Grapefruit League Game 10-Atlanta Braves At Yankees(Weather Permitting)

It is a gray dreary day down in Tampa, there is rain in the forecast. It looks like they will get this game in though. Derek Jeter was in the original starting lineup but was scratched due to flu like symptoms. The Yankees told him to go home so as that he wouldn't pass it on to anyone else. He wasn't going to make the long roadtrip tomorrow so he will have 2 days off. Joe Girardi said he should have him playing in a game on Saturday. Here is the lineup for tonights game and then a couple of quick notes. Yankees Lineup: Winn(DH) Swisher(RF) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Posada(C) Thames(LF) Hoffman(CF) Pena(SS) Corona(2B) The Yankees are scheduled to play the Nationals in Viera which is a long ride, the bus is supposed to leave at 7:45AM but they are calling for bad weather tomorrow. Joe Girardi said that the Nationals are going to call them at 7:30AM if the game is called for tomorrow so they don't have to make the long trip. Here is who is scheduled to go on the trip. Pitchers:Andy Pettitte,Christian Garcia,Boone Logan,Sergio Mitre, D.J. Mitchell,Zach Segovia. Catchers:Francisco Cervelli, Jose Gil, Jesus Montero, P.J. Pilittere,Mike Rivera Infielders:Robinson Cano,Reegie Corona,Nick Johnson,Brandon Laird,Juan Miranda,Eduardo Nunez,Ramiro Pena,Kevin Russo and Jorge Vazquez. Outfielders:Brett Gardner, Colin Curtis,Gorecki, Curtis Granderson,Jaime Hoffman,Jon Weber,David Winfree and Randy Winn. Joe Girardi also announced that he has encouraged Francisco Cervelli to use the helmet with the extra padding. It was the helmet that David Wright was wearing when everyone made fun of him for looking like the Great Mazoo. The thing is I don't care what you look like if you have had head injuries you want to protect yourself as best as you can. There is Joe Girardi audi up at the Lohud Yankees Blog from Sam Borden. Here is the audio. Enjoy the game, it is at 7:00PM on the YES network. I will be back in a little bit with a official game post.

Some postgame Yankees Notes

Sam Borden had a interesting post on Joba and Phil Hughes on the Lohud Yankees Blog. If you haven't seen it check it out at http://yankees.lhblogs.com/. He is saying the reason you shouldn't get hung up in spring stats which I for the most part don't do is because there are things you don't know. Joba Chamberlain for instance has been told to work inside this spring so in that bad inning that is all he was doing no matter the results and Phil Hughes has been told work on your changeup and that is what he was doing when he gave up a homerun today. The point is if you say this guy did this and this one did that it doesn't really mean anything because in the season they wouldn't be doing the same thing. The most important thing is for them to stay healthy and get their arm stength up. The Yankees know what they are doing and are going to determine who they feel is the best 5th starter and who belongs in the bullpen. I know there will always be debate but the Yankees are looking at certain things and it isn't just the stats, I have a hunch they want Hughes to be the 5th starter and they know Joba will be good in the 8th inning role and future closer. I think this is how it will wind up and Aceves will fill the role he did last season with Mitre or Gaudin as the longman and the other getting traded or released. There is also audo of both Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes on the Lohud Yankees blog. I forgot to mention this earlier but the Yankees announced yesterday that they will have a Bowl Game at Yankee Stadium. The game will be held on December 30, 2010 and broadcast on ESPN. It will be called the New Era Pinstriped Bowl. Joe Girardi mentioned this morning that today will be the last tune up start, after today he will really start juding the pitchers for the 5th starter spot. Joe Girardi has been using a lot of different lineups over the past few days and said sometime towards the end of spring training he would want his regular lineup together for an extended period of time. March 16th is the day after an off day and Girardi said he will have all his regulars playing. That is supposed to be Mariano Riveras first appearance also of the spring. Andy Pettitte, Javier Vazquez, Damaso Marte and Mariano Rivera all threw in the bullpen today. They stayed behind in Tampa and didn't make the trip. Cervelli caught Pettitte and Alfredo Aceves and I haven't heard otherwise so I am sure it went well and that he should be ready to catch in a game on Friday. Jesus Montero caught Javier Vazquez and Chad Gaudin.

