Yanks lose third straight to Boston, still haven't clinched anything

Everything was laid out perfectly for the Yankees to finally breath that sigh of relief and clinch a wildcard spot.  They got the two losses they needed from the Angels and Twins.  They had a billion opportunities to score runs.  They got a huge go-ahead home run from A-Rod.  They handed a lead to Dellin Betances with two outs in the 7th and they still couldn't get the job done.  Now the bullpen is bone-dry heading into tomorrow's series finale.  Wilson, Betances and Miller are most likely all unavailable.  Just an absolutely awful loss every which way you slice it.

The Red Sox walked six of 11 batters in the 7th and 8th innings and the Yankees couldn't score.  The bottom of the 8th was maybe the worst inning of the entire season.  Four walks.  No runs.  How is that possible?  Ellsbury gets picked off at first to start it off.  Gardner has the worst at-bat of the season to end it.  After Ackley walked to load the bases he swings at the first pitch and rolls over to second base.  Can anybody in this lineup get a big hit?  Not a big home run.  A big hit.  A little ol' single with runners in scoring position.

The only good news is that Tanaka's healthy.  Yea he looked like a guy who hadn't pitched in a few weeks.  His splitter was off.  He got hardly any swings and misses.  But I'm going to go ahead and attribute that to a little rust.  He's got a week here to get in his regular routine and once he does I believe he'll be good to go.  The rest of these guys I'm not so sure about.  You couldn't possibly watch these last three games and feel any worse about this team heading into the postseason. 

And I already hate Mookie Betts.  Fuck this guy.  Just chugging around the bases all night with that big stupid ass chain flying all over the place.  Him and Jackie Bradley Jr. catching anything that flies out in death valley.  Fuck both of those guys.

I have nothing but empathy for this guy who botched three foul balls last night

Couldn't possibly have a worse night at a game then this guy @BarstoolBigCat @BarstoolJJ @KFCBarstool pic.twitter.com/B04C60EdFJ

— Jay Relay (@JayRelay) September 30, 2015

First of all I can't imagine a more perfect idea for a first date.  Impress her with a few Legends Suite seats on the third base line to a late September game that you don't really have to pay attention to cause it doesn't really mean anything.  You casually drop some comprehensive knowledge of baseball on her throughout the night cause the setting is right and all of the sudden she thinks you're a competent individual who's worthy of a second date and/or an OTPHJ during Kate Smith's rendition of God Bless America.

That is of course unless you bungle three opportunities at a foul ball in front of her.  There's no coming back from that.  If it was once, fine.  You can spin that in a goofy, loveable way.  Everyone has a good laugh and you've generated a lasting, funny memory between you and your date.  Not the worst thing in the world.  But you've got to field that second one to let her know you're still a man.  I don't care if it took a tough hop.  Corral it in with your body.  Use your chest.  Whatever it takes.

Once he was hit with that second error you knew it was over.  His mind was all over the place.  The ball boy could have walked over and handed him that third one and he would have took it off his forehead.  At that point I think you just have to leave cause there's no way to spin your lack of fielding ability into any kind of endearing quality.  She now knows you're a full-blown spazz and that's it.  Which is why my heart bleeds for this guy.  He could've been any of us.  We all think we're ready for the big time until the bright lights come on.  When I was 17 Hideki Matsui hit a foul ball into the upperdeck directly at me and it bounced off my collarbone and into my friend's lap.  Ball was in the air for about 30 seconds and I still couldn't get a read on it.  If I was trying to trick a girl into thinking I was a cool guy it would take no more than three foul balls to fully expose me.

Yanks take the field after Yogi's funeral

Yogi was officially sent off to join his wife and the spirits of Yankee legends this morning with a funeral service in Montclair.  It seems like everyone who's anyone was in attendance.  He was eulogized by none other than Joe Torre.  I honestly can't think of anyone I'd rather have read my eulogy than Torre.  Couldn't have been a dry eye in the house.  Much like Yogi, one of the sweetest, most genuine people on the planet.  Those two probably meshed together so well in their years around each other.  Like lamb and tuna fish.

Obviously the Yankees had to wait until they properly said goodbye to Yogi before they could clinch a playoff berth.  They can do that tonight with a win and a Twins loss combined with either a Tigers win over the Rangers or an Angels loss to the A's.  It'll be Big Mike on the bump this evening against Rick Porcello.  Pineda has pitched well his last few outings and always seems to throw a good game against the Sox.  It'd be great to see him hit his stride and solidify himself as the clear-cut #2 as we head into the playoffs.  Porcello pitched well against the Yankees last time they saw each other in Fenway but this lineup is probably just happy to see a righthander out there for once.


You'd really like to see this offense get something going against Porcello tonight.  Even if they don't tally a bunch of hits.  Even if they don't put together a few rallies.  Just hit a few out of the ballpark for me.  That's all I'm asking.  They've played their last five games at Yankee Stadium and they've hit just two home runs.  That's not Yankee baseball.  Whether it's McCann, Bird, Beltran, whoever.  Someone's gotta run into one tonight and when they do hopefully there's a couple guys on and it's enough to win the game.

You're probably going to see Ackley start again tonight.  It's pretty crazy how the second base situation has sorted itself out.  The platoon went from Drew/Ryan to Ackley/Refsnyder real quick.  The latter certainly don't have the defensive pedigree of the former but right now the Yankees need offense.  Refsnyder's hit lefties well and if he can stay hot through the end of the regular season I wouldn't be shocked if he's hitting 9th a week from today against Dallas Kuechel if it comes to that.

Speaking of the one-game playoff, it's kind of flown under the radar how much better the Yankees' situation is than that of whoever takes the second wild card.  The Yanks are inches away from locking up home field on Tuesday with their ace lined up to pitch that night.  The Astros/Rangers/Angels are still fighting tooth and nail for position and probably will be up until the very end of the season.  Whoever comes away with the AL West crown is in a great spot but the other two teams are kind of screwed.  One team is going to miss the playoffs completely while the other might not have a chance to throw their best pitcher against the Yankees with their lives on the line. 

Dogshit.

I can't think of anything I would have rather done less than watch this game on a Friday night.  It felt like anything BUT a playoff team working to clinch a postseason berth while clinging to division title hopes.  No buzz whatsoever, stands as empty as can be and a game rendered all the more meaningless by a Toronto win over the Rays.  Another atrocious offensive effort by the Yankees.  Rondon had absolutely nothing tonight.  Five walks, two hit batters and the only runs the Yanks could push across were on Didi's two-run single.  They hit into four 6-4-3 double plays tonight.  Gag.

The only bright spot tonight was CC.  He was on the verge of turning in another stellar outing before serving up a couple solo shots in the 7th.  Despite his final line his effort tonight helped his case to get into the postseason rotation.  Other than that tonight was dogshit.  A-Rod still can't find his way.  Headley may be the worst player in baseball right now.  And to top it all off Tanaka's hamstring is still barking.  Garbage night all around.

Chase Headley error count pic.twitter.com/k9m88YSUBO

— NOT Joe Girardi (@Joe_Girardi_28) September 26, 2015

Yanks honor Yogi at the Stadium, beat Sale 3-2

After Yogi passed away yesterday I said if the Yankees won last night in Toronto that they were going to win the World Series.  That it would be Yogi's spirit joining the ghosts of Yankee legends past to guide this team to the promise land.  Well the Yankees didn't win the game.  I thought I had made a huge mistake.  Then I realized, hey, the guy hasn't even gotten settled down yet.  Dude has been in heaven for like five minutes and I'm already asking miracles of him.  Maybe let him unpack his bags first before he wills this team to a World Series.

