2009 defending World Champion New York Yankees

nyy26wc · 03-30-2009, 11:09 AM

The defending World Champion New York Yankees opened their 2009 defense of the title this afternoon.

The Opening Day roster--

PITCHERS
Johan Santana (acquired in a trade with the Twins during the 2007-08 offseason)
Jake Peavy (acquired in a trade for Robinson Cano)
Joba Chamberlain
Mike Mussina
Randy Johnson (acquired in a trade with the Phillies, along with Ryan Howard, for Chien Ming Wang and $15 million. The Phillies then took the $40 million they saved in 2009 salaries/got in the trade and used that to fund a spending spree to rebuild their pitching staff)
Mariano Rivera
Damaso Marte (acquired in an offseason trade with the Pirates who were in the middle of a firesale. He cost 4 minor leaguers)
Chris Britton
Kyle Farnsworth
Rafael Soriano (acquired in a big 12 player trade with the Braves during the offseason that included Phil Hughes going to Atlanta)
Mike Stanton (claimed off waivers during the 2008 season)

CATCHERS
Jorge Posada
Gregg Zaun (signed as a free agent during the offseason)

INFIELDERS
Ryan Howard
Mark Teixeira (acquired in a July 4 trade with the Braves for Jason Giambi, Jeff Karstens and throw ins)
Adrian Cardenas (acquired in a big July 4 trade with the Phillies that featured Hideki Matsui for Pat Burrell as the major leaguers involved)
Ruben Gotay (acquired in the 12 player trade with the Braves)
Derek Jeter
Alex Rodriguez
Nick Punto (acquired in a trade with the Twins during the 2008 season)

OUTFIELDERS
Manny Ramirez (signed as a free agent)
Jay Bruce (acquired in a big trade with the Reds in July 2008)
Jordan Schafer (one of the keys to the 12 player trade with the Braves)
Austin Jackson
Brandon Boggs (acquired in a minor offseason trade with the Rangers)

LINEUPS
CF--Bruce
SS--Jeter
LF--Ramirez
3B--Rodriguez
DH--Howard
1B--Teixeira
C--Posada
RF--Schafer (vs. RHP), Jackson (vs. LHP)
2B--Cardenas (vs. RHP), Gotay (vs. LHP)

The Yankees are coming of a 113 win season, which was followed by the 1st ever 11-0 postseason run in MLB history.

nyy26wc · 03-30-2009, 11:10 AM

The World Champion New York Yankees opened their defense of the title in the first game at the new Yankee Stadium, against the Kansas City Royals.

With 1 out in the top of the 1st, Royals 2B Tadahito Iguchi recorded the first hit in the new stadium--a line drive double to right off Johan Santana. Santana got out of the inning otherwise unscathed.

In the bottom of the 1st, after Jay Bruce led off with the first Yankees hit (an infield hit that 2B Iguchi dove to prevent going into RF) and Derek Jeter hit a foul popup to 1st, Manny Ramirez put the Yankees on top, 2-0, with the 1st HR in the new stadium and 504th of his career. After Alex Rodriguez walked and advanced to 2nd on Ryan Howard's single, Mark Teixeira's single scored A-Rod to make it 3-0. Jorge Posada then put a 0-1 pitch into the right field stands to give the Yankees a 6-0 lead and make Luke Hochevar the 1st pitcher in the new Stadium's history to hit the showers in the 1st inning.

In the top of the 2nd, Carlos Ruiz's RBI single scored Thomas Giles (rookie DH making his MLB debut) to put the Royals on the board. Alberto Callaspo's RBI single in the 4th scored Ryan Ludwick to let the Royals cut the lead to 6-2, before the Yankees countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the 4th. Adrian Cardenas led off the inning with his first major league hit and eventually scored on a throwing error by SS Callaspo.

A high pitch count forced Johan Santana out of the game after 6 innings (6 IP, 9 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 11 SO). Rafael Soriano made his Yankees debut by giving up a HR to the 1st batter he faced--Carlos Ruiz. The Royals loaded the bases with 1 out, putting the tying run at the plate. But, Soriano struck out Jose Guillen and Ryan Ludwick to get out of the jam.

The Yankees added the final run of the game when Cardenas's RBI single scored pinch runner Brandon Boggs in the bottom of the 8th.

Other highlights from the Yankees's 8-3 victory--

Yankees CF Jay Bruce had 3 hits. Royals 1B Mike Lowell and DH Travis Giles had 3 hits, Giles doing it in his major league debut.

In other AL East news, the Orioles beat the Red Sox, putting the World Champions in a tie with the Orioles for 1st, with the Red Sox on the bottom and the Rays and Blue Jays having the day off. In other news around the majors, Giants RF Matt Murton became the 1st player to have a 2 HR game.

bwburke94 · 03-30-2009, 12:34 PM

Nice to see Matt Murton mentioned. I can still remember when my Red Sox traded him to the Cubs.

nyy26wc · 03-30-2009, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwburke94

Nice to see Matt Murton mentioned. I can still remember when my Red Sox traded him to the Cubs.

Murton's coming off a good year in that world, in which he had a .387 OBA, .430 SLG, .817 OPS, .296 AVG, 12 HR in 144 games with the A's and Cubs, before being traded to the Giants in the offseason.

nyy26wc · 03-31-2009, 11:15 AM

Today's game, between the Yankees and the Royals, featured a pitching duel between Jake Peavy and Gio Gonzalez. Peavy was making his Yankees debut after an offseason trade for Robinson Cano.

Jay Bruce started the scoring with a solo HR in the bottom of the 3rd and former Yankees 1st round pick Eric Duncan tied the game with a solo shot in the top of the 4th.

A managerial mistake may have cost the Yankees a run in the 6th. After Alex Rodriguez led off with a walk, the skipper was on the brink of sending the sign for him to steal 2nd. But, the signal was never sent and, on the first pitch to Ryan Howard, he grounded to 2nd and, of course, him being Ryan Howard, it turned into an easy 4-6-3 DP. Mark Teixeira followed with a double to left that would have easily scored A-Rod had he successfully stolen 2nd.

The game remained 1-1 in the bottom of the 8th. Derek Jeter led off with a double to right, off reliever Henry Barrera. After Manny Ramirez flied out to right, A-Rod put runners on the corners with the line drive single to left. The call was made to bring in lefty Ron Mahay, and with Howard stepping up the plate, the Yankees were determined not to make the same mistake again. The steal sign was sent, but A-Rod twice failed to get the jump. On a 1-1 count, Howard was allowed to swing. Howard put the Yankees on top with a 351 foot homer to right.

Final score--Yankees 4, Royals 1.

Both Peavy (7 IP, 8 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 4 SO) and Gonzalez (6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 10 SO) provided their teams with good outings. Teixeira had 3 hits for the Yankees and reigning AL MVP & triple crown winner Alex Rodriguez had his 1st 2 hits of the season.

In other news in the division, the Rays beat the Blue Jays. The Yankees stand atop the division with a 2-0 record, with the Orioles and Rays at 1-0 and Red Sox and Blue Jays both being 0-1.

In other news around the majors, the surprising defending NL Central Champions Reds lost off season acquisition, and new starting LF, Fred Lewis for the season, after breaking his leg. Lewis finishes with a small sample size fluke 2.000 OPS (5 for 6 for the season, with 2 2B).

nyy26wc · 04-01-2009, 01:48 PM

The Yankees decided to see if giving the ball to Joba Chamberlain could help the champs' explosive offense sweep the Royals in the first series in the new Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees got off to a good start when Jay Bruce beat out on infield single on the first pitch of the bottom of the 1st, stole 2nd and scored on Derek Jeter's line drive double to left center. After Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard had consecutive 1 out walks in the 3rd, Mark Teixeira's 1st HR of the season gave the Yankees a 4-0 lead.

Rookie 2B Adrian Cardenas's 1st major league HR, leading off the 4th, made it a 5-0 game. In the 5th, fellow Yankees rookie Jordan Schaefer delivered his first major league hit--a RBI single to give the Bronx Bombers a 6-0 lead. In the 6th, Manny Ramirez, who had hit the 1st HR in the new stadium on Monday, became the 1st player to hit 2 of them when he followed a Derek Jeter walk with a 2 RBI shot into the left field stands.

Feeling comfortable with a 8-0 lead, Joba Chamberlain (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 11 SO) was able to hit the showers and turn the game over to the bullpen.

After Kyle Farnsworth gave up a single and a walk to the 1st 2 batters he faced in the 2009 season, rookie Travis Giles continued the hot start to his career when he his his 1st major league HR to make it 8-3. After Farnsworth finally recorded an out by striking out Alex Gordon, Eric Duncan became the 1st former Yankees 1st round pick who was traded after he became a bust to hit 2 HR in the new stadium when his 328 footer ended up in the left field stand. That was all for Farnsworth and Chris Britton got the final 2 outs of the inning.

With 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, Ryan Howard smashed a 422 foot homer to right, his 2nd of the year, to provide an insurance run and make it a 9-4 game.

With lefties coming up in the top of the 9th, the Yankees decided to let veteran Mike Stanton see his 1st action of the season. Stanton gave up a double to Brad Wilkerson, a RBI double to rookie SS Mike Moustakas and then a 2 RBI HR by Koyie Hill made it a 9-7 game and Stanton headed to the showers.

The Yankees did not want to use Mariano Rivera (status for the game: tired), after he appeared in the 1st 2 games of the season, so in came offseason acquisition Rafael Soriano. Soriano had a longer outing than the Yankees wanted out of their new top setup man on Monday, and, while they preferred giving him an extra day off this early in the season, there wasn't much an option here. Tadahito Iguchi drew a walk and, after Giles struck out a 3-2 pitch, Alex Gordon's ground rule double down the RF line put runners on 2nd and 3rd. With the tying run on 3rd, with Soriano not having a good outing, with the also tired Damaso Marte the only other arm in the bullpen, the Yankees had no other choice but to bring in Rivera. Duncan's fly out to left scdored Iguchi to make it a 9-8 game. The Royals then inexplicably sent rookie Brian McFall up to pinch hit for Mike Lowell and McFall grounded to short to end the game.

It was harder in the end than the Yankees wanted, but they are happy to hear Sinatra at the end of the 3 game sweep.

Ryan Howard reached base all 5 times for the Yankees--1 H (HR), 4 BB.

In other news around the AL East--The Orioles scored a run in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Red Sox, 3-2. The Rays scored 2 in the bottom of the 8th and 2 more in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Blue Jays, 6-5. The 3-0 Yankees have a 1/2 game lead over the 2-0 Orioles and Rays and a 2 1/2 game lead over the 0-2 Red Sox and Blue Jays.

In other news around the majors, Angels C Mike Napoli and Padres CF Hunter Pence both had 2 HR games. The Brewers are the only other 3-0 team in the majors.

nyy26wc · 04-03-2009, 10:24 AM

After the defending World Champions had a day off, the 3-0 Yankees hosted the 0-3 Blue Jays.

The Yankees gave the ball to veteran Mike Mussina, while Blue Jays rookie Nathan Starner made his major league debut.

The game did not get off to a good start for the Yankees. In the top of the 1st, Travis Snider's 2 run HR and Brandon Jones's 3 run HR gave the Blue Jays a 5-0 lead.

The Yankees got on the board in the 2nd, when offseason acquisition Ruben Gotay's 1st Yankees hit scored Mark Teixeira. In the 3rd, captain Derek Jeter hit his 1st HR in the new stadium. In the 4th, Gotay's RBI single scored Austin Jackson and Jay Bruce followed with his 2nd HR of the season to tie the game at 5-5.

The Yankees took the lead in the 6th, when Bruce's RBI single scored Jackson. In the 7th, after Brent Lillibridge led off with a single, Damaso Marte came in and gave up a triple to C Kyle Phillips to the game. But, Marte got out of the runner on 3rd, no out jam to preserve the tie.

