Ride the wave

Minnesota has come into the Bronx and had some success recently and I don't like it.  Match-ups with the Twins used to be our tune-up games.  Most times they would just lay down and die before the bell even rang.  So I think it's only right that the guy who's been on the mound for so many of those drubbings over the years goes out there tonight and throws a gem.

I'm not sure how long this recent stint of productivity from CC Sabathia is going to last.  All we can really do is try and ride the wave.  The big guy toes the rubber tonight against a familiar opponent.  He's started 35 career games against the Twins with a nifty 17-9 record.  He got roughed up a bit at Target Field a few weeks ago but he's coming off two of his best outings of the year and he'll look to build off that on a night where the bullpen badly needs a break.

The Yanks have had a couple of fresh arms inserted into the bullpen in the last 24 hours.  Chris Capuano and Nick Rumbelow will be available tonight after Caleb Cotham was demoted and Bryan Mitchell hit the 7-day concussion DL.  You can bet Betances won't be available tonight but I'd imagine Justin Wilson and Andrew Miller should be good to go.  Not too sure about Shreve. 

Girardi will also be playing tonight with a short bench while Tex sits after fouling that ball off his leg yesterday.  Greg Bird will get the start at first and will hit behind Beltran in the six hole. 

Despite an eight run output last night I think it's fair to say that the offense still won't truly start clicking until A-Rod starts hitting.  Mike Pelfry is not an overpowering pitcher by any stretch and he should pose an ample opportunity tonight to get things going in the right direction.  A-Rod should see plenty of good pitches with the hot hitting McCann and Beltran situated behind him.

Yanks grind out a win, outlast Twins 8-7 in 10

Last night's game was about as hard fought a win as you can have.  I talked yesterday about how these games at home against Minnesota and Cleveland could give the Yankees an opportunity to get fat and win some games without killing themselves.  Well on the very first night of a stretch where the Yankees will play ten games in ten days they completely emptied their bullpen, lost their first baseman for the night and almost had their starting pitcher murdered by a line drive. 

It happened so quick at first you really weren't sure where exactly it caught him but then he started to bleed out like a Quentin Tarantino movie so you had to figure it was his nose.  He's got a slight nasal fracture and they're not sure yet if he has a concussion so it obviously could have been a lot worse.  He should just be thankful he wasn't wearing Alex Torres' helmet because he would have looked absolutely ridiculous lying on the ground bleeding out of his face with that silly hat on.

As for the game, Mitchell's departure put the Yankees in a situation where they had to piece together the rest of the game with their bullpen.  Early on it looked like the Yankees were well on their way to a win with their spot starter on the mound.  The 3-0 lead Mitchell was spotted came courtesy of Brian McCann.  It was more of the same from him, his third homer in five games (he finished the night 3 for 5 with five RBI and threw three runners out).  Mitchell was a pitch away from getting out of the second inning unscathed when the line drive took him out.  That's when Caleb Cotham, the long man by default, let the Twins back in the game.

It was a bit of a lead exchange the rest of the way.  McCann had another big hit, a two-run single to put the Yanks up 5-4 in the third.  The Twins scored in the 4th, 5th and 6th to take a 7-5 lead before Carlos Beltran tied it up with a two-run shot in the bottom of the 6th.  That score stood still until the bottom of the tenth when the Yanks loaded the bases for Headley who hit a grounder to the one guy in the world I needed that ball hit to.  Eduardo Nunez is literally the worst shortstop in the history of baseball.  He botched the ball and didn't even know what to do with it so he threw it to first like that even made any sense at all.  Ordinarily it seems kind of anti-climactic to win a game on a walk-off error but last night definitely felt like poetic justice.

In the meantime the Yanks will head into tonight's game with a thin bullpen.  Chris Capuano will probably be in the building tonight to replace Mitchell.  The short term rotation issues should work themselves out with Pineda soon to return and the rosters set to expand in a couple weeks.  That's a full game lead in the division for those of you keeping score at home, 2 games in the loss column.  The Blue Jays are in Philadelphia tonight while the Yanks throw CC out there against Mike Pelfry.

