on Lupica’s radio show from August 31st said this: “What really annoyed me the most, even the clapping of the hands at Saltalamacchia, after the game, he said 'this is what Cervelli does'... That's the height of arrogance to even say that!" (The full Lupica/Kay rant is HERE. Time is at 28:24)

I don’t buy it.

There is something to be said about bad sportsmanship. It stinks. Bad sportsmanship is for instance, in my opinion, when a batter hits a homer and the next time up, he’s plunked between the numbers. That’s just a pitcher being a dick. I also find it to be bad sportsmanship when you hit a home run and stand in the batter’s box and watch your homer sail over the fence. It’s arrogant. Bad sportsmanship is pointing at an opposing player’s head like you’re suggesting he’s going to get his. Pedro Martinez did that to Jorge Posada, and yes, Posada did it back. Wrong and stupid. Mother jokes. I mean, are they necessary on the field? bad sportsmanship. OK, now I’m just getting off track.

Now, there is a big difference between bad sportsmanship and pumping your fist and showing some passion on the field. For instance, striking out a batter to get out of an inning and screaming and fist pumping is not bad sportsmanship, you just got out of a big inning. It’s adrenaline and it’s passion. Cervelli some of that today after a big strikeout against the Orioles.

Another example... Cranking a homer and fist pumping because you just helped your team gain the lead. Well, that's excitement, so you fist pump. You’ve just accomplished something big and gave your team a shot at winning. Another example, the now famous, "Clapping at home plate" after a home run by Cervelli last week. It's not bad sportsmanship, it's adrenaline. Cervelli is a player that never gets playing time, he's fired up. Respect it. Look, I don’t think Cervelli did anything wrong against the Red Sox. I think it was within the “home run time frame” if you will, and the Yankees won that game because of what Cervelli offered.

Why Michael Kay and Mike Lupica can’t see this is clearly beyond bizarro world to me. These guys are sports guys. They’ve seen passion by the Yankees all day long, how can they not distinguish between the two? They suggested Cervelli get a talking to by Derek Jeter. “Act like you’ve been there before” they said. Man, I hated Lupica’s radio show that day.

Now, you can say to me “Casey, you wrote about AJ Burnett in WHY AJ NEEDS TO SEND A MESSAGE…HIGH & TIGHT and suggested he needed to go inside on Red Sox hitters." OK, again, there’s a difference. Red Sox pitching have hit the Yankees hitters literally all season. The Yankees have never retaliated once. While hitting batters is part of the game, there’s a difference between hitting a batter once in a while and hitting them constantly. Hitting them constantly is bad sportsmanship, the occasional plunking isn’t. My assignment to Burnett on a retaliation is not only heroic, it proves that the bad sportsmanship by the Sox needed to end. Hey, to Burnett’s credit, he took the high road, he didn’t hit any Sox batters the night he pitched.

Look, as far as I’m concerned, Francisco Cervelli’s happy to be on the field. If he needs to clap, or fist pump, I accept that if something big happens in the Yankees favor. I hate hearing the argument that Cervelli needed to “act like he’s been there before.” Cervelli may not be your typical Yankee following the “Yankee way”, but one thing he is not is annoying. If you’re going to give him that “annoying” label, you might as well include Nick Swisher too. You see my point? Fun and passion for the love of baseball is just baseball. As long as you perform on the field, let out your energy, as long as it’s not malicious. If you can do that, then passion rules.

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WHY A GAME AND A WIN HAPPENED IN THE BRONX

The real winners last night were the fans that stuck around at Yankee stadium for a game that was delayed until after 11pm because of rain and ended in the middle the night, about 2:15am to be exact. Luckily they stuck around to see a win.
The Yankees won 5-3 last night and the big moment was when Francisco Cervelli cranked a home run that in my opinion, wasn't, but it was ruled a home run after review and I guess the reasoning was the outfielder just may not have been able to catch it. I don't know, it looked like it didn't make it out of the park, but I'm glad it went the Yankees way. That home run put the Yankees ahead for good.It reminded me a lot of Derek Jeter's home run in the 1996 playoffs where Tony Tarasco argued that a kid, Jeffrey Maier reached over and caught it. This one was similar, the Orioles argued the call and lost the argument. Thank God.(Photo: Jeffrey Maier catch, 1996)
There were a few more homers last night, um, er, I mean this morning. In the 3rd inning, Jorge Posada had a solo shot and after Cervelli's homer in the 7th, Brett Gardner hit the foul pole in right field be back to back homers for a solo shot. That was Gardner's 7th.As far as Phil Hughes was concerned, his fastball was under 89 MPH after 5 innings which is a cause for concern. But Hughes went 6 innings, allowed 5 hits, 2 runs and 5 strikeouts. He allowed 1 home run. He was followed by Hector Noesi and Boone Logan, Cory Wade, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera who nailed down yet another save making him 1 step closer to 600. Save 39 for him last night.

Final Score: Yankees 5 - Orioles 3

Today, AJ Burnett goes against Zach Britton. 1:05pm game, weather permitting.