Both teams got a runner to 2nd in the 8th, but couldn't break the tie.

The game remained tied until the 11th. Brandon Boggs, a speedster and defensive specialist, had come into the game as a pinch runner in the 8th. Boggs, in his first Yankees AB, lined a leadoff single to center and stole 2nd on the 1st pitch to Gotay. Gotay then delivered a walk off line drive base hit to left.

The Yankees win, 7-6.

Bruce (1 HR), Jackson (3 2B) and Gotay all had 3 hits for the Yankees.

In other news around the division--the Rays scored 2 in the 10th to beat the Red Sox, 4-2. The Orioles shut out the Indians, 3-0. The division remains one of extremes. The Yankees, Rays and Orioles are all tied at 4-0. The Red Sox and Blue Jays are 0-4.

In other news around the majors--Jamey Wright pitched a complete game shutout to lead the Rangers to a 4-0 win over the Mariners. Cardinals P Clayton Mortensen, in his 1st MLB start, pitched 7 innings of 1 hit ball in a 9-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Cubs P Brad Penny is expected to miss 1-2 weeks, due to a strained oblique muscle. In addition to the AL East teams, the 4-0 Cardinals and 3-0 Tigers are the only remaining unbeaten teams, while the 0-4 Pirates and Rockies and 0-3 Twins are the remaining winless ones.

nyy26wc · 04-04-2009, 11:02 AM

The 4-0 Yankees hosted the 0-4 Blue Jays.

Pitching matchup--Randy Johnson vs. Matt Morris

The Yankees got on the board in the bottom of the 1st, when Mark Teixeira's RBI single scored Derek Jeter, but Manny Ramirez was thrown out at the plate to end the inning and the threat. In the 2nd, Derek Jeter's single scored Adrian Cardenas and then it was Ramirez's turn to hit a 2 out single that ended the inning when a runner (Jay Bruce) was thrown out at the plate.

The Yankees added another run in the 3rd when Ryan Howard hit his 3rd HR of the season--a 454 foot shot to right center. In the 5th, Jeter led off with the 1st Yankees triple in the new stadium and Ramirez's single made it 4-0. After Alex Rodriguez lined a single to center, Howard became the 1st player with a 2 HR game at the new stadium, when he knocked Morris out of the game with a 436 foot blast to dead center. Later in the inning, Jordan Schafer's 1st major league HR gave the Yankees a 8-0 lead.

The Blue Jays got on the board in the 6th, when Alex Rios's single scored Rickie Weeks. Ramirez's RBI single scored Bruce in the bottom of the inning to make it 9-1. In the top of the 7th, Josh Bard hit a 2 run HR for the Blue Jays.

Final score--Yankees 9, Blue Jays 3

Johnson had a good, although wild, outing--6 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 6 BB, 6 SO. Morris did not--4 IP, 11 H, 7 R/ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.

Howard reached base safely all 5 times up--3 BB to go along with his 2 HR. Bruce and Ramirez both had 3 hits.

In other news in the division--The Red Sox got their 1st win of the season, as they beat the Rays. The Orioles lost to the Indians. The 5-0 Yankees take sole possession of 1st, 1 game ahead of the 4-1 Rays and Orioles, 4 ahead of the 1-4 Red Sox and 5 games over the 0-5 Blue Jays.

In other news around the majors--Former Yankee Jason Giambi hit his 400th career HR. The 5-0 Cardinals are the only other unbeaten team. The 0-5 Pirates and Rockies join the Blue Jays as the only winless teams.

nyy26wc · 04-05-2009, 12:21 PM

The 5-0 Yankees hosted the 0-5 Blue Jays. The Yankees were attempting to finish their opening homestand at the new stadium with a perfect record.

Johan Santana became the 1st Yankees pitcher to make 2 starts in 2009. Dustin McGowan can say the same for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays started the scoring in the top of the 1st on a 2 run HR by Paul Konerko (his 1st of the year). The lead doubled, to 4-0, in the 2nd, when David Eckstein's single scored Mark DeRosa and Brent Lillibridge.

The Yankees cut the deficit to 4-2 in the 4th, on a RBI single by Jorge Posada and a groundout by Jordan Schafer. In the 5th, the Yankees made it a 1 run game when Manny Ramirez's RBI single scored Derek Jeter, but the Blue Jays countered with a Lillibridge HR (#1) leading off the 6th.

The Yankees countered with a run in the bottom of the inning on a SF by Schafer that scored Mark Teixeira. In the 7th, both teams got SFs--DeRosa and Jeter--to make it a 7-6 game.

Final score--Blue Jays 7, Yankees 6.

Mike Stanton had another bad outing for the Yankees, allowing a run in 1 inning of work and throwing only 4 strikes out of 11 pitches. Stanton has a 12.00 ERA in 3 appearances this year. The Yankees do not like making a move based on such a small sample size, but, taking into account his age (41), a declining SO and SO/BB rates in 2008, along with how bad he's looked so far, nobody will be surprised if his Yankees career comes to abrupt end in the very near future. Stanton is flying with the team to Kansas City, but a respirator was included on the flight, attached to his career.

In other news around the division--Evan Longoria had 4 hits, including a HR, to help the surging Rays defeat the slumping Red Sox again, 10-4. The Orioles beat the Indians, 2-1. The Yankees, Rays and Orioles are all tied at 5-1 records, with the Red Sox and Blue Jays tied at 1-5.

In other news around the majors--The 5-0 Tigers are the last remaining undefeated team (I missed them yesterday, when I said the Cardinals were only remaining one), now that the Yankees and Cardinals lost. The Blue Jays finally have a W, but the 0-6 Pirates and Rockies do not. Dodgers SS Ivan DeJesus Jr. went 5 for 5, with 2 HR in a 16-1 win over the Giants. Albert Pujols and Juan Rivera also had 2 HR games.

nyy26wc · 04-06-2009, 11:23 AM

The 5-1 Yankees played their 1st road game of the year, against the 2-4 Royals. The Yankees had swept the Royals in the 1st series at the new Yankee Stadium last week.

Jake Peavy started for the Yankees against Hayden Penn.

The game was scoreless until the 4th. With 2 outs, the Royals appeared to be out of the inning, when rookie Jordan Schafer struck out to retire the side, but the ball got away from C Koyie Hill, putting runners on 1st & 2nd with 2 outs, setting the stage for fellow rookie Adrian Cardenas's RBI single, to score Jorge Posada. The Yankees added another run in the 4th, when Posada's SF scored Manny Ramirez.

In the 6th, a 1 out triple by Alex Gordon scored Travis Giles to make it a 1 run game and Peavy got out the jam with the lead intact when he got Mike Lowell to ground to Jeter, with the infield in, and then Eric Duncan grounded to 2nd to retire the side. A 2 RBI double by Posada scored Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead in the 7th.

In the bottom of the 8th, the Royals put runners on 2nd and 3rd off Damaso Marte, leading to him being replaced by Kyle Farnsworth. A SF by Mike Lowell scored Giles to make it 4-2. Duncan followed with a base hit to left, but Ramirez threw out Gordon at the plate to preserve the Yankees's 2 run lead.

In the bottom of the 9th, after Mariano Rivera retired the 1st 2 batters, pinch hitter Jose Guillen doubled to center and Hill was hit by a pitch, putting the tying run on base. But, Tadahito Iguchi flied out to left to end the game.

Final--Yankees 4, Royals 2

Peavy had a good outing for the Yankees--7 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 6 SO. Penn had a good outing for the Royals--5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, 5 BB, 8 SO. Posada had 3 hits (2 2B) for the Yankees.

In other news in the division--The Rays beat the Blue Jays, 8-7. The Orioles and Red Sox both had the day off. The 6-1 Yankees are tied with the Rays, 1/2 game ahead of the Orioles, 4 1/2 ahead of the Red Sox and 5 ahead of the Blue Jays.

In other news around the majors--Moises Alou hit 2 HR to lead the Indians to a 14-2 win over the White Sox. The Tigers lost, so there is no longer any remaining undefeated teams. The 0-7 Pirates and Rockies are still winless.

nyy26wc · 04-07-2009, 11:30 AM

The 6-1 Yankees were on the road against the 2-5 Royals.

Joba Chamberlain got the ball for the Yankees. Rookie Blake Wood, who had a good outing in his MLB debut, made his 2nd career start for the Royals.

The Yankees made a lineup change for today's game. The slumping Jordan Schafer, the left handed part of the RF platoon, was given the day off and was replaced by Austin Jackson. The Yankees say this is not a benching and he may be back in the starting lineup as soon as tomorrow.

After Manny Ramirez was hit by a pitch with 2 outs in the top of the 1st, A-Rod followed with a 402 foot shot into the right center field stands to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Who would have thought that Rodriguez would have been the last player in the Yankees's opening day lineup to homer?

In the bottom of the 1st, a RBI double by Alex Gordon scored Travis Giles, a RBI double by Mike Lowell scored Gordon and a RBI triple by Brad Wilkerson scored Lowell to give the Royals a 3-2 lead. The Royals added a run in the 2nd, when Tadahito Iguchi's RBI double scored Mike Moustakas.

Jorge Posada's RBI double in the top of the 6th scored Mark Teixeira to make it a 1 run game. Mike Stanton replaced Chamberlain for the bottom of the 6th. The Royals loaded the bases with 2 outs and Stanton's career was in the balance. But, Giles lined out to 2nd to end the jam.

In the top of the 7th, with runners on the corners and A-Rod at the plate, would A-Rod, who came into the game with the shocking figure of 0 RBI pick up some more to go with the 2 he collected earlier? No, but the Yankees still tied the game on a wild pitch. The Yankees squandered their chance at the lead when Rodriguez flied out to right.

In the top of the 8th, Posada's long flyout to center scored pinch runner Brandon Boggs to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. But, Ryan Ludwick hit a 1 out solo HR off Kyle Farnsworth to retie the game. With a runner on 3rd and 2 outs, Farnsworth got Iguchi to fly out to left to end the inning.

In the top of the 9th, the Yankees put the go ahead run on 2nd with 2 outs, but Boggs struck out to end the inning. The Yankees had runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 10th, but Adrian Cardenas and Jay Bruce both grounded out to end the inning.

In the top of the 11th, Teixeira's RBI double scored Jeter to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Royals put runners on 1st and 2nd off Rafael Soriano, who was the last Yankees pitcher in the bullpen, with the exception of the tired Mariano Rivera. The Yankees were hoping not to use either of them, but since Soriano wasn't tired, he got the call. Soriano got rookie Jared Goedert to hit into a 4-6-3 DP to end the game.

Final--Yankees 6, Royals 5

Teixeira had 4 hits (1 2B) and Ramirez had 3 hits (1 BB) for the Yankees, while Bruce was 0 for 6 and Cardenas was 0 for 5. Duncan was 0 for 5 for the Royals.

Mike Mussina will get the ball tomorrow, as the Yankees will attempt to sweep the Royals for the 2nd consecutive week and sweep the season series.

In other news around the division--The Rays lost to the Blue Jays, 5-3, which enabled the Yankees to reclaim sole possession of 1st. The Red Sox beat the Orioles, 7-1. The Yankees have a 1 game lead over the Rays, a 1 1/2 game lead over the Orioles, a 4 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox and a 5 game lead over the Blue Jays.

In other news around the majors--Chris Young and Adam LaRoche each had 2 HR games. Former Yankees 2B Robinson Cano, who was traded for Jake Peavy in the offseason, hit his 1st HR for the Padres and is off to a .967 OPS start. Tigers CF Danny Putnam had 5 hits in a 5-3 win over the Twins. The 0-7 Pirates and Rockies remained winless (they do play each other in the 1st series of May. So, if they are both winless by the end, one of their dreams of going 0-162 will be smashed.)

nyy26wc · 04-08-2009, 12:39 PM

The 7-1 1st place Yankees were on the road against the 2-6 last place Royals. The Yankees were looking for a 6-0 season series sweep over the Royals. The teams' rivalry of the late 1970s/1980 being long over.

