Yanks roll to Game 1 win

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in Game 1 of the ALDS by the score of 7-2. CC Sabathia wasn't his sharpest but he was good and able to battle through things, especially with a couple of crossups with Jorge Posada who had a terrible game behind the plate. It didn't look great early but the Yankees stayed patient and didn't panic and then Derek Jeter hit a 2 run homerun to tie it and it seemed to settle them down. The Yankees also got a couple of rbi singles from A-rod which was good for him and Hideki Matsui hit a 2 run homerun. Nick Swisher had a rbi double. The bullpen was good and Joe Girardi used Phil Hughes for 2/3 of an inning, Phil Coke for 1/3 of an inning and Joba Chamberlain for a 1/3 of an inning. Mariano Rivera finished up the game giving up a hit and a walk but no runs. The Yankees have the off day tomorrow so it was good to get everyone in and comfortable and now they can be used again on Friday and will be ready to go in a tight spot. Mark Teixeira didn't have a great game but he did also hit the ball hard twice but just right at people. A.J. Burnett will now take the ball in game 2 with a lot less pressure and I have a feeling he will come up big. Nick Blackburn is a pretty good pitcher but he has never pitched in the postseason. It was a great start for the Yankees and hopefully they will have many more wins to come.

Yanks at Twins Game 1

The New York Yankees were resting yesterday while the Twins were playing a thrilling 12 inning game that they eventually won. They had to take a late night flight into NY and I am sure didn't get to bed until the wee hours of the morning which is good for the Yankees. Here are the pregame notes and lineups via Sam Borden of the Journal News. The forecast tonight calls for cool temperatures and very windy conditions. The gusts could be up to 40mph and it will be interesting to see if the ball is flying out to right even more so then usual. CC has been great this season but not so good in the playoffs in his career. He is 2-3 with a 7.92 era in 5 postseason starts. He does have good career numbers against the twins though, 9-4 with a 1.91 era in his last 13 starts. A-rod has done everything right this season in staying out of the way and not doing anything stupid and producing but all eyes are on him now. He has 1 homerun and 1 rbi and 35 LOB in his last 16 playoff games. His best postseason series as a Yankee was against Minnesota in 2004. He went 8 for 19 with 3 rbi's. The Yankees were 7-0 against the Twins this season but four of the seven games were decided by one run, six of the seven were decided by 2 runs and two of the seven were extra innings. The Yankees won three in a row in May on walkoff hits. The Twins have won 17 of 21 to close out the regular season. They were 7 games out and beat out the Tigers for their 5th division title in 8 years. They used 6 relievers over the final 7 innings last night to get to where they are now. Duensing was a college teammate of Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees only saw him once in July when he came out of the bullpen. He allowed 4 runs, 2 hits and 4 walks in 2 2/3 innings. He was 5-1 with a 2.73 era in 9 starts this season. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) Twins Lineup: Span(CF) Cabrera(SS) Mauer(C) Cuddyer(1B) Kubel(RF) Young(LF) Harris(DH) Tolbert(3B) Punto(2B)

Pitching Matchups for playoff series

L.A. vs Boston Game 1 Lester vs Lackey Game 2 Beckett vs Weaver Game 3 Bucholz vs Kazmir Game 4 Lester vs Saunders L.A. vs St. Louis Game 1 Carpenter vs Wolf Game 2 Wainwright vs Kershaw Game 3 Piniero vs TBA Philly vs Colorado Game 1 Jiminez vs Lee Game 2 Hammels vs Cook My Predictions Yanks in 4 Angels in 5 Dodgers in 5 Phillies in 4 ALCS: Yanks over Angels in 6 NLCS: Dodgers over Phillies in 6 WS: Yanks over Dodgers in 6