Time to get fat

These past ten days have been pretty grueling.  Six hardly-contested battles with the Blue Jays book-ending three tough games in Cleveland, all of which were played with stress stemming from an offense that's sputtering.  However, it's August 17th, the Yankees are in first place and they are about to embark upon a 10 game home-stand against mostly mediocre opponents.  The Blue Jay locomotive has at least slowed down a little bit after this weekend and you can bet your bottom dollar that there are losses coming for Toronto.  That's just the way baseball works.  This stretch here could present a great opportunity for the Yanks to pad the division lead. 

The first team in to visit the Bronx is the Twins.  This is not a good team anymore, not that they ever really were one.  They took two of three against the Indians over the weekend but they're 10-17 since the All-Star break and now find themselves just one game over .500 chasing three teams for the final wild card spot.  The Yanks took two of three in Minnesota back in late July so they're familiar with what's in front of them.

The Twins have a few decent hitters in their lineup.  Brian Dozier is their big bopper who has a lot of pop but can be pitched to.  The rookie Miguel Sano is a really good young hitter.  Torii Hunter is ok.  Joe Mauer is a shell of his former self.  Other than that there's really not a whole lot to worry about.

The true barometer for how badly the Yankee lineup is struggling is going to be how they perform against these next three starting pitchers; Kyle Gibson, Mike Pelfry and Ervin Santana.  There is nothing impressive about any of these guys.  Gibson is starting tonight and hasn't won a game in five starts.  His last time out against the Yankees he gave up six runs in 5.1 IP and took the loss.  Pelfry has an ERA a few ticks under 4 but a losing record at 6-7 and a 1.41 WHIP.  And Ervin Santana has allowed 24 runs in his last 20 innings and has been awful since coming back from his PED suspension.  If the Yankees can't get things going offensively at home against these guys then they may be in more trouble than we thought.

Bryan Mitchell is getting the nod tonight, pushing everybody back a day.  There will probably be a pretty short leash on him with a well rested bullpen.  He looked great during his last appearance tossing three shutout innings during the Yankees' 16 inning loss at Cleveland last Tuesday.  His last start was not so great.  The White Sox tagged him for four runs in four innings as he took a loss on August 1st.  CC Sabathia will look to build off his last two starts when he goes tomorrow night.  In those two outings he's allowed just three earned runs in 12 innings but hasn't recorded a win.  Wednesday afternoon will feature Nate Eovaldi on the hill as he'll aim for his 13th win despite a 4.26 ERA.  His last start against the Indians wasn't great but the Yankees did what they usually do for him and scored a bunch of runs to get him into the win column. 

The biggest thing to watch for this series is A-Rod.  He's in the biggest slump of the season and he's got to get going in order for this team to be as good as it can be.  Otherwise there may need to be a shakeup in the batting order, i.e. Beltran moving into the three-hole.  Even without an offensive explosion these are three very winnable games for the Yankees.  They've been a streaky team all year and they're coming off a bit of a downslide.  It's time to even that out and go on a win streak.

CC was involved in a fight outside a club in Toronto

Yankees star CC Sabathia was leaving a Toronto nightclub when a massive fight broke out ... and several people had to hold him back from the action.

The brawl broke out early Saturday morning ... after the Yankees had won game 1 of their weekend series against the Blue Jays. CC stands out in the crowd for two reasons -- he's 6'7" and he's sporting BRIGHT red sneakers.

It's unclear what sparked the fight -- witnesses tell us hecklers were yelling "Go Blue Jays" -- but Sabathia definitely looks like he WANTS to jump into the fray. Ultimately, a friend shoved him into a cab and he got outta Dodge.

Earlier in the year I probably would have said something along the lines of "too bad he didn't break his shoulder so that he doesn't have to pitch anymore and we can void his contract in 2017" but he's actually pitched pretty well lately.

