Today’s lineup: Hinske gets a start. Gardner in center.

YANKEES (51-35)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Hinske RF
Gardner CF

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettitte (8-4, 4.53). ERA+ 97.

Pettitte is looking for win #224, which would tie Catfish Hunter & Jim Bunning on the all-time list.   

In the first, A-Rod ties Palmeiro with HR #569*. Next up? Someone clean.
Harmon Clayton Killebrew at 573.

Next up for A-Rod?
The MLB logo himself.

Good points about Joba by Pete Abraham, who also notes that Berroa signed on with the Mets. Or is that now spelled M=E=S=S?

Not a bad pickup so far. After just 1 HR all year for the Pirates, Hinske hits his 2nd as a Yankee in just his third Yankee game.

3-0 Yanks after three.

John and Suzyn talking about the old Home Run Derby on TV that was at LA’s old Wrigley Field. Of course, they got the years it happened wrong. Suzyn was right in 1960, but that was the only year. The results?

Later… 

I have a wedding to attend today (cousin’s daughter) so obviously I won’t be around to give much info on the Yanks game this afternoon vs. the Angels. Probably a short recap when I get back from the reception. That’ll be late.

Congrats to the Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez, who threw a no-hitter last night. Only an 8th-inning error kept him from a perfect game. 11 K. He was helped by a leaping catch at the fence by CF Aaron Rowand.

AA: Jeremy Bleich continues to struggle at AA since his callup. 0-3, 6.00. Trenton lost 4-2. 4 R in 6 2/3 for Bleich. 2 hits, 2 RBI for Noah Hall.

A+: 2-0 loss for Tampa. Tough loss for D.J. Mitchell.

A-: Charleston lost 5-4 in 11. Corban Joseph 3 hits, 2 doubles, RBI.

First off, I was going to go, then got an e-mail from Chuck Frantz, the president of the LV Yankee fan club. The LV Iron Pigs gave him a block of seats RIGHT BEHIND HOME, GROUND LEVEL. In his e-mail, he said those seats were for the first 24 people to get back to him. So there you go. I was going to go anyway, and instead of calling the “will call” window, now I had my seat…through Chuck, the Iron Pigs and what seats.

I was probably sitting about 75 feet or so from the catcher’s box, where Cervelli was squatting. When SWB was in the on-deck circle, I was probably about 30 feet away—close enough to see the blacksmith-type forearms on Shelley Duncan, and to be jolted into reality by how young someone like Ramiro Pena really is. I mean, I know he is just 23, but watching him on TV is one thing. Seeing him from 10 yards away, you really see the youth in some of these players. It reminded me that at 47, I’m old enough to be their dad.

Kyle Kendrick for LV faced Jason Johnson of SWB. Two ex-major leaguers trying to get back to the show. It was a good pitcher’s duel through six. Mike Cervenak of the Iron Pigs hit a HR and after six it was 1-0 Pigs.

I originally wasn’t going to go to this game, since I have a wedding to attend today and the game was supposed to be in SWB (actually, Moosic, PA) which is about a 75 to 90 minute drive from my home (typical Pennsylvanian—instead of giving you miles to a location, we give you the time it takes to get there). The SWB field is an absolute mess however, and it’s unknown when SWB will have their next home game. Drainage issues, and the field is ripped up in order to fix those problems. A disaster. So with the game moved to LV (20 minutes from my home), I decided to go and wound up with great seats and saw a great ending.  

Austin Jackson had three hits in the game, one a triple that just missed being an opposite-field HR.

SWB got 3 in the 7th, on a rally started by Francisco Cervelli’s double. Colin Curtis doubled in a run and after a walk and WP, a SF (Eric Duncan) and single (Kevin Russo) made it 3-1 in favor of the SWB Yankees.

Anthony Claggett replaced Johnson in the 8th and gave up two runs to tie the game at 3.

In the bottom of the 8th, SWB got two runs to go up 5-3. A-Jax singled, Shelley walked. Miranda singled in a run and Cervelli laid down a beauty of a bunt and beat it out. Curtis hit a SF. SWB had the 5-3 lead, bases loaded, one out but couldn’t add on. 

I was shocked when Claggett went out for the 9th after his lousy 8th inning, but remembered that Melancon was called up and that there was no way Albaladejo was getting to LV last night. Alby had to fly from Anaheim into LV, Newark or some other close airport (Philly?). Cross-country.