The Day in Tampa

There really wasn't a whole lot of news coming out of Yankees camp today. Brian Cashman did indicate that Marcus Thames have a opt out of his contract if he doesn't make the team so basically him and Jaime Hoffman are in the same position. If Hoffman doesn't make the team he has to be offered back to the Dodgers due to him being a Rule 5 pick. If thames doesn't make it he can become a free agent. Joe Girardi stated that he would have a team bonding exercise on Tuesday but wouldn't say what it was yet. He also said he knows who will start Wednesdays Grapefruit league opener and will announce that tomorrow. Joe Girardi said that he will put both Gardner and Granderson in left and center during the exhibition games. He said he knows they can both handle center but wants to see if they can handle left. Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte will each throw a bullpen on Monday which will be their first one. Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain both threw batting practice today. Hughes threw 29 pitches getting 6 swings. Joba threw 30 pitches and got 7 swings. Chad Jennings of the Journal News said he probably would say Chamberlain had the better commnad. You really can't find out much from these sessions, during the games is when you find out a lot. Joba and Phil are both taking this competition as fun, they are friends and were joking about it today. If you want to hear some audio of them visit the http://yankees.lhblogs.com/ which is the Lohud Yankees Blog by Chad Jennings and Sam Borden. A.J. Burnett, Javier Vazquez and Wilken De La Rosa all threw bullpens today. The other pitchers who threw live batting practice other then Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes were Boone Logan, Dustin Mosely, Edwar Ramirez and Mark Melancon. The other group consisted of Kei Igawa, Zach McAllister, Ivan Nova, Kevin Whelan, Hector Noesi, Jeremy Bleich and D.J. Mitchell. There was still no sign of Chan Ho Park, maybe he will arrive tomorrow.

Derek Jeters Contract Status

The New York Yankees will come to a interesting place at the end of this season. Derek Jeters contract is up and they have will have to pay him. He will be 36 yrs old and is a shortstop which is a story for another day. Derek Jeter is the Yankees and will be for the next 50 or 60 years. He will eventually retire but will still be the one that comes out last at the Old Timers Days and will be the best known and most popular Yankee. The Yankees could never let him wear another uniform and he doesn't want to either. The debate will be how much will he get and how much should he get. Derek Jeter may want to act tough with the Yankees although I doubt he will and if he does then what happens. The reason I have brough all this up is because Derek Jeter had a one on one interview with Harold Reynolds. The interview ran on MLB Network last night and if you haven't seen it, it is a good one. Here is the video, enjoy it. Hank Steinbrenner after missing for months now resurfaced today. He had this to say: He like the Yankees move so far and thinks they have a good chance of repeating. Here is what he had to say about Derek Jeter and his contract situation " We will get into all of that eventually. Jeters place in Yankees history is obvious, so I think you can pretty much assume from there." A little side not to this, Jeter is already down in Tampa working out. Those quotes from Steinbrenner came courtesy of the AP and were posted on the great Lohud Yankees Blog by Chad Jennings and Sam Borden.

A Joba Chamberlain story

This link came via the Lohud Yankees Blog and Sam Borden. It is a story about Joba Chamberlain being at a Native American Reservation where he grew up and talking to the schoolkids and also giving them some yankees paraphernalia and autographs. It is good to see that he learned from his mistakes of a year ago when he had the DUI. I met Joba Chamberlain when he was with the Trenton Thunder not too long before he came to the majors and he was a really cool guy. He signed for everyone that day also and really interacted with all of us. I still feel he can be a very good starting pitcher but I can also seem him back in the pen this year. If the Yankees don't sign another pitcher I wouldn't mind him and Hughes in the back of the rotation though. It is funny though that this year Phil Hughes will have the rule and Joba will be turned loose. I hope you guys enjoy this article, dont forget to click on the link. share Posted using ShareThis

