Rubio???????????????

News out of Minnesota is that the TWolves and the Knicks may be working on a deal that would send Ricky Rubio to the Knicks for a sign and trade involving Nate Robinson and/or David Lee and stuff. Obviously there would be more parts. If Walsh can get this done, the summer will not have been a complete loss for the Knicks. Do it, Donnie!

Almost Perfect

Andy Pettitte was 7 outs away from perfection tonight when Jerry Hairston booted a routine grounder for an error. Pitching out the stretch, Petting gave up a clean 0-2 single to Markakis to lose the no-hitter. Later he gave up a solo shot to Mora in the 8th but became a 12 game winner and moved ahead of Lefty Gomez with his 190th Yankee win as the Bombers won 5-1. Swisher was a triple away from the cycle and Cano had a two run double to bust it open a bit in the 8th. His RISP hitting is starting to correct itself. AJ goes tomorrow. The Yanks are now 35 game over .500. Go Yanks!

Yanks Sweep

Mark Teixeira picked up his 32nd homer and 101st RBI with a three run jack in in 5 run 7th as the Yanks won a weird one to sweep the White Sox 8-3. It was weird because Joba only went 3 innings before being taken out under the new schedule. Aceves pitched 3 innings of no-run ball for his 9th win. Marte, Robertson and Hughes were used to get through the 7th, and Hughes pitched a 6 pitch 8th. Coke gave up yet another homer cleaning up in the 9th. Damon had a homer, earlier, but left the game with tight calves only to have Hairston finish up for him. Swisher got a day off, and Jeter stayed hot. It's off to Baltimore tomorrow and let's win there. Go Yanks!

Nicks Shines as Rest of Giants Don't

Hakeem Nicks went off for 6/142 including 4th Q TD's of 21 and 71 yards. Most of the rest of the night was unimpressive outside of the first drive of the game where Eli hit Jacobs for a TD pass. Starting with the second drive, the Giants just started dropping balls and blowing plays till Nicks took over late. Steve Smith dropped a bomb that hit him in stride for what would have been and 85 yard TD. Dom Hixon dropped a pass that a Jet ended up catching for an int. and a short field. Manningham had a drop or two and was serially interfered with, though he was also impressive. Barden only caught one pass. Nicks had 1 drop to go with his heroics. Smith and Hixon will have to do much better to hold off Nicks and Manningham for very long. Brandon Jacobs looked good, but hurt his arm, got it x-rayed, came back and fumbled on his next carrt. Bradshaw and Ware also looked good. Allen Patrick was unimpressive. Boss had one big catch. None of the other TE's did.

The Defense, for the second week in a row was unimpressive. Of course, they were also very undermanned.

The season's getting close and the O has to figure some things out. Nicks; however, looked like the player we've been expecting.

Yanks Win in the Rain

Sergio Mitre was working on a one hitter with one out in the 7th until he took a single off his right forearm. We're waiting for medical results. Chad Gaudin came in and completed the shutout as the Yanks won 10-0. ARod homered late, but other than that it was just a bunch of singles and doubles for the Yanks today. Jerry Hairston Jr. continues to look like a great pick-up. Joba goes tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Cano!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Robbie just hit a 3 run walk-off against the White Sox in the 10th! It was his first hit of the night in what had become a very tight game after CC lost his bid for a shutout as 2 runs scored in the 7th. Hughes pitched a 1-2-3 all K 8th, Mo pitched a 1-2-3 9th, and Bruney pitched a 1-2-3 10th, though his slider seemed absent. Jeter and Damon had homered earlier. A rain out is probable tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Yanks Lose Game and Series

The Yanks did a good job of grinding, but not of hitting with RISP today, and the bullpen was overly generous after AJ gave the Yanks a quality start. CC vs. the White Sox, tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Heatley Still in the Cards?

Just heard that Dany Heatley may once again be on his way to the Rangers for Rozsival, Dubi, and McDonagh. Obviously, any trade involving Dubinsky would not be popular around here, though getting rid of Rozsival would be good, and McDonagh in only one of a deep group of young D's. Hope it's just a rumor.

Yanks Win!

