Yanks in Minnesota

The New York Yankees had a workout today in Minnesota and were a happy group as you can expect after last nights thrilling victory. The Yankees will take on their former teammate if you can call him that tomorrow. I am sure they will really want to stick it to Carl Pavano and will be looking to hit him all over the ballpark. Andy Pettite will look to close out the series and send the Yankees back to NY to await the start of the ALCS. The big topic today was still the umpire missing that call down the line on Joe Mauers double that he called foul. A lot of talk has been about maybe instituting replay for other things. I am against replay, it is ok with the homeruns but this is baseball and the human element has always been a part of the game. I don't want to ruin the flow of the game by having too many replays. There really wasn't any news today from the workout, a lot of reporters were talking to A-rod and he continued to praise his teammates. A scary thing to think about though is a relaxed A-rod as he could carry the Yankees all through the postseason, he is that good. I don't know how if A-rod is hitting in the clutch and A.J. Burnett is pitching well the Yankees could lose but this is baseball and we will see what happens. If the Yankees do win they will have homefield advantage once again and open up the ALCS at the stadium next friday. The Yankees and Angels can both move on tomorrow and that would be strange having the whole week off before resuming play.

NFL Week 5

The New York Giants will take on the Oakland Raiders at home tomorrow and the New York Jets will head to Miami for a monday night game. The Giants will have Eli Manning it appears as he went through the walkthrough fine today and the Giants don't have a 3rd QB active for the game. If Eli wasn't playing I would still pick the Giants as the Raiders are just a bad team especially on the road and coming east. I think the Giants should win this game easily. Here are my picks for the Giants/Jets and a random game. The Jets will not have to worry about facing former teammate Chad Pennington as he is hurt. The JEts need to get a running game going but now they have Braylon Edwards which should really help Mark Sanchez. The Jets will be looking to bounce back after their first defeat of the season last sunday. Giants 24 Raiders 10 Jets 21 Dolphins 13 San Fran 17 Atlanta 14 I am 4-1 on the year and look to keep it going this week.

Wow what a win for Yanks

The New York Yankees won their most dramatic game of the season by the score of 4-3 in 11 innings. Mark Teixeira hit the walkoff homerun but A-rod had his heroics in the ninth off of closer Joe Nathan. A-rod hit a game tying 2 run homerun with 1 out in the ninth. Dave Robertson was another hero of this game as he got out of a bases loaded no out jam in the 11th. A.J. Burnett pitched well tonight although he did walk 5 and hit 2 batters. The bottom line is he gave them 6 innings only allowing a run. The bullpen wasn't so great as Phil Hughes gave up a couple of runs and even Mariano Rivera gave up a hit that scored a run which was charged to Phil Hughes. Damaso Marte gave up 2 singles to the only 2 guys he faced which were both lefties. The Yankees offensively couldn't do anything against Nick Blackburn who pitched one heck of a game. The Yankees now head off to Minnesota to face Carl Pavano the American Idle and try to sweep the series and head to the ALCS. I was at this game tonight and that is why I am not writing a lot as I am exhausted. I do have to say the stadium was amazing tonight, it was so loud and sounded like the old stadium, when A-rod hit the homerun it was amazing and then just the twists and turns and Tex hitting the walkoff set the place into a frenzy. The fans were great and it really was a great game to be at. I hope to have pictures tomorrow or maybe sunday depending on when I can download them. Dave Robertson by the way got the championship belt tonight.

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)

Playoff excitement

The Yankees had the day off and not much was going on at Yankee Stadium. The talk today was mostly about A.J., Molina and Posada as you would expect. I know a lot of people are making a big deal out of this but the bottom line is this, if A.J. Burnett pitches a good game the Yankees will win and it won't matter that Molina was catching him and doesn't do much offensively. I also was suprised that a lot of the talk radio today were people calling in and bashing Jorge Posada. I know he isn't the best defensive catcher and he never has been but lets not get carried away. He was won several championships as the starting catcher for this team and he is the emotional leader. His bat is a big plus and he will be missed when he retires. Joel Sherman of the Post was breaking news tonight that it looks like Joba will stay in the bullpen for the entire playoffs if they get past this round and Chad Gaudin would get the game 4 start in the ALCS. I think if Joba is lights out out of the pen this is the move to make. The Yankees can have a dominate pen for the last 3 innings and really shorten the games. I would expect the Yankees to have the same lineup tomorrow and I will be going to the game but will try to post the gamepost and all of that before hopefully. It is expected to rain but it may not be enough to affect anything. The Rockies defeated the Phillies this afternoon to tie the series at 1-1 headed back to Colorado. The Dodgers defeated the Cardinals to take a 2-0 series lead. The Dodgers should of lost they had 2 outs and no one on when Matt Holliday made a terrible play turning a sinking line drive in to a 2 base error instead of the last out and then the Dodgers got a walk, wildpitch, and 2 hits and won the game. It looks like the Dodgers may sweep now although it is headed back to St Louis. The Redsox and Angels are playing game 1 right now.

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.