Yanks/Twins

The New York Yankees will be taking on the Minnesota Twins in the best of 5 ALDS. The Twins won a thrilling tiebreaker game last night in 12 innings and then had the prize of flying 3 hours to NY in the middle of the night to meet the New York Yankees. Here are the tentative pitching matchups, if it changes I will let you guys know. Tonight- CC Sabathia vs Brian Duensing Friday- A.J. Burnett vs Nick Blackburn Sunday- Andy Pettitte vs Carl Pavano I am going to say the Yankees are going to win in 4, tonight is a big game. If you are the Yankees you want to jump on them, don't let a underdog wake up. The Yankees offense shouldn't be shut down by these pitchers and if you are the Yankees pitchers just shut down Joe Mauer don't let him beat you and you should be fine. It looks like Freddy Guzman and Francisco Cervelli will be the last 2 roster spots but I will have that for sure later on today. Have a good day everyone and continue to check back for news and notes and playoff matchups.

Yankees workout and have announcements

The New York Yankees worked out today at the Stadium and now I am sure are lounging around watching the Twins/Tigers to see who they will face. The first thing that happened today was reported by Sam Borden of the Journal News and that was that Jose Molina will catch A.J. Burnett. Jorge Posada if you listen to the audio isn't too pleased about it and said " I just hope we win that game, thats all, that is all I have to say." If you know Posada like most of us do, he is a fiery guy and if A.J. goes out and doesn't pitch well this will be a big problem as Posada will be very displeased and there will be tension. A.J. Burnett better come up big if he is getting his way, also Joe Girardi is taking a chance but you have to give him credit for doing what he thinks is best especially knowing it isn't a popular decision. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Chad Jennings who is making his debut on the blog and as Yankees beat reporter replacing Peter Abraham had some notes from the clubhouse. He saw that the Yankees had 30 lockers with nameplates which means that they will carry an extra 5 guys most likely just in case. Sam Borden is now reporting that Brian Bruney has been left off the roster along with Sergio Mitre and Ramiro Pena but they will keep in shape in Tampa just in case they are needed or if the Yankees advance and change their minds. It would seem the last roster spot is down to Damaso Marte or Freddy Guzman. It would depend on who they play, it looks like if they play the Twins they will take Marte since they have more lefties and if it is the Tigers then Guzman will make it. Brian Bruney as you would expect wasn't too happy, he didn't talk for too long. Joe Girardi also did announce just a little while ago that A.J. Burnett will be starting game 2. I think the numbers show that Burnett is better at home and better with Molina but he needs to step up and have a big game.

Miguel Cabrera, what is he thinking?

The reports came out today that Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera was out partying with the opponent on friday night and when he returned home early in the morning got into a fight with his wife. He had a cut on his face and apparently said it was from his cat but turns out it was a domestic dispute and the police were called. It is bad enough that he was in the middle of a pennant race and went out partying with the opponent but then comes home drunk and gets into a fight with his wife. If he did hit her he is really really low. Here is the question I would pose, he has disgraced the franchise and would you suspend him even though you have a 1 game playoff or just go about your business and do nothing??? I think if it was me I would suspend him and show that the organization won't put up with any nonsense like this.

George Steinbrenner makes a statement

The New York Yankees were home relaxing today and will have a workout at Yankee Stadium tomorrow. They will probably watch the Twins/Tigers game afterwards on the big screen inside the stadium. The Yankees owner George Steinbrenner made a statement today through publicist Howard Rubenstein. Here is what he had to say. This has been a tremendous year for our team as we have settled into our new home," Steinbrenner said in a statement issued by Howard Rubenstein. "The New York Yankees are proud of our rich history of outstanding players, and this year's team has worked hard to prove that they are worthy of the great distinction of calling themselves Yankees. "We look forward to finishing what we started this season and never losing sight of our goal -- to bring another championship to the best fans in the world and the great city of New York." It sounds great and hopefully if the Yankees make it to the ALCS the boss will be able to make it to NY. There is no news today as the Yankees will have their workout tomorrow and not finalize the rosters until they find out their opponent.

