Yankees clinch playoff berth, Sabathia wins #21

The "Ace" has struck again.

CC Sabathia led the Yankees to Clinch and Conquer over the Toronto Blue Jays tonight in a 6-1 win, resulting in a captured playoff berth, as well as his 21st win of the season.

The win ensures that the Yankees will make the playoffs as either the division champions or wild card champions, am ultimatum fans must be happy to hear after a tough stretch over the final few weeks of September. Tonight's win was just the eighth in the last 22 games.

But even better news to Yankee fans?

It eliminates the Boston Red Sox.

Tonight being his last start of the regular season, Sabathia, who is making a case to be the Cy Young award winner in the American League, pitched 8 1/3 innings of one run baseball, striking out eight as he sent the Yankees to the playoffs for the 15th time in 16 years. His season line finishes at 21-7 with a 3.18 ERA. Thought of to be the front runner for the Cy Young, Sabathia has been pitching like the eventual winner all season, with his biggest starts coming in September with the Yankees struggling down the stretch.

"CC has been our ace all year long," Girardi said before the game. "He's pitched extremely well, so we expect him to go out and do it every time." (Mark Feinsand)

However while all is good in "Yankee Land," two other teams captured playoff berths tonight.

The Tampa Bay Rays clinched a berth with a win over the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays are battling with the Yankees for the division in the AL East, but the playoff berth guarantees they will either be the wild card or division winner.

In dramatic walk-off fashion, Jay Bruce sent the Cincinnati Reds to the playoffs for the first time since 1995 with a walk-off home run in a win over the Houston Astros. The Reds' win eliminates the St. Louis Cardinals and makes them the NL Central Division Champions.

The Yankees, Rays and Reds join the AL Central Division Champion Minnesota Twins, AL West Division Champion Texas Rangers and NL East Division Champion Philadelphia Phillies as the teams who have made the postseason. Two spots remain: The NL West and NL Wild Card.

The West and the Wildcard has been a back and forth dog-fight between the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves the last few weeks. It'll be interesting to see who wins both berths. I'm sticking with my belief that the Giants will win the West, but I do think (and would love to see) a one-game playoff between Atlanta and San Diego. I'd pay to see that.

Well, that's all for tonight. If you haven't heard, the Carmelo-Anthony-to-the-Nets-trade got called off, other than that it's been a quiet night.

It's good to be back and I'm sorry I've been absent. I've been busy like nobody's business with apps, homework, essays and my job. Hopefully this is just the start to getting back on track.

Starting the second half off right

Today marks the first game of the second half for the New York Yankees.

The second half kicks off with tonight's game at home vs the division rival Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to tonight's game, there will be a ceremony held mourning both the passings of owner George Steinbrenner and longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard. From tonight's game on, the Yankees will wear two patches to honor both the Boss and Sheppard.

Obviously the Yankees would like to kick off the second half tonight with a win. Not just to start off the second half well, but to win a game for two of the most iconic men in their organization's history. Right now, let's take a look at how the Yankees stand, and what there could be to look forward to:

State of the Yankees

The Yankees are currently 56-32, first place in the American League East. At this point last year, the year they won 103 games and the World Series, the Yanks were in second place in the division behind the Red Sox at 51-37. The 2010 Yankees are five wins ahead of the 2009 Yankees, resulting in five less loses. It's safe to say that this year's team has been better, certainly the pitching has been extraordinary. Perhaps that has been the story of the first half.

CC Sabathia (12-3), Andy Pettitte (11-2), and Phil Hughes (11-2) have carried the pitching staff throughout the first half of the season. The Yankees are the first team since the 1999 Houston Astros to have three pitchers with 11 or more wins before the All-Star break. Javier Vazquez and A.J. Burnett struggled earlier, but have picked it up of late. Nonetheless, the rotation has been the Yankees' greatest strength this year.

The offense, outside of Robinson Cano (.336), Nick Swisher (.298), and Brett Gardner (.309), has not been one of the Yankees' strengths this season. Mark Teixeira (.254), Alex Rodriguez (.269), Curtis Granderson (.240) and Derek Jeter (.274) did not live up to their common first halves and have struggled mightily at the plate. It's key for these guys to start hitting at their usual rates if the Yankees want to lock up the division.