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WHY I KNOW WHO SWISHER REMINDS ME OF

I figured it out. Look, as a kid I was a huge Sesame Street fan and now that I'm a dad and have children running around me, Sesame Street is a staple in my house. Yo Gabba Gabba is too, although, I tend to think that if I was in college again, I'd be watching it too, if you know what I mean.So what am I getting at you ask, right? I was laying in bed last night and for some odd reason I was thinking about Sesame Street and a skit they used to play, this is going way back to when I was a kid, and there was a tight ass puppet and then a puppet that was just laid back and having a good time. He was loud, he was animated and I realized that Nick Swisher reminds me of this funny puppet. It's ridiculously crazy and demented but it just hit me. Check out one of my favorite Sesame Street sketches of all time:





Nick Swisher is as bubbly and animated than any other player on the New York Yankees and it helps bring an energy to the ball club that's like no other. Recently Francisco Cervelli was getting a lot of crap on Sports Radio, namely by Mike Lupica and Michael Kay on how he needed to tone down his own energy. They called it annoying. Listen to it HERE. The time starts at 28:24. Well, I guess some could call Swisher's energy annoying too, but I stand by our guys. Both Nick Swisher and Francisco Cervelli have lifted the once corporate Yankee clubhouse into a fun house. The Yankees looked relaxed yet, we're playing great. The Yankees still mean business, yet, they now look like they're having fun.



What's the point of all of this? I like to laugh, I love pop culture and I love my Yankees. Don't you think this puppet reminds you of Nick Swisher? Comment, let me know what you think.



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WHY AJ NEEDS TO SEND A MESSAGE...HIGH & TIGHT

If there is one thing that is driving me crazy, it's having my Yankees continually getting hit in the batters box and us not retaliating. Sure, it's the right thing to do, just grin and bear it and beat the Sox... and that's the Yankee Way. We wrote about it earlier this year in WHY WE RETALIATE THE YANKEE WAY. But, just like dealing with a bully on a walk home from school, sooner or later you just snap like Ralphie in A Christmas Story. Sooner or later, it's time to take care of business because after all, you can't take it anymore.

So what am I suggesting? Wait until AJ Burnett throws today... that my friends is when we should retaliate. That my friends is when the plunking war continues against the Sox in our favor. AJ Burnett is about to have every Yankee fan love him again, at least for the moment.

No, it won't be so much for his pitching, but it will be for his courageous stance tonight to protect Francisco Cervelli for getting plunked. AJ should take a stand for his team and for the fans. We hear all day long how pitching high and tight to batters is "baseball", but God forbid we suggest plunking a player, well then, everyone says how "wrong" it is.



Let me ask you something; Do you seriously think the Red Sox pitchers are just "accidentally" hitting our Yankee batters? They are intentionally doing it. Many and most are intentional. We've done nothing about it and I'm suggesting of all people, AJ Burnett could be a hero tonight if he went high and tight at the right time, not to hurt anyone, just to send a message: "I'm a team player, I'm protecting my guys and I want the fans back."If AJ Burnett can pitch halfway decent tonight and go high and tight when the time is right, you will see a rejuvenated fan base. That my friends will bring AJ Burnett back in our good graces...not forever, after all, he still needs to pitch and win, but for the moment.



The way I see it, AJ Burnett has nothing to lose right now and everything to gain by this assignment. He's lost his drive and his mental state is fragile. Mine would be too if I had to read about how awful I am in the New York papers every day. It's horrible and it's going to be damn hard to turn it around. So, in light of this recent shit storm between Lackey and Cervelli, why not retaliate? AJ will prove to many, that while he may be struggling, he is a team player. He would earn from temporary respect, maybe even jolt himself out of this funk he's in. Look, I'm no expert, this is my opinion. I didn't even feel it necessary to hammer AJ Burnett as bad as he was getting it. I wrote WHY CRUCIFYING BURNETT NEEDS TO STOP. But the bottom line is, when you can't pitch, you're going to get hammered. Eventually, I joined in. But I know this about AJ.: Psychologically he seems to be a mess and he probably feels like a failure.

This could shake him out of that failure and give him a moment of confidence.



The Yankees need this series tonight ladies and gentlemen, sure, we need to win, and we see these Red Sox again, so it's just not about going high and tight tonight, it's also about winning. Bats need to come out swinging and the pitching needs to be crisp and hold down the Sox. And hell, if we go up on the chin on David Ortiz... it's just baseball right?



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WHY THIS YANKEE LOSS WAS A HEARTBREAKER

(Photo: NY Daily News)

The Yankees had the lead. While a lead against the Sox is never easy to keep, it is possible. After all, we did win 5-2 the night before and all we needed to do was hold them down. One problem, Phil Hughes isn't 18 game winner Phil Hughes...mistakes happen... or Ortiz happens, and the next thing you know, the Yankees lose this one 9-5. Heartbreaker? I'd say so.



I know, you've heard it from me before and your reaction is "Casey, you can't just put every pitcher in the pen!" You're right, but Phil Hughes is a pitcher that I believe should move there. I wrote about it in WHY THE PEN IS WHERE HUGHES BELONGS and I'm not alone Ladies and Gentlemen. This little ditty surfaced today by John Harper of the Daily News: Time to Phil up Yank pen.



