MLB Season Preview and Predictions

The Baseball season begins on Thursday afternoon.  It is the first time in years that all the teams will begin on the same day which I think is great.  I am going to do a prediction segment here which is always fun because how often are we right??  Especially since baseball is such a long season and has so many twists and turns but that is what makes it so great.  I will start with the local teams first, the New York Yankees and New York Mets. 

New York Yankees: Prediction is first place in the AL East.  They were the darlings of the world last year with the Baby Bombers well now they are all grown up and added reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton.  They have the same five starters that ended last year one game away from the World Series and they still have that very good and very deep bullpen.  It is hard not seeing them winning the division and making another run in the postseason.  They are back to being the Evil Empire. 

New York Mets:  I am picking them 2^nd in the NL East and a wild card team.  I think the Nationals are too good for the Mets to overtake but they should make it back to the postseason.  Their season mainly hinges on the health of their starting rotation.  I think Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard will be healthy though and then if you get anything out of Matt Harvey, Jason Vargas, Zach Wheeler, Seth Lugo, Steven Matz then they really have something.  I think they improved the bullpen and like what they did by signing Todd Frazier and resigning Jay Bruce.  They have a pretty good team that if healthy can be a playoff team. 

AL Central-Cleveland Indians

AL West-Houston Astros

AL 1^st wild card-Boston Red Sox

AL 2^nd wild card-Anaheim Angels

NL Central-Chicago Cubs

NL West-Los Angeles Dodgers

NL 1^st Wild Card-St Louis Cardinals

NL 2^nd wild card-New York Mets

The Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl in a crazy game

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers in a crazy game by the score of 34-31. The Ravens dominated the first half and were well on their way to victory when the power went off in the Superdome. There was a 35 minute delay and when play resumed it was all 49ers for quite a while. The niners were able to get back in the game but were stopped on a first and goal that became fourth and goal and a turnover on downs. The Ravens basically ran out the clock with a interesting strategy at the end to take a safety. 
Joe Flacco was the MVP of the game as he threw for three touchdowns and didn’t throw an interception. In the postseason he threw 11 touchdown passes and did not throw one interception. Flacco in the Super Bowl was 22-33 for 287 yards with the three touchdown passes. Ray Rice led the Ravens rushing attack with 20 rushes for 59 yards and Bernard Pierce rushed 12 times for 33 yards. Anquan Boldin led the receiving corps with six catches for 104 yards and one touchdown. Jacoby Jones had one catch for 56 yards and a touchdown, Ed Dickson had two for 37 yards and Dennis Pitta had four for 26 yards and a touchdown. Torrey Smith had two receptions for 35 yards, Rice had four for 19 yards and Vonta Leach had three for 10 yards. Justin Tucker was 2-2 on field goals and his long was 38 yards. He also converted four extra points. Jones had five kickoff returns for an average of 41.2 yards and a touchdown. He tied the record with a 108 yard kickoff return. That was the first play of the second half which gave the Ravens a 28-6 lead. They led 21-6 at the half and came out flying before the niners got something going with 17 straight points after the power outage.

Colin Kaepernick was 16-28 for 302 yards a touchdown and an interception. Frank Gore led the niners rushing attack with 19 rushes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Kaepernick had seven rushes for 62 yards and a touchdown and LaMichael James had three rushes for ten yards. Michael Crabtree led the receivers with five receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown, Vernon Davis had six receptions for 104 yards and Delanie Walker had three receptions for 48 yards. Randy Moss had two receptions for 41 yards. David Akers was 3-3 on field goals with his long being 36 yards and he made two extra points. James had three kickoff returns with an average of 25 yards and Ted Ginn Jr. had one for 31 yards. Andy Lee had three punts with an average of 53 yards.

Patrick Willis led the niners defense with eight tackles and two assists. Each team had one lost fumble, Ed Reed had an interception for the Ravens and Dannell Ellerbe had six tackles and three assists to lead the Ravens defense.

The countdown is now for the next Super Bowl which will be a year from this one at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey. It will be an outdoor Super Bowl for the first time which should be interesting. This is the last football game until August when preseason football begins so it is a sad time for football fans but a happy time for baseball fans as it is now their turn with pitchers and catchers reporting in a week.