Granderson has been nothing but a dissapointment this season. Even though he missed time with an injury, he's still not doing anything that impresses me. He seems to have not been worth the price the Yankees paid.

Tex has been heating up, hitting .419 with four homers and 12 RBI total in the month of July. Since May 1 Tex has been hitting .291/.380/.529. Hopefully Tex can continue what he did in the first half of July in the second half in order to really get on track. I'm sure all Yankee fans want to see another 39 homer year with a .292 average.

A-Rod has been hitting .232/.298/.464 since June 1 he is hitting, which is not good for the player that he is. What's more is that we've seen less home runs from A-Rod this season than we've seen before. He's gotta get on track.

Since June 1, Jeter has been hitting .221/.319/.321, which is very un-Jeter-ish. Jeter, usually a lock for a .300 average every season, has not looked like the Jeter of 2009. Jeter has only hit under .300 three times in his 15 year career, .291 in 1997, .297 in 2002, and .292 in 2004, which was arugably Jeter's ugliest season when he endured an 0-32 streak. So far this year, he's at .274, and is projected to end somewhere in the .280's. Jeter's gotta get back on track and have a strong second half for Yankee success.

If the offense can't wake up consistently, then the Yankees may have to trade for a big bat, such as Adam Dunn, who would wake up the offense and provide big-time power for the Yankees. The Yanks have been rumored to be interested in a left-handed bat, and acquiring Dunn would fulfill that desire. Stick Dunn at DH and watch the home runs fly.

Then there's the bullpen. When I say the bullpen, I mean everybody but Mariano Rivera. Rivera has been the Yankees' only reliable reliever (and has been for 15 years) and has been the only reliever that has been effective. The rest of the bullpen is pitching to an ERA of 4.14 ERA, which ranks them 9th in the league in bullpen ERA. As well, they rank in the Amiercan League at 4th in WHIP against, 4th in OBP against, 5th in SLG against, which is not terrible, but could be better. Most of that success is thanks to Rivera. Together, they strikeout 7.43 per nine, or 7th place. The bullpen hasn't been terrible, but it hasn't been great either. Other than Mariano, I really don't feel comfortable with anyone else. Obviously Joba Chamberlain (5.79), David Robertson (5.46), and Chan Ho Park (6.18 with six home runs given up. He gave up ZERO home runs last year) have been major dissapointments. I hope that they can all get straightened out, otherwise the Yankees may have to look outside of the organization and trade for a reliever.

What to look forward to

- Derek Jeter's 2,900 hit. Jeter will be the first Yankee to reach 3,000 hits, most likely sometime in 2011, and if he continues at this pace (which I don't expect) he will finish with 2,950 hits this season, needing just 50 more during the 2011 season to reach 3,000. It's going to be fun to watch.

- Alex Rodriguez's 600th home run. A-Rod is currently at 597, good for 7th all-time behind Sammy Sosa at 609. Once A-Rod hits #600, he'll join elite company, being one of only seven players in history to hit 600 or more home runs. The other players who have hit over 600 home runs: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sosa. Many believe that Rodriguez will be the eventual home run champion and surpass Bonds' 762.

- A-Rod's 2,700th hit. He's at 2,615.

- Robinson Cano's 1,000th hit. Robbie's at 990 total, the most among active second baseman since his debut in 2005. Robbie has a chance at a batting title this year, so if he finishes the season with a total of 1,500 in his career I wouldn't be surprised. Get ready Yankee fans, Cano will be the next Yankee to reach 3,000 hits after Jeter and A-Rod.

- A second straight AL East title. The Yankees can only hope that they will continue to play at the level that they are. It'll be tough down the stretch, especially with the Rays and Red Sox lurking down the Yankees' backs.

- The July 31 Trading Deadline. Will the Yankees make a move? Will they had Adam Dunn or another reliable reliever? How will they improve the struggling offense? It's sure to be fun!