Andy was on tonight and held Texas to two runs over 7 innings while his teammates were dropping a 9 spot on the Rangers. Po and Hairston both homered, and the defense came through for Andy with 3 DP's. Bruney pitched an evenful but scoreless 8th that sadly saw Po get hurt when a foul tip of his glove hand, and Bruney get out of a bases loades situation with a 5-4-3 DP of his own. A well rested Coke pitched a 1-2-3 9th. Day game tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Yanks Lose

No pitching from Joba or Gaudin and almost a remarkable comeback cut short in the 9th by an inexplicable bunt attempt. Sorry. We got them to use their good relievers, though and ours will be fresh tomorrow, Go Yankees!

Yanks Win Game and Series

Derek Jeter smacked Josh Beckett's first pitch of the night into the Red Sox bullpen and that pretty much set the tone. Hit-Deki added two more homers, and Cano and ARod both chipped in with big flies. The Yanks five homers were the most ever hit in one game off of Beckett, and contributed the majority of runs to the 8-4 final. CC was better than that score would indicate as he was the victim of some bloops and bad breaks behind him. CC went 6.2 with 8K's and 0BB's before giving way to Hughes for a scoreless 1.1 and Mo, who contributed a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation. The Yanks once again have a 7.5 game lead and a day off tomorrow. Overall, they went 7-3 on their weird West Coast/East Coast road trip and have kept cruising. They'll meet Texas back at the stadium starting Tuesday, and Joba will pitch. Go Yanks!

Frustrating Day

Neither the Yanks nor the Giants were ready for their games today. Wow. Quite a surprise. Fortunately, it the Yanks had already won last night, and the Giants' game doesn't count. But still, scary lack of effort. Yikes.

Yanks Crush Sox

Alex Rodriguez was 4-4 with a walk and a triple and Hit-deki Matsui hit a pair of three run jacks and collected 7RBI as the Yanks totalled 23 hits and 20 runs against the Sox tonight. Jeter stayed hot with three hits of his own. Damon injured himself in the first and had to be replaced by Eric Hinske, who had some good ab's but several adventures in left. Pettitte got the win, but got no help from umpire Joe West or his defense. Brian Bruney relieved Andy and was threatening to make a game of it with his wildness. Marte returned and bailed Bruney out of a one out, based loaded jam in the 8th. Mitre pitched the 8th and 9th, giving up a late homer to Varitek, an RBI double to Ortiz, and a 2 run jack to Lowell. So we have found the level of Varitek, Ortiz and Lowell these days. They can hit Mitre. Yanks win 20-11. AJ pitches tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Cruising into Boston

Sorry I didn't post about the last two wins. I was having trouble with the picture editor here. Anyway, we got two well pitched games, and did just enough hitting to win them both. Jeter has been red hot, and it will be interesting to see if he carries it into Boston. He has not played well there in years, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does this weekend. He is a future Hall of Famer, and you can't keep those types down forever. Melky has heated up a bit, while Robbie Cano struggled in Oakland. ARod's not getting ARodian result's but he's done some things against Boston in the past. Nick Swisher continues to be the Road Warrior. Johnny Damon's been solid. Po's been a little up and down. And Matsui's back. Let's keep it rolling in Boston! Go Yanks!

Yanks Lose Game, Gain Talent

The Yanks, rather surprisingly, got nothing done against Brett Tomko and the Oakland A's last night. What the Yanks did get done; however, was add a bunch of talent to the farm system. At the deadline, the Yanks were able to come to terms with HS CF Slade Heathcott, HS C JR Murphy, Vandy RHP Caleb Cotham, Clemson RHP Graham Stoneburner, HS RHP Bryan Mitchell, JC INF/OF Joseph Talerico, and HS LHP Evan DeLuca.

Heathcott is a legitimate 5 tool prospect who could have also been drafted as a pitcher. JR Murphy was recently converted to catcher, but has an advanced approach at the plate and some pop. Caleb Cotham is a power pitcher with a stiff fastball and strong secondary stuff. Graham Stoneburner is also a power pitcher with a very good fastball. Bryan Mitchell is a projectable HS righty with a pretty good now fastball. Talerico is a toolsy, versatile player without a single outstanding tool at this point in time. Evan DeLuca is a projectable lefty whose fastball has been clocked at up to 95mph.

