Michael Kay's Successors

SEE YA!

2011-02-26T14:14:00.002-05:00

Well today is the Yankees first Spring Training game, but this will be our last blog post. The other things going on in our lives have made it impossible for us to keep our blog up-to-date and up to our standards of excellence.

Even now, as I watch the preseason game and listen to Joe Girardi ask Michael Kay how married life is, I can tell you I'll miss it. But John and I will be watching all season, rooting on the Yanks to their 28th World Series.

So For John Healy, I'm Jim Geant saying:

SEE YA!

Michael Kay Gaffe

2010-12-10T18:26:00.004-05:00

I was just looking at my twitter account, and saw Michael Kay's name flash across the news feed more often than it usually does (which is, not at all, especially in the offseason), and was trending in NYC. At first I thought, "OMG we've gone viral." Such was not the case.

Apparently Kay broke news that Royals ace Zack Greinke was traded to the Phillies. He based this news on a tweet by SI writer Jon Heyman's (his account can be found here). Unfortunately for Kay, the tweet came from a different account that was a fake Jon Heyman account (which I can't seem to find, possibly deleted). So Kay is pretty much getting bashed for this right now. Truth is it's probably not even his fault, that seems like it would be the producer's job, but it's not called "The Producers" (pretty sure that name's already taken anyway), it's "The Michael Kay Show." Kind of the way a pitcher gets the "L" when it was bad pitch calling by the catcher.

I'm inclined to give him a break, because 1) he probably wasn't the one searching through Twitter for the news 2) it could happen to anybody and 3) assuming he comes out and admits he was wrong, no harm done.

The best tweet I saw about this came from @asilecchio.

Michael Kay = Ron Burgendy Twitter= teleprompter.

If you don't get that reference, watch this YouTube clip:

Then go watch Anchorman.

And as long as Michael Kay doesn't get fooled by this Twitter account, he should be ok.

I'm Jim Geant? saying

SEE YA?

All is right in the world

2010-12-07T13:56:00.003-05:00

Derek Jeter has officially resigned with the Yankees. There's a press conference at 2:30 on ESPN. I'm stuck in class, but if anything important comes out of it, I'll post later.

Winter Wonderland

2010-12-06T15:24:00.003-05:00

Well we've got about 8 straight days of snow in the forecast here in Syracuse, so I'm a little jealous of everyone in Orlando for the Winter Meetings, which start today.

GM Brian Cashman is done playing Santa's elf, and now wants to bring Yankee fans a Christmas present in Cliff Lee.
Lee's agent was surrounded by reporters today, but said there isn't anything to report or speculate on yet.
Pat Gillick was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee, but late Yankee owner George Steinbrenner did not receive the requisite number of votes.
Another ridiculous contract out of the Washington, DC sports market (after the McNabb-Redskins deal) as Jayson Werth signed a 7 year, $126 million contract with the Nationals. I can't find a quote from Werth, but if it says anything other than "I signed here because the Nationals were the only ones stupid enough to give me this much money" he is flat out lying.
And as Jayson Stark writes, the only person who likes the Werth deal more than Werth is Carl Crawford, who is going to be swimming in money after this offseason.

There will probably be a lot more news this week than there has been this offseason, which of course MLB coincides with finals week, but we'll do our best.

SEE YA!

Re-Enter Sandman

2010-12-03T00:51:00.002-05:00

Reports form the NY Daily News say that closer Mariano Rivera is on the verge of signing a 2 year, $30 million contract.

The deal should be done by Friday night. This gets one of the 3 "Core Four" locked up before the Owner's Meetings begin on Monday.

Now hopefully the Yanks can get the Jeter deal done before moving on to Cliff Lee.

SEE YA...for now.

Going Shopping...

2010-11-26T17:14:00.006-05:00

Well Black Friday always marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, and it usually marks the beginning of the Baseball Offseason as well. Let's get caught up on what's going on.