So Claggett starts the 9th and immediately gives up two hits. 1st and 2nd, no outs. Zach Kroenke, a lefty, comes in to pitch.

BTW, the guy on 2nd? Miguel Cairo. I heard from an insider that Miggy has decided to retire after the season.

So two runs down, men on 1st and 2nd, LV decides to move the runners over with a bunt. Now here is where my seat location really paid off. I am sitting right behind the screen. 75 feet or so behind home plate. The bunt gets put down. Kroenke, a lefty, comes off the mound and fires to third….  shades of Andy Pettitte in game 5 of the 1996 World Series! Kroenke just nips Cairo at third.

And that isn’t all. The next batter doubles to RCF. The runner on second scores to cut the lead to 5-4. The runner on first is sent home. A great relay throw by SS Ramiro Pena to Cervelli nails the runner at the plate. Of course, I had a great view with where I was sitting. Great throw by Pena, great block and tag by Cervelli. Saves the game. The next hitter popped up and that was it.

5-4 SWB.

So I leave my location, hit the bathroom, then take the elevator up from ground level to the concourse in order to leave the ballpark.

The elevator door opens and I’m on the concourse and I am leaving the elevator. Meanwhile, waiting to get ON the elevator are two young men. Both Japanese. One is carrying a clipboard.

Can you guess who it was?

Yup. Kei Igawa was carrying the clipboard. He was in street clothes, and he was charting pitches. I didn’t say anything, but recognized him right away.

He looked smaller than you would see on TV. He is listed at 6′1″ but…  he seemed younger, too. He turns 30 in a few days, but looked five to seven years younger than that to me. Just saying. I did have to do a doubletake, but on second glance, knew it was Igawa.

No Vlad? No Torii Hunter? No problem. The Angels keep beating the Yanks and last night was no exception as they knocked the Yanks out of first, 10-6.

…and it shouldn’t have been so. The Yanks blew a 5-1 lead, and someone, be it Girardi, Eiland, a fellow pitcher or player, or the front office, is going to have to take Joba aside and basically kick Joba in the ass.

But as Pete Abraham reports:

UPDATE, 12:02 a.m.: Thats it. 4.1 innings. If Joba says after the game that he pitched well, he should get sent back to Scranton. Not one teammate, save Jeter, has gone over to him in the dugout. They’re tired of his act.

Not one. Jeter patted him on the back and nobody has talked to him. He needs an intervention at this point. You can’t keep falling behind hitters and expect to pitch well.

They gave him a 3-0 lead against a depleted team and he pitched horrendously.

In the first, Alex doubled in a run, Swisher singled in two. Damon with an RBI in the second. 4-0. Joba gave up a run in the 2nd. Alex hits #15 (#568*, one behind Palmeiro’s 569*) in the 5th.

5-1 going into the 5th. Hang on, get three outs, qualify for the win. Try to go MORE than five. Instead, Joba gives up four runs, coughs up the lead and forces in the bullpen—the day after the bullpen was used extensively when Aceves got knocked out early.

A BAD PERFORMANCE.

4 1/3. 5 R, 4 ER on 9 hits, 1 walk, 4 K.  Four and a third stinking innings. Jaret Wright-like. 94 pitches to get those 13 outs. Joba did none of what we wanted. 58 strikes. The ERA is now 4.25.

One of the biggest problems has been his reaction to this, as described by Abraham above. He says he has had good stuff, feels well, etc. This Annie-like “The sun will come out tomorrow,” attitude has to stop. Results, Joba. RESULTS.

Melancon came in and eventually took the loss. I’ll give Melancon a pass on this one. Needing a reliever after the Aceves start, Melancon was called up and Albaladejo sent down. It’s not like Melancon got in a car and made a two hour drive to NY from SWB. He flew cross-country. 3 r, 2 ER in 2 1/3. We’ll see how he does next time out. I know it’s his job, but flying across country then having to bail out someone who shouldn’t need to be bailed out….

Bruney replaced Joba, and something isn’t right here. Bruney has done NADA since coming off the DL. After the Yanks closed it to 7-6, Bruney replaced Melancon with a man on. He immediately gave up a walk and a 3-run HR. His ERA has climbed to 4.86.

Since coming off the DL (the 2nd time) Bruney’s ERA is 7.04.