Phillies at Yankees-World Series Game 1

The New York Yankees appearing in their 40th World Series will take on the defending champions the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies have appeared in 6 World Series most recently last season when they won it all. The Yankees haven't been to a World Series since 2003. The Yankees are 5-0 at home in the postseason and have gone a amazing 39-5 in their last 44 home games. The Yankees are 33-13 alltime in the best of 7 series. Here are the pregame notes and lineups via Sam Borden of the Journal News and Chad Jennings. It has been raining all day in the New York Metropolitan area but as I type this the sun is shining and it looks like we will have baseball tonight. This marks just the second time in history according to the Elias Sports Bureau that two former Cy Young award winners will face off in Game 1 of the World Series. Maddux vs Hersheiser in 1995 was the other. Lee and Sabathia met on opening day of the New Stadium in April. The Indians won that game 10-2. The two pitchers are good friends but not in this series. The Yankees have hit 14 homeruns this postseason so far which is two shy of their franchise record of 16 set in 1996. They also tied that record in 2001 and 2003. The Phillies have also hit 14 homeruns this postseason. The two teams are homerun hitting teams in homerun hitting parks although Yankee Stadium slowed down as the season went on. If the Yankees win the World Series they will be the third team to do so in the first year of their current stadium. The Cardinals in 2006 and the 1912 Red Sox did it. The Yankees won the World Series in their first season at the original Yankee Stadium 1923 and made it to the World Series in the first season of the remodeled stadium in 1976. The Yankees have comeback wins in 5 of their 7 postseason victories including 3 in the 7th inning or later. The Phillies are a comeback team also it is important to note. Jimmy Rollins hasn't hit much this postseason but in the ninth inning he has been unstoppable. A-rod enters his first World Series batting 438 in the postseason with 5 homeruns, 12 rbi's and 9 walks. He has hit safely in all 9 playoff games and 11 straight dating back to the 2007 ALDS. According to Elias, his game tying homeruns in the seventh inning or later are the most such homeruns for any player in a postseason. Suzyn Waldman the Yankees radio announcer for WCBS 880 will become the first woman radio announcer to call a World Series. Congratulations to her. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Posada(C) Matsui(DH) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF)

I don't have the Phillies lineup sorry for that.

Yankees at Angels-ALCS Game 5

The Yankees will play Game 5 tonight in Anaheim looking to win their 40th pennant and head back home going to the World Series. The game is at 8:00PM on FOX. A.J. Burnett will oppose John Lackey. Here are the gamenotes from Chad Jennings and Sam Borden of the Journal News and also from the Yankees press notes. Burnett pitched decently in his first start of the postseason and very well in his second, but hasn’t earned a win in either one. He pitched into the seventh inning of Game 2 and allowed just two runs and three hits, but got a no-decision when the game went 13 innings and 310 minutes. Burnett did come back out to deliver a walkoff pie to Jerry Hairston, who scored the winning run. Alex Rodriguez had a single, double and homer in Game 4, continuing what has been an insane postseason for him. A-Rod has driven in a run in every Yankees playoff game (and eight straight dating back to 2007), and has 11 total RBI. If he continues to hit this well, he’ll shatter the franchise record of 15, held by Scott Brosius (1998) and Bernie Williams (1996). Melky Cabrera had a critical RBI single in the fourth inning of Game 4, and that hit snapped a personal 0-for-7 slide with runners in scoring position, as well as a team-wide 0-for-28 with RISP. As a team, the Yankees are 7-for-45(.156) with RISP during the ALCS. Game 3 was the first time that four teammates – in this case, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Johnny Damon – aged 34 or older homered in any game, postseason or otherwise. Joe Girardi wouldn’t commit one way or another during the off day, but he’ll have a decision to make at DH if Jose Molina is catching. Jorge Posada, who has been on the bench this postseason when Molina catches, is hitting .333 this postseason (8-for-24) with two homers and three RBI and is 12-for-29 lifetime against Lackey. Hideki Matsui is at .261 (6-for-23) during the postseason and is coming off an ugly 0-for-5 in Game 4. The Angels have their ace, Lackey, going in the elimination game tonight and Lackey gave up only two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of Game 1. If you’re looking for a weird prop bet on the game tonight, see if someone will give you action on how long Lackey will stay in the game; in each of his three postseason starts against the Yankees, he’s lasted exactly 5 2/3 innings each time. The Yankees are 33-20 in games where they can clinch a best of 7 series. They lost just one of the previous 13 series where they had a 3 games to 1 lead, that of course was the 2004 series against Boston. The Yankees at 6-1 this postseason have tied their best postseason start. They also accomplished this in 1999 and 2004. They have to remember what happened in 2004 and it doesn't mean anything unless you finish it. The Game 4 win was the Yankees most runs and largest margin of victory since Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS in Boston. CC Sabathia improved to 3-0 and became the 7th Yankees pitcher to ever be 3-0 in the postseason. Melky Cabrera had a postseason career high with 4 rbi's in Game 4. Yankees pitching this postseason has a 1.91 era while their opponents have a 4.41 mark. The Yankees pitchers have gone 6 innings or more with 3 runs or less in all 7 postseason starts marking the best stretch to start a postseason in franchise history. The Yankees pitching has given up 3 homeruns this postseason. The Yankees had 14 unanswered homeruns before an opponent hit one in the postseason which was the best streak in postseason history. A-rod has homeruns in 3 straight postseason games which ties him with Lou Gehrig, Johnny Mize, Hank Bauer, Reggie Jackson, Bernie Williams and Jim Leyritz. He also has rbi's in 8 straight postseason games which is tied for the best ever. The Yankees have come from behind to win 4 of their 6 postseason games. They led the majors with 51 comeback wins in the regular season. Happy Birthday to Robinson Cano who turns 27 today, it would be a nice way to celebrate with a AL Pennant. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) Molina(C) Angels Lineup: Figgins(3B) Abreu(RF) Hunter(CF) Guerrero(DH) Morales(1B) Izturis(2B) Rivera(LF) Mathis(C) Aybar(SS)

