Pitching matchups for Detroit series

Tomorrow- CC Sabathia vs Justin Verlander Tuesday- Phil Hughes vs Edwin Jackson Wednesday- Joba Chamberlain vs Rick Porcello The Yankees need to have a good series and need CC Sabathia to get them off on the right foot with a strong performance tomorrow. Phil Hughes vs Edwin Jackson is a game where you don't know what Hughes will give you although I think he will pitch well and then Joba Chamberlain against Rick Porcello is a battle of tow young guns. The Yankees need to forget about Boston quickly and just go out and get a win and get it rolling.

Yanks can't avoid Sweep

The Yankees had a terrible weekend in Boston getting swept by the hated Red Sox. The Yankees had a 4-2 lead in the ninth with two outs on Friday when MO blew the save giving up a 2 run homer to Jason Bay to tie the game and it just seemed to snowball from there. Yesterday the Yankees had a 6-0 lead and A.J. Burnett just could not hold it and the pen got roughed up and tonight the Yankees couldn't get anything going and lost 4-1. The Yankees are a mess right now but they were playing good before this weekend other then the games Chien-Ming Wang pitched. The starters need to start getting more consistent and then the bullpen will be in better shape and can be in more defined roles. The offense is the same old thing, yeah they can score runs but they don't do the little things, they strand too many runners and right now third base and CF are automatic outs and Big Tex isn't playing the way he eventually will. The Yankees just need to go out to Detroit have a good series and get back on track, they will get A-rod back in a couple of weeks and that will help as they do need him. The bright side of tonights game was Mark Melancon who pitched two shutout innings, he was very impressive in the seventh getting them out 1-2-3 on I belive 5 pitches. His second inning was shaky as he loaded the bases with no outs but showed a lot of poise by getting a groundout to third which got the force at home then a strikeout and groundout to get out of trouble. I believe him and Dave Robertson will evolve into late inning guys they can trust and the more experience the better for them.

Yanks try to avoid sweep

The lineups and pregame notes as always via Peter Abraham: The game is at 8:00pm on ESPN. Tonight is the 24th time in Andy Pettitte's Yankee career that he will start a game trying to avoid a sweep for the Yankees. In those starts he has gone 17-1 including 4-0 last year. This note comes via the Elias Sports Bureau. Yesterday was only the third time in Yankees history that they lost a game by 5 or more runs when leading at some point by 6 or more runs. The last time this happened was June 5, 1956 against Cleveland. It was also the largest lead blown against Boston since May 16, 1968. Derek Jeter is 8 of his last 21, Damon is 9 of his last 21, Swisher has reached base safely in all 17 games. Phil Coke has thrown four scoreless innings in a row and Hideki Matsui is 7 of his last 18. Robinson Cano is having by far the best April of his career, hitting 366 with 5 homeruns and 15 RBI. He also has a 12 game hitting streak. The Yankees are 7 for 36 with runners in scoring position this series. I know you can't blame the offense yesterday but once again the last two innings they had 2nd and 3rd one out and couldn't score, it is just inexcusable that it happens time after time and nothing is done about it. Yankees lineup Gardner(cf) Jeter(ss) Teixeira(1b) Swisher(lf) Cano(2b) Posada(c) Matsui(dh) Cabrera(rf) Berroa(3b) Red Sox lineup Ellsbury(cf) Pedroia(2b) Ortiz(dh) Youkilis(1b) Drew(rf) Bay(lf) Lowell(3b) Varitek(c) Green(ss) The Yankees really need to win this game and just get out of town and have a good series in Detroit. They really need a good start to give the bullpen some rest and you may see Steven Jackson and Mark Melancon, these guys are going to have to step up along with Dave Robertson.

Yankees minor leagues AA

The AA-Trenton Thunder are 8-6 on the season. I think this may be the weakest team in terms of prospects but they have some pitchers that are worth watching. Zach McAllister- 1-0 2.08 era, 17 1/3 innings, 10 hits, 5 walks and 9 strikeouts. George Kontos- 0-1 3.77 era, 14 1/3 innings, 16 hits, 7 walks and 16 strikeouts. Michael Dunn- 1-1 1.44 era, 8 2/3 innings, 7 hits, 2 walks and 15 strikeouts There aren't too many position players but there are a couple. Francisco Cervelli- 175 avg, 2 hr and 6 rbi, He is off to a rough start. Reegie Corona- 275 avg, 0 hr, 3 rbi. The Yankees got him back after losing him in the rule 5 draft. Eduardo Nunez- 263 avg, 0 hr, 4 rbi. Jorge Vasquez- 214 avg, 1 hr, 6 rbi, Yankees plucked him from Mexico and he had a great first game with a homerun and 4 RBI's but not much since. Colin Curtis- 364 avg, 0 hr, 4 rbi's.

Yankees minor leagues AAA

I was doing this everyday but stopped because it is too much to keep up with. I have decided to do a once a week post about the minor leagues. I am going to go through each minor league team and post some stats from certain players who are doing well or are big prospects or whatever. If anyone has any suggestions on what else I can do with the minor leagues please let me know. AAA-Scranton- They have started off on fire as a team going 14-1. I will post Dave Robertson, Mark Melancon, Angel Berroa and Phil Hughes stats but they are all with the Yankees now. Phil Hughes- 3-0 1.86 era, 19.1 ip, 17 hits, 3 walks and 19 strikeouts. Ian Kennedy- 1-0, 2.00 era, 18 ip, 11 hits, 5 walks and 21 strikeouts. Dave Robertson- 0-0, 0.00 era, 8 ip, 4 hits, 2 walks and 14 strikeouts. Mark Melancon- 2-0, 0.00 era, 10.1 ip, 4 hits, 3 walks and 17 strikeouts. The offense has been led by Shelly Duncan who is batting 368 with 5 homeruns and 20 RBI. Eric Duncan no relation but was the first round selection out of Seton Hall Prep in 2003 and hasn't lived up to his potential yet is batting 385 with 7 RBI. Austin Jackson who is the Yankees top position prospect is batting 386 with 10 RBI. He has a 462 OBP. If you want all the latest news and stats check out Chad Jennings blog at http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/yankees/.