Look, I don't dislike Hughes, in fact, I really like the kid, but we're sitting here September 1st and Lord knows time is running out with our scotch-taped rotation. Decisions need to be made and stuck to. Consistency and confidence are key and the Yankees rotation has none of that right now. Do you really think the Yankees can go all the way to another championship with the rotation we have?? Who are you kidding?

Hughes gave up a homer to David Ortiz in the fifth inning and after that, old man Jason Varitek, who can still hit, knocked double in the 6th. He also homered later. Then, with Boone Logan in, he let up that homer to Jacoby Ellsbury to put the game out of reach. You guys still think we're OK with just 1 lefty specialist in the pen? I've been bitching for weeks that giving Logan a night off for another lefty would be helpful. Guess what, last night proved my point.

Now, back to Ortiz for a moment. 2 nights ago we watched an over excited Francisco Cervelli fist pump after almost every strikeout and he clapped after he crossed home plate after hitting a home run. The next time up, Lackey plunked him and the implication was Cervelli was showboating. Michael Kay and Mike Lupica went on a rant yesterday about how horrible it was that Cervelli was "too excited." My take on this is simple. Cervelli never plays, and when he does, he likes being on the field. His fist pumping and clapping may not be the "Yankee way" as you put it, but it's not showboating. In fact, what is worse to me is watching David Ortiz stand and watch his ball launched into the bleachers from home plate for 5 minutes. That is showboating. Rethink this guys, you got it wrong and I'm disappointed you don't see it clearly.The Yankees offense was good last night. But clearly if the pitching is giving up runs, it's hard to come back. Derek Jeter had 2 hits and an RBI, and Eric Chavez and Robinson Cano had RBI doubles.



Final Score last night: Red Sox 9 - Yankees 5.



One more thing, Roger Rubin had a good piece about the Yankees Red Sox rivalry and the headline was just rich: Red Sox DH David Ortiz says rivalry with Yankees doesn't have to resort to bench-clearing brawls. Look, I'm not in the business of anyone getting hurt, but let's face facts Ortiz, you guys are overdue for a plunking. If a Yankee player came forward and said something like that, I'd have more respect for you, but you're team is responsible for the venom and I hope Burnett does the right thing tonight, popping you between the numbers. The timing is right, wouldn't you say? Anyway, nice piece by Rubin.



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YANKEES BEAT SOX: COME AT ME BRO!

CC Sabathia has won. He's also won against the Red Sox and that is a huge hurdle for him. Tonight, CC went only 6 innings, and gave up 10 hits and only 2 runs. He also struck out 10. The best part of the night was the Yankee bullpen kept the Sox at 2 the rest of the way. Don't look now but CC Monster has his 18th win tonight. Excellent.The Red Sox left a ton of runners on base tonight and it was great to see. The Sox left 16 men on base tonight. They threatened all night but the Yankees pitching did what they needed to do to hold them down, and they did and it was brilliant work tonight. Usually those Sox are constantly moving the runners over. Not tonight and that benefited us, for sure.Francisco Cervelli hit a homer tonight. He also got hit by a pitch. Once again the Yankees get hit by a pitch... and the Yankees are classy. No retaliation. When Cervelli got hit, the benches cleared and that adrenaline is the way it used to be. Yankee squares off against Red Sock and it's "Come at me bro! Come at me!" Look, this was intentional and while the Yankees don't retaliate, it's time, they need to tomorrow night.



Anyway... it was good to see Cervelli. You have to love his passion, and it was good to give Martin a day off.



Robinson Cano had a nice hit to score Curtis Granderson. It was a RBI's double off the green monster. Love that Cano is so clutch.

Eric Chavez gets 2 RBIs off of Lackey tonight. Chavez has been productive all year, when he's healthy of course. You have to have respect for a guy like this who has been patient in his whole career due to injury but when he's healthy, he comes through. Good for him.



Boone Logan was electric tonight and he's really coming into his own. It's about time. Yes, it's true, I'd like a lefty specialist in the pen besides Logan, but clearly he reads Bleeding Yankee Blue and feels the pressure because lately he's been rolling. Logan had a huge strikeout in the 7th inning to get out of the inning. Read (THE EXTRA LEFTY THE YANKEES DON'T HAVE.)



Mariano Rivera got his 35th save tonight. It started out alittle wacky because David Ortiz led off the inning with a double. But slowly but surely Mariano came through for the save. Beautiful. Mo needs 6 saves to get to 600.



One last thing...Brett Gardner made an incredible running catch in the 7th inning to literally save the game for the Yankees. If he doesn't catch that, the Red Sox probably capitalize on that and possibly win the game. Great defense Brett, love it.Girardi got thrown on on a hit by a pitch, swing by Saltalamacchia. Trust me, it was a swing and Girardi was right to argue this call. Bad call by the ump and Girardi shouldn't have been called out. Ridiculous.



Final tonight: Yankees 5 - Red Sox 2



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