Yanks workout at Stadium and Angels in California

The New York Yankees worked out today at the Stadium and Joe Girardi met with the press. There wasn't much that came out of it other then him saying the weather could change things and he is considering a change in the OF, I would think the only change he could make would be to start Brett Gardner instead of Melky Cabrera and then carry Freddy Guzman as the pinchrunner and leave Marte or Hinske off of the roster. We know CC, A.J. and Andy will start the first three games in that order but we don't know after that. It is assumed and I think rightfully so in this case that CC will go in game 4 if there are no rainouts and it is a close series. I am sure if the Yankees were somehow up 3 games to none then they would let Gaudin or Chamberlain start. It is going to be cold and rainy this weekend but I don't know if it will be enough to cancel the games or a game. This could actually help the Yankees because it would slow down the Angels but we have to wait and see how the weather plays out. The Angels were more forthcoming after their workout and it was announced that their rotation will be John Lackey, Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver and Scott Kazmir in that order. Mike Scioscia had a good quote about the weather and CC according to Sam Borden of the Journal News. "I'm hearing a lot of rain, we may face Sabathia 7 times. We may play one game a week, I don't know." This is what the Angels manager said which is pretty funny, meaning he can't worry about it because there could be other things that affect it. That is it for today I am sure with news, both teams will workout at the Stadium tomorrow and I am sure there will be some news then and maybe some quotes.

Yankees at Twins ALDS Game 3

The game is on at 7:07 on TBS, its a good thing they are playing indoors as temperatures outside will be in the 30's with snow showers. It is so good they will be playing outdoors starting next year isn't it? Here are the pregame notes and lineups via the Yankees media notes and Sam Borden/Chad Jennings of the Journal News. The Yankees are up 2-0 in the best-of-five series and are one win away from the ALCS. The Twins came into the postseason as the hottest team, but the Yankees have cooled them off in two different ways: With a gem from CC Sabathia in Game 1 and an 11-inning thriller in Game 2. Andy Pettitte is making his 36th postseason start tonight, which means the veteran lefty has basically pitched one full season in October during his career. His numbers? 14-9, 3.96 ERA. His regular-season averages? 17-10, 3.91 ERA. In other words, he’s one of the best at making the biggest games seem just like every other. Pettitte also owns the Twins – the last time he lost a game to Minnesota was April 30, 2001. Alex Rodriguez seems to have forgotten whatever it was that plagued him in previous Octobers, busting out for five RBI in the first two games of the series including his “Yankee Moment” in Game 2 when he crushed a two-run homer in the ninth inning to tie the game. A-Rod is 4-for-8 in the series. Playing in the Dome is supposed to be a big advantage for the Twins but the Yankees seem more at home there than Minny does. The Twins have lost seven straight home playoff games, four of which were to the Yankees during the 2003 and 2004 first rounds. Despite being up 2-0, the Yankees haven’t gotten much production from the vaunted lineup. Other than A-Rod and Derek Jeter, no Yankee regular is hitting over .300 in the series. Mark Teixiera and Jorge Posada have two hits in the ALDS; Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera, Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon all have just one. In case you hadn’t heard, former Yankee Carl Pavano is standing between the Yankees and the second round. Pavano occasionally played – I use the term loosely – for the Yankees from 2005-08, then signed with Cleveland this year and was traded to the Twins at the deadline. Assuming he doesn’t suffer a debilitating hangnail early, he could do some damage against the Yankees: In two starts against them this season, he allowed just four runs in 13 1/3 combined innings. 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(3B) Morales(DH) Punto(2B)