Get ready fans, the second half is going to be fun. I think the Yankees will finish at 108-54 and in first place. The starting pitching has been strong and I expect that to continue and I also think that the offense will wake up. Should make for a fun second half.

All-Star Roster News

Amidst Cliff Lee trade rumors, Johan Santana's shut out of the Reds and first career home run, and A-Rod's two home run, five RBI game tonight...

• Hey Los Angeles, you have another All-Star. All-Star Manager Joe Girardi announced today that Angels' pitcher Jered Weaver would be taking the roster spot of Yankees' pitcher CC Sabathia. Due to baseball's new All-Star Game rules, any pitcher who pitches on Sunday before the game is ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game. Since Sabathia is slated to start this Sunday against the Mariners, he is not allowed to pitch in the game meaning Weaver, who will take his spot, is eligible to pitch. Weaver is 8-2 with a 2.82 ERA this season with a WHIP of 1.06. He joins Angels' outfielder Torii Hunter and manager Mike Scioscia as the only three Angel representatives. The All-Star Game is being played at the Angels' home park in Anaheim.

• Mariano Rivera will not be going to the All-Star Game. According to a team release, the game's best closer took himself off of the roster and will miss the game to rest his left side and right knee, which have been ailing him for some time.

  "I've been pitching hurt," Rivera said. "I know they are going to use me. I'd prefer to take those days off before the second half."

  Rivera said that he has been battling the same tightness in his left oblique that forced him to miss nine games in May, as well as a newer injury to his right knee, which has been inflamed since he injured it while shagging fly balls during the Yankees' June 25-27 series at Dodger Stadium.

  The right knee inflammation is more of a concern at this point for Rivera because it is his pushoff leg.

  "I always saw [Hideki] Matsui with the knee, and I never experienced something until now," Rivera said. "I understand now how it is. Definitely, I have to take care of it."

  Rivera was a player vote selection to the pitching staff, his 11th time on an All-Star roster, so he will be replaced by the next-highest-rating player in that balloting.

  "It's hard -- it's a decision that I have to make for myself and the sake of the team," Rivera said. "It's a great honor, but I have to be wise."

  Mo isn't a young guy anymore. He's 40 now, and he needs to stay healthy in order for the Yankees to be successful. Mo's health is very critical to the Yanks, and if it means missing the All-Star Game then so be it. Girardi should be announcing a replacement soon.
  

• Kevin Youkilis, the current leader of the Final Vote to see who gets the last roster spot on the American League's All-Star Team, left tonight's Red Sox vs Rays game tonight with a right ankle injury. He says he should be ready to play in Wednesday's season finale. Nick Swisher is currently following close in second place in the voting. Hopefully Youk doesn't go on the DL or his All-Star chances are done, meaning Swish, if the votes keep going up, would make the team. Don't get me wrong, I want Swisher on the team over Youk (I love Swish!) but I want it to be a fair competition. Remember, SEND SWISH! Vote here!
  

• If you didn't hear already, Yankees' second baseman Robinson Cano is in the Home Run Derby.
  

AL All-Star Roster UPDATE

Update 9:07 PM: Perhaps the one of the biggest surprises to the baseball world was that Yankees' LHP Andy Pettitte was not named to the AL All-Star Team. Pettitte, who is 10-2 with a 2.82 ERA, is arguably the Yankees' best pitcher right now, leading many to believe it as a snub. Many analysts were shocked to see that Girardi had picked CC Sabathia over Pettite. Sabathia is 10-3 with a 3.33 ERA. However, Joe Girardi has a plan to make Pettitte's All-Star dream, as well as chance to start, a reality.

From ESPN:

"Under baseball's rules, no pitcher who starts on Sunday, July 11 -- the last day of play before the All-Star break -- is allowed to pitch in the All-Star Game on July 13. Girardi's plan is to substitute Pettitte for Sabathia on the All-Star roster.

"That's pretty much right on,'' Girardi said. "I thought CC was well-deserving and Andy is well-deserving. And I hate the fact that one guy wouldn't make it. So in this case, we could have two left-handers in Anaheim.''