So it may have taken him a day but I'm pretty sure he made his way out to the Bronx tonight for his commemoration.  There were so many awesome tributes.  From the military sendoff to all the wreaths in monument park to Girardi and all of the active catchers memorializing him behind home plate.  The whole thing was great but we all knew the only way to complete the night and to properly honor Yogi was to go out and get a win and that's exactly what they did.

Michael Pineda built off his strong performance against the Mets by outpitching Chris Sale in a 3-2 win over the White Sox in the first game of an eight game homestand.  Big Mike pitched great, but for the second straight start Girardi went out and got him before he hit 90 pitches in the middle of tossing a gem.  Not really sure what Michael Kay is talking about when he says "the Yankees just aren't getting any length out of their starters."  Umm I'm pretty sure they aren't getting any length out of their manager.  If I had the back-end of the Yankee bullpen to call on every night I'd probably have a short leash on my starters too.  But sometimes the guys you have out there that night are better than Justin Wilson.  It didn't burn them tonight but it's kind of starting to get annoying.

Once Wilson was pulled with runners on first and third it was more of the same from Betances.  No command upon coming in, walking in a run and putting you on the brink of a full blown panic attack before finally getting out of it.  Not sure when he plans on getting himself back together but hopefully it happens before the calendar flips to October.

The only runs the Yankees were able to manufacture all night came via Carlos Beltran's three-run homer.  What else is new.  If you're having a hard time being inspired by this team right now the one thing you can hang your hat on is that when the lights shine the brightest this guy is absolutely going to come to play.

The Blue Jays were off tonight so the Yanks picked up a half game in the division.  Not that it feels like it matters much anymore but it's at least worth mentioning until the AL East is officially locked up.  The wild card lead is now 4.5 over Houston.  The magic number to clinch a playoff spot...

Yanks drop series to Toronto, fall 3.5 games back

It felt like a long shot a couple of weekends ago but the Yankees actually put themselves in a position to take the division lead heading into these three games.  Had Tanaka been healthy enough to start last night we may have been talking about a division race coming down to the wire these final 11 games but it most likely wouldn't have mattered.  The Yankee lineup got blanked in the biggest game of the season and had had absolutely nothing for Marcus Stroman as he cruised through 7 innings.

The Yankee bullpen, once a deep and versatile group, has now become a three-man-band of reliable arms.  That's why pulling Nova there in the 6th frustrated me so much.  I get that he has 110 pitches.  I get the lefty-lefty match-up.  Let Nova finish that inning.  It was his game.  You want to bring in Justin Wilson there?  Be my guest.  But James Pazos has been pitching all year long for the fucking RailRiders.  Maybe I'm nitpicking but I don't trust a guy with four career major league innings deciding one of the biggest at-bats of the year.  But that was going to be the consequence of Tuesday.  Not only were the odds stacked against the Yanks with Nova on the mound but the team's biggest strength was minimized by Miller's unavailability.

So the division is a wrap.  It would take nothing short of a miracle to make up 3.5 games at this point in the season.  Now the only thing the Yankees need to concern themselves with is winning enough games to ensure the one-game playoff is going to be in the Bronx and making sure Tanaka is healthy enough to pitch it.  Of course you want to see Ellsbury continue to get his groove back, Pineda build off his recent success and Betances get back command of his fastball but all of that is moot unless the Yanks can win one game on October 6th.

RIP Lawrence Peter Berra

The mood this morning is obviously much more somber than you'd expect coming on the heels of the biggest Yankee win of the season.  Yogi Berra passed away overnight at the age of 90.  I don't sit here with a heavy heart writing about his passing.  I never watched him play.  But he had been around the Yankees for as long as I can remember and there's every indication that he was just about as good of a guy as there was in the world.  They'd roll him out on every Old Timers day and every number retirement ceremony and he'd just stand there in the boiling hot sun not knowing where he was and the fans and the active players would flip.  That's when you know you're the man.  You also know you're the man when you're leaving George Costanza stuck in the mud with witticisms. 

He really led just about as charmed and as full a life as you can possibly live, epitomizing everything that was great about his generation.  While ballplayers today are taking themselves out of games to help ensure they can get every last million on their next payday, Yogi spent his off-days as a gunner's mate on the USS Bayfield during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.  Not only one of the great baseball players of all time but one of the great Americans of all time.  One of the other reasons Yogi always appealed to me was all of the parallels there were between him and Jeter.  Both not quite on that Ruth/Gehrig/Dimaggio/Mantle level but just a cut below.  Both staples of their respective Yankee dynasties.  Both universally revered throughout the baseball community.  And it seemed like they always got a kick out of one another whenever Yogi came around the clubhouse. 

I know it's probably pretty cavalier to say that Yogi's passing is going to somehow tie into this current Yankee run but I think we can all agree that the ghosts of Yankee Stadium just made a huge September call-up.

BirdMan Mothafuckaaaaaa

Greg Bird gave this ball wings. https://t.co/qIh3KUx7dY

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 23, 2015

What a fucking rollercoaster of emotions that was.  I'm out of breath.  That's as exciting a regular season baseball game as you'll ever see.  Just two heavyweights exchanging blow after blow.  The kid Severino and Marco Estrada matching one another through the first six innings.  Joey Bats hosing guys left and right.  Nobodies coming out of the Blue Jay bullpen and striking out A-Rod every time he comes up in a big spot.  Beltran delivering yet another huge go-ahead home run in the late innings.  Betances walking the tightrope and striking out Encarnacion with the bases loaded, clinging to a one-run lead.  Then just when you thought it was over fucking Dioner Navarro takes Miller deep to tie it in the 9th and sends Rogers Center into a frenzy.  I don't remember the last time I heard a baseball stadium erupt like that.  I bet you fangraphs win percentage for the Blue Jays after that home run was 100%.  After that it looked like a movie script.  Miller gives up the double to that pest Pillar, walks the next two guys and all of the sudden the stage is set for the MVP to send the Yankees off quietly into the night.  But somehow, SOMEHOW Donaldson strikes out to end the frame.  At this point you have no confidence going into extras.  All of the pressure in the world is on the Yanks to score in the top of the 10th to give Miller one last chance to close it out before you have to give way to the Nick Rumbelows and the Caleb Cothams to keep you in the game.

McCann leads off the tenth amidst all of the chaos with the presence of mind to lay down a bunt against the shift and get on base with an infield single.  Unbelievable.  The sky is falling, we're all panicking and Brian McCann couldn't be thinking any clearer.  Rico Noel pinch runs and helps facilitate a catchers interference during the next at-bat to put runners on first and second with nobody out for Bird.  He falls behind 0-2.  Doesn't panic.  Takes a couple of bad pitches, gets another breaking ball over the plate and bashes it over the right field fence for a three run home run.

It feels like every week you sit there and say "that was the biggest hit of the year".  A few weeks ago it was Beltran's home run in Toronto.  Then it was Heathcott's home run in Tampa.  A few innings earlier it was probably Beltran again.  Now it's Bird.  At the time I thought we needed every single one of those runs.  I had no idea what Miller had left after that last inning.  Encarnacion took him deep in the 10th to make it 6-4 but he managed to get out of it after 42 grueling pitches.  Ballgame over.  Yankees win.