Twins at Yankees ALDS Game 2

The New York Yankees will try to take a commanding 2 games to none lead on the Twins tonight. A.J. Burnett opposes Nick Blackburn, it is supposed to be cool but not too windy like the other night. There are showers in the forecast but thunderstorms may hold out until after midnight. Here are the pregame notes and lineup via Sam Borden of the Journal News. A.J. Burnett will be making his first start of the postseason in his career. He has made 244 regular season appearances which made him 4th highest among pitchers who never appeared in the postseason. The guys who are ahead of him are KC's Jamey Wright, Randy Wolf of the Dodgers and the Blue Jays Roy Halladay. Wolf came off the list on Wednesday and now its A.J.'s turn. Burentt at home this season was 5-3 with a 3.51 era in 16 starts. The Yankees were 12-4 at home when Burnett pitched. Burnett is 5-5 with a 4.96 era in 16 starts with Jorge Posada. He was 5-2 with a 3.28 in 11 starts with Molina behind the plate. Mark Teixeira hit the ball hard in game 1 but was 0-4 don't bet on that happening again. He is 6 for 6 in his career with a homerun off of Nick Blackburn. Derek Jeter and A-rod have had some success as well against him. Jeter is 3 for 7 with a homerun and A-rod is 3 for 9 with a homerun. Nick Blackburn has been a big game pitcher for the Twins this season. He had a 1.65 era in his last 4 regular season starts all wins as the Twins made a late rally to take the division. He hasn't had much success against the Yankees though going 0-4 with a 5.89 era in 4 starts. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Swisher(LF) Cano(2B) Cabrera(CF) Molina(C)

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)

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)

Yanks go for sweep in final home game of Reg. Season

The New York Yankees will take on the K.C. Royals tonight at 7 from the Stadium. This is the final home regular season game of the season. The Yankees have won 31 of their last 38 at home and last nights victory tied a major league record for most wins by a team in the first year of their new stadium. The 57 wins by the Yankees this season equals the total of the 1912 Red Sox according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Yankees can break the record with a win tonight. Here are the pregame notes and lineup via the Yankees Press notes and Sam Borden of the Journal News. The game winning single by Juan Miranda last night was the 15th walkoff victory of the season for the Yankees. That is second on the alltime Yankees list to the 1943 team which had 17. Miranda was the 9th different Yankee to hit a walkoff and second rookie, Francisco Cervelli was the other. That sure is a lot of pie. The Yankees also won their 9th game last night when trailing after 7 innings and 5th when trailing after 8. It really is incredible, most teams don't win when losing after 7. Mark Teixeira hit his 39th homerun last night tying him for the league lead. He will be the league leader with one more as Carlos Pena is done for the season and can't hit anymore. K.C. has lost 6 of 7 and found out last night what Yankee fans know about Farnsworth, he isn't very good and they are paying him 4.25 million. After struggling in the first inning so often this season Joba was sharp early last time out retiring the first 11 batters he faced. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF)