Pressed to admit that Pettitte was as good as a member of his All-Star squad right now, Girardi would only say, "That's a move that could possibly be made by the end of the week.''

Then he added, "As soon as one pitch is thrown on Sunday.''

In the likely event that Pettitte is added to the All-Star team, he might even get the starting assignment, since his next start is scheduled for Thursday in Seattle. After that, his next day to start would be on Tuesday, July 13 -- the day of the All-Star Game.

"Who the starter would be is something we still have to think about and discuss,'' Girardi said. "But as I said, Andy is well-deserving.''

So no worries Yankees fans, Andy Pettitte was not snubbed, and will be an All-Star. It'd be extremely cool to see Andy as the AL's starting pitcher. Think about it this way: If Pettitte is named an All-Star and Nick Swisher makes the Final Vote, the Yankees will have eight all-stars. Crazy.

Yankees take Game 1 of series

Yankees beat the Dodgers 2-1, thanks to these two men:

Carsten Charles Sabathia: 9-3, 3.49, 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 7 SO, 3 BB


Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez: 2-4, 1 HR (10), 2 R, 1 RBI (51)

Mets 2010 Trade Target: Fausto Carmona

Fausto Carmona, RHP Cleveland Indians
2010 season: 6-5, 3.31 ERA, 92.1 IP, 1.22 WHIP

It wasn't long ago that Fausto Carmona was deemed to be one of the game's best pitchers for the foreseeable future. After all, he went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 2007, and, in 2008, was rewarded a four-year $15 million contract. Then it all went downhill for Carmona. Injuries derailed Carmona's 2008 season, as he finished at 8-7 with a 5.44 ERA. 2009 wasn't any better for Carmona, as he again struggled through injuries and finished at an even worse 5-12 with a 6.32 ERA. However, it appears as though this year Carmona, 26, has figured out his groove again, sporting a 6-5 record with a 3.31 ERA through 14 starts this season.

Signed in 2000 as an undrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Indians at age 17, Carmona put himself on the map in 2003, when at Single-A Lake County, he went 17-4. He split time between A, AA, and AAA in 2004-05, going 13-9 in AAA Buffalo in 2005. The Dominican born Carmona made his major league debut in April 2006, earning his first career win over the Detroit Tigers at age 23. It'd be the only win for Carmona that season, as he was later pushed to the bullpen and finished 1-10 with a 5.42 ERA. Carmona made the Indians' rotation as the fifth starter in 2007, with low expectations. Those low expectations helped Carmona take the baseball world by storm. Carmona, along with ace CC Sabathia (who went on to win the Cy Young that season), led the Indians to their first AL Central Title since 2001, posting a 19-8 record with a 3.06 ERA. Carmona pitched his first career post season game that season in the ALDS against the New York Yankees. He pitched 9 innings of 1 run baseball, allowing just 3 hits in an extra inning win. The Indians would go on to the ALCS, where Carmona ended up getting battered by the Boston Red Sox in Game 6, where he left after just two plus innings while giving up seven runs in a game that would eliminate the Indians from the playoffs.

His 2007 season performance rewarded Carmona with a four-year $15 million contract that runs through 2011 and includes three individual club options through 2014, totaling $43 million if the contract runs through, including $5 million in incentives. His 2008 and 2009 seasons made the Indians look foolish for that contract however, as he went 8-7 with a 5.44 ERA in 2008 and 5-12 with a 6.32 ERA in 2009 with opponents batting .295 against him. It seemed as though Carmona's 2007 season was a fluke.


This season however, Carmona has come back stronger than ever for a dismal Indians team. Since trading aces CC Sabathia in 2008 and Cliff Lee in 2009, Carmona was pronounced the ace of the Indians' staff, despite his below .500 records and terrible 2009 (shows you how bad a team Cleveland is). Suffice to say, Carmona has surprised everyone, pitching to a 6-5 record so far with a 3.31 ERA. Due to Cleveland's poor season and rebuilding effort, the Indians are reportedly open to deal the 26 year-old right-hander for the right price. Enter the New York Mets.