Honestly words can't express how much I love Luis Severino and Greg Bird.  These guys are 007 cool.  21 and 22-years-old, thrown into the deep end like toddlers without swimmies and they're doing the fucking 400-meter freestyle.  I don't know what tomorrow or the rest of this year is going to bring but tonight I'm happy because the Yankees are still alive in the division and I've officially become sexually aroused at the thought of building a future around these two guys.

Must Win

The fate of the American League East quite literally rests on the right arm of Luis Severino.  Without a win tonight you can forget about the division.  Heading into the final 11 games of the season with 3.5 - 4.5 games to make up is going to be impossible.

Tonight is going to be a tall order for the 21-year-old who got absolutely obliterated his last time out against Toronto.  He's going to have to regroup and outpitch a guy in Marco Estrada who's been one of the best pitchers in baseball in the second half.  The formula for beating the Blue Jays isn't complicated but it's awfully difficult to execute.  Keep it close and get it to the bullpen.  We saw last night that the Blue Jay bullpen is vulnerable.  Ours is the best in baseball and you'd bet your ass Betances and Miller are going to be lock and loaded for 9 outs tonight if need be.  All Severino has to do is get the ball to those guys with the game still in tact.

We can talk about tomorrow when tomorrow comes.  If the Yankees lose tonight then the question will no longer be whether or not Nova can get it together for one start against the Blue Jays, it'll be whether or not the Yankees can handle Dallas Kuechel in a one-game playoff at Yankee Stadium.

Let's go Luis.

Yanks can't handle Price, fall 3.5 games out of first

Going into tonight you couldn't have felt very good about coming away from this thing with a win.  Pitting Adam Warren and his 85 pitch limit against David Price in Toronto didn't exactly sound promising.  And in the end things worked out just about how you might have thought they would.  The Blue Jays put up a crooked number in the first.  Price got back on the mound with a lead and mowed down the Yankees the rest of the way.  They had one real opportunity with the bases loaded in the third with one out but Price never looked out of sorts.  It was almost as if he had the Yankees on the ropes and not the other way around.  He struck out A-Rod and got McCann to fly out to end the threat.

Remember when the Blue Jays got David Price and everyone said "Oh well the Yankees always hit David Price."  I think we can officially put that notion to bed now.  In four starts against the Yankees since becoming a Blue Jay he's been beyond dominant.  It almost seems like the Yankees never even have a chance.  Toronto jumps out to a lead before you're even in your seat and then Price gets in a groove that you know they aren't going to disrupt no matter what they do.  For all of the fanfare that Cespedes has gotten with the Mets since they traded for him, this deadline deal may be even better.  Since becoming a Blue Jay Price is 8-1 in ten starts and has been every bit the ace Toronto has been missing since the days of Doc Halladay.  His acquisition has made them what they are right now and that's the best team in baseball.


These next two games are must-wins if we want to talk about division races anymore.  It's very possible Severino and Nova still have shell-shock from their last outings against Toronto so I'm not expecting either of them to go out and spin a gem.  Just avoid that early-inning disaster while you're still figuring things out.  That's the Blue Jay special.  They punch you in the gut early and knock the wind out of you before you can even get going.  If they can just get the bullpen into the game with a tie/lead then they've done their job and the Yanks will have a chance.  If not, it's probably going to be refreshing Twitter for Tanaka hamstring updates for the next two weeks before that one-game playoff.

Mets hand the Yanks the series, head into Toronto 2.5 games out

I would have loved to have gone out last night and knocked Matt Harvey around but the way things played out made it even sweeter.  Harvey was untouchable through five innings.  Cruising along having allowed just one hit and seven strikeouts through 77 pitches.  Then came the hook.  I've never seen anything like that in my entire life.  For weeks the baseball world has been waiting to see exactly how all of the Harvey hoopla was going to unfold and then like something out of a movie script it all came to fruition.  On Sunday Night Baseball, in front of the entire country the Met bullpen came in to pitch Harvey's innings and immediately blew the game.  11 runs in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings.  Can't make it up.  For the Mets, outside of the turmoil it may be causing in the locker room and the subsequent media shitstorm last night's game will in all likelihood not affect their clinching of the NL East (though nothing would make me happier than to have played a part in initiating their undoing).  And as a Yankee fan all you can do is say thanks to the Mets for being the Mets and literally handing us a win that we desperately needed.

All of the Harvey insanity overshadowed what was another stellar outing by CC.  That's the other part of what made last night so sweet.  Here you have CC, a guy who's pitched a billion innings in his career.  A guy who's pitched on three-days-rest time and again to will his team to and through the postseason.  A guy who's out there at 35-years-old on one leg pitching with less than half the stuff he used to have.  And then you have Harvey in the other dugout, silent as the grave when Terry Collins yanked him.  Since coming off the DL CC's pitching as well as he has since 2012 and has actually filled a huge void left by Eovaldi's injury and Nova's ineffectiveness.  Whether it's the new brace or the rest he seems to have found his groove and I for one couldn't be more happy for him.  I completely wrote this guy off and if he can keep this going he may just earn himself a postseason start (it'll be there for him to make, god-willing).

Yesterday wasn't all sunshine and smiles for the Yanks.  It was announced earlier in the day that Tanaka is going to miss Wednesday's start in Toronto with a Grade 1 hamstring strain.  He's only expected to miss this one start even though he's apparently been fighting to make it but this is still a HUGE blow.  That game could very well decide the division and now instead of the guy who's pitched to a 1.23 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays since August 9th we're going to have to turn to Ivan Nova with the season on the line.

Overall it was a successful weekend for the Yanks.  After falling 4.5 games out after Friday night the Yanks picked up two games in two days.  If Toronto can carry their mini-slump into the next three games we're a long shot away from being in first place on Thursday morning.  The Blue Jay's bullpen looks like it might be a little shaken up after a rough series against the Red Sox.  If we keep it close I think when it comes down to the wire we should be able to win the battle of the bullpens.  The problem there is we're throwing out three very vulnerable starting pitchers and if we know one thing about the Blue Jays it's that they can put games out of reach in an eye-blink.

Get your metrocards ready

If you aren't psyched for these next three games than you aren't a real Met or Yankee fan.  These are the biggest subway series games since the 2000 World Series.  The Yankees are fighting for their playoff lives while the Mets have a comfortable but not so comfortable 8 game lead in the division with 16 games to play.  The outcome of this series could define the Yankees' season while the Mets are just a few more losses in a row from really putting a scare into their fans.

Matz scares me a little bit tonight.  He's basically talked like he didn't even know the Subway Series was a thing which leads me to believe he wont be phased by the enormity of the moment.  He'll have the benefit of squaring off against a lefty-heavy lineup without A-Rod but we still don't know how he's going to handle this.  I understand he's got great stuff and was a highly touted prospect but he's made four major league starts.  There's no reason to think Tanaka won't out-duel him tonight.  Tomorrow two fireballing righthanders go head-to-head in an afternoon matchup and Sunday features the resurgent former ace of the Yankees against New York's biggest prima donna.

I don't want the Mets to knock us out of the division race.  That would make me sick to my stomach.  It's been a borderline nightmare scenario for the Yankees since the trade deadline.  As they've watched a once comfortable division lead slip away the team on the other side of town has been winning at a torrid pace.  They're going to win their division and god knows how deep they're going to go into the postseason.  I can't take that.  I need a sweep here.  The Mets have become the toast of the town.  They're getting all the buzz.  They've got the young hotshot starting pitchers and the new toy in centerfield.  But Met fans are fickle.  Yanks take three straight at Citi Field and they'll be in full blown panic mode.  I need that in my life.  And more importantly, we need the wins.

