It took A.J. Burnett exactly six pitches to walk his first batter tonight. Larry Rothschild went to the mound after five hitters, Cory Wade was throwing in the bullpen before the third out, and the only thing that let Burnett escape the first inning was a leaping, falling catch by Curtis Granderson. That was the [...]
Read More...The strike zone seemed tight tonight. Joe Girardi said so, Russell Martin said so, and CC Sabathia said so. But not one of them seemed to think that was the reason the Tigers won this game and put the Yankees on the verge of elimination. “I’m not going to sit here and say it was [...]
Read More...Literally and figuratively, the storm clouds were gathering at Yankee Stadium this afternoon. The Tigers had a four-run lead before the Yankees had a hit, then the rain started falling, Alex Avila slipped in foul territory, the tying run reached base and Robinson Cano came to the plate. This one had the potential for a [...]
Read More...A few things to notice about the Tigers decision to go to Al Alburquerque to face Robinson Cano in the sixth inning. 1. Alburquerque is a right-handed pitcher, not a lefty. 2. In 43.1 innings this season, he’d allowed just 21 hits, not one of which was a home run. 3. The one time he [...]
Read More...There’s a chance Bartolo Colon has thrown his last pitch in pinstripes. In a spring training clubhouse that had quite a few unknowns, Colon was perhaps the greatest wild card. For a while, he was the Yankees most unexpected surprise. “In spring training he was phenomenal,” catcher Russell Martin said. “In his bullpens — he’s [...]
Read More...The Yankees lost tonight, but the mood in the clubhouse was beyond loose. Things were normal for a while — quiet, like after most losses — then the rookies started getting to their lockers and finding costumes. Andrew Brackman and Dellin Betances are towering versions of Milli Vanilli. George Kontos is George Michael. Jesus Montero [...]
Read More...I’m leaving for the airport in four hours, so I’m going to try to make this quick. After 14 innings that left the Yankees oh-so-close to a doubleheader sweep, the biggest postgame news involved a player who had nothing to do with either of today’s games. Joe Girardi announced that Phil Hughes will be moved [...]
Read More...Even before Freddy Garcia walked out to the mound and stepped on the rubber, the Yankees had already wrapped up a spot the postseason. But Garcia hadn’t secured a spot in the postseason rotation. He might have done that this afternoon. “What he did today is what he’s been doing most of the year for [...]
Read More...Bartolo Colon hasn’t won a game since the beginning of August. He has a 5.09 ERA with a .298 opponents batting average since the all-star break, and he’s lost his past four decisions. The lightning might be out of the bottle. “When we went into this year, we weren’t sure how many innings we could [...]
Read More...I have to say, that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. After having no celebration when the Yankees clinched a playoff spot earlier today, there was sheer pandemonium in the clubhouse after the Yankees’ second 4-2 win of the day over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees clinched their 12th AL East [...]
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