The NL wins the 84th MLB All Star Game in a blowout

The National League defeated the American League by the score of 8-0 on Tuesday night in the All Star Game. The game took place at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Justin Verlander started for the American League and pitched poorly in his one inning of work. Matt Cain started for the National League and pitched well in his two innings of work. Melky Cabrera won the MVP award for the game. Pablo Sandoval his teammate with the San Francisco Giants also had a good game for the NL. Derek Jeter had a hit in two plate appearances. Jeter has the most hits of any Yankee ever in the All Star game and is also batting 440 career in the All Star Game. The National league has now won three straight All Star games and they will have home field advantage in the World Series. 
Verlander pitched an inning giving up five runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He took the loss in the game. Joe Nathan and David Price each pitched a perfect inning. Matt Harrison of the Texas Rangers didn’t pitch so well either. He gave up four hits and three runs in an inning of work. Jered Weaver walked a batter in his scoreless inning, Chris Sale gave up two hits but no runs in an inning of work including a strikeout and Ryan Cook pitched a perfect inning including two strikeouts. Jim Johnson and Fernando Rodney each pitched a perfect inning.

Cain won the game for the National league. He gave up a hit and struck out one in two scoreless innings. Gio Gonzalez pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Stephen Strasburg gave up a hit and a walk in one scoreless inning and Clayton Kershaw pitched one inning giving up two hits and a walk. Dickey pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Cole Hamels pitched a perfect inning and Craig Kimbrel struck out the only two batters that he faced. Aroldis Chapman had a walk and a strikeout in 1/3 of an inning, Wade Miley gave up a hit in 1/3 of an inning and Jack Hanrahan struck out the only batter that he faced. Jonathan Papelbon got the final out of the game, it was the only batter that he faced.

Jeter had a hit in two at bats. Robinson Cano had a hit in two at bats, Mike Trout had a hit and drew a walk and Joe Mauer had a hit in his only at bat. David Ortiz and Mike Napoli each had a hit in two at bats. The hits were all singles for the AL. They were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Trout did have a stolen base.

Matt Holliday did have a hit and an RBI in his only plate appearance. Chipper Jones in his final All Star Game had a it in his only appearance, Cabrera had two hits and two RBI and McCutchen had a hit in two at bats. Ryan Braun had two hits and an RBI, Sandoval had a hit and three RBI and Dan Uggla had a hit and an RBI. Rafael Furcal had a hit, Braun had a double and Sandoval, Furcal and Braun each had a triple. Cabrera hit a homerun and the National League was 3-8 with runners in scoring position. They left five men on base.

The Cardinals defy the odds to win their 11th World Championship

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers by the score of 6-2 on Friday night. It was the final game of the 2011 baseball season and no it didn’t live up to the hype. It would have been hard to top Game Six and it sure didn’t although it was a close game through the early stages before the Cardinals started pulling away later in the game. Chris Carpenter started for the Cardinals and was great after a rough start. Matt Harrison wasn’t as good for the Rangers and their bullpen wasn’t that good. Texas scored two first inning runs and couldn’t score the rest of the night. David Freese set the all-time record for postseason RBI and won the World Series MVP. St. Louis was a team that never said die from September all the way through this postseason and they ended up being the last team standing.
Carpenter started for the Cardinals and pitched 6 innings giving up six hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts. Arthur Rhodes faced one batter and retired him, Octavio Dotel faced two hitters and got both of them out, striking out one and Lance Lynn pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Jason Motte pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the game.

Matt Harrison who took the loss pitched four innings giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and a strikeout. Scott Feldman pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two runs and three walks. C.J. Wilson pitched 1 1/3 innings striking out two, Mike Adams pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and one run with a walk and a strikeout and Mike Gonzalez pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Alexi Ogando faced one batter and struck him out.

Allen Craig had a hit, RBI and a walk for the Cardinals. Albert Pujols had a walk, Lance Berkman had a hit and a walk and Freese had a hit, two RBI and two walks. Yadier Molina had two hits, two RBI and a walk, and Rafael Furcal had two hits and an RBI. Freese had a double, Craig had a homerun. The Cardinals were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Pujols made an error and Molina picked a runner off of first base.

Ian Kinsler had two hits and a walk for the Rangers. Elvis Andrus had a walk, Josh Hamilton had a hit and an RBI and Michael Young had a hit and an RBI. Mike Napoli and David Murphy each had a hit. Hamilton, Young and Murphy each had a double. The Rangers were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Kinsler was picked off of first base.