Derek Jeter
Well, these negotiations have pretty much turned "messy" as Hal Steinbrenner forewarned. Word around town today is that he wants $150 million (cue Dr. Evil pose). That's much much more money than Jeter (or anyone else for that matter) is worth at this point. The Yankees have drawn the line in the sand with $45 million for 3 years. I don't understand why they don't sign a reasonable player contract and then do one of those personal services contracts for when he retires. I think, no matter what, Jeter's probably going to be laughing all the way to the bank.

Mariano Rivera
There had been talk about Rivera pulling an Andy Pettitte and going year to year, but now he apparently wants a 2-year deal. I don't see why the Yankees don't sign him to that contract right now. The second year is probably tied to the chance to pass Trevor Hoffman on the All-Time Saves list. This deal will probably get down soon, and with hopefully less drama than Jeter's deal.

Cliff Lee
And now we move on to the biggest non-Yankee target the coveted left hander Lee. There are conflicting reports on whether an official offer has actually been made, but Cash Money (Brian Cashman, not the rap label) went down to Arkansas to visit with him and his family. It's probably more a matter of years at this point, because Lee's going to want about 7, but he's 32 so he's probably going to have to settle for less.

So that's it for now. But as more news develops, we'll keep you updated.

SEE YA!

That's All She Wrote

2010-10-22T23:43:00.003-04:00

I know Yankee fans (well, I am) are circulating around the blogosphere to make themselves feel better. The fact is the Texas Rangers just outplayed the Yankees. Their offense kept piling on runs and their pitching stifled the Yankees bats. Sure there are moments we can blame Girardi or a player or two, but the bottom line is the Rangers were just the better team.

The Yankees did win the World Series last year so, for me personally, it doesn't sting as it has in years past. But the team just didn't seem to have that special feeling it did last year. The second half of the season was a mess, and injuries (Pettitte) and underperformance (Burnett) were hard to overcome this season.

And I have the postgame on the YES Network and they just interviewed Andy Pettitte. Man, that was tough to watch. It sounds like he may not come back and we've seen the last of Pettitte. He's been debating retiring for a few years now, so it would be no surprise if he retires. There's going to be a lot of questions in the offseason and moves to be made.

I do want to say one more thing. When Mark Teixeira went down with that hamstring injury in Game 4, that changed the whole dynamic of the series. It seemed like it was the final nail in the coffin for a series that didn't have anything go right except for 15 pitches in Game 1.

We will do our best to keep the blog going through the offseason and into the 2011 season. It's a place where we've been able to vent our frustrations and share our excitement, whether anyone actually reads it or not.

There's only one thing to say...See Ya!

What Happened?

2010-10-20T12:33:00.002-04:00

Seriously I don't know what to say. A.J. Burnett was willing his way to a quality start. The Stadium was loud. The Yankees were winning. Then Mark Teixeira's hamstring blew out. The stadium went dead. Joe Girardi starts deciding to intentionally walk the fearful (I'm being sarcastic) David Murphy with 2 outs and Joba warming and leaves Burnett in to face Bengie Molina who is raking in the playoffs, and next thing you know it's 5-3 and Molina's rounding the bases.

It didn't end there. Girardi brought in Robertson for the 7th inning and he gets the first two outs nice and quick. Then for God knows why, he brings in Boone Logan when David Robertson is perfectly capable of getting left-handers out to face Josh Hamilton. What does Logan do? Gives up a home run. 6-3.

It didn't end there. The Yankees loaded the bases in the 8th down 7-3 with Swisher and Berkman coming up and niether one can get a hit or push a run across. Sergio Mitre entered the ninth and well, a slow and painful death became even slower and more painful as I left and didn't bother to watch the rest of the ninth.

By no means is this series over. But it felt like the life of the team, fans, and everyone was taken out the moment Tex went down. CC is on the mound tonight. He's came up big for us before. If he do his job and send it back to Texas, just maybe, there's some hope.

As Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over till it's over."