Severino, Bird step up. Yanks take two of three at the Trop

Hard to not be happy with how these three games played out.  You win a game on Monday where you were down to your last out trailing by a run with nobody on.  You win a game last night against Chris Archer and the only game you lose is the one you started a guy who was on a pitch count of 65.  At this point in the season this is the bare minimum.  Win every series.  The Yankees were able to keep pace with Toronto over the last three days but keeping pace isn't enough.  With each passing game it's going to become more difficult for the Yanks to make up games in the division.

Last night the kids took the game over.  Luis came back after getting shelled by Toronto last Friday and pitched great.  Girardi yanked him early in favor of Justin Wilson but I think he had a few more batters in him.  Bird had the two biggest blows of the game, an RBI double in the second that scored Beltran from first and a monster shot off the catwalk in the 9th for a little insurance.  It's nerve-wracking but it's been really cool to see these two kids, the future of the franchise, thrust into the fire of a pennant race like this and contribute as much as they have.

It was nice to see Ellsbury get a couple of hits against Archer yesterday.  I'd like to hope that gets him going a little bit but I'd bet he's going to be on the bench Friday against Steven Matz.  I'm as frustrated with Ellsbury as anyone but those calling for Slade Heathcott to start over him need to have their head examined.  We need Jacoby to get it together if we're going to do anything and he's too talented to keep playing like this.  You want to tinker with the order a bit?  I think I'm okay with that.  But he has to be in the mix going forward cause if he gets going this lineup becomes exponentially better.

What's worrying me more than Jacoby is Betances.  He really hasn't had any command of his fastball these last few weeks but his stuff is so nasty that he's been able to navigate through it without becoming a disaster.  I know what Girardi is asking of him is insane but that's why Brian McCann said he's the MVP of the team.  The Yankees are only in this thing because of him.  When they give a lead to Dellin the game has to be over or this team doesn't have a prayer.

Texas HS Cheer Squad does their routine to the sounds of 9/11

YAHOO - A video of a high school cheerleading squad is going viral for all the wrong reasons.

The Lumberton High School cheerleaders are under fire for their 9/11 themed cheer routine, which features audio from live news reports from the day of the attack, the song “God Bless the USA” and comments made by President George W. Bush.

 The squad, from Lumberton, Texas, performed the routine on Friday, the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

One of the cheerleaders shared the video on Twitter, writing “The Lumberton cheerleaders would like you to watch our appreciation & acknowledgement for the ones effected [sic] in 9/11.”

The tribute has been met with mixed emotions, while some say the performance left them speechless, others have called it tasteless to be tumbling to the sounds of audio reports from the day the towers fell.  The LHS cheerleaders have performed a 9/11 tribute routine every year since 2002, and this year has been no different.  The squad’s coach, Lauren Sheffield, told Buzzfeed News that she and the cheerleaders take the routine “very seriously.”

“We do this because we believe it is very important to honor and remember the first responders, those who gave their lives, and those who still mourn the hole left by lost loved ones,” she told Buzzfeed.

Regardless of reactions, the 9/11 tribute video has been viewed on Facebook more than 23 million times to date and has been shared over 700,000 times.

I can't think of anything less appropriate for a September 11th tribute than a cheerleading routine.  Maybe a performance by the Lumberton High School twerk team.  That's about it.  This Lauren Sheffield has got to be the worst cheer coach in history.  Nice idea lady.  Nothing gets the crowd going quite like landing a prop and elevator while the sounds of the World Trade Center collapsing echo through the gym.  Seriously what an idiot.  That spirit fingers lunatic from Bring It On is a better cheer choreographer than this dope.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not outraged.  I'm sure the coach and the team had the best of intentions.  You just have to be smarter than this in today's world.  If you give people a window for an inch of dissension they'll pick it up and run with it until you go viral.  To their credit at least they didn't do that thing where they keep a ridiculous permanent smile on for the entire routine.  And it's true that they have done a 9/11 tribute like this every year.

Literally the exact same routine three years ago and nobody said boo.  Selective outrage at it's finest.  Nobody is offended by anything until they're told by others that they should be.  

 

Slade Fucking Heathcott

I understand CC pitched his best game of the season.  I know A-Rod's hit was the biggest hit of the night.  I don't care.  This guy stole the show.  He Slade em'.  It was a heath-shot from Heathcott.  One of the biggest hits of the year from a guy wearing #72

This game was over.  Kaput.  When Ellsbury grounded out into that double play I felt the life sucked out of me.  To fall a game back in the loss column while the Blue Jays were idle would have been an absolute back-breaker.  Then Gardner kept it alive with a four pitch walk and finally, FINALLY stole a base in a big spot to set up the A-Rod RBI double.  In took just two batters and about three minutes for the outlook on the entire season to change.  The Rays would walk McCann to get to Heathcott who was brought in as a defensive replacement and he promptly drilled the first pitch he saw into the left field seats for a go-ahead three-run home run.  Unfuckingbelievable.

Like this game, this season has been maddening.  There have been so many moments like last night that make you think this team is special.  That make you think they're capable of making a run.  A-Rod's three homer game in Minnesota.  The 11-run comeback inning in Texas.  Beltran's home run in Toronto.  Miller striking out Tulo.  McCann and A-Rod's back-to-back homers off Chris Archer.  The list goes on.  But there have been just as many deflating moments, none more grueling than what happened this past weekend.  At this point there's no sense in analyzing what this team does well and what they don't.  They're pretty much two different teams.  When they hit they hit in bunches.  They can score with anyone and look resilient.  When they aren't hitting they look like they did all night against Erasmo Ramirez.  Stiff and lifeless.  You just have to hope if/when they make it to the postseason that they're the team that staged a comeback in the ninth inning yesterday and not the one that didn't show up for the first eight.

Back to Heathcott.  Nobody in the world needed a moment like that in his life quite like Slade.  There haven't been too many guys in the big leagues that have been through as much adversity, self-inflicted or not, as he has.  The beleaugered former first-round pick hasn't been able to get out of his own way or stay on the field long enough to develop into the player the Yankees hoped he would be back in 2009.  I had always heard about him having some problems with alcohol in the past but I never read too much into it.  Then I find this article today and it turns out Heathcott is basically like a real life Tim Riggins.  Have you ever felt like you were a big drinker or a real party animal?  Well Slade Heathcott is that kid who when you meet him you realize that you're actually a huge pussy.  When he was a senior in high school he blacked out and wondered five miles into the woods to punch a hole in the front door of some crack dealer's house.  That might seem funny but his story is actually pretty sad.  He almost shot his dad with a shotgun when he was a junior in high school.  He was basically homeless his senior year, jumping from couch to couch at his friends' houses.  All the while he was like a four-star recruit in both football and baseball.  The whole thing is pretty fascinating if you have a few minutes.

Starting the homestretch on the road

This weekend was the coup de grace for the division.  Let's face it.  Think of this thing realistically.  Even if the Yankees go 15-5 the rest of the way that means the Blue Jays have to go 11-8 just for them to tie.  They have to lose eight times in 19 games.  They've been winning at a .744 clip since the trade deadline.  They just waltzed into Yankee Stadium and hit fifty home runs in four games.  The odds of a collapse taking place that immense are astronomical.  The only reason there's chance, the only reason there's an extrasolar possibility that a division title is still even tangible is because Toronto and the Yanks play three games against each other next week at Rogers Center.  That's an opportunity to make up three games in three days.  To do it we'll probably need Tanaka to pull a Dice-K and pitch like two no-hitters in a row and then come in out of the bullpen for the third game, but the door hasn't officially closed on the AL East.