This week, we heard that the Mets have had internal discussions regarding a trade for Carmona. The Mets are looking to upgrade their rotation in order to make a playoff-push. I recently posted that they were interested in Jake Westbrook, but a trade for Carmona would be much better for the Mets. Carmona is enjoying a nice season, and placing him behind Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana would make for a powerful Mets rotation. He's obviously capable of winning 19+ games, as he did in 2007, but he's also struggled the past two seasons, so this could be a high risk, high reward type of trade. The Mets would be more than willing to make that type of trade. They need pitching, and Carmona would help them out greatly. Moving an AL pitcher to the NL is always a smart move. He's only 26, and the Mets would control him through his age 28 2011 season, as well as having the three years of options for 2012, 2013, and 2014. He's owed just $8.9 million through 2011, an average of $4.4 million per season, making him a very cheap effective pitcher. He's also latino, and you all know how much Omar loves latino players.

However, because Carmona's salary is not huge, he's young, he has three option years, and he has so much upside, the Indians would probably require a top level prospect in order to deal Carmona. This means that the Mets would have to offer up a package of at least OF Fernando Martinez, RHP Brad Holt, and OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis in order to land Carmona. I think this would be a fair trade for the Mets, as well as the Indians. Cleveland would acquire a corner outfielder with a high ceiling in Martinez, joining him with Cleveland's other top outfield prospect, CF Michael Brantley, who came over in 2008's CC Sabathia-Brewers trade, and All-Star RF Shin-Soo Choo. This would also allow the Indians to trade CF Grady Sizemore, arguably the best player on their team, for more prospects to rebuild. A future outfield of Martinez-Brantley-Choo would make the Indians' future much brighter. The Indians would also acquire a high potential starting pitcher in Holt, as well as a lower level prospect in Nieuwenhuis. The Mets would acquire themselves a young, inexpensive, high ceiling pitcher who would be inserted into the rotation immediately. If I were Omar Minaya, I would have already made a proposal.

Like all players though, Carmona does have some questions. While the Mets are not worried that Carmona will continue his success this season, they are worried that he may struggle under the pressures of playing in New York. They feel that coming to New York in the middle of a playoff push could make Carmona collapse under the pressure and that he would revert to his 2009 form. This seems however, not to be that great of an issue.

Perhaps the Mets do not feel that Carmona could help them down the stretch. Recently, Mets players have expressed their desire for ownership to acquire an elite starting pitcher with both Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee on the block. Many analysts are skeptical though that the Mets do not have the players that both the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros covet, making Carmona a more likely option.

I think that acquiring Fausto Carmona would make perfect sense for the Mets. They'd acquire a young pitcher with a high ceiling and 20-game win potential. They'd also have three years of option control on Carmona, while only owing him $4.4/season. If I'm the Mets it's a no-brainer. It all depends on if Omar Minaya will offer up the right prospects, and if the Mets truly feel that Carmona is their man.

CC Sabathia & Mark Teixeira = Dominance, win Subway Series Round 2

CC Sabathia had 8 shut-out IP vs the Mets while giving up just 4 hits and getting 6 strike outs. His performance moves the Yankees into sole possession of first place, due to the Tampa's loss to Florida today.
DOMINANCE!























And let's not forget about Mark Teixeira's big grand slam that was the only offense in the game! He's getting hot! 2 HR in the last 2 games!
DOMINANCE!

Targets for the Yankees/Mets at the deadline

It's only six weeks until Major League Baseball's trading deadline and already, we've heard the Yankees and Mets connected to the big names in pitching with the likes of Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt. While pitching is always key to having a winning team, I don't believe the Yankees need to acquire either Lee or Oswalt. The Yankees have had a fantastic rotation all season, led by Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte. Now, with the emergence of Javier Vazquez breaking out of his two month funk, the rotation has become even better, as Vazquez is 5-3 with a 2.93 ERA in his last eight starts. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett are pitching fine as well. All together, the Yankees' rotation has been solid. So, why would the Yankees want to acquire one of Oswalt or Lee when their rotation is already full and is pitching so well? In order for the Yankees to acquire one of the pitchers, someone from the current rotation would have to be traded. While I don't think it's all impossible for the Yankees to trade for Lee or Oswalt, I don't think it's likely, especially when Lee is a free agent at the end of the season. The Mets however, could use either of Lee or Oswalt to bolster their rotation.