The Rangers struck first again in the first inning. Hamilton had an RBI single and Young had an RBI double. That would give Texas a 2-0 lead but that would be all the scoring in the game for them. The Cardinals came right back in the bottom of the first with two runs to tie it. Freese hit a two run double. In the third Craig hit a solo homerun to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. In the fifth Molina had an RBI walk and Furcal was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 5-2 Cardinals. The Cardinals would tack on the final run of the game in the seventh inning. Molina hit an RBI single to make it 6-2 and that was how the final game of the baseball season would end.

This was a great World Series that culminated a wonderful baseball season. September was a great month for baseball and it carried into October culminating with this seventh game of the World Series. The Cardinals who were left for dead in September when they were 10 ½ games out of a playoff spot and were three games out with five to go just kept coming and became the World Champions. When you look back at this season is it truly remarkable. They defeated the best team in baseball and the heavy favorites to win it all the Philadelphia Phillies and won a Game Five in Philly against Roy Halladay. They defeated the favored Brewers who also had home field advantage and now defeated the favored Texas Rangers who were making their second straight trip to the World Series. The Rangers had a good season and a good postseason but being one strike away two times in Game Six is going to haunt them for a long time. The season is over and now the winter is upon us, it can be a cruel winter but the hot stove will be in full swing in a couple of weeks. Until the magical words are spoken again, pitchers and catchers we bid a fond farewell to the game we love, baseball.

Mariano Rivera-The Greatest Of All-Time

Mariano Rivera on Monday afternoon in a makeup game against the Minnesota Twins set the record for most all-time saves.  Rivera didn't need this record to validate himself as the greatest of all-time.  I think he was anointed that about five or six years ago and who can argue that.  There could always be someone to argue it but now you can backup your argument with the fact that no one else in the history of baseball has saved as many games as Rivera.  I know the save stat didn't come into existance until 1969 but that all doesn't matter.  Rivera is simply the best and what an athlete and man also. 

I have had the great privelage of watching Rivera since day one.  I don't know if I have seen every single save he has ever had but I have come pretty close.  I have seen many in the Old Stadium and now the New Yankee Stadium.  I have seen most of the others on T.V.  If I missed a few it was because of some big event such as a wedding or a christening or something like that where I couldn't miss. 

Rivera came up to the Yankees in 1995 and of course if they knew what they had then, they would of never lost that five game epic ALDS against the Seattle Mariners.  In 1996 he was a setup man for John Wetteland the closer.  Rivera would usually come in and pitch the seventh and eighth innings and just blow guys away with a 95mph + fastball and of course great command.  He would mow the hitters down and then Wetteland would make you sweat it out but the formula worked.  The Yankees in that magical season made it a six inning game.  It was the Yankees first World Series win in 18 years since the 1978 Yankees. 

Rivera took over the closer role in 1997 and has been there ever since.  I am sure not a lot of people remember but he actually blew three out of his first six save oppurtunities or something like that.  There was some panic and he was asked about it.  Rivera said he will be just fine and he has been more then that.  Rivera has been a picture of consistency in a job where guys last maybe a couple of years, maybe five or six if they are lucky at the top of their game.  Rivera is in his 40's now and still has 42 saves this season.  I find it ironic that he saved his 42nd game of the season the day he broke the record.  He of course is the last man wearing that number as it is retired across baseball. 

Rivera has one more year on his contract left but you can see him pitching longer then that if he wanted too.  I would think he will retire at the end of next season but he just seems like he could do it forever, it is so effortless.  Has he been perfect of course not but the amazing thing is when he has blown a save or still does you are in shock, that proves how good he really is.  Rivera is known for three big blown saves but he has been able to come back from them all.  In 1997 against the Cleveland Indians he gave up a big homerun to Sandy Alomar Jr. to lose the ALDS.  In 2001 he had a blown save in game seven to lose the World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks and in 2004 they had the epic collapse against the Red Sox and he blew a save in Game four where Dave Roberts stole a base and then the Yankees never recovered. 

Rivera is simply the best and congratulations to him on setting the record and having a great career.  He of course is not done, he will look to add to his record and of course he also has 42 career postseason saves and really wants to add to that as well this season.  Rivera will look for his sixth ring to go along with his other awards such as World Series MVP and numerous All Star appearances. 