The Yanks left the Bronx last night for a nine game road trip and the upcoming schedule isn't very kind.  Three at the Trop, three with the surging Mets at Citi Field and then on to Toronto.  Under regular circumstances I'd take walking away from this trip 6-4 but these aren't regular circumstances.  These are essentially playoff games from here on out.


CC is on the mound tonight against Erasmo Ramirez (10-5, 3.96) who's just about as mediocre as it gets.  Sabathia's last start was plagued by an awful defensive effort by Stephen Drew.  He only allowed one earned run but couldn't make it out of the fifth and Baltimore eventually won the game.  Tampa has a bunch of guys who've seen CC a million times.  Logan Forsythe, Asdrubal Cabrera and Evan Longoria have a combined .416 lifetime average.  James Loney is having a bad year but is always a pain in the ass.

I'm not sure what kind of fire the Rays are going to be playing with this weekend.  They just lost a 13-inning game at Fenway where they amassed just three hits.  They're right at that point where they're not quite definitely out of it but actually definitely out of it.  Either way you know they're going to be tough even though the Yankees have handled their business at the Trop this year.  There's a premium on winning tonight's game because Odorizzi and Archer are going the next two.  It looks like it's going to be Adam Warren and Severino on Tuesday and Wednesday.



Division Watch

The Blue Jays are off and that's a good thing because that means they're not allowed to win tonight.

Wild Card Watch

Astros @ Texas.  Scott Kazmir vs. Cole Hamels.

Yankee's Postseason Magic Number

Yanks, Tanaka salvage the final game of the series

Between having lost three games in two days and it being the opening Sunday of the NFL season it was easy to forget that the Yankees even had a game today.  It may not have been as big of a game as you might have hoped heading into this weekend.  If you're like me then you're of the belief that this pennant race is over.  But the reality is there is still a microscopic glimmer of hope glinting in the ruins of this four game series.  The Yankees are hanging onto this division race by the thinnest thread imaginable and the only reason Toronto didn't cut it this afternoon is because Masahiro Tanaka wouldn't let them.

If there was any question at all about whether or not Tanaka is an ace, it was answered today.  Pitching on four days rest (short rest for him) he took all of the deflating momentum from Friday and Saturday and kicked it in the dick. The guy is the definition of a stopper.  He has the combination of demeanor and arsenal that separates him from everyone else in this rotation.  When the going gets tough he doesn't pout.  He doesn't flail his arms and scream.  He gets tougher.  When his best pitch isn't working he goes to his second best pitch.  When that isn't working he goes to something else.  Whatever it takes to get the job done.  But he didn't have to worry about that today.  He took this red-hot Blue Jay lineup and dominated it for the second straight time.  7 innings, no runs, four hits, seven strikeouts, no walks.  14 swings and misses.

It's tough to feel good about anything right now.  The Yanks let an opportunity to make up games right in front of them slip through their fingertips.  But if nothing else, if the Yankee's destiny is a one-game wildcard playoff then you have to feel good about your chances if Tanaka's on the mound.

Pennant Race Over

These three games reminded me of the Boston Massacre in 06' when the Yanks went into Fenway for five games in late August and just leveled the Red Sox.  Everyone was geared up for a fierce, competitive series and the Yankees just manhandled them, taking all five games and essentially winning the division right then and there.  That's what's happening right now.  It's men against boys.  Was I delusional thinking the Yanks had a chance to win the division a couple of days ago?  I guess so.  The Yankees are a good team, but a flawed team.  When everything breaks right they can go bumper-to-bumper with anyone.  But the Blue Jays simply are the best team in the American League and it's not even close.

And it isn't just the scores up on the board, it's how they're doing it.  Hitting colossal home runs, sprinting around the base paths hootin and hollerin, walking the parrot, slapping on the railings.  Not to mention Yankee Stadium has been straight up invaded by Canada this weekend.  What a pitiful, embarrassing showing by Yankee fans these last two days.  The Blue Jays used to lose games in this building before they even showed up.  They're now 8-1 in the Bronx this season and have have outscored the Yankees 57-26.

There are a number of people you can blame for what's transpired this series.  Severino and Nova basically took the Yankees out of the game right away in each of their starts.  Pineda looked dominant through three innings but began to unravel in the fourth and couldn't protect a three-run lead.  Betances served up a home run in the biggest game of his career.  Chasen Shreve fell off the face of the Earth and looks like he doesn't belong on a major league mound.  Ellsbury was fucking AWFUL but what else is new.  And Girardi has certainly given rise to second guessing not only throughout this series but pretty much all season long.  Giving A-Rod the night off in the biggest game of the year because he DH'd for eight innings earlier in the day.  Sticking with Shreve when he couldn't find the strike zone to save his life.  Admittedly pinch-running for A-Rod when he's on first with the bases loaded in a tie game in the 8th inning.  All awful.  Obviously the race is won by the horses but Girardi definitely hasn't done the team any favors.

So today is on Tanaka to ensure the Yankees don't get swept.  As it stands they find themselves 4.5 games back in the division with a three game lead for the first wild card ahead of Texas.  Even if the Yanks manage to pull out a win today this division race is still over.  They could get it together and go on a hot streak to close out the season and Toronto will match it or, more likely, surpass it.  Right now it's all about looking in the mirror and hoping to get things going by the time October rolls around and then praying for the best.

Double Fist

I can't remember a Yankee double-header ever being this important, taking place this late in the year.  Essentially two postseason games are being played in the Bronx today, 30 minutes apart from one another.  Way more often than not these things get split but today has the potential to make or break this pennant race.  If Toronto takes both games they'll be 4.5 up in the East heading into Sunday with three weeks left in the regular season.  If the Yanks take two they'll have a chance to take the division lead tomorrow with Tanaka on the mound.

Big Mike and Marco Estrada will kick things off at 1 before Nova and Marcus Stroman face off in Game 2.  You know everything is coming up Toronto when Marco Estrada is carrying a 3.18 ERA into September.  He's allowed more than two earned runs just once in his last fifteen outings and in his last two starts against the Yanks in August he went a combined 12.1 innings and allowed just two earned runs.  Stroman is making his first start of the season after recovering from knee surgery earlier this year so you can't be sure what you're going to get from him.  He's got awesome stuff, we've just got to hope he doesn't have all of it back yet.

Slade Heathcott and Gary Sanchez got the call today.  Heathcott returns for pinch-running and outfield depth while Sanchez dons the pinstripes for the first time as a potential righthanded bat off the bench.  The once highly touted but still sort of highly touted prospect has always been known for his bat and might be a nice surprise for the next few weeks but I wouldn't count on it.

As for Pineda and Nova, they haven't been awful but they have to be better.  Pineda's slider has to be sharper and Nova has to have better command if the pitching is going to will this team into the playoffs.  The news that Tex will miss the rest of the season, while predictable, does ensure that the lineup is never going to reach the pinnacle it hit during the summer.  If the Yanks are going to make a run at this thing then everyone, from the back end of the rotation to middle relief to guys coming in off the bench are going to have to step up starting today.

Pulverized

Tonight probably ranks among one of the more horrendous regular season losses in Yankee history.  You had all of the hype heading into tonight, having built up even more with the rain-out yesterday and the game was over before you could even get in your seat.  A five run top of the first with David Price looming in the dugout.  You might as well have changed the channel right then and there.