What the Yankees really need right now is a bat. In their last 3 games, the Yankees have scored just four runs in their last three games, including yesterday's shut out by the Mets. The Yankees have had their share of offensive woes this year and it's clear they need another bat, especially with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira struggling for the first three months of this season. It doesn't look like A-Rod or Tex will go back to their 2009 forms this season as they both look lost at the plate, with Teixeira hitting a career low .224 with 10 home runs and Rodriguez with only 8 home runs while battling constant injuries this season. At this point last season, Teixeira had 20 home runs. It's obvious that the Yankees need to acquire a bat, they can't have Kevin Russo and Ramiro Pena playing everyday because, no offense to them, but they aren't going to come up with the big hits to help the Yankees win. The Mets, on the other hand, need pitching help if they want to make it to the postseason.

So while it isn't time to wave the white flag, it is time to consider trading for some offensive and pitching help. I've compiled a list together of a few targets that the Yankees and Mets could be after this season to help wake up the offense. Each day, I'll post a new target who the Yankees or Mets could trade for the spark the offense. Keep on the look out!

(We won't be doing spots on Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt, seeing as we have done them already in the last week.)

Here are the lists of trade targets, as well as the date that capsules will be written on them:

Yankees: Adam Dunn - 6/19
Yankees: David DeJesus - 6/20
Mets: Jake Westbrook - 6/21
Yankees: Lance Berkman - 6/22
Mets: Fausto Carmona - 6/23
Yankees: Josh Willingham - 6/24
Mets: Kevin Millwood - 6/25
Yankees: Brandon League - 6/26
Mets: Jeremy Guthrie - 6/27
Mets: Kelly Johnson - 6/28
Yankees & Mets: Ty Wigginton - 6/29

Halladay gets hammered, Yanks win 8-3. Mets beat Tribe 7-6.

(41-23) Yankees - 8, Phillies - 3 (32-20)
W - CC Sabathia (7-3)
L - Roy Halladay (8-5)
HR: (NYY) Curtis Granderson (5), Nick Swisher (11), Mark Teixeira (10)

The Yankees did what they needed to do. They got to Roy Halladay early, and didn't look back. Halladay came into tonight's game 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA lifetime vs the Yankees, along with bringing in a 8-4 record with a 1.96 ERA on the season. The way he pitched tonight however, didn't make it seem like that was the same pitcher. In the second inning, with Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada on base, Brett Gardner hit a triple to break open a 2-0 Yankee lead. To lead off the bottom of the third, Curtis Granderson sent a pitch sailing into the second deck in right field for a towering home run to give the Yanks an early 3-0 lead. After Mark Teixeira flied out, Robinson Cano reached on a double. The next batter, Nick Swisher, would send out his own bomb, clocking a pitch into the bleachers in right field, staking the Yanks out to a 5-0 lead over Halladay. In the top of the fourth inning it looked like the Phillies were making a comeback. They scored 3 runs off of Sabathia, but those would be the last runs they would score. In the bottom of the fifth, Mark Teixeira would look to regain some runs as he sent a homer just around the foul pole in right field to increase the Yankees lead to 6-3. The Yankees would score again in the bottom of the seventh, when Francisco Cervelli singled home Mark Teixiera and Jorge Posada to make it 8-3. The Yankees would not look back as David Robertson and Chan Ho Park shut down the Phillies for the eighth and ninth to give the Yankees an 8-3 win.

Sabathia pitched 7 innings, giving up 3 runs and 5 hits, but also getting 7 K's while his counterpart Roy Halladay only lasted 6 innings, while giving up 8 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs, and only getting 5 K's. Many thought that Halladay's success against the Yankees would contribute to a win.