Alex Rodriguez a World Champion

Alex Rodriguez started off last season n0t so great. He was revealed to be a steroid cheat and then had to go through that interview on ESPN with Peter Gammons that he admitted to doing it. He then went through the press conference in Tampa where all of his teammates came out to support him and I think that is where it all started with the new and improved A-rod. He got through that and then got the hip injury that I believe was a blessing in disguise. He went away all alone to Colorado to recover and contemplate where his life was headed. He admitted in a interview on the YES network last Thursday that he thought his career could be over, all he could think of was Bo Jackson and it was a scary thought. He got to work on his rehab and credits his recovery to his doctor who did a great job. We all know that Alex Rodriguez came back on May 8th and in his first swing launched a homerun. He went through the season with some ups and downs but amazingly finished with 30 homeruns and 100 rbi's. He finished the season with 2 homeruns and 7 rbi's in the last game knowing he needed that to finish with those round numbers. He of course then went on to have an amazing postseason where he would be the postseason MVP, that award was just presented to him last weekend. He now is not only further away from that surgery and didn't need any further surgery but he is a confident man. Alex Rodriguez is now a World Series Champion and a postseason hero. These are things that can never be taken away from him. He said last week in that interview on YES with Kim Jones that he was tired of that label of being a choker and just frustrated with losing in the playoffs so much. He went out and did something about it this past season along with the rest of that great Yankees team. Alex will now go into this season with something he really hasn't had and that is a ton of confidence. It is hard to predict what someone will do but being healthy and confident the skys the limit for A-rod and that is a scary thought for the opposing pitchers. The Yankees I am sure can't get wait to get started defending their title and knowing that they have one of the greatest players of all time on their side and feeling good about himself.

Hot Stove Burns up

Today started out as a routine Monday and then this afternoon the Hot Stove really started burning up. Monday's are usually a big football day with all of the analysis of the Sunday games and looking ahead to the Monday night game but baseball took center stage on this Monday. The Boston Red Sox were especially busy signing pitcher John Lackey to a 5 yr 85 million dollar deal and now pending a physical signing Mike Cameron for 2 yrs and 15.5 million. Hideki Matsui became the first World Series MVP to leave since John Wetteland in 1996. Matsui signed a 1 yr 6 million dollar deal with the Anaheim Angels. The biggest news of the day was that Roy Halladay was traded from the Blue Jays to the Phillies and the Phillies traded Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners and the Blue Jays are getting back prospects which we don't know yet because Halladay is still working out the extension and the deal won't be official to maybe tomorrow. I think the Seattle Mariners have had a good offseason and may have surpassed the Angels by getting Chone Figgons and now Cliff Lee. The New York Mets and their fans have had a very bad day. The Mets biggest need was pitching and now they don't have anywhere to turn as their are no other big pitchers left. They may land Jason Bay now that everyone else is out on that but that isn't going to solve the problem of having Johan Santana and then a bunch of questions. Roy Halladay going to the hated Phillies is just a stab in the heart but the truth is they aren't that much better since they did trade Cliff Lee away. The Yankees side of things isn't really all that bad, they don't have to face Halladay anymore who owned them and John Lackey doesn't have very good numbers against the Yankees and he has really bad career numbers in Fenway. John Lackey is also a injury risk as he has been injury prone over the last couple of years. I don't think it was terrible for the Red Sox because you can never have enough pitching and he is a gritty guy who usually pitches well in big games. I do find their offense curious though with Bay gone and being replaced by Cameron and maybe Hermidia in a platoon. It doesn't look like the Lowell trade will go through now since he has a thumb injury and may need surgery. I wonder if the Red Sox may try and trade for Adrian Gonzalez and move Youkilis to third base?? If they did this I think they would be pretty even with the Yankees but right now as a Yankee fan I don't think you have to be that worried because I don't think their offense is so great. I wonder what tomorrow will bring with the Hot Stove after this busy day.

Pujols your unanimous MVP

Albert Pujols did win the award not suprisingly and he did win it unanimously. He became only the sixth NL player to win this award unanimously. Here is the complete list of how the guys finished and how many votes they got. 1. Albert Pujols-448 points 2. Hanley Ramirez- 233 points 3. Ryan Howard- 217 points 4. Prince Fielder- 203 points 5. Troy Tulowitzki- 172 points 6. Andre Ethier- 113 points 7. Pablo Sandoval- 89 points 8. Chase Utley- 84 points 9. Derrek Lee- 66 points 10. Matt Kemp- 49 points Albert Pujols who right now is the best player in baseball became only the 10th player in history to win 3 or more MVP's. The others are Barry Bonds who won 7, Yogi Berra-3, Roy Campanella-3, Joe Dimaggio-3, Jimmie Foxx-3, Mickey Mantle-3, Stan Musial-3, Alex Rodriguez-3 and Mike Schmidt-3. This was Pujols third time winning the award.