I could not have been more wrong about Severino tonight.  The moment most definitely looked too big for him as he struggled with his command right from the get-go.  In the second at-bat of the game Donaldson bashed a letter-high fastball into the left field bleachers and you knew right away it was going to be that kind of night for the Blue Jays.  Justin Smoak would also homer in the first, Encarnacion walked his stupid fucking parrot and Russell Martin hit a pair of dingers before the night was over.  Luis lasted just 2.1 innings, surrendering six runs in his only bad outing since joining the team on August 5th.

Not a great start.  Toronto now holds a 2.5 game lead in the division heading into tomorrow's double-header. 

The Playoffs start tonight

It's here.  The weekend you've had circled for weeks.  The biggest series for the Yankees since the 2012 ALCS starts tonight.  Toronto will come in with a 1.5 game lead in the division after both teams dropped two of three to sub-.500 division opponents earlier in the week so nobody is firing on all cylinders.

By now you know the story.  The Yanks held a commanding seven game lead in the division on July 28th.  They looked like the best team in baseball.  Scoring a billion runs a game, getting good starting pitching from a full and healthy rotation and locking down games from the 7th inning on every single night.  Then the deadline came.  To everyone's surprise the Blue Jays became the biggest buyers and the Yankees stood pat, refusing to part ways with their top prospects.  Toronto nabbed the two crown jewels of the trade market in David Price and Troy Tulowitzki while the Yankee roster depleted.  Michael Pineda would go down with a forearm injury, the aging tandem of A-Rod and Teixeira would see their production drop off considerably and all of the sudden the entire complexion of the American League East had changed.

In the six weeks since the deadline Toronto has won 26 of 35 while scoring seemingly 10 runs a game and the once comfortable lead the Yankees held atop the division has vanished into thin air.  Their once potent offense has become erratic at best since the calendar turned to August and they've lost not only their winningest pitcher but their most productive offensive player for at the very least the rest of the regular season.  Brian Cashman was forced to call on two of his untouchable blue-chippers, a 21-year-old fireballer and a 22-year-old first baseman to help alleviate an ailing roster and they've both answered the bell.  Severino's been their best, most reliable starter since he got on a major league mound and Greg Bird has performed admirably since being thrown into the fire as the everyday starter following Teixeira's injury.

Severino and David Price headline the most compelling pitching match-up of the series tonight.  The Blue Jay's hired gun was a player for whom Cashman refused to part ways with his top pitching prospect.  Six weeks later the two find themselves squaring off against one another.  Price has solidified that rotation and been absolutely lights out since joining Toronto, most notably in his two starts against the Yankees.  Severino was tossing a gem a few weeks ago against the Blue Jays up in Rogers Center before Beltran lost the ball in the sun, opening the door to a three-run inning that eventually cost the Yankees the game.  Tonight I have all of the faith in the world in Luis.  He hasn't given me one reason to think this moment will be too big for him.  Every time he's faced adversity he's come right back and attacked.  He's going to give an outstanding effort tonight.  Mark it down.  If the Yankees lose it's not going to be because of him.

The Yanks will see Estrada, Stroman and Dickey the rest of the way.  It's yet to be announced but in all likelihood you're going to get Pineda and Nova in some order on Saturday followed by Tanaka on four-days rest on Sunday.  The rain-out last night limits the flexibility as to when you can use Betances and Miller with two games being played tomorrow so before the first pitch has even been thrown the most powerful weapon the Yankees have has been hindered.

Obviously everyone's been scoreboard watching for weeks but the bottom line is these four games and the three game series in Toronto later this month are going to decide who's going to win the division and who's going to be fighting for their life in a coin-flip, one-game-playoff.  The Blue Jays are the better team.  You know it, I know it.  This team doesn't just score a lot.  They hit deafening, booming home runs at will.  The kind that shake your confidence and wreck games.  That's the team that's showing up in the Bronx tonight.  I don't know which Yankee team will.  They've been as good and as bad as any team in baseball.  If they hit or more importantly hit when it counts, they can take every game this weekend.  There isn't a doubt in my mind.  But if the same lineup that couldn't handle Kevin Gausman and Ubaldo Jimenez is in the ballpark tonight then we may be paying more attention to what's going on in Texas than Toronto come Monday.

Cue the saxophones

Saddest sight in the world.  You had to see this coming if you've looked outside at all today.  In a way it's nice because now you can relax and just enjoy NFL kickoff instead of losing your mind but in terms of X's and O's this actually puts the Yankees in a pretty bad spot.  With two games being played 30 minutes apart from one another on Saturday the availability of Betances and Miller is now far more limited.  That may seem pretty trivial right now but don't be surprised if the Yanks get burnt in the late innings of that second game because Nick Rumbelow has to come in and pitch to Donaldson, Joey Bats and Double E in a big spot.  Either way, I guess I'm not watching any college football this weekend.

College Football Week 2 and NFL Week 1 Pick Em featuring your boy VJC

It's that time of year again.  Week 1 of the college football season is already in the books and hopefully you haven't already crossed the zero in your bank account.  The NFL season kicks off tonight before a whole slate of games on Sunday.  This is a little program we're going to try to do every week.  Me and your boy VJC are going to do the best we can to break down a whole week of games for both college football and the NFL.  I'm going to try and break it up into two different videos next time so it isn't so long.  Unfortunately things got a little hairy in the editing process cause I wanted to get this out today but we'll try and do better the next time.

Yanks drop series to the O's

Well this is definitely not the note you'd like to head into tomorrow on.  After an impressive win on Labor Day afternoon the Yanks drop consecutive games to the sub-.500 O's and lose the series.  With Toronto's loss today they had a chance to head into the biggest series in three years tied in the loss column atop the division and they couldn't hang on.

You can look at tonight and question Girardi for how he managed the bullpen or blame Drew for making two errors and basically handing the Orioles three runs but the bottom line is that tonight's offense relied solely around Carlos Beltran and for the second straight game the Yanks were pretty much shut down by a mediocre righthander. 

I honestly have no idea how these next four games are going to go.  There's nothing to analyze.  There's no doubt they miss Tex but he aint coming back.  We've seen this lineup prosper without him and put up runs better than anyone else in baseball outside of Toronto.  We've also seen them disappear for games at a time.  We'll have to wait and see who's going to show up tomorrow.

Tanaka's masterful performance wasted as Yanks lose 2-1

I usually try not to bitch and moan too much about pitch counts and innings limits because at this point when you do that you kind of just sound like an old man screaming at the clouds.  But this shit aint baseball.  I'm sorry.  You've got one of the most dangerous hitters in the game coming up to lead off the inning.  A guy who's so country strong he could probably hit one out at Yankee Stadium with a fucking toothpick if he wanted.  And instead of letting your ace who's absolutely cruising stay in the game to face him he gets yanked because of some arbitrary number.

And I love Chasen Shreve.  He's been awesome this year and is a huge reason why the bullpen has been as good as it has.  But I don't need him in the ninth inning of a tie game facing a guy who's hit 40 home runs this year.  I need Tanaka to be in the game, if only for that one batter.  If it's Miller, if it's Betances, be my guest.  But not Shreve.  We're paying Tanaka a fortune to be the ace of this staff and that's a match-up I want with him on the mound.  I know it sounds like a classic second guess but this didn't even make sense from an X's and O's standpoint which is usually where Binder Joe is coming from.  Davis hits .47 points higher against lefties than he does righties.