Interesting note from Abraham. How do I interpret it? Not going deep enough into games to get the decision.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Joba Chamberlain’s 10 decisions (7-3) through his first 29 career starts are the fewest in Major League history. I’m not sure how to interpret that. But there you go. 

On June 1st, Joba went 8, beating Cleveland and lowering his ERA to 3.71. Since then:

6 IP, 3 R;
4 IP, 2 R;
6 IP, 3 R;
6 1/3, 3 R, 2 ER;   
5 1/3, 3 R
3 2/3, 8 R, 3 ER
4 1/3, 5 R, 4 ER   

a 5.05 ERA. 35 2/3 IP in 7 starts. Average just over 5 IP/start. Not good at all.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, JOBA. ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT. … AND RESULTS.

Quit pissing away your ability and the opportunity. 

Jeter had four hits, but made an error. A bad one. Posada made a strange bare-handed catch (what, no obstruction or interference call? The umps lately really have you scratching your head).

An aside: I saw something the other day. Chase Utley on Thursday night hit an inside-the-park HR. I saw something on the play that I don’t think anyone commented on and if you see a replay of it, look close. He never touched third. It wasn’t even close. He never hit the bag. So who saw it? Apparently no one.

As for Halladay, I don’t think he is getting traded in the division. Who would the Yanks give up? First off, some people mentioned Ian Kennedy, apparently not realizing that Kennedy is on the DL after surgery to repair an aneurysm in his pitching arm. I hear Cano, but the Jays already have Aaron Hill, and he is doing a great job. Look at the Jays catching. If I am the Jays, I would need to have Romine, Cervelli or Montero in the deal. I also look at Austin Jackson with the idea of trying to dump Vernon Wells salary on someone. So start there. I want a C and OF of the future. I also need a pitcher. I look into a Joba, a Hughes, etc. As a Yankees fan, it’d be tough to make that deal. But you have to be realistic here. The Jays aren’t going to give up Halladay for nothing. They need players to show for it. Probably four of them. 

Halladay is 32, earns $15.75 M for 2010 and will be a free agent after 2010. In order to accept a trade, he probably will demand an extension on his new team, and look for a CC-type deal.

It won’t be easy. What would make things easier is if Joba steps it up.  

If only the Yanks were not 0-8 vs. Boston so far this year…

Pete Abraham reports that the Yanks have called up Mark Melancon. No word on who was sent down. Aceves won’t be available this weekend, hence the move. I like Robertson, but after he walked in two batters yesterday, he may be demoted. Him or Albaladejo, but I think Alby might take that WWF belt (that he was awarded yesterday for being the “star of the game”) with him if he goes. (J/K).   

I want to see a new Joba tonight. One that finishes off hitters, throws strikes, doesn’t nibble and goes into the 7th. The ability is there. Time for results. Attack, Joba. Attack.

Since the Yanks start late, I have decided to head over to Coca-Cola Park, about a 20 minute drive from my house, to watch the AAA game between the SWB Yankees and the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies AAA team) tonight. It looks like Kyle Kendrick (LV) vs. Jason Johnson (SWB). It gives me a chance to see Miranda, Ramiro Pena, Cervelli, Shelley, and most importantly, A-Jax. Tomorrow may not see much if any posting since I’ll be attending a family wedding and reception (no, not mine!)

Ironically, SWB is the HOME team tonight at Lehigh Valley. SWB’s field has been having drainage problems, and the games of last night and tonight had to be moved.      

There is talk between Pedro and the Phils. We’ll see what happens. 

Update: Been busy lately between the Yanks, reading a book, a family funeral and a family wedding. But yes, I’ve been following the NBA deals recently. Interesting. Rasheed to Celts, Artest to Lakers, Shaq to join Lebron and another big deal. Some NBA offseason, eh?  

AA:  7-3 win for Trenton. Austin Krum 2 rbi. Chris Malec 2 rbi. Noah Hall 4 for 4 with a ribbie.   

A+: Tampa DH ppd.

A-: Charleston won 9-5.  Banuelos 4 IP, 1 R.  Abe Almonte 3 hits, 4 Rbi. Garrison Lassiter  3h. 2 rbi ; 3 hits Jose  Pirela, Melky Mesa 2 rbi.

Aceves goes today in his first start of the year. An emergency start because of Wang’s injury. We’ll see how far he can go.

In other news, I see that ex-Met and Phil Lenny “Nails” Dykstra has filed for bankruptcy.

Catch you after the game.