Anybody who thinks this fight had anything to do with Bryan Mitchell pitching tonight is an idiot.  They're playing 16 games in 16 days and want to throw a spot start in there to give everyone an extra day.  They've been doing it all year and they talked about doing it heading into this stretch of play.  Also I'm not sure how pushing a guy's start back a day is punishment for anything.

This is a total non-story despite the fact that I'm posting it and treating it like a story.  CC has always been a stand up guy, on and off the field.  Other than the way he's pitched the past couple of years he's never embarrassed the Yankees since he's been here.  I don't know what started this but I'm going to give CC the benefit of the doubt and say it wasn't him.  He's got nothing to answer for.  He wasn't involved in the physical element of the confrontation, yelled at some people, got in a cab and went home.  No harm no foul.

Not a sweep, but I'll take it

Oh how sweet it would have been after last weekend to come right back and punch the Blue Jays in the mouth with a series sweep.  But going on the road and taking two of three from the hottest team in baseball is a good thing no matter how you cut it up. 

Severino was great again today.  He was blowing his fastball by some of the best hitters in baseball all day long but was once again betrayed by his defense and lack of run support.  Beltran losing the ball in the sun (error, double, whatever you want to call it) gave the Blue Jays an extra out in the 3rd and they took advantage.  Donaldson RBI double and then a Bautista bomb.  3-0 Toronto.  I'd like my pitcher to bare down there and pick up his defense but I'm not going to hold it against a 21-year-old rookie.  If I could offer a slight critique of Severino I would say that while he most certainly does have a major league fastball, his slider and change-up need to develop.  Both of those pitches got bashed for the biggest blows of the day and he's had trouble putting away hitters in his three starts with any pitch but his fastball.  Other than that, there's so much to love and be excited about with this kid.

Today may have been a shitty way to end the series but there were so many positives to take from this weekend.  First off, the Yanks went into Toronto and slayed the proverbial dragon.  The Blue Jays were on a torrid pace and had become the trendy pick to win the world series and never lose a baseball game again.   The Yanks came in, ended the winning streak and took back the division.

Secondly, Masahiro Tanaka earned his pinstripes on Saturday.  In the biggest game of his major league career against the best lineup in baseball he went out and threw a masterpiece.  And it was so much more than that.  The bullpen was cooked.  There was no Miller/Betances safety net waiting behind him and he went out and threw a complete game.  Just an ace doing ace things.  The bad news is the lineup is still struggling.  Not quite as as mightily as they were heading into the series but they still haven't clicked.  Price had his way with them on Friday while Marco Estrada and Drew Hutchinson were also for the most part able to suppress the offense.

Unfortunately the greatest culprit during this prolonged period of offensive futility has been Alex Rodriguez.  You hate to call him out because he pretty much eclipsed his projected season home run and rbi totals by the all-star break but he's 2 for his last 26 and 7 for his last 46 without a home run since July 27th.  When it comes to identifying what's wrong with the offense the easy target has been Ellsbury but now he's started to pick it up a bit.  This hasn't been a jaw-dropping slump but it's the longest one A-Rod's experienced this year.  He's been so consistent all season hitting in the 3 hole and now you're starting to see what this lineup looks like when he isn't performing.  Now you have to start asking yourself is this just an extended slump or is A-Rod starting to wear down?  If Beltran continues to rake does he slide into the 3 hole more often?

You have to feel good today even though the weekend ended on a sour note.  Tomorrow starts a ten-game homestand.  Twins for three, four against the Indians and then the Astros.  Hopefully the offense can get a little more comfortable back at the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium and start to get rolling.  If it does they'll have a great chance to pad their lead over the next ten days provided Toronto doesn't go on any more 11 game winning streaks.