Beyond that, the lineup was punchless today.  The Yanks made Gausman work and chased him in the sixth after A-Rod's solo shot to start the inning but they couldn't cash in on any of the chances they had early on.  Then T.J. McFarland came in and just fucking dazzled.  2.1 scoreless frames.  That shouldn't happen.  And to make matters worse the Yanks will finish the night a game and a half out of first after Toronto beat Boston in extra innings at Fenway. 

Ex-clubhouse worker's tell-all about the 90's Yankees is a must-read

 

Deadspin - Way, way, way back in 2007, we covered a Craigslist posting by a gentleman seeking a co-writer for a tell-all about his time as a Yankees clubhouse worker, the abuse he endured, and and the many scandalous Bronx Bombers episodes he witnessed. It is now 2015, and Abused By The New York Yankees is finally out—and its claims are literally unbelievable. Former Yankees assistant equipment manager Paul Priore was fired in 1997. He says the team let him go because he is HIV-positive; the Yankees, and New York state courts, disagree. Now the seamy tell-all Priore threatened to write has found its way to print (albeit through self-publishing), and co-author Gary Toushek is spamming the world with this bizarre video explaning why Priore’s outlandish claims are totally legit.

About those claims! Here are some things Paul Priore says he witnessed, as outlined amongst the 500-some pages of Abused By The New York Yankeesand according to the book’s website and this review:

-  Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada engaged in sexual relations in the clubhouse sauna at the end of their first season with the team. Jeter and Posada then allowed Priore to perform oral sex on them in order to keep him quiet.

-  George Steinbrenner spied on players using secret security cameras in the clubhouse, and was actively involved in the Iran-Contra Affair.

-  Outfielder Gerald Williams had sex with an underage concession stand worker in a storage closet.

-  Cecil Fielder played drunk on vodka, and Darryl Strawberry drank whisky during games.

-  Bob Wickman, Jeff Nelson and Mariano Rivera tried to sexually assault him with a baseball bat.

-  Batboys created a market of forged autographs on Yankees memorabilia.  







I need to read this book more than I've ever needed to do anything before in my life.  I need to because I need to get inside this lunatic's head and see what's in there.  It's one thing to just read these little blurbs.  Think about 515 pages of Yankee clubhouse folklore as told by this psychotic AIDS patient.   Can you imagine an entire chapter detailing the intricacies of a Jeter-Posada fuckfest in the clubhouse sauna according to Paul Priore?  Especially the ending where it seems he blackmailed/raped them both so that he would keep their love-affair under wraps?  Does that mean Jeter and Posada both have AIDS too?  You'll have to read to find out.
 

In his defense though he did do a pretty good job of lacing the whole thing with realistic anecdotes to give the book credibility.  Draw you into the realm of reality and then hit you over the head with a hammer.

Chapter 1:  Darryl Strawberry likes to drink

Chapter 2:  George Steinbrenner kept close tabs on his employees

Chapter 3:  Mariano Rivera raped me in the ass with a baseball bat

Eovaldi shut down for 2 weeks with elbow infalmmation

Nathan Eovaldi is being shut down for 2 weeks with elbow inflammation. Still 4 weeks until playoffs, hope is he is back before that.

— Sweeny Murti (@YankeesWFAN) September 7, 2015

Well this kind of sours the mood after today's big win.  Nate hadn't looked nearly as sharp in his last two outings as he had most of the summer and now you can probably see why.  It doesn't sound like the most serious thing in the world and the Yankees seem to be hopeful that he'll be back after a couple of weeks but either way, it's not what you want.

The question is now, will this affect the decision by Cashman and Girardi to go with mostly a six-man rotation the rest of the way?  If not that means a third of your games down the stretch here are going to be started by CC Sabathia and either Chris Capuano or Bryan Mitchell.  That's not encouraging.  Should they alter their plan and limit those six-man turns then this injury can probably be overcome.  If not it might just be the difference between the Yankees winning the division and playing in a one game playoff at Yankee Stadium.

Yanks comeback for a second straight day, beat O's 8-6

It looked like this game was going to be over quickly in the top of the second.  Pineda looked shot.  Four runs on a walk, a single, a 3-run homer, a hit-by-pitch and a bunt single all before recording an out.  He had nothing on his slider.  His body language was awful.  He looked so visibly agitated I was just sitting there waiting for the entire thing to fall apart.  Had it not been for a great play by Didi to save a run and a line drive finding Headley's glove to end the inning it probably would have.

Then, with the game still within reach at 4-1, Big Mike regrouped.  As he went on to throw four scoreless frames the rest of the way, the Yanks mounted a comeback for the second straight day.  An RBI double by Chris Young in the 3rd.  A solo shot by A-Rod in the fifth.  And then the kids struck.  Go ahead home runs in the fifth and seventh by John Ryan Murphy and Greg Bird respectively.  Murphy with a 2-run shot the opposite way to put them up 5-4 before Machado tied it in the 7th.  Then a three-run bomb to right-center by Greg Bird to put the Yanks up for good.

I don't care much for talking about the future when there are meaningful games being played right now during this season.  That's more of a discussion Met fans like to have.  But for a team that got nothing but criticism for being too old and having no future, it's a good feeling to see so many young guys contributing to a big win.  For all of the other teams in baseball who's farm systems have drawn critical acclaim for being loaded with budding MLB stars, the future of the Yankees all of the sudden doesn't look so bleak.

And as Andrew Miller slammed the door on the Orioles this afternoon our old pals in Boston took care of the Blue Jays and sent the Yankees and Toronto once again into a tie in the loss column atop the American League East.  With two games to go before the big four-game showdown in the Bronx, the Yanks have done everything they had to do to so far to stay within striking distance and give themselves an opportunity to take back the division this weekend.

B-Mac and A-Rod save the day, Yanks take the series

What a difference one at-bat makes.  With Archer on the mound facing a 3-0 deficit in the 6th the Yanks were on the verge of finishing the weekend 2.5 games out of first place after having lost a home series to the sub-500 Rays.  But with two on and two out Brian McCann got a 3-1 fastball up in the zone and bashed it out to tie the game at three.  One of the biggest hits of the year from a guy who's gotten almost no reverence for how good he's been this season.  A career high in home runs (25), sitting among the American League leaders in RBIs (87) all while guiding this young pitching staff and throwing out runners at a 40% clip.  He's been so far and away better than he was last year it's insane.

While the three-run shot was the biggest blow, A-Rod going back-to-back before the crowd could even get back in their seats iced the game.  You knew it was over at that point.  This team simply does not blow leads late in games.  Betances did falter a bit, serving up a solo shot to Cabrera in the 8th but thankfully they had a couple runs of cushion to work with.  Miller put a couple guys on with a 6-4 lead in the ninth but he never makes you sweat.  All he does is get the job done game in and game out.

Nova had a very Novalike start this afternoon.  Six innings, three runs, battling all day but gave them a chance to win.  He made a mistake to Kiermaier and he hit it out for a two-run homer.  Other than that he was pretty solid.  And Didi just does not stop hitting.  2-4 with an RBI today.  This is no longer a hot streak.  He's hitting .347 in his last 42 games.  He's gone from a hole in the order to a luxury to have hitting towards the bottom of the lineup.