Recap: Aceves was knocked out in the 4th, but the bullpen came through along with the bottom of the order in the yanks 6-4 win.

The Yanks won every game from the Twins this year. Barring a meeting in the postseason, today was the last time the Yanks played the Twins in the Metrodome. I remember how Billy Martin hated the place.

The Yanks got 3 in the 2nd on a bases-loaded walk by Ransom, a forceout by Gardner and a single by Jeter. The Twins came back with two on a HR by Kubel and on errors by Aceves and Ransom.  

The Yanks got two in the 4th to make it 5-2. Ransom and Gardner, the bottom of the order, with RBI singles, giving them 2 ribbies each.

Aceves left with the bases loaded in the 4th. Robertson then played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Good Robertson K’d Punto for the 2nd out. Bad Robertson walked the next two batters to force in two runs and make it 5-4. For that, Robertson didn’t get the win. Somehow, after walking in two batters, Robertson gets Mauer to ground out to end the inning. Go figure. Walk two and get out the guy hitting .389.

Teixiera hit his first HR since June 12 to make it 6-4, which ended up as the final score.

After one inning, Albaladejo relieved Robertson. Why? Robertson K’d Morneau, then walked the next hitter (Bad Robertson). Once again, go figure. Alby got the W. He came in, got a K a walk (dancing with danger) and a K. He then pitched a 1-2-3 6th.

Coke for the 7th. A single, a force and a K, then Hughes. Hughes continued his dominance from the bullpen, but not in the 7th, as Posada gunned out Morneau to end the inning. Hughes had a 1-2-3 8th with 2 K. Then it was Mo and save #505. GO, GO, single and then (gotta do it the hard way) getting Mauer to GO.

Aceves 3 1/3, 4 R, 3 ER. Nice if somewhat shaky (Robertson’s 3 walks) job by the ‘pen. Ransom and Gardner each with 2 ribbies.

Interesting note from King, George A. III—Jays shopping Halladay and odds are on the Phils, but King states that the buzz is that if a team is interested in Halladay, that it might have to take Vernon Wells, who has $107M left on his deal. The Phils can’t afford that, and besides, their OF is set with Ibanez, Victorino and Werth. Halladay alone will command big bucks. He is signed through 2010 at $15.75M. The Phils would love him (think maybe Marson, Mayberry and a starter like Carrasco to begin talks?) but I can’t see them having any interest in Wells. It always gets interesting around the deadline.

Speaking of the deadline, maybe…just maybe, the Yanks won’t have to look for that one more reliever. According to Pete Abraham, Marte is to throw BP in Tampa on Saturday.        

AA: Trenton wins 2-1 in 11. 3 hits for Austin Krum. 5 Trenton pitchers combined for a 2-hitter with 15 K, but also 11 walks. Montero in a slump, down to .287 at AA. 

A+: Tampa ppd. Rain.

A-: 6-2 loss for Charleston. Mitch Abeita (C) 2 hits, solo hr.

Glenn Perkins is sick and is out. RHP Anthony Swarzak (2-2, 3.90) goes tonight and the ghost of Francisco Liriano (4-8, 5.49) goes tomorrow.

Tomorrow is an afternoon game. I’ll have to check the box when I get home. 1 pm start, and most likely done by the time I get off work. Aceves goes. I am sure that my friend Jorge from Mexico will be tuned in.

Abraham reports that Molina is in the house.

The lineup for tonight:

YANKEES (49-34, 2nd 1 GB) +2.5 for WC
+2 on Pythagorean
OPS+ 117, ERA+ 99

BA/HR/RBI/SB/SB Attempts/OPS+ (* = team leader)
Jeter SS .313*-10-35-17*/20*-123 (Typical Jeter in BA, HR and RBI…SB a bit of a surprise)
Damon LF .284-16-49-8/8-133
Teixeira 1B .281-20*-62*-0/0-143* (and way overdue to go yard)
Rodriguez 3B .246-14-44-2/2-142
Matsui DH .268-13-39-0/0-130
Posada C .282-11-38-1/1-128
Cano 2B .305-13-45-4/8-114 (off the schneid, start hitting with RISP now, Robbie!)
Swisher RF .243-14-44-0/0-123
Gardner CF .287-3-15-17*/19-106 (4 doubles, 5 triples)  

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (7-4, 3.83). ERA+ 115

After four, 3-2 Yanks. Gardner drove in two in the second. I love Suzyn’s comment, “Who’d have thought he’d be hitting .290?” Start reading some blogs, Suzyn. Granted, all I wanted from him was .270, but hey…some of us blogwriters had faith.

