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Last night was another good start by AJ Burnett, something very positive to see, but it also came with Jose Molina behind the plate.  Molina has been behind the plate a lot recently when Burnett pitches and it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore the fact that Burnett has put up a line of .212/.303/.333 with Molina catching him and .270/.353/.421 with Posada catching him. 

Now Burnett has one more start and that is Sunday and I am very curious to see what the Yankees do.  Will they try and put the combination of Posada and AJ back together again and hope it works?  Or will they bow to the gorwing evidence that those two can't play nicely with each other?  And what happens if Posada catches Burnett and he blows up again?

I think the answer to that is Francisco Cervelli making the postseason roster.  That would allow the Yankees more flexibility in pinch-running for Posada and allow them to use Posada as the DH if Molina caught AJ.  The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that Cervelli is going to make it.  Just another thing to watch in this final week. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Whenever the Tigers and Twins settle the AL Central the Yankees will have a decision to make.  Do they want the eight-day ALDS or the seven-day ALDS?

The conventional wisdom is to take the 8-day series which would allow the Yankees to only use Sabathia, Pettitte and Burnett, but consider what that would allow Detroit to do.  Depending on what they need to do this week, the Tigers could potentially throw Verlander twice, Jackson twice and Porcello once.  That's just as good, or maybe better than the Yankees 1-2-3 punch.

In addition, the 8-day series would allow both sides to rest their bullpens a lot.  With days off between each of the first three games and Game 4+5, you could use certainly relievers more frequently and longer.  That could be a potential advantage for the Tigers as well because their bullpen isn't as deep as the Yankees' and therefore would be worn out more in a the 7-day series.

The good news for New York is they don't have to pick until they know who their opponent is.  If the Twins take the AL Central, I think the 8-day ALDS becomes the obvious choice.  But, if the Tigers are the opponent, some thought needs to go into the choice.  I would want to examine the pitchers the Tigers could throw twice in the series carefully before choosing the 8-day option.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

With nothing to play for, the Yankees are going to give the regualrs a lot of rest this week.  I bet tonight they field a lineup like this:

Gardner- CF

Hairston- SS

Matsui-DH 

Duncan-RF 

Miranda- 1B

Hinske-3B

Cervelli- C

Pena- 2B

Guzman-LF

What's your guess? 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You have to feel great about this team right now.  They beat the two most dangerous teams (at least in the AL) five-of-six this week and clinched the AL East and best record.  It's a long way from 13-15 and 0-8.  

None of that matters now.  The Yankees have a week to fine tune a couple of things and most importantly, stay healthy.  You have to figure there are three questions heading into the final week.

1- Is Joba fixed?  If he has a good start this week you nod yes and cross your fingers

2- What will the postseason bullpen look like?  I would bet they take 10 pitchers.  CC, AJ, Pettitte, Mariano, Hughes, Aceves, Joba and Coke would be my locks right now.  I think Robertson and Marte are probably the favorites for the final two spots, but Gaudin could make a case as could Bruney.

3- Which ALDS format will the Yankees pick?  This one won't be answered until we know for certain who they are going to play and how Joba pitches next week.

For now just enjoy this.  The 2009 Yankees are a fun team to root for. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Well Andy survived his trip to the Bronx, and I think he came away impressed with the new place, but we will let him write about that later. 

As for me, I was amazed at the number of Yankees-Red Sox couples I saw.  I stopped counting after awhile, but it felt like everywhere you looked there was a Yankees' fan holding hands with a Red Sox fan.  How does that relationship survive?

We also didn't see a single fight. The closest we came was when one guy in a Youkilis jersey and one in a Jeter jersey started jawing at each other, but I think they were both too drunk to throw punches. 

Weirdest moment of the day came from a guy talking to Andy.  He was from Philly and claimed that his two favorite teams were the Yankees and Red Sox.  He really couldn't explain it either.

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

First things first, let's hope Jon Lester is ok.  That kid has been through more than his fair share of health issues and I hope he isn't badly hurt.

As for the game, you couldn't ask for a lot more from the Yankees.  Joba looked a lot better.  Was it knowing he could pitch six innings?  Was it the talk he had with Girardi?  At this point I would believe pretty much anything and I am hopeful we see that again in five days when he faces the Royals.

You also have to like the fact the Yankees ran on Boston every chance they got. Expect more of it tomorrow with Matsuzaka on the mound and I am sure the Angels will take note of that approach. 

Speaking of noticing things, is Bruney hurt?  If not, Girardi has basically shunned him off the team.  I can't think of any other reason they would use Albie in the 7th tonight.  And speaking of the 7th, Marte may have made the playoff roster by getting Ortiz out.  I bet Girardi wants two lefties and Marte is making his case.  A bullpen of Rivera, Hughes, Aceves, Robertson, Coke and Marte would cover a lot of situations.  

More tomorrow as we celebrate Yankeesredsox.com day in the Bronx. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 11:34 PM | Permalink

You could conceivably have the Yankees and Red Sox opening champagne on Sunday.  It's an extreme longshot, but if the Yankees sweep and the Rangers get swept then Sunday you would have the Yankees as the AL East winners and the Red Sox as the wildcard winners. 

It's too bad the Texas game on Sunday starts so much later than the Yankees' game because that would be a sight to see.  Can you imagine it?  Ortiz grounds out to Rvera to end the game and Rivera starts to jump in the air as the Yankees swarm out of the dugout.  But, Ortiz doesn't even get near first because he is mobbed by his teammates as they celebrate the wild card.  Derek Jeter and Dustin Pedroia do a fist bump and champagne is everywhere. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 01:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Taking two-of-three in Anaheim is a big achievement for the Yankees.  They lowered their magic number to five for the AL East.  They also made it very likely that winning the AL East will clinch them the best record in the AL because Boston is closer to them in the standings than Anaheim.

Add in the way they won.  Good pitching, tight games and it definitely makes you feel good about the playoffs. AJ and Andy both pitched well and Chad Gaudin looked great until he tired.  

One thing that this game shows you is that Joe Girardi doesn't have much use for Bruney right now.  I can't blame him, Bruney hasn't pitched well, but the fact that Girardi gave the ball to Ian Kennedy in the eighth with a one-run lead speaks volumes.  It was even more amazing that Josh Towers was the guy warming up in the bullpen when Kennedy got in trouble.  Right now I think you have to expect the Yankees will keep Bruney off the postseason roster and DFA him after the season.

No matter what happens in the next 48 hours, the Yankees will have at least a 5.5 game lead in the AL when Boston comes to town.  And, both authors of this blog will be attending Saturday's game together.  Expect lots of posts, tweets and updates, assuming Andy survives a trip to the Bronx.    

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

There was picture in the paper the other day of Michael Douglas playing Gordon Gecko on the set of the sequel to "Wall Street".  As I watched the Yankees game last night I thought of a quote from that movie.  Not "Greed is good" but this:

"Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss." 

The Yankees kept out of the abyss last night.  They blew a 5-0 lead in hideous fashion and if they had not won, that was the type of loss that would have lingered for awhile.  Instead they rallied and moved closer to wrapping up the AL East.

And this morning you can see an "x" next to the Yankees in the standings.  Good to see that again. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)