It feels like beating a dead horse but it's really incredible what's going on in Toronto.  They put up a 10-spot today against Baltimore.  Before you could even blink they're up 3-0 in the first.  A-Rod said they don't even scoreboard watch anymore because they know what's going to happen.  You keep waiting and waiting for those guys to cool off but they have absolutely no chill.  I don't get it.  Isn't hitting supposed to fluctuate?  Aren't guys supposed to go through ups and downs?  I don't know what's going to happen for the rest of the regular season.  I thought they were going to cool off weeks ago and it hasn't stopped.  All I know is I've seen plenty of offensive juggernauts plunder their way through the year (see 04'-07' Yankees) just to embarrass themselves in the playoffs.  Not saying that's what's going to happen here but I'm not not saying it.

Rally comes up short, Yanks lose 3-2

A day after falling into a tie in the loss column with Toronto atop the AL East, the Yankees fell a game back gain.  David Price did his thing against the Orioles up in Canada this afternoon and suddenly the progress the Yankees had made last night was erased.  To lose today kind of sucks because tomorrow's game is going to be really, really hard to win with Chris Archer pitching against Nova.

Eovaldi wasn't very good for the second straight outing.  He had no command of his fastball and that was evidenced by the four walks and five hits he surrendered in just 5.1 innings.  He did leave the Yanks within striking distance upon exiting but they couldn't mount a big enough comeback and Nate was sacked with his first loss since June 16th.

Their biggest chance came in the bottom of the 8th when Colome loaded the bases for Gregorious.  It's pretty amazing how Didi has become a guy you wan't up in these situations.  Unfortunately he hit a frozen rope right at Forsythe and ended the inning.  It was the same kind of deflating feeling you got when he hit what would have been a go-ahead grand slam to the warning track in Boston on Monday.

It was pretty disappointing not to put forth a better effort against Matt Moore who's really struggled this year.  Although they did chase him in the fifth inning, he seemed to have everyone off balanced until Didi's RBI double.  Tomorrow's not going to be any easier.  They'll be playing with a full deck minus Tex against the righty Archer but I'm not expecting a whole lot.  You've just got to hope it's one of those days for Nova where he's got everything working and is as good as anybody but we haven't seen that guy in a really long time.

Jacoby out with a bellyache

I'm going to start by saying that I hate the practice of criticizing guys for how they handle their injuries.  It's easy for some fat ugly slob to sit on his couch and scream about how someone isn't tough enough because they aren't playing hurt.  Having said that, Jacoby Ellsbury may be the softest player in the history of professional sports.  Every time he exerts himself it's a goddamn calamity waiting to happen.  Now he's an injury risk every time he eats lunch too fast.

Now in all honesty he probably was actually sick and vomiting yesterday and if the Rays weren't throwing a lefthander he'd probably be in the lineup this afternoon.  But it's just remarkable how often you have to worry about this guy and his ability to stay on the field.  Good thing we're only less than two years into that seven-year contract.

On another note, days where the Yankees win and the Blue Jays lose have become somewhat of an apparition over the last month but it happened last night.  There's now a tie in the loss column atop the American League East after the Yanks topped Tampa and Baltimore pummeled Toronto.  Both the Blue Jay game and the Yankee game are on at 1 in the middle of all the college football madness so there's a lot to watch this afternoon.  Park yourself on your couch, grab a few half-and-half twisted teas, order yourself some mild wings and have a great Saturday.

Yanks come home for 10 straight against the AL East

These last few Septembers have been much more interesting for Yankee fans than in years past.  That's in part due to the fairly new wild card format but mostly because the Yankees just haven't been as good recently.  For the better part of the 90's, 2000's and early 2010's the Yanks were beating people's brains in for 162.  There was never any apprehension in September about a postseason berth.

The last two seasons, while we were still technically "in it" on September 4th, anybody who was watching knew we didn't have the horses.  This year is different.  While there's been plenty of poor play mixed in there have been several stretches this season where the Yankees have been the best team in baseball.  They have all the makings of a division winner and a championship contender but they haven't quite put it all together yet.  We'll find out what they're made of over the next four weeks starting with a 10-day, 10-game homestand against all divisional opponents.

After a 5-1 road trip it's fair to say the Yankees are playing well which is exactly why I'm terrified of this weekend series with Tampa.  Every time you think the Yanks are about to get on a roll they start playing shitty again, mostly because the bats disappear at random.  Add in the fact that the Rays are always a pain in the ass and are still very much in the playoff hunt and you have yourself a very dangerous series coming up.

As per usual Tampa comes into the Bronx with an excess of good starting pitching.  Jake Odorizzi will toe the rubber tonight against my man Luis.  Odorizzi is a young, tough righthander but carries a lifetime 4.84 ERA against the Yanks heading into tonight.  McCann's numbers against him are insane (10-for-16, 2 HR, 6 XBH).  Severino will make his 6th start tonight and you can make a case that since he's been inserted into the rotation that he's been the Yankees' best pitcher.  He hasn't gone further than six innings in any of his starts but if there's one team that can afford that kind of brevity it's the one with the best bullpen in baseball.

Matt Moore was just recalled from AAA and will make his first start back in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon.  Moore was sent down after struggling mightily following his return from Tommy John surgery in July.  We've seen him enough where we know he's going to be a much tougher match-up than his 8.78 ERA suggests.  Nasty Nate is coming off the kind of win he was far more accustomed to earlier in the season.  A mediocre performance against the Braves (five runs in five innings) aided by a profusion of run support.  Either way, it was another one in the win column for Eovaldi as he now sports the league's highest winning percentage (.875) and is 9-0 with a 3.32 ERA since June 20th.

Sunday's going to be tough.  Chris Archer is as good as it gets and he absolutely kills the Yankees, especially in the Bronx (3-0, 1.54 in Yankee Stadium).  It'll probably be up to Ivan Nova to keep the Yankees in the game but I'm not sure he'll be up to the task.  He's lost three in a row and is currently the weakest link in the Yankee rotation.  The Rays don't have the greatest lineup but they're plenty pesky and I'm sure they're going to give him fits.



Who's hot?


Didi Gregorius

On the road trip Didi went 14-for-24 with 2 HR and 10 RBI.  He's playing short like a gold-glover and is legitimately one of the best players on this team right now.


Stephen Drew 

I'm almost reluctant to include Drew here because I can't stand all of the proverbial dick sucking the last few days.  He went 9-for-20 in five games during the road trip and now the Yankees have nothing to worry about at second base.  Broadcasters and writers talking about how Girardi's had his faith rewarded.  This guy's hitting .194 in a full season's worth of at-bats as a Yankee.  In a perfect world this past week gives him enough confidence to change the kind of hitter he's been for the last calendar year but I doubt it.




Who's Not?



Jacoby Ellsbury

He went 4-for-22 this week with a .280 OBP.  That's not going to get it done.  Apparently he's still nursing that hip after his body touched the ground against the Astros so hopefully that doesn't linger for too much longer.

It's kind of strange how the lineup has worked itself out down the stretch.  Whenever the Yankees face a lefty they're forced to either bench Ellsbury or Gardner because you can't afford not to start Chris Young against a southpaw and Beltran has become almost too important to take out under any circumstances.


Who to watch for


Kevin Kiermaier

There's really nothing exciting about this Ray's lineup but this dude is fun to look at.  Seriously....

Honestly every time we play the Rays I can't stop thinking about how good looking this guy is.  He's really got everything working.  The eyes, the chin, the physique.  If I could switch lives with any one baseball player I think it would be Kevin Kiermaier.  He gets to live somewhat of a normal life, flying under the radar because he's really not that good and he plays for Tampa but he's still young and super hot and gets to tell girls he matches with on Tinder that he's a starting center fielder on a major league baseball team.

Too bad you can't use Vine on Tinder.