NFL Week 4 in Review

The New York Giants defeated the Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 27-16. It really wasn't that close, it was 27-3 until the 4th quarter. The Giants once again were pretty methodical, there defense played well and finally got some sacks, 5 actually. The offense looked good, ran the ball pretty well again and Steve Smith had a huge game as he continues to have a breakout season. Mario Manningham didn't have a good game at all and Hakeem Nicks had a nice 58 yard TD reception. The only worrisome part of the game really was Eli Manning going down with a foot injury. It looks like he will be ok though and we will see as the week goes on if he will play this week against the Raiders. The bottom line is the Giants are 4-0 and should be able to get to 5-0 before the schedule gets a little bit tougher. The New York Jets were defeated by the New Orleans Saints by the score of 24-10. Mark Sanchez had a dreadful game as he threw a interception that was returned for a TD and fumbled one in the endzone. The Jets defense was actually very very good once again but Mark Sanchez played like a rookie and that is why they lost this game. The Jets though are 3-1 and hope to bounce back Monday night in Miami. The Jets and their fans have to expect Sanchez to have games like these though and the important thing is for him to learn from it and get better. The Jets defense is going to win them a lot of games, if they can stop the best offense then they can stop anyone. The Jets running game is still a problem and if they could get a running game going that would help Sanchez tremendously. I by the way was 2-0 with my picks and have the Vikings in tonights game.

ALDS Playoff matchups

The NL is all set with the Cardinals taking on the Dodgers and the Phillies playing the Rockies. The Phillies and Dodgers have homefield. Here is the schedule of the games. Wed- Rockies at Phillies 2:37PM Wed- Cards at Dodgers 9:37PM Thurs- Rockies at Phillies 2:37PM Thurs- Cards at Dodgers 9:37PM Sat- Dodgers at Cards 6:07PM Sat- Phillies at Rockies 9:37PM The AL will have the Red Sox taking on the Angels and the Yankees taking on the Tigers or Twins who will play Tuesday night at 5:07 to decide who will head to New York. Here is the tentative schedule assuming the Yankees pick the longer series. Wed- Twins/Tigers at Yankees 6:07PM Thurs- Red Sox at Angels 9:37PM Friday- Twins/Tigers at Yanks 6:07PM Friday- Red Sox at Angels 9:37PM The rest of the schedule will be determined at a later date as the games move along.

Yanks finish reg. season with a bang

The New York Yankees closed out the regular season in style defeating the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 10-2. The Yankees scored all 10 runs in the 6th inning led by A-rods 3 run homerun and grand slam. A-rod set a AL record by having 7 rbi's in the inning and he also finished his season with 30 homeruns and 100 rbis setting a major league record for most consecutive seasons with those marks. It was his 12th straight season with 30+ homers and 100+ rbi's. The Yankees finished the season with their most wins since the 1998 team who finished with 114 wins. A.J. Burnett pitched 5 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. He struggled early and then settled down. The bullpen was brilliant giving up 0 hits the last 4 innings. Joba Chamberlain pitched a perfect inning on 7 pitches, Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning and so did Mariano Rivera. Phil Coke pitched 2/3 of an inning and Phil Hughes 1/3 of an inning. The Yankees will now wait to see who they will play either the Twins or Tigers who will play game 163 on Tuesday night in Minnesota. Nick Blackburn will face Rick Porcello and I am sure the Yankees will choose to play starting Wed night. The Yankees got a suprise visit from the BOSS who visited with them for an hour in the clubhouse before the game. He told them he was happy and excited for the postseason and just keep doing what they have been doing. The Yankees will meet tomorrow and make up their minds about the roster but not tell the players until they have too. Mark Teixeira finished tied with the league lead in homers and finished with the most rbi's.