One thing I’ve argued for a while is that the blogwriters know more about the minor leaguers than Sterling or Waldman do. (Remember when instead of calling someone up last year or checking out the minors to see who could be brought up, Suzyn wanted the Yanks to sign 45 year old David Wells and never mentioned a prospect at all?) They see some minor leaguers in spring training, and that is it.

You see “forced furloughs” put on various people now. Instead of laying people off, companies are forcing employees to take a week without pay.

Sometimes I think Waldman, Sterling and others should be forced to give up two weeks. Find other announcers/writers for those two weeks. Force John and Suzyn to cover and report on Scranton-Wilkes/Barre for a week, then Trenton for a week. Then when they come back to the booth they may know what Gardner did in SWB last year, or what an A-Jax is doing this year at SWB or a Montero at Trenton. Saying “Who’d have thought Gardner would hit .290?” shows a lack of belief in the kid, but also putting all her observations in only what he did in the majors last year and basing everything on that. Had she done her homework, she may have realized that Gardner has started slowly at each level he was at, only to pick it up.

The “furlough” will never happen, though. Too bad.

Will Gardner keep it up? Who knows. I can see that, in covering the Yanks day-by-day, that Sterling and Waldman don’t keep up that much with the minors. But they could or should be able to talk to Cashman or Girardi about the prospects. How much they do, I don’t know. I’m not there. But it seems like they don’t do it enough. Either talk to Cashman or Girardi or better yet, pick up a phone and call reporters or the coaches at SWB and Trenton and get a first hand account for themselves. It doesn’t seem like they do that, and it shows on the broadcasts.

I argued about that a while ago. To me, nothing has changed since I first made that point.

Let me give you an example. God forbid anything happen to Cano. Should something happen to him, most likely Pena is brought up to play 2B (I think they’d go with that rather than use Ransom). Sterling or Waldman might bring up a trade. I’d be willing to bet that neither of them would mention anything about Kevin Russo. Maybe Russo could cut it, maybe not. I don’t know. But I do know that Russo hit .307 for AA Trenton last year in 71 games and is hitting .327 for SWB in 37 games so far this year. He’s been injured. But .314 in his last 108 minor league games, AA and AAA. The righty-hitting 2B turned 25 today. Would they know about him, or immediately holler for a deal?

Try within first, then go make a deal. Who knows what you have? That’s my motto.    

5th inning. Jeter doubles and scores on a single by A-Rod.  4-2 Yanks. Yanks loaded the bases with 2 out, but Cano went back to his RISP (lousy) self. 

Bottom of the 5th. Twins load the bases, two out. Mauer is really something. A catcher with two batting titles already (Ernie Lombardi, eat your heart out) who is hitting .387 now. Wow. Burnett gets the K and gets out of it. 

Mauer throws out Gardner trying to steal, then HRs off of Coke (it seems like Coke, in every game vs. the Twins this year, has given up a HR to Mauer or Morneau). 6 1/3 for AJ, the HR and a K for Coke, then Hughes for the last out in the 7th.

I hope Girardi leaves Hughes out there for the 8th. He only threw one pitch and got the out. No messing around. No “8th inning guy.” No Bruney just because it’s the 8th. Use your eyes. Keep Hughes for the 8th, then Mo. Meanwhile, some insurance runs would be nice here.

Meanwhile, Mauer is now at .390. Wow.

Hughes does start the 8th, gets two outs then gives up a hit. In comes Mo, who gets a four-out save. The last out? Mauer. Save #504 for Mo. #22 for the year, ERA 2.50. At 39, not too bad. But then, since Mo has had EIGHT seasons under 2.00 (far more than ANY other closer) we are spoiled.

Red Sox won. Yanks stay 1 GB at 50-34.

Afternoon game tomorrow. 1 pm. Aceves with the start.   

AA:  2-1 loss for Trenton. Molina 0 for 1, walk and whiff.

A+: Tampa susp. rain. Tampa was up 1-0 in the 4th. Game to be resumed in late August.

A-:  9-3 loss for Charleston. Cory Arbiso 8 R, 3 ER in 3 IP. 2 hits, solo HR for Ray Kruml. Same for Tommy Baldridge