Joe Mauer-AL MVP

In a very predictable outcome Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins won the MVP in unanimous fashion. Mark Teixeira finished second and Derek Jeter finished third. I know a lot of Yankee fans will be up in arms but Mauer clearly deserved this and there was no other way to go. I am glad Tex and Jeter finished second and third because that was the way it should have gone also, I guess you can debate Jeter and Tex, who is more valuable as I have been seeing the Yankee fans do. I say Tex though because of his bat and his glove but that is a touchy subject especially for those who love Derek Jeter. In the end it doesn't matter much at all especially since the Yankees settled for the biggest prize the World Championship.

AL MVP Today

The American League MVP will be announced today at 2:00PM. I really think this is the easiest one to pick as I just don't see how Joe Mauer doesn't win the award. He is a catcher that put up insane numbers while bringing his team to a AL Central title after defeating the Detroit Tigers in a one game playoff. Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira are candidates but there is no way you can go against Mauer. I think Mark Teixeira will probably finish second and maybe Jeter third as I think Tex was more of a factor then Jeter but that is something that can be debated also. The numbers Tex put up after April though and the defense he played just made him more valuable then any other position player in my mind. We will see what happens at 2 but to me this is the easiest one to pick with no real drama. I will be back later when the award is announced.

Former World Series MVP suicidal?

The story today was that former Yankees closer and World Series MVP John Wetteland was about to attempt suicide. The article states that his wife called 911 saying he kept saying things about killing himself and he wasn't acting right. The police came and he walked out of his house with his hands in the air saying please help. He was always a high strung guy and admitted to using drugs in his younger days but this comes as a suprise. He was the World Series MVP in 1996 and then finished his career with Texas. He was out of baseball for a little while but came back to the big leagues last year as the bullpen coach for the Seattle Mariners, he seemed to enjoy his job with them so this came as a suprise. I am not sure what the situation is but I hope he gets the help he needs and is able to return home to his family and resume his life. It is amazing how quickly the rich and famous can fall and shows that it isn't always what it is cracked up to be. It also shows a more human side to athletes, they really are just like us other then having the fame and fortune, a lot of times they have more demons then even the so called normal person. I wish him and his family the best of luck and hopefully he will have a quick recovery and be able to go back to his job next year.