Mike Mussina gets the start today against the slumping Luke Hochevar. The Yankees had knocked Hochevar out of the box in the 1st inning in his Opening Day start.

Jordan Schafer did return to the Yankees's lineup today. With it being a day game after a night game, Gregg Zaun got the start behind the plate, in place of Jorge Posada. The Yankees also used the day game after the night game, and tomorrow's day off, to give rookie 2B Adrian Cardenas a break, inserting Ruben Gotay into the lineup.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 4th. With 1 out, Mike Lowell walked and hot hitting rookie Thomas Giles doubled to left center, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. Eric Duncan grounded to short to score Lowell and give the Royals a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the 6th, Ryan Howard led off for the Yankees by being hit by Hochevar's first pitch of the inning. After Mark Teixeira flied out to center, Zaun drew a full count walk, sending Howard to 2nd and Hochevar was replaced by Brandon Duckworth. Schafer drew a full count walk to load up the bases. But, Gotay hit a routine fly to right, which Howard obviously had no chance to score on. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, Jay Bruce drew a 3-1 walk to tie the game. Derek Jeter then popped to 2nd to end the threat.

The Yankees put the go ahead run on 2nd with 2 outs in the 7th, but couldn't score.

Gotay led off the top of the 8th with a line drive double down the right field line off Duckworth. Speedster Brandon Boggs was sent in to pinch run, while the call went to the pen and Leo Nunez came into the game. On the 1st pitch to Bruce, Boggs stole 3rd. With the infield in, Bruce hit a hard grounder right back to the mound, probably the only place in the infield that wouldn't have sent Boggs racing to the plate, even with the infield in. Jeter lined to short and Manny Ramirez grounded to 3rd to end the threat.

The Yankees gave the ball to Chris Britton in the bottom of the 8th. The World Champions bullpen consisted of Britton, Mariano Rivera and 4 pitchers either tired or exhausted. With 1 out, Tadahito Iguchi sent a grounder into the hole at deep short. Jeter was able to keep the ball from going into left, but couldn't throw out Iguchi. Rookie speedster Brian McFall was sent in to pinch run and, with Brad Wilkerson at the plate, McFall stole both 2nd and 3rd, bringing the infield in. Wilkerson popped to Jeter for the 2nd out. Alex Gordon then hit a routine grounder to 2nd, but Nick Punto, who had come into the game after Boggs had run for Gotay, bobbled the ball for an E4 that cost the Yankees a run.

In the 9th, Joakim Soria struck out A-Rod to open the inning and got Howard and Teixeira to ground out to end the game.

Final--Royals 2, Yankees 1

Mussina had a good game for the Yankees--7 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 7 SO. Hochevar had a good outing for the Royals, despite the fact that his inability to find the strike zone led to a high pitch and early departure--5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 6 BB, 1 SO.

The Yankees have a day off and then head to Fenway.

In other news around the division--The Rays beat the Blue Jays, 11-2. Kevin Youkilis hit 2 HR for the Red Sox as they beat the Orioles, 5-4, and overcame a 2 HR game by Luke Scott. The Yankees fall back into a tie with the Rays for 1st place in the AL East. The Orioles are 1 1/2 GB, the Red Sox are 3 1/2 back and the Blue Jays are 5 out.

In other news around the majors--Aramis Ramirez hit 2 HR and Jim Thome hit 1 to help the White Sox to a 18-2 win over the Indians. Derek Lowe pitched 8 shutout innings for the Dodgers in a 3-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Matt Cain pitched 8 shutout innings as the Cardinals beat the winless Rockies, 2-0. The Pirates also remain winless.

nyy26wc · 04-09-2009, 11:15 AM

The Yankees had a day off today.

In other news around the division--The Orioles beat the Red Sox, 13-4. The Blue Jays beat the Royals. The Rays were also off. The Yankees and Rays remained tied at the top of the division, with the Orioles 1 GB, the Red Sox 4 and the Blue Jays 4 1/2.

In other news around the majors--Chase Utley had 3 hits, including a HR, to lead the Phillies to a 11-1 win over the Braves. The 0-9 Pirates and Rockies continue to have winaphobia.

nyy26wc · 04-10-2009, 10:54 AM

The 7-2 Yankees made their first visit of the year to Fenway Park, to take on the slumping 3-6 Red Sox.

Randy Johnson started for the Yankees against Zack Greinke.

The Yankees got on the board in the 2nd, when the slumping Alex Rodriguez hit his 2nd HR of the year--a 350 foot shot over the Green Monster. The Red Sox took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd on back to back RBI doubles from Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. The Yankees tied the game in the 4th, when Jorge Posada drew a bases loaded walk to score A-Rod.

The Yankees took the lead in the 5th, when Jay Bruce reached second when 2B Dustin Pedroia threw his ground ball into the stands, stole 3rd and came on Derek Jeter's groundout. Bruce then preserved the lead in the bottom of the inning with his arm. With 1 out and Scott Spiezio on 1st, Jason Varitek singled to center and Bruce threw Spiezio out at 3rd. After Ellsbury walked, Varitek tried to score on Pedroia's single to center, but Bruce threw him out at the plate to preserve the Yankees's 3-2 lead.

After Bruce led off the 7th with a single and stole 2nd, he scored on Jeter's RBI double to make it 4-2. Bruce recorded his 3rd assist of the game when, in the bottom of the inning, Randy Winn led off with a double and Bruce threw him out trying to stretch it into 3.

The Yankees added another run in the top of the 9th, when Jeter's RBI double scored Adrian Cardenas.

Final--Yankees 5, Red Sox 2

Johnson had a good game--6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO.

In other news around the division--The Orioles scored 3 in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Rays, 3-2. The Blue Jays beat the Royals, 12-2. The Yankees regain sole possession of 1st, by 1 game over the Rays and Orioles, with the Blue Jays 4 1/2 back and the Red Sox falling into last, 5 GB.

In other news around the majors--David Wright hit 2 HR for the Angels, but they lost to the Mariners, 7-5. The 0-10 Pirates insist on not winning any games. But, the 1-9 Rockies had a surprising easy victory over Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks.

In league email--

Message Type BNN Network News
Subject Yankees Johnson "earns" 300th "win"
Date 04-10-2009

Randy Johnson of the New York Yankees will go down as one of history's legendary pitchers after his 5-2 "win" today against the Boston Red Sox.

"It is a meaningless, unless statistic. What pitched a good game, but all this useless stat measures is the fact that he pitched the preceding inning and had his ass resting comfortably on the bench when we took the lead in the 5th inning.

The 45-year-old Johnson picked up his 300th career "victory" at Fenway Park. He hurled 6 innings, gave up 7 hits and registered 6 strikeouts along with 1 walk.

"I've worked a long time for this," Johnson said. "I can't believe it's really here. It feels great!"

Johnson has a lifetime record of 300 "wins" and 157 "losses" and a 3.22 ERA.

In related news, the Yankees fired all members of the PR department who made an attempt to call attention to this non accomplishment.

nyy26wc · 04-11-2009, 11:11 AM

The 8-2 Yankees were on the road against the last place 3-7 Red Sox.

Johan Santana got the ball against the potential waiver wire Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Yankees hoped to fatten up their stats against a pitcher with 4.40 and 5.66 ERAs in his 1st 2 major league seasons and who had allowed 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings to the Rays in his first start in 2009.

The Yankees started the scoring in the 1st. With 1 out, Derek Jeter lined a single to left and Manny Ramirez followed with a 432 foot HR to dead center--his 3rd of the year and 519th career HR. The game remained 2-0 until the 5th, when Ramirez's RBI single scored Jay Bruce to make it 3-0.

The Red Sox got in the board in the 6th, when Dustin Pedroia's RBI single scored Jacoby Ellsbury. In the bottom of the 8th, Randy Winn led off with a triple and scored on Scott Spiezio's ground out to make it a 3-2 game.

The Yankees turned to Mariano Rivera in the 9th. David Ortiz led off the inning with a double into the RF corner. But, as slow as he is, the Red Sox couldn't find anyone on their depleted bench to run for him. Coco Crisp's slow groundout to 2nd sent Ortiz to 3rd. The slumping Ken Griffey Jr. hit a routine popout to center for the 2nd out. Miguel Tejada then grounded to Jeter to end the game.

Final--Yankees 3, Red Sox 2

Santana had a good game for the Yankees--7 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 6 SO. Jeter had 3 hits.

The Yankees made some moves after the game. Rookie RF Jordan Schafer was sent to the minors after his slow start. With Schafer and Austin Jackson already on the major league roster and Cody Johnson not ready yet, the Yankees minor league system did not have any suitable short term replacements, so the Yankees signed free agent OF Reggie Willits. To make room for Willits on the 40 man roster, minor league P Brian Bruney was designated for assignment.

The Yankees do expect Schafer to be back after some seasoning. Of course, Jackson, who was supposed to be the right handed half of the platoon, just might win the job outright.

In other news around the division--B.J. Upton hit 2 HR (4 hits) to help the Rays beat the Orioles, 10-9, in 12. The Blue Jays lost to the Royals, 5-3.
The Rays beat the Orioles, 10-9, in 12, helped by 2 HR by B.J. Upton. The Yankees lead the Rays by 1, the Orioles by 2, the Blue Jays by 5 1/2 and the Red Sox by 6.

In other news around the majors--The 10-1 Tigers and Cardinals became the 1st teams in the majors to reach double digits in wins. The 0-11 Pirates not only insist on not winning, they also became the 1st team in the majors to reach double digits in GB. Jimmy Rollins hit 2 HR to help the Phillies beat the Reds.

nyy26wc · 04-12-2009, 11:22 AM

The 9-2 Yankees were again in Fenway Park to play the last place 3-8 Red Sox. It was the 3rd game of a 4 game series, with the defending World Champions having won the 1st 2.

Jake Peavy pitched for the Yankees against Josh Beckett.

The Red Sox started the scoring in the 3rd, when Matt Holliday's RBI double off the Green Monster scored Kevin Youkilis. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the 5th with a triple to right center and scored on Youkilis's 1 out flyout.

In the 6th, Bruce broke up Beckett's no hit attempt with a 1 out single to left.

That was the only hit of the game off Beckett, who is off to a 1.11 ERA start in his first 3 starts and has only allowed 8 hits in 24 1/2 innings.

Final score--Red Sox 2, Yankees 0

Beckett's line--9 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 3 BB, 13 SO. Peavy had a good outing for the Yankees--6 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 4 SO.

In other news around the division--The Orioles beat the Rays, 704. The Royals beat the Blue Jays, 7-2, to allow the Red Sox to escape the cellar. The Yankees lead the Orioles and Rays by 1 game, the Red Sox by 5 and the Blue Jays by 5 1/2.

In other news around the majors--Mets rookie Fernando Martinez hit 2 HR to help them beat the Marlins. The Pirates were determined to keep their perfect season intact towards their goal of 0-162. They were so determined that they only got 2 hits and a single run. But, the Cubs refused to cooperate by scoring any runs and the 1-11 Pirates were forced to accept a W. And, to add insult to injury for the Pirates, the Cardinals lost, making the Pirates lose their double digit GB status.

nyy26wc · 04-13-2009, 10:22 AM

The 9-3 Yankees visited the 4-8 Red Sox in the finale of their 4 game series. The Yankees were looking to take the series, the Red Sox were looking for a split.

Joba Chamberlain pitched for the Yankees against Curt Schilling.

With 2 outs in the 3rd, Derek Jeter hit his 2nd of the season--a 413 foot shot to dead center. After Manny Ramirez lined a single to center, Alex Rodriguez's 3rd HR of the season (#578 career) gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the 6th, Dustin Pedroia's RBI double scored Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz's RBI single scored Youkilis to make it a 3-2 game.