Why I'd pitch CC in Game 4

2010-10-19T00:19:00.004-04:00

Going into the top of the ninth inning, it was 2-0 Rangers, and Cliff Lee was dominating. I was prepared to just be "Lee pitched a helluva game, nothing you can do about that." But then that monstrosity of a 9th inning happened and really pissed me off. You can't let a team score tack-on runs, especially 6 of them, in the playoffs. We all know that the Yankees can score in bunches to win games in the late innings (see: Game 1) but not when they're down 8. If it's a 2-0 loss, you just tip your hat and come back the next day, but 8-0 leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Then there's the AJ Burnett situation. Joe Girardi immediately told the media Burnett is starting tomorrow. I disagree with this decision 100%. The Rangers are throwing Tommy Hunter, who gave up 3 runs in 6 innings against the Rays in the ALDS, but isn't in the same ballpark, zipcode, state, country, or even continent of Cliff Lee. The Yankees should (if they wake up) hit him well. But do you really want to have to try to win a 10-9 game with Burnett pitching? I say they throw CC to shut down the Rangers and tie this thing up 2-2.

John disagrees with me (which, believe it or not, actually happens from time to time.) His concern (and I have to admit, it is a valid one) is that if CC loses, do you really want AJ pitching Game 5 down 3-1? The answer to that is obviously no. But, to me, it's like when a pitcher's pitching in a tough spot; when they have the option between their best pitch and their fourth-best pitch, they pick their best pitch every time (or at least they're supposed to). If you are going to get beat, you have to lose with your best. If the Yanks go down 3-1 with CC on the mound, at least you know they weren't screwing around went all in and they play "all hands on deck" the rest of the way. If AJ loses, sure you have CC to pitch Game 5, but you still have to win 3 games in a row, 2 of them on the road.

The reason CC isn't starting this game outright is Girardi and the Yankees don't want to use Hughes and Pettitte (who also pitched a helluva game tonight) on 3 day's rest. Hughes because he's already thrown a lot more innings than he ever has and Pettitte because he was injured most of the second half. Here's my solution to that: CC pitches Game 4 and wins. AJ starts Game 5 with Hughes ready to come out of the bullpen for 2, maybe 3 innings (it would be his throw day), you go Pettitte Game 6, and CC Game 7, if necessary. I would still throw Pettitte on 3 days rest for a few reasons: 1) I think his performances so far in the postseason prove he's healthy, 2) the Yankees have no long-term investment in him. I know it's not a nice thing to think about, but Pettitte's contract is up after the season, and he's been hinting at retirement for about 5 years now. If something happens to Pettitte, he just goes off quietly into the sunset waiting for his number to be retired and possibly be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Chances are that's what is going to happen anyway.

Now, this is baseball, so AJ could channel his inner Sandy Koufax tomorrow and pitch a gem and make me come back tomorrow night and eat my words. I hope to the Great Yankee Fan in the Sky that happens, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

SEE YA!

What A Game

2010-10-16T12:33:00.002-04:00

By now everybody knows what happened in last nights ALCS opener. The Rangers got to CC early, and CJ Wilson was pitching like an All Star and before you knew it, the Rangers were up 5-1 in the 8th inning just six outs away from their first home postseason win. Other than a Robinson Cano solo shot in the seventh the Yankees showed no signs of getting to Wilson.

Then a routine groundball to first base changed everything.

Brett Gardner beat C.J. Wilson to the bag as he dove for first and was safe. Derek Jeter doubled down the line and made it a 5-2 ballgame. Wilson's night was over and it was up to the Texas bullpen to prevent any more damage from being done. Four pitchers, two walks, a double, and two singles later, the Yankees were up 6-5 and everyone in Texas looked like this.

The Yankees showed why Texas is going to have a hard time with them. They don't give up. After a miserable September many people were doubting the Yankees. Well keeping doubting because this Yankee team showed enough to me yesterday to make me feel like they are going to repeat as World Series champs. I know there's a lot of baseball left to be played but tell me how Texas can recover from that? The Rangers got almost everything they could have asked for. Early lead, work CC, great starting pitching, but the bullpen didn't do the job whereas the Yankees lineup and bullpen did theirs.