The Yankees aim for win No. 103, which would match their most since 2002. They also seek an ALDS opponent, as the Twins and Tigers begin the day deadlocked in the AL Central lead. If the Twins and Tigers both win or lose the Yankees will have to wait until Tuesday to find out their opponent. Here are the notes and lineup via the Journal News. A.J. Burnett goes for career win No. 100 today and will look to continue his turnaround. He has struck out 25, walked nine and allowed 17 hits over his last three starts (19 IP). Burnett is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA vs. the Rays this year, and 10-4 with a 2.80 ERA vs. them in his career. I thnk for A.J. it is important for him to finish strong because with him a lot of it is mental. It will also be interesting to see Joba come out of the pen who is the same as A.J. with intensity and needs to be mentally strong to do well. Elias Sports Bureau says the Yankees haven’t ended a season as MLB’s outright home run champ since 1961. They will do so today regardless — unless Texas hits 19 HRs. The Yanks went homerless on Saturday and still need one more to surpass their franchise record of 242. Teixeira still needs one more to pass injured Ray Carlos Pena for the AL lead. If Tex hits another homerun he will finish first in homers and rbi's in the AL. Jeter and Cano are in the top 5 in avg. There are several other Yankees who finished in the top of the league in several categories such as CC in wins. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Swisher(RF) Cano(2B) Cabrera(CF) Molina(C) It looks like Posada will be the manager for the game and we shall see who his bench and pitching coaches will be in this final meaningless game of the season.

Yanks lose again in Tampa, still await opponent

There isn't much to say about tonights game, the Yankees lost 5-3. Andy Pettitte started and wasn't great at all just couldn't get anything going. I wouldn't look too much into it though, as he said it is over and I am looking forward to the playoffs. The bullpen was good again making the decisions on the Yankees very tough as to who the last couple of spots on the playoff roster is going to go to. The Yankees will have Joba Chamberlain work out of the bullpen tomorrow and that is where he will be used in the ALDS it appears and then they will see what to do in the ALCS should they get that far. The Yankees still don't know who they will be playing as that could be a factor with some roster choices depending on who they play. The Twins will send Carl Pavano to the mound tomorrow with the Tigers sending Justin Verlander, if they both win or both lose there will be a one game playoff on Tuesday from the Metrodome. The Yankees have one hour after they know their opponent to choose which series they want but I am sure they are taking the extra days off so they will use 3 starters and be able to use Hughes and Mo in every game also. The most important thing about this game was the Yankees came out of it healthy and have one more meaningless game tomorrow. The regulars will play tomorrow except for Posada who will be managing as is a tradition from the Joe Torre days. It looks like this could be a trend in the playoffs also with Molina catching A.J. and Posada being the DH.

NFL Week 4 football picks

The New York Giants will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City and the New York Jets will head to New Orleans to take on the Saints. I will start with the Giants, I expect them to beat the Chiefs by a lot. I don't think there will be any looking ahead as they know what happened last year when they went into Cleveland and everyone thought they would win and they got beat up. The Chiefs have no passing attack and the Giants will be getting Kevin Dockery back to help the secondary, I expect Brandon Jacobs to get going and have a big game running. I am taking the Giants. Giants 28- Chiefs 10 The Jets I think are going to lose their first game of the season. The Saints have the best offense and although I think the Jets defense is very good they will give up some points and I don't think Mark Sanchez and the offense can keep up with the Saints. I would think the Jets keep it competitive but lose. Saints-24 Jets 17 My random pick of the week will be the Monday night game between Brett Favre and the Vikings and the Green Bay Packers. It should be interesting but Favre will be at home so it won't be like when he returns to Green Bay later in the year. I think the Vikings are good but not sure they are as good as they have looked, the Packers aren't great but should be better then they are. I will take the Vikings in a close one. Vikings 24 Packers 21 Those are my picks for week 4 of the NFL season, I was right last week with the Giants wrong about the Jets and I did get the Colts right so I am 2-1 for the season, lets see how I do. I would like to hear other opinions so please comment here and let me know if you think I am right, wrong or whatever lets have some fun with the picks as we go along.