With 1 out in the 7th, Jay Bruce doubled to left and stole 3rd. But, Schilling struck out Jeter and got Ramirez to ground to 3rd to keep it a 1 run game. With 1 out in the 7th, Randy Winn's 1st HR of the season, a 397 foot shot to right center, tied the game.

In the bottom of the 8th, Pedroia led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Coco Crisp. Crisp stole 2nd and Ortiz was intentionally walked. The Red Sox then gave the steal sign to Crisp. Inexplicably, Ortiz thought it applied to him. Posada recorded the very easy CS out. With the go ahead run advancing to 3rd and 1 out, the Yankees brought the infield in. Matt Holliday grounded to Jeter and Crisp had to hold at 3rd. Up stepped the very slumping Ken Griffey Jr., who was off to a 1 for 27 start with the Red Sox. Griffey got a 3-0 pitch from Mike Stanton and lifted a routine flyball to Ramirez in left to end the threat.

In the top of the 9th, Austin Jackson led off for the Yankees with a line drive double into the right field corner and was replaced by speedster Brandon Boggs. Ruben Gotay, who was in the lineup to give slumping rookie Adrian Cardenas a day off, grounded to short, with Boggs going to 3rd. Bruce walked to put runners on the corners. On the first pitch to Jeter, Bruce was thrown out trying to steal. Jeter flied out to center to end the inning.

In the 10th, the Red Sox decided to replace David Ortiz at 1B with Scott Spiezio. After Manny Delcarmen struck out Ramirez and A-Rod to start the inning, Ryan Howard doubled to right. The Yankees sent Nick Punto in to pinch run for Howard. Terry Francona made the same kind of move that close to 100% of managers make all of the time--giving the choice between risking a loss he can not afford right now or having to bring in his closer in a non "save" situation, decided the former was the lesser of the evils. In came Luis Vizcaino, instead of Jonathan Papelbon, to replace Delcarmen. Mark Teixeira then lined a 1-2 pitch over 2B Alex Gonzalez's (in the game after Crisp ran for Pedroia) head for a double into the gap in right center that scored Punto to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. Posada was intentionally walked. Reggie Willits was sent up as a pinch hitter for Boggs and, in his Yankees debut, flied out to right to end the inning.

Mariano Rivera came in to pitch the bottom of the 10th. Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a line drive single to right center. Everyone in Fenway Park knew Ellsbury was going and the Yankees called a pinch out on the 1st pitch to Youkilis. The odds still favored the very speedy Ellsbury over the weak armed Posada, but the Yankees veteran threw out the tying run. On a 2-2 pitch, Rivera struck out Youkilis for the 2nd out. The Red Sox then sent rookie C Brian Jeroloman up to pinch hit for Gonzalez. Jeroloman hit a routine pop up down the right field line, but miscommunication between 2B Gotay and RF Willits allowed the ball to fall in to keep the Red Sox alive. Up stepped Spiezio, who was in the game as a defensive replacement for David Ortiz, who had his 2nd career 50 HR season for the Red Sox in 2008. Spiezio stepped up to the plate with 53 HR ... since 2003.

Spiezio stunned everyone with a walkoff 2 run HR.

Final--Red Sox 5, Yankees 4

Pedroia had 3 hits (1 2B) for the Red Sox. Schilling had a good outing--7 IP, 8 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 8 SO. Chamberlain (6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 9 SO) now has 23 K in 18 2/3 IP, to go along with a 3.38 ERA.

The Yankees will head to Toronto.

In other news around the division--Carl Crawford's 3 run HR in the top of the 9th helped the Rays beat the Orioles, 6-5. The Blue Jays had the day off. The Rays tied the 9-4 Yankees atop the AL East. The Orioles are 1 GB, the Red Sox are 4 and the Blue Jays are 5 back.

In other news around the majors--Brandon Phillips hit 2 HR for the Cardinals, but they still lost to the Diamondbacks. Jason Schmidt pitched 7 innings of 1 hit ball to lead the Mets to a 2-0 win over the Dodgers. Lance Berkman's 8th inning HR broke up a 2-2 tie in the Astros 3-2 win over the Pirates.

nyy26wc · 04-14-2009, 12:57 PM

The 9-4 1st place Yankees went to Toronto to visit the 4-9 last place Blue Jays. The Yankees had taken 2 out of 3 against the Blue Jays in Yankee Stadium during the 1st weekend of the season.

The Blue Jays had made a trade yesterday, sending SS David Eckstein to the Brewers for P Brian Shouse.

Mike Mussina pitched for the Yankees against Jay Bergmann.

The Yankees started the scoring with 2 outs in the 1st, when Ryan Howard's double scored Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez to make it a 2-0 game. The Yankees added a run in the 3rd, when Howard hit his 5th HR of the season--a 396 foot blast into right center. The Yankees could have had another run, but Manny Ramirez had been doubled off 2nd on a line drive by A-Rod.

In the 4th, Brandon Jones, who the rebuilding Blue Jays had gotten as part of a big package from the Braves for Roy Halladay, hit his 2nd HR of the year to make it a 3-1 game. After Jeter walked with 1 out in the 5th, Ramirez hit his 4th HR of the season (520th career)--a 328 foot homer to left.

Final--Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1

The 10-4 Yankees joined the 12-1 Tigers as the only teams in the AL in double digits in wins, while the 4-10 Blue Jays became the 1st team in the league to reach double digits in losses.

Mussina had a good outing for the Yankees--7 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 6 SO. Bergmann had a bad outing--6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R/ER, 3 BB, 6 SO.

In other news around the division--The Red Sox beat the Rays, 6-5, in a game that included Rays 1B Carlos Delgado's 2000th career hit. The Orioles lost to the Indians, 8-6, with Grady Sizemore having 4 hits (1 HR). The Yankees lead the Rays by 1, the Orioles by 2, the Red Sox by 4 and the Blue Jays by 6.

In other news around the majors--Troy Tulowitzki had 6 hits (2 2B, 1 HR) and rookie Matt Leslie hit 2 HR to help the Rockies beat the Padres.

nyy26wc · 04-15-2009, 10:46 AM

The 10-4 1st place Yankees visited the 4-10 last place Blue Jays.

Randy Johnson started for the Yankees against rookie Nathan Starner.

The Yankees started the scoring in the top of the 3rd, when Manny Ramirez's RBI single scored Ruben Gotay. The Blue Jays tied the game in the 4th, on Alex Rios's RBI double that scored Paul Konerko.

Jay Bruce led off the 5th with a walk, stole 2nd and scored on Derek Jeter's RBI single.The Blue Jays countered with Rickie Weeks's 1st HR of the season--a 418 foot shot to dead center with 2 outs. In the 7th, the Blue Jays took a 4-2 lead when Mark DeRosa's single scored Rios and Brent Lillibridge.

Weeks led off the 7th with his 2nd HR of the day and the year--a 414 foot shot to left center and Konerko's SF scored Willy Taveras to make it a 6-2 game.

In the 8th, pinch hitter Jorge Posada's groundout scored Ryan Howard and Ruben Gotay's RBI single scored Mark Teixeira to make it a 6-4 game. Bruce then delivered his 3rd HR of the year--a 322 footer to right--to make it a 6-6 game.

The Blue Jays could have taken the lead in the bottom of the 8th, but the weak throwing Posada threw out 2 runners trying the steal, which killed their rally and preserved the tie.

The Blue Jays called in the very, very slumping Brandon League. In his 5 previous appearances this year, League still does not have a scoreless one. Manny Ramirez led off the 9th with a full count walk and Brandon Boggs was sent in to pinch run. On the 1st pitch to Alex Rodriguez, Boggs stole 2nd and continued to 3rd when Josh Bard threw the ball into center. With the infield in, A-Rod delivered a base hit to left, which he then legged into a double, as the Yankees took a 7-6 lead. Ryan Howard hit a hard grounder to short, with A-Rod having to hold at 2nd. Teixeira was intentionally walked and Posada struck out looking. Struggling rookie Austin Jackson delivered a RBI double that bounced over the wall in right center, scoring A-Rod and sending Teixeira to 3rd. Gotay lined a base hit to left to score both Teixeira and Jackson. Jeremy Accardo came in to pitch for the Blue Jays. After Bruce's single to left sent Gotay to 2nd, Jeter flied out to right to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 9th, Josh Bard led off with a single to left off Chris Britton. Sean Casey's single to right sent Bard to 3rd. Bye bye Britton, hello Mariano Rivera. Rios flied out to center and Lillibridge struck out swinging for the 1st 2 outs of the inning. Top prospect Travis Snider lined a double to left, to score Bard and send Casey to 3rd. Joe Inglett was hit by a pitch, putting the tying run on base. Brandon Johnson then popped out to shallow left to end the game.

Final--Yankees 10, Blue Jays 7

Bruce reached base safely 4 times for the Yankees (2 H (1 HR), 2 BB, 1 SB). Weeks hit 2 HR (1 HR) and Bard had 3 hits for the Blue Jays. Starner had a good outing for the Blue Jays--7 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 6 BB, 5 SO.

In other news around the division--David Ortiz homered, as the Red Sox beat the Rays, 6-3. The Orioles beat the Indians, 6-1. The Yankees lead the Orioles and Rays by 2, the Red Sox by 4 and the Blue Jays by 7.

In other news around the majors--Former Yankees P Phil Hughes pitched a 1 hit shutout for 8 innings for the Braves, but they couldn't score either, and they lost to the Marlins, 4-0 in 11. C.C. Sabathia pitched 8 shutout innings for the Cubs in a 4-1 win over the Nationals. Nick Markakis hit 2 HR for the White Sox, to help them beat the Tigers. Cardinals P Clayton Mortensen pitched 8 shutout innings, to preserve a 0.00 ERA in 23 IP.

nyy26wc · 04-16-2009, 10:59 AM

The 11-4 first place Yankees played the 4-11 last place Blue Jays in the finale of a 3 game series in Toronto. The Yankees were looking for a sweep.

Johan Santana started against Dustin McGowan.

The Blue Jays ran themselves out of a potential good inning in the bottom of the 1st. Rickie Weeks led off with a single, stole 2nd, but was thrown out at the plate by Manny Ramirez when Willy Taveras singled to left. Taveras took 2nd on Ramirez's throw and then got himself thrown out trying to steal 3rd.

The Blue Jays broke the tie in the 4th, when Josh Bard's RBI double scored Paul Konerko.

In the 6th, the hitless Yankees put the tying run on base when Konerko couldn't handle Jay Bruce's 1 out grounder, for an E3. But, Derek Jeter hit into an inning ending 5-4-3 DP. In the bottom of the inning, Taveras led off with a double and scored after consecutive ground outs by Alex Rios and Konerko. Josh Bard then followed with his 2nd HR of the year--a 364 foot shot to left.

The Yankees threatened in the top of the 7th. Ramirez led off with a walk and, after Alex Rodriguez struck out, Ryan Howard walked on 4 pitches. Mark Teixeira grounded to 1st. Konerko took it to the bag and then drew Howard out at 2nd to end the inning.

McGowan passed the 100 pitch mark in the 8th and, with a 2-2, 2 out count to Adrian Cardenas, the slumping rookie hit a shot to deep left center. But, Taveras made a running 1 handed catch on the warning track to preserve the no hit bid.

The tired McGowan took the mound in the top of the 9th. Jay Bruce struck out swinging on a 1-2 pitch. On the first pitch to Derek Jeter, he grounded out to 2nd. That brought up Manny Ramirez, who had walked 3 times today. But, this time, he swung at the first pitch and hit a routine groundball to SS Brent Lillibridge, who threw him out to end the no hitter.

Final--Blue Jays 3, Yankees 0

McGowan's line--9 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 5 BB, 9 SO.

Bard had 3 hits (1 2B, 1 HR). Santana had a good outing for the Yankees--7 IP, 7 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 3 SO.