Colby Lewis takes the mound against Phil Hughes today at 4:07 ET. We'll see how Texas responds.

ALCS Game 1

2010-10-15T18:39:00.002-04:00

Yankees

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

CC Sabathia

Rangers

Elvis Andrus SS
Michael Young 3B
Josh Hamilton CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Nelson Cruz LF
Ian Kinsler 2B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Matt Treanor C
Jorge Cantu 1B

CJ Wilson

Time/TV: 8:00 PM, TBS (let's home the Yankees sweep so we only have to listen to these guys for 4 more games)

End it early: The Yankees need to not let this series go 7 games for a few reasons. One, I'm gonna go crazy/have a heart attack if this goes 7 games. And Cliff Lee is pitching game 7, so let's not even think about that.

Texas Homecoming: Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez are back at the Ballpark in Arlington playing where they could never bring the Rangers; the playoffs. Expect the boo birds to be even louder than usual when these two come up to the plate.

Hughes on mound looking to break out brooms

2010-10-09T18:47:00.005-04:00

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

Phil Hughes

TWINS
Denard Span CF
Orlando Hudson 2B
Joe Mauer C
Jason Kubel RF
Delmon Young LF
Jim Thome DH
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Danny Valencia 3B
J.J. Hardy SS

Brian Duensing

Ceremonial first pitch: Yogi Berra

Time/TV: 8:37 PM/ TBS(I know, I know, these guys have me pining for Tim McCarver, they're so bad)

A picture's worth 1,000 words: Sweep

Hughes in October: This will be Hughes's first start, but in 11 games out of the bullpen, he has a 1-1 record, 5.25 ERA, and 13 K in 12 IP.

2 up

2010-10-07T23:18:00.002-04:00

There were some doubts about Andy Pettitte coming into tonight. Mostly concerning him coming off the recent injury and just how deep he could go into the game. He answered all those questions without a doubt with 7 innings of 2 run ball. Lance Berkman came up big with a homer and a RBI double, and Mo was Mo.

Now the Yankees have a day off tomorrow before Hughes takes the mound for Game 3 in the Bronx. We'll get to have John being torn between wanting the Yankees to win and clinch the series, or lose so he can use his Game 4 tickets. It's situations like that where your moral fiber is really tested.

SEE YA!

Game 1 ALDS: Yankees at Twins

2010-10-06T17:16:00.003-04:00

Yankees lineup has been announced. They decided to go with Brett Gardner over Austin Kearns against the lefty Francisco Liriano.

Yankees
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

Twins
Denard Span CF
Orlando Hudson 2B
Joe Mauer CD
elmon Young RF
Jim Thome DH
Michael Cuddyer 1B
Jason Kubel RF
Danny Valencia 3B
J.J. Hardy SS

Game 1: CC Sabathia's went 2-1 in opening playoff series last year going at least six innings and giving up no more than three runs in each start. Expect a quality start from him tonight.
Twin Killers: Ron Gardenhire's career record against the Yankees is 18-54. The Twins have beaten the Yankees once in the last two years, playoffs included. They are 0-3 against the Yankees in the ALDS. But Angels fans talked about their dominance over the Yankees in last year's ALCS, so be careful now.
Bring Your Gloves: The Twins are playing outdoor baseball in October for the first time. It's actually not supposed to be that cold the next two days with highs reaching 70 degrees, but at night, lows are expected to be in the 40's, so it will be pretty chilly, but nothing crazy.

It's Playoff Time

2010-10-06T16:03:00.004-04:00

After a horrible September that showed pretty much every single weakness the Yanks have (poor starting pitching, inability to get runners in from 3rd with less than 2 out, catn't stop base stealers etc. etc. etc.). But, as they say, it's a clean slate.