Due, at least in part, to a smaller budget this summer, the Yanks left some intriguing kids like Chad Thompson, Andrew Alpin and Stephen Bruno unsigned. I'm not bothered by missing out on collegiate LHP's and cape stars Tyler Lyons and Aaron Meade, they're both good and have nice pitchability, but I was glad that the dollars went to Evan DeLuca who is younger and just has much better stuff.

In all, the Yanks got very good bang for the buck in the draft, and remember IFA is ongoing and they are not done there, either.

Now snap out of it Yanks and start winning again!

Coming Down to the Deadline...

Yes, we lost today - but even historically great Yankee teams have lost from time to time. With the draft deadline standing at midnight est. tomorrow night, the Yanks have a lot of work to do. We know that Slade Heathcott, JR Murphy, Caleb Cotham and Graham Stoneburner are good to go, but the question now is: who else, there are still a bunch of good players available to the Yanks if they can make the right deals. Should be fun. Keep checking Lane Meyer's blog and at the end I'll try to sum up what I think the effect on the system has been. Go Yanks!

Rangers Sign Prospal/Welcome back Mess

In a curious move, but a bargain nonetheless, the Rangers added scoring F Vinny Prospal for 1.1M. Could be a Torts move. Who knows. They still haven't signed Dubi. Word has also come down that Mark Messier will be rejoining the Rangers as a special assistant to Glen Sather and possibly a GM in training. Here's hoping that works out. I never want to be mad at Mark Messier. Go Rangers.

Welcome Back to 1998!

The Yanks went 31 games over .500 and 7.5 up on Boston with a 5-2 win in Seattle tonight. Sergio Mitre pitched surprising well, and left, albeit with the bases loaded, up 4.2 with one out in the sixth. Dave Robertson came in and K'd the next two hitters to calm that noise right down. DRob and Coke were just nasty tonight, working around a crazy ump and delivering a bunc of K's before handing it over to Mo for a scoreless ninth. It was Mo's 31st save in a row, which matches his career high. Nick Swisher hit a two run homer after Derek Jeter's sac fly had made it 2-1 in the second to make it 4-2. Jeter homered in the top of the 9th, his 15th. This is so 1998. Joba goes for the sweep tomorrow! Go Yanks!

30 Games Over .500!

Yanks just won a tight one 4-2 over Seattle to move 30 games over .500 for the first time in awhile. Andy Pettitte uncharacteristically gave up 2 runs in the first, but after that, with no help from the umps, Andy, Brian Bruney, Phil Hughes and Mo Rivera held them scoreless. It was 2-2 going into the 9th when Mark Teixeira lead off with his 30th homer of the year. Cano later doubled and Swisher singled him home for the final margin. Mitre pitches, at least for awhile, tomorrow night. Go Yanks!!!!!!!!

Hit-Deki!

Hideki Matsui batted 4th in place of the aching ARod tonight, and went off! The streaky lefty had 4 hits incuding 2 bombs and 5 rbi's in the Yanks 11-1 victory over Seattle. CC Sabathia once again had no-hit type stuff as he dominated the Mariners for 8 innings to the toon of 3 hits, 2 walks, 1 run and 10K's. Jeter was able to start and had three hits including a homer. Tex had some more RBI's. Damon had some more hits. Cano had some more hits. Cano had two more hits and got screwed on a 3rd strike call that was really a ball that he showed good discipline in laying off of. Bruney pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to end it. Great way to start the road trip. The lead has been stretched back to 6.5 games. Andy goes tomorrow! Go Yanks!

The Pie Man!

AJ Burnett didn't have it today, but he might still have been a winner had he not thrown 2 pitches that Posada couldn't handle with men on in the 6th. Prior to that, the Yanks had been up 3-1, after scoring Jeter who'd been hit by a pitch and homers by Robbie Cano and Johnny Damon. Coke and Robertson pitched a scoreless 7th. Robertson started the 8th and left with one out and 1 on. Hughes got the final two outs. Chad Gaudin too over in the ninth and pitched the extras. The winning rally started when they hit ARod with a pitch, Posada singled him to second and Robbie Cano hit a laser into the gap in right that would be a double, were it not the walk-off game winning single. Yanks finish the road trip 6-1 and are on to Seattle. Go Yanks!