In other news around the division--The Red Sox took a comfortable lead into the 9th against the Rays and then survived a rally to win, 8-6. The Orioles lost to the Indians, 11-4. The Yankees lead the Orioles and Rays by 2, the Red Sox by 3 and the Blue Jays by 6.

In other news around the majors--Marlins lost 2B Dan Uggla, who is off to a hot start to the season, for 1-2 weeks, due to ankle soreness.

04-15-2009, 10:46 AM	#19
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 10-4 1st place Yankees visited the 4-10 last place Blue Jays. Randy Johnson started for the Yankees against rookie Nathan Starner. The Yankees started the scoring in the top of the 3rd, when Manny Ramirez's RBI single scored Ruben Gotay. The Blue Jays tied the game in the 4th, on Alex Rios's RBI double that scored Paul Konerko. Jay Bruce led off the 5th with a walk, stole 2nd and scored on Derek Jeter's RBI single.The Blue Jays countered with Rickie Weeks's 1st HR of the season--a 418 foot shot to dead center with 2 outs. In the 7th, the Blue Jays took a 4-2 lead when Mark DeRosa's single scored Rios and Brent Lillibridge. Weeks led off the 7th with his 2nd HR of the day and the year--a 414 foot shot to left center and Konerko's SF scored Willy Taveras to make it a 6-2 game. In the 8th, pinch hitter Jorge Posada's groundout scored Ryan Howard and Ruben Gotay's RBI single scored Mark Teixeira to make it a 6-4 game. Bruce then delivered his 3rd HR of the year--a 322 footer to right--to make it a 6-6 game. The Blue Jays could have taken the lead in the bottom of the 8th, but the weak throwing Posada threw out 2 runners trying the steal, which killed their rally and preserved the tie. The Blue Jays called in the very, very slumping Brandon League. In his 5 previous appearances this year, League still does not have a scoreless one. Manny Ramirez led off the 9th with a full count walk and Brandon Boggs was sent in to pinch run. On the 1st pitch to Alex Rodriguez, Boggs stole 2nd and continued to 3rd when Josh Bard threw the ball into center. With the infield in, A-Rod delivered a base hit to left, which he then legged into a double, as the Yankees took a 7-6 lead. Ryan Howard hit a hard grounder to short, with A-Rod having to hold at 2nd. Teixeira was intentionally walked and Posada struck out looking. Struggling rookie Austin Jackson delivered a RBI double that bounced over the wall in right center, scoring A-Rod and sending Teixeira to 3rd. Gotay lined a base hit to left to score both Teixeira and Jackson. Jeremy Accardo came in to pitch for the Blue Jays. After Bruce's single to left sent Gotay to 2nd, Jeter flied out to right to end the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Josh Bard led off with a single to left off Chris Britton. Sean Casey's single to right sent Bard to 3rd. Bye bye Britton, hello Mariano Rivera. Rios flied out to center and Lillibridge struck out swinging for the 1st 2 outs of the inning. Top prospect Travis Snider lined a double to left, to score Bard and send Casey to 3rd. Joe Inglett was hit by a pitch, putting the tying run on base. Brandon Johnson then popped out to shallow left to end the game. Final--Yankees 10, Blue Jays 7 Bruce reached base safely 4 times for the Yankees (2 H (1 HR), 2 BB, 1 SB). Weeks hit 2 HR (1 HR) and Bard had 3 hits for the Blue Jays. Starner had a good outing for the Blue Jays--7 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 6 BB, 5 SO. In other news around the division--David Ortiz homered, as the Red Sox beat the Rays, 6-3. The Orioles beat the Indians, 6-1. The Yankees lead the Orioles and Rays by 2, the Red Sox by 4 and the Blue Jays by 7. In other news around the majors--Former Yankees P Phil Hughes pitched a 1 hit shutout for 8 innings for the Braves, but they couldn't score either, and they lost to the Marlins, 4-0 in 11. C.C. Sabathia pitched 8 shutout innings for the Cubs in a 4-1 win over the Nationals. Nick Markakis hit 2 HR for the White Sox, to help them beat the Tigers. Cardinals P Clayton Mortensen pitched 8 shutout innings, to preserve a 0.00 ERA in 23 IP. Last edited by nyy26wc; 04-15-2009 at 10:47 AM.

03-30-2009, 11:09 AM	#1
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	2009 defending World Champion New York Yankees The defending World Champion New York Yankees opened their 2009 defense of the title this afternoon. The Opening Day roster-- PITCHERS Johan Santana (acquired in a trade with the Twins during the 2007-08 offseason) Jake Peavy (acquired in a trade for Robinson Cano) Joba Chamberlain Mike Mussina Randy Johnson (acquired in a trade with the Phillies, along with Ryan Howard, for Chien Ming Wang and $15 million. The Phillies then took the $40 million they saved in 2009 salaries/got in the trade and used that to fund a spending spree to rebuild their pitching staff) Mariano Rivera Damaso Marte (acquired in an offseason trade with the Pirates who were in the middle of a firesale. He cost 4 minor leaguers) Chris Britton Kyle Farnsworth Rafael Soriano (acquired in a big 12 player trade with the Braves during the offseason that included Phil Hughes going to Atlanta) Mike Stanton (claimed off waivers during the 2008 season) CATCHERS Jorge Posada Gregg Zaun (signed as a free agent during the offseason) INFIELDERS Ryan Howard Mark Teixeira (acquired in a July 4 trade with the Braves for Jason Giambi, Jeff Karstens and throw ins) Adrian Cardenas (acquired in a big July 4 trade with the Phillies that featured Hideki Matsui for Pat Burrell as the major leaguers involved) Ruben Gotay (acquired in the 12 player trade with the Braves) Derek Jeter Alex Rodriguez Nick Punto (acquired in a trade with the Twins during the 2008 season) OUTFIELDERS Manny Ramirez (signed as a free agent) Jay Bruce (acquired in a big trade with the Reds in July 2008) Jordan Schafer (one of the keys to the 12 player trade with the Braves) Austin Jackson Brandon Boggs (acquired in a minor offseason trade with the Rangers) LINEUPS CF--Bruce SS--Jeter LF--Ramirez 3B--Rodriguez DH--Howard 1B--Teixeira C--Posada RF--Schafer (vs. RHP), Jackson (vs. LHP) 2B--Cardenas (vs. RHP), Gotay (vs. LHP) The Yankees are coming of a 113 win season, which was followed by the 1st ever 11-0 postseason run in MLB history.

03-30-2009, 11:10 AM	#2
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The World Champion New York Yankees opened their defense of the title in the first game at the new Yankee Stadium, against the Kansas City Royals. With 1 out in the top of the 1st, Royals 2B Tadahito Iguchi recorded the first hit in the new stadium--a line drive double to right off Johan Santana. Santana got out of the inning otherwise unscathed. In the bottom of the 1st, after Jay Bruce led off with the first Yankees hit (an infield hit that 2B Iguchi dove to prevent going into RF) and Derek Jeter hit a foul popup to 1st, Manny Ramirez put the Yankees on top, 2-0, with the 1st HR in the new stadium and 504th of his career. After Alex Rodriguez walked and advanced to 2nd on Ryan Howard's single, Mark Teixeira's single scored A-Rod to make it 3-0. Jorge Posada then put a 0-1 pitch into the right field stands to give the Yankees a 6-0 lead and make Luke Hochevar the 1st pitcher in the new Stadium's history to hit the showers in the 1st inning. In the top of the 2nd, Carlos Ruiz's RBI single scored Thomas Giles (rookie DH making his MLB debut) to put the Royals on the board. Alberto Callaspo's RBI single in the 4th scored Ryan Ludwick to let the Royals cut the lead to 6-2, before the Yankees countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the 4th. Adrian Cardenas led off the inning with his first major league hit and eventually scored on a throwing error by SS Callaspo. A high pitch count forced Johan Santana out of the game after 6 innings (6 IP, 9 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 11 SO). Rafael Soriano made his Yankees debut by giving up a HR to the 1st batter he faced--Carlos Ruiz. The Royals loaded the bases with 1 out, putting the tying run at the plate. But, Soriano struck out Jose Guillen and Ryan Ludwick to get out of the jam. The Yankees added the final run of the game when Cardenas's RBI single scored pinch runner Brandon Boggs in the bottom of the 8th. Other highlights from the Yankees's 8-3 victory-- Yankees CF Jay Bruce had 3 hits. Royals 1B Mike Lowell and DH Travis Giles had 3 hits, Giles doing it in his major league debut. In other AL East news, the Orioles beat the Red Sox, putting the World Champions in a tie with the Orioles for 1st, with the Red Sox on the bottom and the Rays and Blue Jays having the day off. In other news around the majors, Giants RF Matt Murton became the 1st player to have a 2 HR game.

03-30-2009, 12:34 PM	#3
bwburke94 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Belchertown, MA, USA Posts: 4,523	Nice to see Matt Murton mentioned. I can still remember when my Red Sox traded him to the Cubs.

03-31-2009, 11:15 AM	#5
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	Today's game, between the Yankees and the Royals, featured a pitching duel between Jake Peavy and Gio Gonzalez. Peavy was making his Yankees debut after an offseason trade for Robinson Cano. Jay Bruce started the scoring with a solo HR in the bottom of the 3rd and former Yankees 1st round pick Eric Duncan tied the game with a solo shot in the top of the 4th. A managerial mistake may have cost the Yankees a run in the 6th. After Alex Rodriguez led off with a walk, the skipper was on the brink of sending the sign for him to steal 2nd. But, the signal was never sent and, on the first pitch to Ryan Howard, he grounded to 2nd and, of course, him being Ryan Howard, it turned into an easy 4-6-3 DP. Mark Teixeira followed with a double to left that would have easily scored A-Rod had he successfully stolen 2nd. The game remained 1-1 in the bottom of the 8th. Derek Jeter led off with a double to right, off reliever Henry Barrera. After Manny Ramirez flied out to right, A-Rod put runners on the corners with the line drive single to left. The call was made to bring in lefty Ron Mahay, and with Howard stepping up the plate, the Yankees were determined not to make the same mistake again. The steal sign was sent, but A-Rod twice failed to get the jump. On a 1-1 count, Howard was allowed to swing. Howard put the Yankees on top with a 351 foot homer to right. Final score--Yankees 4, Royals 1. Both Peavy (7 IP, 8 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 4 SO) and Gonzalez (6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 10 SO) provided their teams with good outings. Teixeira had 3 hits for the Yankees and reigning AL MVP & triple crown winner Alex Rodriguez had his 1st 2 hits of the season. In other news in the division, the Rays beat the Blue Jays. The Yankees stand atop the division with a 2-0 record, with the Orioles and Rays at 1-0 and Red Sox and Blue Jays both being 0-1. In other news around the majors, the surprising defending NL Central Champions Reds lost off season acquisition, and new starting LF, Fred Lewis for the season, after breaking his leg. Lewis finishes with a small sample size fluke 2.000 OPS (5 for 6 for the season, with 2 2B).