Here's the pitching matchups for Series via LoHud Yankees Blog

GAME 1
Tonight, Target Field
LHP CC Sabathia (21-7, 3.18)
vs.
LHP Francisco Liriano (14-10, 3.62)
8:37 p.m., TBS

GAME 2
Thursday, Target Field
LHP Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.28)
vs.
RHP Carl Pavano (17-11, 3.75)
6:07 p.m., TBS

GAME 3

Saturday, Yankee Stadium
RHP Phil Hughes (18-8, 4.19)
vs.
LHP Brian Duensing (10-3, 2.62)
8:37 p.m., TBS

GAME 4

Sunday, Yankee Stadium
LHP CC Sabathia (21-7, 3.18)
vs.
RHP Nick Blackburn (10-12, 5.42)
8:07 p.m., TBS

GAME 5

Tuesday, Target Field
LHP Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.28)
vs.
LHP Francisco Liriano (14-10, 3.62)
8:07 or 8:37 p.m., TBS

We'll get up a lineup post before the game.

Finally! And CC for MVP?

2010-09-28T22:48:00.003-04:00

With today's 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees clinched a berth for the playoffs. While we still don't know if it's wild card or division leader, the Yankees made things interesting down the stretch and finally put the final nail in the coffin of the regular season. Things have been ugly lately and it's good to get it out of the way and finally begin to look at the playoffs without glancing in the rearview mirror.

By the way, the general consensus is Felix Hernandez is the AL CY Young award winner. I think it's safe to say there's an argument for CC Sabathia for that award, but an even better argument as CC for MVP. There hasn't been one player more important to his team this year than CC Sabathia. With an erratic season of A.J. Burnett, the inconsistencies of Javier Vazquez, the learning curve of Phil Hughes, and the injury to Andy Pettitte, and all the spot starters in between, Sabathia has been the rock of the rotation, but also the team. He has 21 wins this season and has given the Yankees the opportunity to win everytime out. Anytime the Yankees have had a "must-win" or a game where the pitcher needs to save the bullpen, Sabathia has been dependable upon.

And today was another one of those days. The Yankees wanted to wrap up the division today, they didn't want things to linger around any longer, and he came through with 8 innings of two hit ball. CC Sabathia is the MVP of the American League, no question in my mind (which is extremely biased).

One is the loneliest number...

2010-09-27T14:52:00.003-04:00

After last night's Yankee-Red Sox game last night that surely took a few years off my life, the Yankees magic number to make the playoffs is 1. More importantly the Yankees pull within a half game of the Rays for 1st in AL East. A couple of points from last night:

Joe Girardi desperately wanted to win this game. After initially saying Dustin Mosely would start so they could skip Phil Hughes in the rotation. Then yesterday afternoon it was announced that Hughes would take the ball to star the game. Then he brought Mariano Rivera in to pitch for more than one inning for only the fifth time this season.
Speaking of Mariano, he's struggling. In September he's thrown 10.2 innings, giving up 12 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 blown saves and a loss. Hopefully this is just one of those phases that Mariano goes through from time to time, but it's disconcerting that its happening in September.
I don't usually like to curse on here, but the only thing Jonathan Papelbon does better than blowing saves in big games is whining like a bitch.
"It was tough considering the fact that I was not only pitching against their lineup, I was also pitching against the ump. When you do that against this lineup, you are never going to be successful."
He's talking about the 1-2 pitch to Tex, who eventually singled. But you know what Papelboner? Bad calls happen. You still had one out, and the chance to get A-Rod and Cano out, but you didn't. I hope the Red Sox don't re-sign him just so I don't have to listen to him anymore.

CC on mound with series, Cy Young on the line

2010-09-23T18:29:00.004-04:00

So after the Rays won last night, the Yankees are 1.5 games ahead of the Rays for the AL East divisional lead. So if you're a baseball fan, tonight's game is a piece de resistance. We've got CC Sabathia vs. David Price in a Cy Young pitcher's duel. The Rays came out on top the last time these two lefties faced each other, but hopefully the Yanks can pull out this one, and get CC win #21.