Rangers Sign Buillon?

The Rangers have apparently signed FA D Francois Buillon. He's a traditional banger, and it means they will probably only be going with one rookie D this year. But, maybe they do have a deal that will send Rozsival somewhere, so who knows? Not me. Go Rangers.

Yanks Win!!!!!!!

The Yanks staged another successful comeback in the Bronx. Joba had a bad 3rd where he gave up a 3 run lead, and then a 4 where he gave up a homer to Randy Ruiz. The Yanks were still down 4-3 going into the bottom of the 8th. Then Matsui homered to tie it and Po homered to take the lead. Hinske later singled and was replace by Hairston who scored on a Melky single. Melky finally turned 25 tonight and he celebrated with a pair of RBI's. Congrats, Kid. David Robertson got the win after facing one batter in the 8th. Mo had an eventful save, but he always has this period in August and it didn't cost us anything. Bruney pitched a scoreless 7th and that's a very good thing. AJ goes for the series winner in a day game tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Yanks Lose

Sergio Mitre couldn't hold onto two different leads and the Yanks lost 5-4. I'm sorry. I don't like to play the blame game, but I think they might need to put Aceves, who pitched 4 scoreless innings in relief, in the rotation and end the Mitre experiment. Gotta start a new streak tomorrow behind Joba. Go Yanks!

SWEEP!

What a game! First off, Andy Pettitte was BRILLIANT! He pitched 7 innings of shutout ball. ARod hit a huge homer in the bottom of the 7th off of Lester to give Andy the 1-0 lead and put him in position for the win. However! Phil Hughes was not available tonight and neither was Aceves. As a result Phil Coke pitched the 8th and after getting a K gave up a hit to Pedroia and a homer to Martinez. The Yanks were down 2-1. The Sox brought in Bard. Bard got Matsui and Jeter on weak groundouts. Things were looking bad, then DAMON HOMERED and TEIXEIRA HOMERED! Putting the Yanks back up. The ARod worked a walk, Po doubled him to third and Swisher knocked them both in to give the Yanks a 5-2 lead. Mo came in and pitched a scoreless 9th for the win and the sweep. This team never gave up and really picked up Phil Coke who must have been feeling awful. What a team! Mitre or someone will start against Toronto starting tomorrow. GO YANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

Another Day, Another Shutout

CC Sabathia gave the Yanks 7.2 inning of 2 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks and 9K baseball today. Phil Hughes tossed in a .1 1K innings and David Robertson pitched and eventful no run, 1K 9th for the Yanks second consecutive shutout of the Red Sox. The Yanks O was still not particularly sharp, though they did manage to score 5 between 3 that they scratched togeth a two run homer from Jeter in the bottom of the 8th. The Yanks will have to be a little better with the bats tomorrow night against Lester and in support of Andy, but they can do it, and we need one more here. Go Yanks!

Yanks Win in 15!

Wow, Alex just hit a two run walk off bomb in the bottom of the 15th to give the Yanks a 2-0 lead! This was one of the best pitched games anyone has seen in the last several years. AJ was great, but so was Beckett. Our pen was great, but so was their's. Each team missed some opportunities, but long after midnight struck, ARod STRUCK! Huge win! The Yanks now have a 4.5 game lead, and we play again tomorrow, it's the Fox Saturday game, and CC will be dealing. Go Yanks!!!!!!!!!!!

Yanks add Gaudin

The Yanks picked up RHP Chad Gaudin from the Padres today for a PTBNL. Gaudin has a 5 era in a pitchers park in the NL, but also has been getting a k per ip. Maybe he'll be better than Mitre. It's worth a shot as he's still only 26 years old and could have a future. Go Yanks!