04-01-2009, 01:48 PM	#6
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The Yankees decided to see if giving the ball to Joba Chamberlain could help the champs' explosive offense sweep the Royals in the first series in the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees got off to a good start when Jay Bruce beat out on infield single on the first pitch of the bottom of the 1st, stole 2nd and scored on Derek Jeter's line drive double to left center. After Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard had consecutive 1 out walks in the 3rd, Mark Teixeira's 1st HR of the season gave the Yankees a 4-0 lead. Rookie 2B Adrian Cardenas's 1st major league HR, leading off the 4th, made it a 5-0 game. In the 5th, fellow Yankees rookie Jordan Schaefer delivered his first major league hit--a RBI single to give the Bronx Bombers a 6-0 lead. In the 6th, Manny Ramirez, who had hit the 1st HR in the new stadium on Monday, became the 1st player to hit 2 of them when he followed a Derek Jeter walk with a 2 RBI shot into the left field stands. Feeling comfortable with a 8-0 lead, Joba Chamberlain (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 11 SO) was able to hit the showers and turn the game over to the bullpen. After Kyle Farnsworth gave up a single and a walk to the 1st 2 batters he faced in the 2009 season, rookie Travis Giles continued the hot start to his career when he his his 1st major league HR to make it 8-3. After Farnsworth finally recorded an out by striking out Alex Gordon, Eric Duncan became the 1st former Yankees 1st round pick who was traded after he became a bust to hit 2 HR in the new stadium when his 328 footer ended up in the left field stand. That was all for Farnsworth and Chris Britton got the final 2 outs of the inning. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, Ryan Howard smashed a 422 foot homer to right, his 2nd of the year, to provide an insurance run and make it a 9-4 game. With lefties coming up in the top of the 9th, the Yankees decided to let veteran Mike Stanton see his 1st action of the season. Stanton gave up a double to Brad Wilkerson, a RBI double to rookie SS Mike Moustakas and then a 2 RBI HR by Koyie Hill made it a 9-7 game and Stanton headed to the showers. The Yankees did not want to use Mariano Rivera (status for the game: tired), after he appeared in the 1st 2 games of the season, so in came offseason acquisition Rafael Soriano. Soriano had a longer outing than the Yankees wanted out of their new top setup man on Monday, and, while they preferred giving him an extra day off this early in the season, there wasn't much an option here. Tadahito Iguchi drew a walk and, after Giles struck out a 3-2 pitch, Alex Gordon's ground rule double down the RF line put runners on 2nd and 3rd. With the tying run on 3rd, with Soriano not having a good outing, with the also tired Damaso Marte the only other arm in the bullpen, the Yankees had no other choice but to bring in Rivera. Duncan's fly out to left scdored Iguchi to make it a 9-8 game. The Royals then inexplicably sent rookie Brian McFall up to pinch hit for Mike Lowell and McFall grounded to short to end the game. It was harder in the end than the Yankees wanted, but they are happy to hear Sinatra at the end of the 3 game sweep. Ryan Howard reached base all 5 times for the Yankees--1 H (HR), 4 BB. In other news around the AL East--The Orioles scored a run in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Red Sox, 3-2. The Rays scored 2 in the bottom of the 8th and 2 more in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Blue Jays, 6-5. The 3-0 Yankees have a 1/2 game lead over the 2-0 Orioles and Rays and a 2 1/2 game lead over the 0-2 Red Sox and Blue Jays. In other news around the majors, Angels C Mike Napoli and Padres CF Hunter Pence both had 2 HR games. The Brewers are the only other 3-0 team in the majors.

04-03-2009, 10:24 AM	#7
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	After the defending World Champions had a day off, the 3-0 Yankees hosted the 0-3 Blue Jays. The Yankees gave the ball to veteran Mike Mussina, while Blue Jays rookie Nathan Starner made his major league debut. The game did not get off to a good start for the Yankees. In the top of the 1st, Travis Snider's 2 run HR and Brandon Jones's 3 run HR gave the Blue Jays a 5-0 lead. The Yankees got on the board in the 2nd, when offseason acquisition Ruben Gotay's 1st Yankees hit scored Mark Teixeira. In the 3rd, captain Derek Jeter hit his 1st HR in the new stadium. In the 4th, Gotay's RBI single scored Austin Jackson and Jay Bruce followed with his 2nd HR of the season to tie the game at 5-5. The Yankees took the lead in the 6th, when Bruce's RBI single scored Jackson. In the 7th, after Brent Lillibridge led off with a single, Damaso Marte came in and gave up a triple to C Kyle Phillips to the game. But, Marte got out of the runner on 3rd, no out jam to preserve the tie. Both teams got a runner to 2nd in the 8th, but couldn't break the tie. The game remained tied until the 11th. Brandon Boggs, a speedster and defensive specialist, had come into the game as a pinch runner in the 8th. Boggs, in his first Yankees AB, lined a leadoff single to center and stole 2nd on the 1st pitch to Gotay. Gotay then delivered a walk off line drive base hit to left. The Yankees win, 7-6. Bruce (1 HR), Jackson (3 2B) and Gotay all had 3 hits for the Yankees. In other news around the division--the Rays scored 2 in the 10th to beat the Red Sox, 4-2. The Orioles shut out the Indians, 3-0. The division remains one of extremes. The Yankees, Rays and Orioles are all tied at 4-0. The Red Sox and Blue Jays are 0-4. In other news around the majors--Jamey Wright pitched a complete game shutout to lead the Rangers to a 4-0 win over the Mariners. Cardinals P Clayton Mortensen, in his 1st MLB start, pitched 7 innings of 1 hit ball in a 9-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Cubs P Brad Penny is expected to miss 1-2 weeks, due to a strained oblique muscle. In addition to the AL East teams, the 4-0 Cardinals and 3-0 Tigers are the only remaining unbeaten teams, while the 0-4 Pirates and Rockies and 0-3 Twins are the remaining winless ones.

04-04-2009, 11:02 AM	#8
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 4-0 Yankees hosted the 0-4 Blue Jays. Pitching matchup--Randy Johnson vs. Matt Morris The Yankees got on the board in the bottom of the 1st, when Mark Teixeira's RBI single scored Derek Jeter, but Manny Ramirez was thrown out at the plate to end the inning and the threat. In the 2nd, Derek Jeter's single scored Adrian Cardenas and then it was Ramirez's turn to hit a 2 out single that ended the inning when a runner (Jay Bruce) was thrown out at the plate. The Yankees added another run in the 3rd when Ryan Howard hit his 3rd HR of the season--a 454 foot shot to right center. In the 5th, Jeter led off with the 1st Yankees triple in the new stadium and Ramirez's single made it 4-0. After Alex Rodriguez lined a single to center, Howard became the 1st player with a 2 HR game at the new stadium, when he knocked Morris out of the game with a 436 foot blast to dead center. Later in the inning, Jordan Schafer's 1st major league HR gave the Yankees a 8-0 lead. The Blue Jays got on the board in the 6th, when Alex Rios's single scored Rickie Weeks. Ramirez's RBI single scored Bruce in the bottom of the inning to make it 9-1. In the top of the 7th, Josh Bard hit a 2 run HR for the Blue Jays. Final score--Yankees 9, Blue Jays 3 Johnson had a good, although wild, outing--6 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 6 BB, 6 SO. Morris did not--4 IP, 11 H, 7 R/ER, 0 BB, 2 SO. Howard reached base safely all 5 times up--3 BB to go along with his 2 HR. Bruce and Ramirez both had 3 hits. In other news in the division--The Red Sox got their 1st win of the season, as they beat the Rays. The Orioles lost to the Indians. The 5-0 Yankees take sole possession of 1st, 1 game ahead of the 4-1 Rays and Orioles, 4 ahead of the 1-4 Red Sox and 5 games over the 0-5 Blue Jays. In other news around the majors--Former Yankee Jason Giambi hit his 400th career HR. The 5-0 Cardinals are the only other unbeaten team. The 0-5 Pirates and Rockies join the Blue Jays as the only winless teams.

04-05-2009, 12:21 PM	#9
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 5-0 Yankees hosted the 0-5 Blue Jays. The Yankees were attempting to finish their opening homestand at the new stadium with a perfect record. Johan Santana became the 1st Yankees pitcher to make 2 starts in 2009. Dustin McGowan can say the same for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays started the scoring in the top of the 1st on a 2 run HR by Paul Konerko (his 1st of the year). The lead doubled, to 4-0, in the 2nd, when David Eckstein's single scored Mark DeRosa and Brent Lillibridge. The Yankees cut the deficit to 4-2 in the 4th, on a RBI single by Jorge Posada and a groundout by Jordan Schafer. In the 5th, the Yankees made it a 1 run game when Manny Ramirez's RBI single scored Derek Jeter, but the Blue Jays countered with a Lillibridge HR (#1) leading off the 6th. The Yankees countered with a run in the bottom of the inning on a SF by Schafer that scored Mark Teixeira. In the 7th, both teams got SFs--DeRosa and Jeter--to make it a 7-6 game. Final score--Blue Jays 7, Yankees 6. Mike Stanton had another bad outing for the Yankees, allowing a run in 1 inning of work and throwing only 4 strikes out of 11 pitches. Stanton has a 12.00 ERA in 3 appearances this year. The Yankees do not like making a move based on such a small sample size, but, taking into account his age (41), a declining SO and SO/BB rates in 2008, along with how bad he's looked so far, nobody will be surprised if his Yankees career comes to abrupt end in the very near future. Stanton is flying with the team to Kansas City, but a respirator was included on the flight, attached to his career. In other news around the division--Evan Longoria had 4 hits, including a HR, to help the surging Rays defeat the slumping Red Sox again, 10-4. The Orioles beat the Indians, 2-1. The Yankees, Rays and Orioles are all tied at 5-1 records, with the Red Sox and Blue Jays tied at 1-5. In other news around the majors--The 5-0 Tigers are the last remaining undefeated team (I missed them yesterday, when I said the Cardinals were only remaining one), now that the Yankees and Cardinals lost. The Blue Jays finally have a W, but the 0-6 Pirates and Rockies do not. Dodgers SS Ivan DeJesus Jr. went 5 for 5, with 2 HR in a 16-1 win over the Giants. Albert Pujols and Juan Rivera also had 2 HR games.

04-06-2009, 11:23 AM	#10
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 5-1 Yankees played their 1st road game of the year, against the 2-4 Royals. The Yankees had swept the Royals in the 1st series at the new Yankee Stadium last week. Jake Peavy started for the Yankees against Hayden Penn. The game was scoreless until the 4th. With 2 outs, the Royals appeared to be out of the inning, when rookie Jordan Schafer struck out to retire the side, but the ball got away from C Koyie Hill, putting runners on 1st & 2nd with 2 outs, setting the stage for fellow rookie Adrian Cardenas's RBI single, to score Jorge Posada. The Yankees added another run in the 4th, when Posada's SF scored Manny Ramirez. In the 6th, a 1 out triple by Alex Gordon scored Travis Giles to make it a 1 run game and Peavy got out the jam with the lead intact when he got Mike Lowell to ground to Jeter, with the infield in, and then Eric Duncan grounded to 2nd to retire the side. A 2 RBI double by Posada scored Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead in the 7th. In the bottom of the 8th, the Royals put runners on 2nd and 3rd off Damaso Marte, leading to him being replaced by Kyle Farnsworth. A SF by Mike Lowell scored Giles to make it 4-2. Duncan followed with a base hit to left, but Ramirez threw out Gordon at the plate to preserve the Yankees's 2 run lead. In the bottom of the 9th, after Mariano Rivera retired the 1st 2 batters, pinch hitter Jose Guillen doubled to center and Hill was hit by a pitch, putting the tying run on base. But, Tadahito Iguchi flied out to left to end the game. Final--Yankees 4, Royals 2 Peavy had a good outing for the Yankees--7 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 6 SO. Penn had a good outing for the Royals--5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, 5 BB, 8 SO. Posada had 3 hits (2 2B) for the Yankees. In other news in the division--The Rays beat the Blue Jays, 8-7. The Orioles and Red Sox both had the day off. The 6-1 Yankees are tied with the Rays, 1/2 game ahead of the Orioles, 4 1/2 ahead of the Red Sox and 5 ahead of the Blue Jays. In other news around the majors--Moises Alou hit 2 HR to lead the Indians to a 14-2 win over the White Sox. The Tigers lost, so there is no longer any remaining undefeated teams. The 0-7 Pirates and Rockies are still winless.