Yankees at Phillies-World Series Game 3

The Yankees will try and take the lead in the series 2 games to 1. The game starts at 7:57 on FOX. Andy Pettitte is on the mound against Cole Hamels who was the MVP of last years World Series but this postseason has been horrible pitching to a near 7 era. Here are the notes and lineups via Sam Borden and Chad Jennings of the Journal News. The Yankees are 3 wins away from their 27th World Title and first in 9 years. People often talk about Game 3 as the swing game in a World Series and there’s some truth to it: The team winning Game 3 has gone on to win in 35 of 53 World Series that were tied at 1, including each of the last two and nine of the last 10. The lone exception? You probably already know it. The Yankees won Game 3 of the 2003 World Series but then lost three straight to the Marlins to lose the Series. I really like Andy Pettitte in this spot and the Yankees really have a pitching advantage tomorrow so to me this is a big big game. The approximately 108 miles from Yankee Stadium to Citizens Bank Park is among the shortest distances between World Series sites. It was 1 1/2 miles from the Polo Grounds to Yankee Stadium (Yankees/Giants); nine miles from Yankee Stadium to Shea (Yankees/Mets); 15 miles between Ebbets Field and Yankee Stadium (Yankees/Dodgers); 22 miles between Candlestick Park and Oakland Coliseum (Giants/A’s); and 98 miles between Memorial Stadium and Veterans Stadium (Orioles/Phillies). Of course, the shortest distance between World Series sites is zero: In 1921 and ‘22, all World Series games were played at the Polo Grounds and in 1944 all games were played at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. It is so close in distance the teams have been taking trains to travel from one city to the other. Tonight is Andy Pettitte’s 11th World Series start for the Yankees, which is the second-most in team history. Pettitte passes Waite Hoyt and Red Ruffing, and is now only trailing Whitey Ford, who made an insane 22 World Series starts. He is 3-4, 3.90 in his 10 previous starts for the Yankees, and 0-0, 4.26 in one World Series start with the Astros. Andy has pitched really well in these spots and has been great on the road this season. He is a guy that just blocks everything out and the crowd won't bother him. Alex Rodriguez had a hit in all nine playoff games leading up to the World Series but is 0-for-8 with six strikeouts in the first two games of the World Series. In case you were wondering, the World Series record for strikeouts is 12, set by the Royals Willie Wilson back in 1980 against – yes – the Phillies. The Yankees would like to see him get going but he is a huge reason they are here to begin with. It will be intersting in this park as the ball really flys. More evidence why Derek Jeter should always be hitting, instead of bunting: After going 4-for-8 in the first two games, Jeter’s career World Series average is .314 (43-for-137) which is fifth-highest all-time among players with at least 100 ABs. Who’s ahead of him? Only Lou Gehrig, Eddie Collins, Babe Ruth and Steve Garvey. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) Pettitte(P) Phillies Lineup: Rollins(SS) Victorino(CF) Utley(2B) Howard(1B) Werth(RF) Ibanez(LF) Feliz(3B) Ruiz(C) Hamels(P) Joe Girardi said in his press conference that Matsui was never really an option and isn't necessarily the first pinch hitter off the bench. He will pick his spots to who to use, Hinske and Matsui will be the main guys I would think. He also announced CC Sabathia will pitch tomorrow on 3 days rest and that Burnett and Pettitte probably would also though he will wait tomorrow to announce the rotation further. He said he would like to save Gaudin until later on in the series out of the bullpen but if he has to be used tonight or tomorrow as a long man he could.

The Yankees win, theeeeeeeee Yankees win

The New York Yankees defeated the Anaheim Angels last night by the score of 5-2 and securing their 40th pennant in the process. Andy Pettitte got the start, the old warhorse and pitched 6 1/3 good innings giving up 1 run. Joba Chamberlain got 2 outs and then Old Reliable Mariano Rivera got the last 6 outs to secure the pennant. Andy Pettitte got the win and became the alltime leader in wins in the postseason with his 16th career victory. He passed John Smoltz on the list. The Yankees will now appear in a record 40th World Series but their first since 2003 which to many seems a long long time ago. It is a long time ago in the Yankees Universe but if you were around in the 80's or the mid 60's until the late 70's you know it hasn't been that bad. The new age fans are very spoiled and the players themselves at least the core four were spoiled but now realize just how hard it is to get to this point. Alex Rodriguez will be appearing in his first world series as well as CC Sabathia. A.J. Burnett made the world series vs the Yankees in 2003 but he was hurt and inactive so this is special to him. The young guys like Joba, Phil Hughes, Dave Robertson, Robinson Cano etc get to experience this for the first time as well. Jerry Hairston Jr. has been around for a while but never even made it to the playoffs, Eric Hinske is a guy that keeps getting on teams that make it so to him this is old hat but he will enjoy this as well. Joe Girardi with all the second guessing he has endured seemed to really really enjoy this as he wouldn't let go of the AL championship trophy last night according to the Lohud Yankees Blog. I was at the game and didn't get a chance to do a recap and that is why I am getting to you so late. I basically sleepwalked through the day today as you can imagine. CC Sabathia won the MVP which is interesting because he won 2 games and was dominant but A-rod impacted every game and was unbelievable. I thought they might go with co MVP's but that is just window dressing, A-rod said he didn't care and with this team you have to believe him, all year long they have focused on team and winning the world series. It will be interesting to see if the Yankees continue to go with the 3 starters in the World Series or use Chad Gaudin as the 4th, what they may do is use him for Game 5 so they could still use CC in games 1, 4 and 7 if necessary. The only problem with using 3 starters is everyone would have to pitch on short rest and I am not sure that is the best idea but I would use CC on 3 days rest as he has proved he can do it and do it well. There will be another day off but press conferences tomorrow and I will do a preview tomorrow.