Royals At Yankees

The Yankees will go for their 7th straight victory and 102nd overall. The Yankees will continue to rest some regulars and focus on getting read for the postseason. Peter Abraham of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog will be leaving us after today and headed to the Boston Globe to cover the Red Sox. I want to wish him all the best but not the Red Sox and maybe he will be back around for the ALCS. Chad Jennings who I interviewed earlier this year on this blog will be taking over for Peter and will start next Wed with game 1 of the playoffs. He has done a great job with the AAA Scranton blog and deserves this oppurtunity. I have reached out to him to personally congratulate him and wish him the best. Sam Borden will be filling in for Peter for the last few games and I know he will do a fine job as well. Here are the pregame notes and lineup via the Yankees Press Notes. The Yankees are 45 games over 500 for the first time since ending the 2002 season at 103-58. They have not been 46 games over since the 1998 team was 114-48 which is just crazy but these two teams have been compared a lot and they can have something in common with a Yankees victory tonight. The Yankees have gone 30-7 over their last 37 home games. They have just made this a huge homefield advantage once again and it should be even that much more intimidating during the playoffs so lets go fans, lets make the stadium rock. The Yankees are 50-16 at home since A-rod returned. The Yankees have 5 players with 25+ homeruns. The players are Robinson Cano, Hideki Matsui, A-rod, Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira. This is the first time in team history they have done this. Johnny Damon has 24 and Jorge Posada has 22. K.C. has lost 5 of its last 6 even though they have played better in Sept. A.J. Burnett after having a tough few weeks has given up 3 runs in his last 12 2/3 innings. His fathers surgery went well and maybe his mind will be clearer now also. Jorge Posada will catch tomorrow and Ian Kennedy threw a simulated game today. This is from Peter Abraham. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Swisher(RF) Gardner(CF) Molina(C) Pena(2B)

Phils at Yanks

The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees play the rubber game of a 3 game series this afternoon at 1:00PM. The game is on the YES network. The Yankees also finish off their 10 game homestand, they are currently 8-1 on this very exciting homestand that has featured 4 walkoffs, plenty of homeruns of course at this new bandbox, some great defense, great games and some good pitching by the Yankees. Here are the notes and lineup via Sam Borden who has filled in admirably for Peter Abraham, Peter will return tomorrow from his week off. Melky Cabrera's 3 walkoff rbi's this year are the most in a season by a Yankee since Claudell Washington had 4 in 1988. CC Sabathia's last start against the Phillies was his last start before becoming a yankee as he got rocked in the playoffs by them. Cole Hamels started slow but is 2-0 with a 2.31 era in his last 5 starts. This should be a great matchup of left handed pitchers. The teams have combined for 11 homeruns in the 2 games so far and the Yankees have pushed their errorless streak to 10 games which is best in the majors. Yankees lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Cano(2B) Cabrera(RF) Matsui(DH) Cervelli(C) Gardner(CF)

Orioles at Yankees

The Yankees will try and make it eight in a row tonight with Phil Hughes on the mound. Phil got roughed up in Baltimore earlier in the season. This could be his last start in the majors for a while with Wang looking to come back as early as this week. It will be interesting to see if they keep Hughes up in the Pen or send him back to AAA-Scranton. Big Tex is out of his yearly April slump, in his last 10 games he is 14 of 37 with 6 homeruns and 15 rbi's. A-rod hasn't hit consistently but his power is there with 5 homeruns and 10 rbi's in 11 games. Here is the lineup courtesy of Sam Borden of the Journal News: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Swisher(RF) Cano(2B) Cabrera(CF) Cash(C)

Yankees looking for the sweep

Peter Abraham is off this week due to being furloughed, times are rough especially in the newspaper business. I am providing the notes and lineup via Sam Borden of the Journal News and as always you can check the Lohud Yankees blog. The Yankees have won five straight and seven of nine not coincidentally that is since A-rod came back. A.J. Burnett has the pie going for the game winning hits but also another fun tradition the Yankees have incorporated is the wrestling belt given to the star of the game and they carry it around. This stuff is silly but it shows the good chemistry and cohesiveness this group has. The Yankees relievers have allowed 3 runs in their last 11 1/3 innings and have 11 strikeouts. The Yankees haven't made an error in 35 innings. The attention to detail and little things is what will really seperate the Yankees. Andy Pettitte hasn't recorded back to back victories since July 20 and 26th of last year. Yankees lineup Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(DH) Swisher(RF) Cano(2B) Cabrera(CF) Pena(3B) Cervelli(C) Enjoy the game, its at 7:00PM on the Yes network.