04-07-2009, 11:30 AM	#11
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 6-1 Yankees were on the road against the 2-5 Royals. Joba Chamberlain got the ball for the Yankees. Rookie Blake Wood, who had a good outing in his MLB debut, made his 2nd career start for the Royals. The Yankees made a lineup change for today's game. The slumping Jordan Schafer, the left handed part of the RF platoon, was given the day off and was replaced by Austin Jackson. The Yankees say this is not a benching and he may be back in the starting lineup as soon as tomorrow. After Manny Ramirez was hit by a pitch with 2 outs in the top of the 1st, A-Rod followed with a 402 foot shot into the right center field stands to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Who would have thought that Rodriguez would have been the last player in the Yankees's opening day lineup to homer? In the bottom of the 1st, a RBI double by Alex Gordon scored Travis Giles, a RBI double by Mike Lowell scored Gordon and a RBI triple by Brad Wilkerson scored Lowell to give the Royals a 3-2 lead. The Royals added a run in the 2nd, when Tadahito Iguchi's RBI double scored Mike Moustakas. Jorge Posada's RBI double in the top of the 6th scored Mark Teixeira to make it a 1 run game. Mike Stanton replaced Chamberlain for the bottom of the 6th. The Royals loaded the bases with 2 outs and Stanton's career was in the balance. But, Giles lined out to 2nd to end the jam. In the top of the 7th, with runners on the corners and A-Rod at the plate, would A-Rod, who came into the game with the shocking figure of 0 RBI pick up some more to go with the 2 he collected earlier? No, but the Yankees still tied the game on a wild pitch. The Yankees squandered their chance at the lead when Rodriguez flied out to right. In the top of the 8th, Posada's long flyout to center scored pinch runner Brandon Boggs to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. But, Ryan Ludwick hit a 1 out solo HR off Kyle Farnsworth to retie the game. With a runner on 3rd and 2 outs, Farnsworth got Iguchi to fly out to left to end the inning. In the top of the 9th, the Yankees put the go ahead run on 2nd with 2 outs, but Boggs struck out to end the inning. The Yankees had runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 10th, but Adrian Cardenas and Jay Bruce both grounded out to end the inning. In the top of the 11th, Teixeira's RBI double scored Jeter to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Royals put runners on 1st and 2nd off Rafael Soriano, who was the last Yankees pitcher in the bullpen, with the exception of the tired Mariano Rivera. The Yankees were hoping not to use either of them, but since Soriano wasn't tired, he got the call. Soriano got rookie Jared Goedert to hit into a 4-6-3 DP to end the game. Final--Yankees 6, Royals 5 Teixeira had 4 hits (1 2B) and Ramirez had 3 hits (1 BB) for the Yankees, while Bruce was 0 for 6 and Cardenas was 0 for 5. Duncan was 0 for 5 for the Royals. Mike Mussina will get the ball tomorrow, as the Yankees will attempt to sweep the Royals for the 2nd consecutive week and sweep the season series. In other news around the division--The Rays lost to the Blue Jays, 5-3, which enabled the Yankees to reclaim sole possession of 1st. The Red Sox beat the Orioles, 7-1. The Yankees have a 1 game lead over the Rays, a 1 1/2 game lead over the Orioles, a 4 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox and a 5 game lead over the Blue Jays. In other news around the majors--Chris Young and Adam LaRoche each had 2 HR games. Former Yankees 2B Robinson Cano, who was traded for Jake Peavy in the offseason, hit his 1st HR for the Padres and is off to a .967 OPS start. Tigers CF Danny Putnam had 5 hits in a 5-3 win over the Twins. The 0-7 Pirates and Rockies remained winless (they do play each other in the 1st series of May. So, if they are both winless by the end, one of their dreams of going 0-162 will be smashed.)

04-08-2009, 12:39 PM	#12
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 7-1 1st place Yankees were on the road against the 2-6 last place Royals. The Yankees were looking for a 6-0 season series sweep over the Royals. The teams' rivalry of the late 1970s/1980 being long over. Mike Mussina gets the start today against the slumping Luke Hochevar. The Yankees had knocked Hochevar out of the box in the 1st inning in his Opening Day start. Jordan Schafer did return to the Yankees's lineup today. With it being a day game after a night game, Gregg Zaun got the start behind the plate, in place of Jorge Posada. The Yankees also used the day game after the night game, and tomorrow's day off, to give rookie 2B Adrian Cardenas a break, inserting Ruben Gotay into the lineup. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 4th. With 1 out, Mike Lowell walked and hot hitting rookie Thomas Giles doubled to left center, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. Eric Duncan grounded to short to score Lowell and give the Royals a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 6th, Ryan Howard led off for the Yankees by being hit by Hochevar's first pitch of the inning. After Mark Teixeira flied out to center, Zaun drew a full count walk, sending Howard to 2nd and Hochevar was replaced by Brandon Duckworth. Schafer drew a full count walk to load up the bases. But, Gotay hit a routine fly to right, which Howard obviously had no chance to score on. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, Jay Bruce drew a 3-1 walk to tie the game. Derek Jeter then popped to 2nd to end the threat. The Yankees put the go ahead run on 2nd with 2 outs in the 7th, but couldn't score. Gotay led off the top of the 8th with a line drive double down the right field line off Duckworth. Speedster Brandon Boggs was sent in to pinch run, while the call went to the pen and Leo Nunez came into the game. On the 1st pitch to Bruce, Boggs stole 3rd. With the infield in, Bruce hit a hard grounder right back to the mound, probably the only place in the infield that wouldn't have sent Boggs racing to the plate, even with the infield in. Jeter lined to short and Manny Ramirez grounded to 3rd to end the threat. The Yankees gave the ball to Chris Britton in the bottom of the 8th. The World Champions bullpen consisted of Britton, Mariano Rivera and 4 pitchers either tired or exhausted. With 1 out, Tadahito Iguchi sent a grounder into the hole at deep short. Jeter was able to keep the ball from going into left, but couldn't throw out Iguchi. Rookie speedster Brian McFall was sent in to pinch run and, with Brad Wilkerson at the plate, McFall stole both 2nd and 3rd, bringing the infield in. Wilkerson popped to Jeter for the 2nd out. Alex Gordon then hit a routine grounder to 2nd, but Nick Punto, who had come into the game after Boggs had run for Gotay, bobbled the ball for an E4 that cost the Yankees a run. In the 9th, Joakim Soria struck out A-Rod to open the inning and got Howard and Teixeira to ground out to end the game. Final--Royals 2, Yankees 1 Mussina had a good game for the Yankees--7 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 7 SO. Hochevar had a good outing for the Royals, despite the fact that his inability to find the strike zone led to a high pitch and early departure--5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 6 BB, 1 SO. The Yankees have a day off and then head to Fenway. In other news around the division--The Rays beat the Blue Jays, 11-2. Kevin Youkilis hit 2 HR for the Red Sox as they beat the Orioles, 5-4, and overcame a 2 HR game by Luke Scott. The Yankees fall back into a tie with the Rays for 1st place in the AL East. The Orioles are 1 1/2 GB, the Red Sox are 3 1/2 back and the Blue Jays are 5 out. In other news around the majors--Aramis Ramirez hit 2 HR and Jim Thome hit 1 to help the White Sox to a 18-2 win over the Indians. Derek Lowe pitched 8 shutout innings for the Dodgers in a 3-0 win over the Diamondbacks. Matt Cain pitched 8 shutout innings as the Cardinals beat the winless Rockies, 2-0. The Pirates also remain winless.

04-09-2009, 11:15 AM	#13
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The Yankees had a day off today. In other news around the division--The Orioles beat the Red Sox, 13-4. The Blue Jays beat the Royals. The Rays were also off. The Yankees and Rays remained tied at the top of the division, with the Orioles 1 GB, the Red Sox 4 and the Blue Jays 4 1/2. In other news around the majors--Chase Utley had 3 hits, including a HR, to lead the Phillies to a 11-1 win over the Braves. The 0-9 Pirates and Rockies continue to have winaphobia.

04-10-2009, 10:54 AM	#14
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 7-2 Yankees made their first visit of the year to Fenway Park, to take on the slumping 3-6 Red Sox. Randy Johnson started for the Yankees against Zack Greinke. The Yankees got on the board in the 2nd, when the slumping Alex Rodriguez hit his 2nd HR of the year--a 350 foot shot over the Green Monster. The Red Sox took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd on back to back RBI doubles from Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. The Yankees tied the game in the 4th, when Jorge Posada drew a bases loaded walk to score A-Rod. The Yankees took the lead in the 5th, when Jay Bruce reached second when 2B Dustin Pedroia threw his ground ball into the stands, stole 3rd and came on Derek Jeter's groundout. Bruce then preserved the lead in the bottom of the inning with his arm. With 1 out and Scott Spiezio on 1st, Jason Varitek singled to center and Bruce threw Spiezio out at 3rd. After Ellsbury walked, Varitek tried to score on Pedroia's single to center, but Bruce threw him out at the plate to preserve the Yankees's 3-2 lead. After Bruce led off the 7th with a single and stole 2nd, he scored on Jeter's RBI double to make it 4-2. Bruce recorded his 3rd assist of the game when, in the bottom of the inning, Randy Winn led off with a double and Bruce threw him out trying to stretch it into 3. The Yankees added another run in the top of the 9th, when Jeter's RBI double scored Adrian Cardenas. Final--Yankees 5, Red Sox 2 Johnson had a good game--6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO. In other news around the division--The Orioles scored 3 in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Rays, 3-2. The Blue Jays beat the Royals, 12-2. The Yankees regain sole possession of 1st, by 1 game over the Rays and Orioles, with the Blue Jays 4 1/2 back and the Red Sox falling into last, 5 GB. In other news around the majors--David Wright hit 2 HR for the Angels, but they lost to the Mariners, 7-5. The 0-10 Pirates insist on not winning any games. But, the 1-9 Rockies had a surprising easy victory over Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks. In league email-- Message Type BNN Network News Subject Yankees Johnson "earns" 300th "win" Date 04-10-2009 Randy Johnson of the New York Yankees will go down as one of history's legendary pitchers after his 5-2 "win" today against the Boston Red Sox. "It is a meaningless, unless statistic. What pitched a good game, but all this useless stat measures is the fact that he pitched the preceding inning and had his ass resting comfortably on the bench when we took the lead in the 5th inning. The 45-year-old Johnson picked up his 300th career "victory" at Fenway Park. He hurled 6 innings, gave up 7 hits and registered 6 strikeouts along with 1 walk. "I've worked a long time for this," Johnson said. "I can't believe it's really here. It feels great!" Johnson has a lifetime record of 300 "wins" and 157 "losses" and a 3.22 ERA. In related news, the Yankees fired all members of the PR department who made an attempt to call attention to this non accomplishment.