Winning streak ovaaaahhhhhh

What a fucking win.  What a fucking game.  That was one of the best regular season games I've ever watched.  The intensity at the Rogers Center tonight was unreal.  From the first inning the place was rocking.  Fans living and dying with every pitch.  The atmosphere was unreal.  Price and Nova duking it out again.  The Yankees putting on baserunner after baserunner to no avail.  Nova working through his kinks to keep the Blue Jays at 3 runs.  To have gone into this game and lost it would have been one thing but to have coughed it up in the 9th after Beltran's home run may have killed this team for good. 

And how about Carlos Fucking Beltran?  For the most part this year I've been able to stifle my hatred for the way he plays right field because I know if the Yankees make the playoffs he's going to rake.  And tonight, in his biggest AB as a Yankee, he did exactly that.  I remember looking at his face as he stood at the plate in the 8th.  The place was so loud the centerfield camera was shaking.  All the while Carlos looked as cool as a cucumber.  He took the next pitch and fucking blasted it into the right centerfield seats.  Shut the fuck up Toronto.

Then came Miller in the 9th.  Absolute panic attack.  A walk to Callobello and a base hit by Pillar and all of the sudden you start to wonder if Miller's about to come back down to Earth.  Blew the save against the Indians, gave up a run last night and put the Yankees on the brink again tonight.  After that wild pitch while Revere was up I was convinced it was over.  You could see he was visibly shaken up.  But he buckled down and struck out the final two batters, making Revere look foolish on a couple of sliders before winning an epic 12-pitch battle with Tulo. 

This was about as big of a win as you can get on August 14th.  Think about what a loss tonight would have meant.  It would have been another game in the standings, another game tacked onto Toronto's winning streak and another day of reporters asking the Yankees about how scared they are of the Blue Jays.  Now all of that can be put to rest.  I'm not saying Carlos Beltran just shifted the entire momentum of the pennant race with one swing, but I'm not not saying that.

Time to punch back.

This week has been brutal.  Most of it has stemmed from a cataclysmic meltdown against the Blue Jays last weekend.  Toronto came in here hot as a pistol amidst all the hype from their deadline moves and lived up to every bit of it.  They shut down the Yankee bats, scored runs when they had to and haven't stopped winning since.  As of two nights ago the once comfortable American League East lead that the Yankees had held for weeks has vanished.

During this recent stretch that at a point saw this once potent Yankee offense go ice cold to the tune of nine runs in seven games, the Blue Jays walked into Yankee Stadium and held the Bombers to one single run in three days.  The Yankee pitching held their own, limiting the best offense in baseball to 10 total runs, but that's all the Blue Jays would need to complete the three game series sweep.  Tonight the Yankees go into Canada to face a Blue Jay team that's playing even better than they were a week ago.  They've won 11 straight, 14 of 15 and haven't lost a single game with Troy Tulowitzki in the starting lineup.  After the Blue Jays wrapped up an early win yesterday against Oakland the Yankee bats finally woke up in the series finale against the Indians.  They salvaged that one game in Cleveland but if they're really going to get back on track then it has to start tonight.

Toronto is -230 to win tonight with David Price on the mound.  They're the new odds-on favorite to win the World Series.  Everything is coming up Blue Jays which puts them in a unique position.  Not in a million years has Toronto owned an AL East lead this late into the season.  Never in my life have the Blue Jays had legitimate expectations to win a pennant on August 14th.  The hunters have now become the hunted.  It's one thing to go on a hot streak in August, it's quite another to keep it up down the stretch during the last 50 games of a season and clinch a division crown.  I'm not saying Toronto won't do it.  They're stacked to the brim.  They have a legit ace, maybe the best lineup the league has seen in a decade and all the momentum in the world.  But they've never been here before.  We have.  If the Yanks get pummeled again this weekend I may have to concede the division early and start eying the Angels and the Orioles but I'm not ready to do that yet.  Things don't look great, but that's why you play the games.  We're going to find out a lot about the Yankees this weekend.  Like A-Rod said, we got punched last weekend.  Good teams punch back.