Yanks Pound Sox in Ragged Opener

In a night where almost all the young pitchers on the Yanks, Joba, Robertson, Melancon and Claggett spent a ton of time walking Sox, the Yankee bats took over. Cued by a 3 shot from Melky that put them up 5-3, the Yanks on that homer and others by Damon, Posada and Tex beat up on the Sox for the first time this year - 13-6. Joba was just off tonight and gave up 4 runs in 5 innings to get his 8th win. Clagget gave up the Sox' other two runs in the 9th, and we probably won't see him again this season. The first one is always the toughest and let's hope AJ can beat his old buddy Beckett tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Yanks Win!

The Yanks worked around a 5.1 innning start from Mitre to beat the Jays 8-4 and finish their road trip 5-4. Alfredo Aceves got the win, though he did give up the 4th run on yet another jack. Swisher and Damon both homered. Phil Hughes needlessly pitched the 8th with a 3 run lead. David Robertson pitched the ninth with a 4 run lead, but Girardi could not resist getting Mo up in the pen when Robertson gave up a bloop single with one out. Hopefully we won't need too much from the pen at the beginning of the Boston series. Joba will pitch the opener! Go Yanks!

Eli Gets Paid!

Eli Manning and the New York Giants have just closed a new 6 or 7 year deal that will make Eli one of the highest paid players in the game and assure the longterm stability of the New York Football Giants. GM Jerry Reese has continued his streak of doing everything right, and the Bank of Eli is now open. By that, I mean Eli and the Giants will now rework and extend this deal whenever they need cap room for someone else. It's a great move by the Giants. Congrats, Eli!

Yanks Beat Halladay

Andy finally picked up a win by pitching 6.2 innings of 1 run ball. Phil Hughes got out of a 2 on situation to finish the 7th with a K. Phil gave up two hits in the 8th, then K'd two in a row, and had Girardi inexplicably call in Mo for a 4 out save. Mo gave up both of Phil's runs in the 8th, the worked around a pair if singles to get his 31st save of the year in the 9th. The Yanks O was up and down and up against Halladay. They picked up two runs in the first on a two out RBI double by ARod and an error. They didn't score again until the 8th, when Damon and Tex hit back to back homers off Halladay. Matsui stared the 9th with another homer, and the Yanks ended up winning 5-3. Halladay got the complete game loss. Mitre goes tomorrow. Go Yanks!

Camp Coughlin Opens!

The 6th training camp of the Tom Coughlin Era opened today with perfect attendance as physicals and fitness tests were given. Three players, Robbins, Bernard and Boley couldn't go. Robbins and Boley were put on the PUP list and Bernard was put on the non-football injury list with a hamstring injury. All the interviews sounded very upbeat, and it sounds like they're ready to take another run at what is their's! Practices start tomorrow morning. Go Giants!

Melkymania Running Wild!

Melky looked for a moment like he had hurt himself after making a great catch in the first. Instead he went onto hurt the White Sox knocking in 4 and scoring 3 has he posted the Yanks' first cycle since 1995. It was the first cycle by a homegrown Yankee since Bobby Murcer did it in 1972. The rest of the offense was pretty good but they still left too many on base. Jerry Hairston Jr. showed once again why we never need to see Ransom again. CC had another tough start, where he sandwhiched a terrible inning between some very good ones. He ended up being charged with 5 runs in 7+. Phil Hughes was dominant again striking out Dye and Konerko and walking Thome, who he had already struck out. Mo came in, rather needlessly, to try to get the 3rd out in the 8th. He let the 5th run score, then worked around a walk to save it in the 9th. It was a big win, but it will always be remembered for Melky's cycle. The Yanks are off tomorrow. Let's hope they have a tweaked roster on Tuesday. Go Yanks.

Yanks Continue to Slide

I'm sorry for whatever I have to do with this Yankee losing streak. See what I just did? I took responsibility for the problems with the Yanks. Taking responsibility for problems is the way we start solving them. It would be a good idea for the Yanks FO, manager and players to follow my example. Go Yanks.

Giants Sign Nicks

With Camp starting tomorrow morning, the Giants wrapped up their final offseason task by signing first round WR Hakeem Nicks to a 5 year 12.5M deal. Nicks is the deal and it's great that they have him signed, sealed and delivered before Camp starts. Nicks was the last Giant pick to sign, so now the class is complete. Go Giants!