Recap of the Yanks/Twins Series

The New York Yankees swept the series and had strong starting pitching to set it up. The Yankees offense the last 2 games was shutdown at least for a good portion of the game but as we have known all year with this team they just keep fighting and keep coming at you and until the game is over they are never out of it, especially at home. A-rod was the MVP of the series even though there isn't one for the ALDS. I think Andy Pettitte actually pitched the best out of the 3 starters. CC and A.J. were good but can be even better. A.J. was a little too wild with 5 walks and 2 hit batters. Phil Hughes didn't have a great series out of the pen but we can see the formula is starter for 6 and then Joba-Phil-MO. I do think Joe Girardi was a little too quick to get the starter out and put the pen in but it worked and you can't complain too much. I hope he is going to let CC go a little further in game 1 on friday especially since he will be on 9 days rest. A.J. you do want to get out before the game gets out of hand and Andy probably could of stayed in a little longer but it wasn't a terrible move. The Yankees now have to think about using only 3 starters again as they can have CC go games 1, 4 and 7. He would only be on three days rest for game 4 but he is on 9 days rest for game 1 and normal rest for game seven if it went that far. I think this is the way they will go and use Chad Gaudin as long relief if they have too. I don't think you will see Damaso Marte in the second round but we will see. Joba does look better out of the pen and he can be trusted in a big spot and Dave Robertson has a lot of confidence now. The Twins just made too many mistakes and they were overmatched even though the games were pretty close except for game 1. The Twins made a lot of baserunning mistakes which is unusual but it could of been the pressure getting to them. The Yankees now can start preparing for the Angels and I am sure by Wed we will hear about the roster and any news on the rotation.

Yankees at Orioles

The New York Yankees take on the Baltimore Orioles in game 2 of their 3 game series. The game is on at 7:05 on the YES network. The Yankees start the day 6 1/2 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox for first in the AL East and 4 1/2 ahead of the Angels for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Here are the pregame notes and lineup from Peter Abraham and his Lohud Yankees Blog. The Yankees are 10-3 against the Orioles this season and have won 8 straight. A.J. Burnett is 0-4 with a 6.03 era in his last 6 starts. He was 5-0 with a 2.01 era in his 6 starts. Burnett is 9-1 with a 4.61 era against the Orioles in his career. Robinson Cano is 22 of his last 48 with 5 homeruns and 15 rbi's against Baltimore this season. MO is 5 strikeouts away from 1,000 and one game away from tying Cy Young for the 20th most appearances all time. A-rod needs 2 more hits for 2,500 in his career. Phil Hughes in his last 9 outings has gone 8 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks and 11 strikeouts. Johnny Damon has a 7 game hitting streak. Melky Cabrera is 6 of his last 15, Damaso Marte has not allowed a hit in 2 1/3 innings since he came off the DL. These guys are all hot. The guys who aren't so hot are Brian Bruney who has put 14 runners on base in his last 8 2/3 innings. Phil Coke has a 10.64 era in his last 14 outings. The callups are Francisco Cervelli, Ramiro Pena, Mark Melancon, Edwar Ramirez and Mike Dunn. Austin Jackson was named the International leagues rookie of the year today and Shelly Duncan was named the MVP. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(DH) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(LF) Hinske(RF) Cabrera(CF)

Big Tex comes up Big

The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners last night 4-2. Andy Pettitte got the start and looked horrible early on giving up 2 runs in the first inning but with a runner on third and one out he got out of the inning with no further damage done. He went on to pitch 6 innings giving up only those 2 runs with 1 walk and 10 strikeouts. Brian Bruney pitched a scoreless seventh inning making it 5 scoreless appearances in a row for him. Brian Bruney pitching well is huge for this team because it will give the Yankees another reliable late inning arm. Phil Hughes pitched the 8th putting a couple of guys on base but not giving up any runs. The top of the ninth is when Big Tex stepped to the plate and blasted one to break the tie. Mariano Rivera dispatched of the Mariners on 9 pitches in the 9th and the Yankees won their 4th game in a row. There was no one in the Yankees lineup that had more then one hit, Mark Teixeira has recieved a lot of talk lately about MVP and this was a reason why. He really is having a great season all around, he has one error in the field and after having a terrible April he is hitting on all cylinders now. Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Jerry Hairston Jr., Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada all had a hit. The story of this game and the Yankees success since the All star break is the pitching which just keeps putting up good numbers. The Yankes are 22-6 since the break and the starters just continue to put the Yankees in position to win and the bullpen doesn't give up much. The Yankees will try and win their third in a row with Sergio Mitre taking the mound against Luke French.