MLB News

The Toronto Blue Jays fired GM J.P. Ricciardi today and the Padres did the same with their GM Kevin Towers. The Blue Jays is interesting because the players have said they want Cito Gaston out so there could be a while new power structure there and we will see if they can be back to being competitive with the Yanks and Red Sox. Kevin Towers is a longtime friend of Brian Cashman and has made several deals with him over the years, it will be interesting to see if the Yankees have any interest in bringing him in at any position not GM of course but something else. In other news the Twins are currently leading the Royals 4-1 with Detroit getting started in about an hour, if the Twins hold on and the Tigers lose, they are starting a pitcher who hasn't pitched at any level in 3 months then they will be tied with tomorrow being the last regular season game.

Yanks at Rays

The Yankees look to stay healthy and hope that Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett fare better then CC did last night heading into the postseason. Here are the pregame notes and lineup via Josh Thompson of the Journal News who is covering for Sam Borden. The game is at 7:08PM tonight from Tampa on the YES network. Mark Teixeira, who is tied for first in the AL with 39 HR and first in RBI with 121, is only the third first-year player in club history to reach those power totals. You may know the others: Babe Ruth (54 HR, 136 RBI) in 1920 and Jason Giambi (41 HR, 122 RBI) in 2002.THE 900 CLUB: The Yanks now have 902 runs, marking the 16th time in franchise history they have scored 900 or more. It’s also the third time this decade. Juan Miranda jacked his first homer of his career last night. It also happened to match a team milestone. The homer was No. 242 for the club, matching its previous high set in 2004. It is their ninth 200-homer season this decade. That said, Elias Sports Bureau says the Yankees haven’t ended a season as MLB’s outright home run champ since 1961 (read: Maris and Mantle). The season is almost over for last year’s darling, but Friday night was a record-setting one for the Rays. The otherwise disappointing B.J. Upton went 5 for 5 with six RBI and hit for the cycle. He was the first player in franchise history to hit for the cycle; tied the club record for hits; and set a career-high for RBI. … The Rays also became the eighth team in MLB history to win 180 games over two seasons after losing 180 the two seasons before. It wasn't all bad for Tampa although they won't make the postseason, remember they are in the best division and had some injuries. In the Who-Plays-The-Yankees race, Detroit sends rookie Alfredo Figaro (1-2, 5.74) against Chicago’s Freddy Garcia (2-4, 4.78), while the Twins, down a game, send Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.08) on three-days rest against Kansas City ace and future Cy Young winner Zack Greinke (16-8, 2.06). The Yankees would love to see this come down to tomorrow. Yankees Lineup: Gardner(CF) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) Matsui(DH) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Hinske(3B) Hairston(SS)

AL Central tightens

It looks like the Yankees are getting something they wanted with the Twins winning tonight and the Tigers losing Detroit has a 1 game lead with 2 to play. If the Twins win tomorrow it will mean that no matter what Detroit does Sunday will matter and Justin Verlander is scheduled to pitch, the Yankees won't have to face him in game 1 if they played Detroit and that would be a huge advantage. The best thing would be for them to finish tied and have to play a game on Tuesday because the Vikings play at the Metrodome on Monday night. It will be interesting to watch tomorrow and see what unfolds. I would love to see the Twins tie it up tomorrow and make the last day really exciting.

CC fails to get 20

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 13-4 tonight. CC Sabathia only lasted 2 2/3 innings giving up 9 runs, 5 earned. He just didn't have his fastball command at all and was terrible. I guess the good thing is you want to get a bad one out of the way before the postseason. I am sure it was hard for him to focus on a individual goal rather then winning for the team. He will get to redeem himself in game 1 one Wed at Yankee Stadium. He will set the tone for the series and I would hate to be his opponent as I am sure he will be very angry and focused. The Yankees have nothing to play for and just wanted to remain healthy, they suffered a scare in the first inning when Mark Teixeira was hit in the hand and stayed down on the ground for a while. It was originally thought that it hit him in the shoulder but he said it grazed his hand and he was scared and wanted to make sure he had all his faculties before he got up. I don't know if it was on purpose or not but it could have been retaliation for Carlos Pena getting hit on the wrist and breaking it last time these two teams met at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will send out Andy Pettitte tomorrow for his final tuneup before the playoffs.