Lineups

YANKEES (92-60)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Greg Golson LF

LHP CC Sabathia (20-6, 3.05)

RAYS (90-61)
B.J. Upton CF
Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Ben Zobrist 1B
Rocco Baldelli RF
Willy Aybar DH
Kelly Shoppach C
Sean Rodriguez 2B

LHP David Price (17-6, 2.79)

Breathing Room

2010-09-21T23:25:00.002-04:00

The Yankees have risen to the challenge the past two nights, giving them a 2.5 game lead over the Rays in the AL East, and lowering the magic number for a playoff birth to 3 after the Red Sox loss tonight.

Hughes came out and pitched a strong 6.1 and then Javy and Joba worked well out of the bullpen. They also gave Mariano a night off, so that's a plus.

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway) I feel much better about the State of the Yankees today than I did on Sunday night. But, this is a four-game series, so the Yanks need another win to take the series, and I for one am not going to say "No" to a sweep.

New Poll Question: How'd AJ get the black eye?

2010-09-18T14:02:00.003-04:00

If you saw the game last night, you probably saw that big bruise around AJ Burnett's right eye.( I apologize if you didn't, I couldn't find a decent picture of it online) After the game, he and Joe Girardi had no comment on how it happened. So that's just going to let me speculate on how it happened. Here's what I've come up with:

1) AJ pulled a David Wells, went out bar hopping the night before a start and got into a fight.
2) After doing something wrong, he got frustrated and somehow hit himself in the face.
3) Joe Girardi pulled him aside and told him that he needs to start pitching better...or else. And to drive the point home, he punched him in the face.

Let us know what you think in the poll in the top right hand corner of the page. The poll closes at 7:05 next Wednesday, the day of AJ's next start, assuming he doesn't receive any more mysterious injuries.

One Swing changes everything...

2010-09-18T13:53:00.003-04:00

It's 3-1 Orioles in the top of the ninth, 2 strikes on Alex Rodriguez. If he strikes out, I'm sitting here yelling about how the Yankees season is collapsing around them. The sky is falling, our pitchers can't shut down opposing lineups, our hitters can't score more than one fun of Kevin freaking Millwood, and the Rays are gonna run away and hide in the AL East.

Luckily, however, A-Rod turns on one and sends an A-Bomb into the left field stands. Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. The Yankees win, the Rays lose, and the Bombers are back in first where they belong. The Yanks, as we all know, have an extremely tough schedule down the stretch, and they need to take advantage of these 3 games against the Orioles.

Enjoy your college football everybody! I'll be at the 'Cuse vs. Maine game at the Carrier Dome tonight. Let's Go Orange!

Awesome

2010-09-14T23:12:00.003-04:00

While the Yankees blew a 6-run lead and shouldn't have even been in extra innings, that's not what I'm taking away from this. What I'll remember from this game is my boy Kerry Wood pitching a solid 8th inning. That awesome catch that Curtis Granderson made is gonna be remembered for a long time. Jorge absolutely crushed that ball to center in the top of the 10th, and to top it all off Greg Golson.

I'm sitting here watching Golson make that catch, and I'm screaming at the TV as usual, "Just throw it to the cutoff man. Just hit the cutoff." I didn't think there was a snowball's chance in hell that Golson would throw out Crawford and was imagining him throwing it over everyone and Crawford tying the game. Then Golson just throws this absolute lazer to A-Rod to get Crawford to end the game. Not one person on the field (except maybe Golson) thought he was gonna throw Crawford out. After it happened, Jeter, A-Rod, Gardner, and Mo were all completely shocked.

But the important thing is that the Yanks are back in first. They've snapped their longest losing streak of the year, and they have a chance to win the series tomorrow and extend the lead to 1.5 games.

SEE YA!

Disgusting

2010-09-13T23:05:00.002-04:00

I don't even want to talk about this loss. I'm sure Jim doesn't either. Disgusting. I'm speechless right now. Three walk-off losses in the last four games. Yeah, they better get home-field avantage because they desperately need it.