The Phillies only scored 3 runs in tonight's game, they have scored 3 runs or less in their last 21 games. The Phillies continue to slide, now only 2 games over .500 and in the 3rd place. The Yankees moved to 18 games over .500, still tied for 1st and with a Tampa loss tonight, can take over sole position of 1st place. Alex Rodriguez was not in the lineup tonight due to hip tendinitis and is scheduled to play tomorrow.


(36-28) Mets - 7, Indians - 6 (25-28)
W - Johan Santana (5-3)
L - Justin Masterson (2-6)
HR: (NYM) Ike Davis (8)
(CLE) Travis Hafner (8), Shelley Duncan (2)

While I didn't follow this game as closely as I did the Yankee game (c'mon it was Sabathia vs Halladay!) I understand Johan Santana's struggles continued against the tribe. Dating back to 2007 with the Twins, Santana was 0-5 against Cleveland. Through 7 innings today, he gave up 4 runs, 1 HR, 7 hits and only got 1, make that ONE, strikeout. That's very un-Santana like. As for Justin Masterson, he went 7 innings, giving up 7 runs (6 earned) on 10 hits and 1 home run while getting only 2 strike outs. So not a great performance out of either side. In the 9th, Francisco Rodriguez continued to be shaky, giving up a home run to Shelley Duncan to cut the lead to 7-6. Nonetheless, the Mets would hang on for the win. Barring an Atlanta loss, the Mets will be .5 games out of first place. Who woulda thunk it?

7 of the Mets' 12 hits tonight were infield hits.

So a win for both New York teams as they both push towards 1st place. That'll be all for tonight.

You again! Yankees vs Phillies World Series Rematch

Are you ready for the intensity of the Yankees vs Phillies?

Only this time it's not for a world championship, but just for regulation.

Yes, it was only eight months ago that the Yankees defeated the Phillies in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series. Today however, the Yankees play the Phillies for the first time since that World Series game (unless you count Spring Training) and look forward to another victory.

The teams are different. No more are the components that propelled last year's World Champions in World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. Likewise for the Phightin's. Cliff Lee, perhaps the Phillies post season MVP, has since been traded. But while old faces have since departed, new faces have entered with the same determination in the likes of Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez, and most notably, Roy Halladay. Nonetheless, the goal is still the same: Win.

The Phillies, losers of the World Series last year, look for redemption tonight against the Yankees as they send ace Roy Halladay to the mound. Halladay, who was nearly a Yankee but was acquired in the 3-team trade that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle, is without a doubt the best pitcher in baseball, along with being a notorious "Yankee killer." In his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, Halladay is 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA against the Yankees. The Phillies look for Halladay to shut down the Yankees offense in tonight's game.

The Yankees will respond with one of their own: ace left-hander and ALCS MVP, CC Sabathia. Sabathia, who is 6-3 with a 4.01 ERA this season has struggled recently, is arguably one of the game's best pitchers with Halladay. The Yankees will look for CC to keep them in the game, even though it will be difficult to score runs off of Halladay.

Could you truly ask for a better pitching match-up then this? Sabathia vs Halladay has to be the best match-up of the year. This will be a very interesting game tonight. The Yankees are hot right now. They swept the Astros, scored what feels like dozens of runs, and strolled into first place. You can only imagine the momentum carrying the Yankees tonight. The Phillies on the other hand are not hot right now. They've been offensively challenged of late and find themselves in 3rd place in the NL East behind the Mets and Braves. I really can't wait to watch this game!

First pitch 7:05! Yankees vs Phillies World Series Rematch! Sabathia vs Halladay! Who will be the victor? Stay tuned!