Yanks end season in Tampa

The New York Yankees will begin a 3 game series in Tampa to end the regular season. The only storyline is CC Sabathia trying to get 20 wins tonight. He is only expected to pitch 5 innings. Here are the pregame notes and lineup via Sam Borden of the Journal News. CC Sabathia and Adam Wainwright will both be going for 20 wins tonight to become the first pitchers to do it this season. CC Sabathia is 0-1 with a 4.35 era this season in 3 starts against Tampa. CC Sabathia is 9-0 with a 2.11 era in his last 11 starts. He will be the game 1 starter on Wed at home in the ALDS. Derek Jeter has led off the Yankees 1st inning with a hit in 10 of his last 16 games. He has done it a major league best 52 times this season. The Rays will finish this season with only the 2nd winning season in franchise history so it wasn't all bad this season for them. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Hairston(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Swisher(RF) Posada(DH) Cano(2B) Cabrera(CF) Molina(C)

Yankees will play?

The Minnesota Twins start a 3 game series with the K.C. Royals tonight from Minnesota. The Detroit Tigers will begin a 3 game series tonight at home against the Chicago White Sox. The reason I am posting this is because it is the only race left and also it directly affects the Yankees as they will play the winner of the AL Central which will be the Twins or Tigers. The Tigers magic number is 2 so the Twins have to look for a sweep and hope the Tigers lose 2 out of 3 and force a one game playoff or get swept and win the division. Here are the matchups for the 3 game series for both teams. Detroit Tonight- Edwin Jackson vs Jake Peavy Tomorrow- Alfredo Figaro vs Freddy Garcia Sunday- Justin Verlander vs John Danks Minnesota Tonight- Jeff Manship vs Lenny Dinardo Tomorrow- Nick Blackburn vs Zach Greinke Sunday- Brian Duensing vs Luke Hochevar

Twins stay alive with victory over Tigers

The Minnesota Twins stayed alive this afternoon with a 8-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers. The Twins are 2 games out with 3 to go so it is still a long shot but they have a shot anyway. The Twins head home to take on Kansas City and the Tigers will take on the White Sox at home. There was an interesting twist to the game today, in the ninth inning Delmon Young got hit by a pitch and apparantly was unhappy with his own teammate who caused this all by hitting a Tiger earlier in the game. Delmon Young got up off the ground and pointed at his own dugout and manager Ron Gardenhire said that the pitcher did the wrong thing also. The Yankees hope this goes down to the final day so the pitching rotations will be all messed up and the best scenario is if they tie and have to play a game on Tuesday to see who will play the Yankees starting on Wednesday.

Mike Blowers the psychic

Here is a link to an amazing story, Mike Blowers the former Mariner and Yankee made some bold predictions before Saturdays Seattle/Toronto game. Check this out it is truly amazing. It is now gaining publicity all over the internet and is also on the Lohud Yankees Blog at least a link to a story on mlb.com. I would like to hear what everyone has to say about this one because I have never seen or heard anything like it. http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=374&sid=218287

Yanks at Rays Pitching Matchups

Tomorrow- CC Sabathia vs David Price Saturday-Andy Pettitte vs Jeff Niemann Sunday- A.J. Burnett vs Wade Davis This is the last series of the regular season and doesn't mean anything. The pitchers will only pitch 5 or 6 innings as a tuneup. The regulars may play tomorrow to try and get CC his 20th win but he won't be in there much longer then 5 innings. They just don't want to get hurt head back home and get ready for Wednesday's Game 1 of the ALDS.