State of the Yankees (It's Not Good)

2010-09-13T12:01:00.003-04:00

Last week the Yankees went on an eight-game winning streak which saw them extend their AL East lead on the Tampa Bay Rays to 2.5 games. Then, the Orioles came to town and took two of three. Then the Yankees traveled to face the Texas Rangers. The bullpen blew the game the first night. Mariano Rivera had one of his three meltdowns he has all year and blow the second game. And Cliff Lee was Cliff Lee and the next thing you know the Yankees are dealing with their first three-game sweep of the season, lost six of their last seven, and enter a three game series with the Tampa Bay Rays who are just 1/2 a game back. The Yanks would be on a seven game losing streak if not for Nick Swisher's walk-off home run on Wednesday.

The rest of the Yankees schedule is against all AL East teams. They have just three games against the Orioles, who are the only team under .500 (and have been playing good baseball since Buck Showalter took over). Over the last seven days the Yankees as a team are batting .236/.337/.303 with one home run and 16 RBI. On the pitching side the last seven days, they have a 4.66 ERA have allowed 44 hits in 46.1 innings, while allowing 25 runs and striking out 36.

Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher are battling through injuries. A-Rod still needs to sit out about once a week. The only consistent pitcher the Yankees have in their rotation is CC Sabathia. If Andy Pettitte returns at the end of the week he is probably only good for about 80 pitches.

The Yankees are staring at a very possible scenario where they back into the playoffs in the wild card spot. The seven games they have left with the Rays are going to be playoff games because knowing the Yankees, they'd rather have the division crown than the wild card. But if they cannpt capitalize on these games against the Rays, you have to wonder, just how far can this team go into the postseason?

Who do the Yankees want to face in ALDS?

2010-09-10T16:00:00.005-04:00

Right now the Yankees are 2.5 games ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Rays are 6.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. So barring a Mets-like collapse that would end in me taking a long walk off a short bridge, the Yankees should make the playoffs. The only question now is whether they go in as the AL East Champ or the Wild Card.

I'm working under the assumption that the Twins will win the Central, and the Rangers win the West. Let's take a look at the scenarios:

If the Yankees win the AL East, and the Rays win the Wild Card:

Yankees play the playoff team with the worst record, the Texas Rangers.
Rays play Minnesota, with Minnesota having home field advantage.
If Yankees advance to ALCS, they will have home field advantage, regardless of who they are playing.

If the Rays in the AL East and the Yankees win the Wild Card:

Rays play the playoff team with the worst record, the Texas Rangers.
Yankees play Minnesota, with Minnesota having home field advantage.
If Yankees advance to ALCS, they will NOT have home field advantage, regardless of who they are playing.

So which is a better situation for the Yankees?

Twins:

The Yankees won the season series 4-2
Yankees outscored Twins 24-21.
Likely playoff rotation: Baker, Liriano, Duensing, Slowey.
Record since Aug 1: 25-11

Rangers:

The Yankees lead season series 4-1 (with a 3-games to play, starting tonight)
Yankees have outscored 27-16.
Likely playoff rotation: Lee, Lewis, Wilson, Hunter.
Record since Aug 1: 16-20

So this question might be easier to answer on Sunday after the 3 game set against the Rangers, but I'm asking now; who would you rather play?

Case for wanting to play the Twins:

You don't have to face Cliff Lee in a short series
Sweeping the Twins in the ALDS is an annual right of passage for the Yankees
Starting rotation is kind of weak.
Not a powerful lineup, especially if Justin Morneau doesn't return the season.

Case for wanting to play the Rangers:

They've struggled down the stretch.
Pitching staff behind Lee isn't anything special.
The away games are in Texas, where average early October temps are between 60-80, instead of Minnesota, where average early October temps are between 40-60.
Playing the Rangers means the Yankees finished strong, and have good momentum going into the playoffs, and will have home field advantage in both ALDS and ALCS.

So as the next three weeks of the baseball season wind down, these situations are going to be talked about a lot. Only time will tell which one comes to fruition.