04-11-2009, 11:11 AM	#15
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 8-2 Yankees were on the road against the last place 3-7 Red Sox. Johan Santana got the ball against the potential waiver wire Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Yankees hoped to fatten up their stats against a pitcher with 4.40 and 5.66 ERAs in his 1st 2 major league seasons and who had allowed 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings to the Rays in his first start in 2009. The Yankees started the scoring in the 1st. With 1 out, Derek Jeter lined a single to left and Manny Ramirez followed with a 432 foot HR to dead center--his 3rd of the year and 519th career HR. The game remained 2-0 until the 5th, when Ramirez's RBI single scored Jay Bruce to make it 3-0. The Red Sox got in the board in the 6th, when Dustin Pedroia's RBI single scored Jacoby Ellsbury. In the bottom of the 8th, Randy Winn led off with a triple and scored on Scott Spiezio's ground out to make it a 3-2 game. The Yankees turned to Mariano Rivera in the 9th. David Ortiz led off the inning with a double into the RF corner. But, as slow as he is, the Red Sox couldn't find anyone on their depleted bench to run for him. Coco Crisp's slow groundout to 2nd sent Ortiz to 3rd. The slumping Ken Griffey Jr. hit a routine popout to center for the 2nd out. Miguel Tejada then grounded to Jeter to end the game. Final--Yankees 3, Red Sox 2 Santana had a good game for the Yankees--7 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 6 SO. Jeter had 3 hits. The Yankees made some moves after the game. Rookie RF Jordan Schafer was sent to the minors after his slow start. With Schafer and Austin Jackson already on the major league roster and Cody Johnson not ready yet, the Yankees minor league system did not have any suitable short term replacements, so the Yankees signed free agent OF Reggie Willits. To make room for Willits on the 40 man roster, minor league P Brian Bruney was designated for assignment. The Yankees do expect Schafer to be back after some seasoning. Of course, Jackson, who was supposed to be the right handed half of the platoon, just might win the job outright. In other news around the division--B.J. Upton hit 2 HR (4 hits) to help the Rays beat the Orioles, 10-9, in 12. The Blue Jays lost to the Royals, 5-3. The Rays beat the Orioles, 10-9, in 12, helped by 2 HR by B.J. Upton. The Yankees lead the Rays by 1, the Orioles by 2, the Blue Jays by 5 1/2 and the Red Sox by 6. In other news around the majors--The 10-1 Tigers and Cardinals became the 1st teams in the majors to reach double digits in wins. The 0-11 Pirates not only insist on not winning, they also became the 1st team in the majors to reach double digits in GB. Jimmy Rollins hit 2 HR to help the Phillies beat the Reds.

04-12-2009, 11:22 AM	#16
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 9-2 Yankees were again in Fenway Park to play the last place 3-8 Red Sox. It was the 3rd game of a 4 game series, with the defending World Champions having won the 1st 2. Jake Peavy pitched for the Yankees against Josh Beckett. The Red Sox started the scoring in the 3rd, when Matt Holliday's RBI double off the Green Monster scored Kevin Youkilis. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the 5th with a triple to right center and scored on Youkilis's 1 out flyout. In the 6th, Bruce broke up Beckett's no hit attempt with a 1 out single to left. That was the only hit of the game off Beckett, who is off to a 1.11 ERA start in his first 3 starts and has only allowed 8 hits in 24 1/2 innings. Final score--Red Sox 2, Yankees 0 Beckett's line--9 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 3 BB, 13 SO. Peavy had a good outing for the Yankees--6 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 4 SO. In other news around the division--The Orioles beat the Rays, 704. The Royals beat the Blue Jays, 7-2, to allow the Red Sox to escape the cellar. The Yankees lead the Orioles and Rays by 1 game, the Red Sox by 5 and the Blue Jays by 5 1/2. In other news around the majors--Mets rookie Fernando Martinez hit 2 HR to help them beat the Marlins. The Pirates were determined to keep their perfect season intact towards their goal of 0-162. They were so determined that they only got 2 hits and a single run. But, the Cubs refused to cooperate by scoring any runs and the 1-11 Pirates were forced to accept a W. And, to add insult to injury for the Pirates, the Cardinals lost, making the Pirates lose their double digit GB status.

04-13-2009, 10:22 AM	#17
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 9-3 Yankees visited the 4-8 Red Sox in the finale of their 4 game series. The Yankees were looking to take the series, the Red Sox were looking for a split. Joba Chamberlain pitched for the Yankees against Curt Schilling. With 2 outs in the 3rd, Derek Jeter hit his 2nd of the season--a 413 foot shot to dead center. After Manny Ramirez lined a single to center, Alex Rodriguez's 3rd HR of the season (#578 career) gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the 6th, Dustin Pedroia's RBI double scored Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz's RBI single scored Youkilis to make it a 3-2 game. With 1 out in the 7th, Jay Bruce doubled to left and stole 3rd. But, Schilling struck out Jeter and got Ramirez to ground to 3rd to keep it a 1 run game. With 1 out in the 7th, Randy Winn's 1st HR of the season, a 397 foot shot to right center, tied the game. In the bottom of the 8th, Pedroia led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Coco Crisp. Crisp stole 2nd and Ortiz was intentionally walked. The Red Sox then gave the steal sign to Crisp. Inexplicably, Ortiz thought it applied to him. Posada recorded the very easy CS out. With the go ahead run advancing to 3rd and 1 out, the Yankees brought the infield in. Matt Holliday grounded to Jeter and Crisp had to hold at 3rd. Up stepped the very slumping Ken Griffey Jr., who was off to a 1 for 27 start with the Red Sox. Griffey got a 3-0 pitch from Mike Stanton and lifted a routine flyball to Ramirez in left to end the threat. In the top of the 9th, Austin Jackson led off for the Yankees with a line drive double into the right field corner and was replaced by speedster Brandon Boggs. Ruben Gotay, who was in the lineup to give slumping rookie Adrian Cardenas a day off, grounded to short, with Boggs going to 3rd. Bruce walked to put runners on the corners. On the first pitch to Jeter, Bruce was thrown out trying to steal. Jeter flied out to center to end the inning. In the 10th, the Red Sox decided to replace David Ortiz at 1B with Scott Spiezio. After Manny Delcarmen struck out Ramirez and A-Rod to start the inning, Ryan Howard doubled to right. The Yankees sent Nick Punto in to pinch run for Howard. Terry Francona made the same kind of move that close to 100% of managers make all of the time--giving the choice between risking a loss he can not afford right now or having to bring in his closer in a non "save" situation, decided the former was the lesser of the evils. In came Luis Vizcaino, instead of Jonathan Papelbon, to replace Delcarmen. Mark Teixeira then lined a 1-2 pitch over 2B Alex Gonzalez's (in the game after Crisp ran for Pedroia) head for a double into the gap in right center that scored Punto to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. Posada was intentionally walked. Reggie Willits was sent up as a pinch hitter for Boggs and, in his Yankees debut, flied out to right to end the inning. Mariano Rivera came in to pitch the bottom of the 10th. Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a line drive single to right center. Everyone in Fenway Park knew Ellsbury was going and the Yankees called a pinch out on the 1st pitch to Youkilis. The odds still favored the very speedy Ellsbury over the weak armed Posada, but the Yankees veteran threw out the tying run. On a 2-2 pitch, Rivera struck out Youkilis for the 2nd out. The Red Sox then sent rookie C Brian Jeroloman up to pinch hit for Gonzalez. Jeroloman hit a routine pop up down the right field line, but miscommunication between 2B Gotay and RF Willits allowed the ball to fall in to keep the Red Sox alive. Up stepped Spiezio, who was in the game as a defensive replacement for David Ortiz, who had his 2nd career 50 HR season for the Red Sox in 2008. Spiezio stepped up to the plate with 53 HR ... since 2003. Spiezio stunned everyone with a walkoff 2 run HR. Final--Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 Pedroia had 3 hits (1 2B) for the Red Sox. Schilling had a good outing--7 IP, 8 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 8 SO. Chamberlain (6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 9 SO) now has 23 K in 18 2/3 IP, to go along with a 3.38 ERA. The Yankees will head to Toronto. In other news around the division--Carl Crawford's 3 run HR in the top of the 9th helped the Rays beat the Orioles, 6-5. The Blue Jays had the day off. The Rays tied the 9-4 Yankees atop the AL East. The Orioles are 1 GB, the Red Sox are 4 and the Blue Jays are 5 back. In other news around the majors--Brandon Phillips hit 2 HR for the Cardinals, but they still lost to the Diamondbacks. Jason Schmidt pitched 7 innings of 1 hit ball to lead the Mets to a 2-0 win over the Dodgers. Lance Berkman's 8th inning HR broke up a 2-2 tie in the Astros 3-2 win over the Pirates.

04-14-2009, 12:57 PM	#18
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 9-4 1st place Yankees went to Toronto to visit the 4-9 last place Blue Jays. The Yankees had taken 2 out of 3 against the Blue Jays in Yankee Stadium during the 1st weekend of the season. The Blue Jays had made a trade yesterday, sending SS David Eckstein to the Brewers for P Brian Shouse. Mike Mussina pitched for the Yankees against Jay Bergmann. The Yankees started the scoring with 2 outs in the 1st, when Ryan Howard's double scored Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez to make it a 2-0 game. The Yankees added a run in the 3rd, when Howard hit his 5th HR of the season--a 396 foot blast into right center. The Yankees could have had another run, but Manny Ramirez had been doubled off 2nd on a line drive by A-Rod. In the 4th, Brandon Jones, who the rebuilding Blue Jays had gotten as part of a big package from the Braves for Roy Halladay, hit his 2nd HR of the year to make it a 3-1 game. After Jeter walked with 1 out in the 5th, Ramirez hit his 4th HR of the season (520th career)--a 328 foot homer to left. Final--Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1 The 10-4 Yankees joined the 12-1 Tigers as the only teams in the AL in double digits in wins, while the 4-10 Blue Jays became the 1st team in the league to reach double digits in losses. Mussina had a good outing for the Yankees--7 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 6 SO. Bergmann had a bad outing--6 1/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R/ER, 3 BB, 6 SO. In other news around the division--The Red Sox beat the Rays, 6-5, in a game that included Rays 1B Carlos Delgado's 2000th career hit. The Orioles lost to the Indians, 8-6, with Grady Sizemore having 4 hits (1 HR). The Yankees lead the Rays by 1, the Orioles by 2, the Red Sox by 4 and the Blue Jays by 6. In other news around the majors--Troy Tulowitzki had 6 hits (2 2B, 1 HR) and rookie Matt Leslie hit 2 HR to help the Rockies beat the Padres.

04-16-2009, 10:59 AM	#20
nyy26wc All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 679	The 11-4 first place Yankees played the 4-11 last place Blue Jays in the finale of a 3 game series in Toronto. The Yankees were looking for a sweep. Johan Santana started against Dustin McGowan. The Blue Jays ran themselves out of a potential good inning in the bottom of the 1st. Rickie Weeks led off with a single, stole 2nd, but was thrown out at the plate by Manny Ramirez when Willy Taveras singled to left. Taveras took 2nd on Ramirez's throw and then got himself thrown out trying to steal 3rd. The Blue Jays broke the tie in the 4th, when Josh Bard's RBI double scored Paul Konerko. In the 6th, the hitless Yankees put the tying run on base when Konerko couldn't handle Jay Bruce's 1 out grounder, for an E3. But, Derek Jeter hit into an inning ending 5-4-3 DP. In the bottom of the inning, Taveras led off with a double and scored after consecutive ground outs by Alex Rios and Konerko. Josh Bard then followed with his 2nd HR of the year--a 364 foot shot to left. The Yankees threatened in the top of the 7th. Ramirez led off with a walk and, after Alex Rodriguez struck out, Ryan Howard walked on 4 pitches. Mark Teixeira grounded to 1st. Konerko took it to the bag and then drew Howard out at 2nd to end the inning. McGowan passed the 100 pitch mark in the 8th and, with a 2-2, 2 out count to Adrian Cardenas, the slumping rookie hit a shot to deep left center. But, Taveras made a running 1 handed catch on the warning track to preserve the no hit bid. The tired McGowan took the mound in the top of the 9th. Jay Bruce struck out swinging on a 1-2 pitch. On the first pitch to Derek Jeter, he grounded out to 2nd. That brought up Manny Ramirez, who had walked 3 times today. But, this time, he swung at the first pitch and hit a routine groundball to SS Brent Lillibridge, who threw him out to end the no hitter. Final--Blue Jays 3, Yankees 0 McGowan's line--9 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 5 BB, 9 SO. Bard had 3 hits (1 2B, 1 HR). Santana had a good outing for the Yankees--7 IP, 7 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 3 SO. In other news around the division--The Red Sox took a comfortable lead into the 9th against the Rays and then survived a rally to win, 8-6. The Orioles lost to the Indians, 11-4. The Yankees lead the Orioles and Rays by 2, the Red Sox by 3 and the Blue Jays by 6. In other news around the majors--Marlins lost 2B Dan Uggla, who is off to a hot start to the season, for 1-2 weeks, due to ankle soreness.