Yankees fall to Mets and more scores

Baseball
Mets - 6 (22-23), Yankees - 4 (26-18)
W - Johan Santana (4-2)
L - CC Sabathia (4-3)
SV - Francisco Rodriguez (8)
HR: (NYM) Jason Bay 2 (3)
Ew. Ugly game for the Yankees. Sabathia pitched horribly, Santana pitched great. Two things that annoyed me about this game: Jason Bay and Francisco Cervelli's home run call gone wrong. Jason Bay. The guy enters the game with 1 HR on the year, (we're talking about a guy who hit 36 last year) and ALL OF A SUDDEN he wakes up from his homerless slumber and hits 2 bombs tonight. Unbelievable. And the Cervelli homerun call, that was without a doubt a homerun. Instead they called it a single. The ball hit the orange line on top of the outfield wall, declaring it a homerun according to the rules at Citi Field (which is that if the ball its the orange line it's a homerun). However, the umps thought otherwise. What happens, happens you know. Let's see how the Mets play when they come into our house next month.

Basketball
Suns - 118, Lakers - 109
Lakers lead series 2-1

Hockey
Blackhawks - 4, Sharks - 2
Chicago advances to Stanley Cup Finals

Sorry for the lack of statistics with this post, but I'm crazy tired and tomorrow is my birthday! Check in for more tomorrow!

5/22 A busy day: Track meet, Mo's New York Grill, Yankees/Mets and more

Wow, talk about a busy day. Sorry everyone for not being able to post regularly. Hope after I explain why you'll understand...

On Wednesday, my Mother booked reservations for my family and my good friend Danny at Mariano Rivera's New York Grill on Saturday (which was today) for my birthday. The reservations were for 7:00 PM. Why do I tell you this? Here's why...

This morning I had Sectionals for track. I woke up at 7:55 this morning. The bus was scheduled to leave at 8:00. Seeing the time, I jumped out of bed, ran into my parents' bedroom, woke them up, threw on my uniform and got to my school at 8:07, luckily with the bus still there. We didn't end up leaving until 8:32. Soon after that, we arrived at Byram Hills High School, where the meet was held. My first event, discus, was scheduled for a 9:30 start. I was DEAD tired. I only threw 56 feet in discus and 23 feet in shot put. Did I mention when the meet ended? Oh, let's say 5:15-ish. That's right folks, 9 hours. After frantically calling my parents, begging them to pick me up, I ultimately ended up staying the entire meet, putting our reservations in jeoperdy. Freaking out, my father changed the reservations to 7:30 PM. I got on the track bus, got to the school at 5:53 PM, had my Dad pick me up, got home, showered, and was dressed by 6:17 PM. We were ready to go. Then we had to wait till 6:45 PM for my Mother to finish getting ready to go to the restaurant. We finally left the house at 6:52 PM, en route to picking up my friend Danny. To make a long story short, we drove all the way up to New Rochelle and arrived at 7:31 PM. We had dinner (which I'll review later) and left the restaurant at 9:43 PM. After a hectic car ride, we got home around 10:15 and I had a conversation with my Dad which lasted about two hours. Now I sit here, tired as hell, and writing this to update my blog. I'd say I'm pretty dedicated.

Review of Mo's New York Grill:
Wow. You couldn't ask for a better place to celebrate your birthday. The food was fantastic, the service was great, and they had the Yankee game on. What more could you ask for? The restaurant was really eye opening. There must have been over 100 pictures of current and former Yankees hanging everywhere. I spent literally 10 minutes looking at every wall to see which players I recognized and to see what Mo had used to decorate his restaurant. It was an amazing restaurant, and great for any Yankee fan! The food was amazing, like I said above. I ordered the Filet Mignon and boy, was that good. I would've ordered two had it not been so expensive. Talk about cutting like butter. It was the best steak I think I've ever had. I highly reccommend going to Mo's.

Somers beats Nyack 19-0 to advance to second round of LAX playoffs
Wow, talk about a game. Somers wrecked them.

New York Mets - 5 (21-23), New York Yankees - 3 (26-17)
WP - Mike Pelfrey (6-1)
LP - Phil Hughes (5-1)
SV - Francisco Rodriguez (7)
HR: none
Sloppy, sloppy game by the Yanks. They had plenty of opportunities to score with men in scoring position and no out, but continuously couldn't hit the ball out of the infield. As for Phil Hughes, he pitched another straight shaky outing. I don't think this will be a long term issue though. The Mets? They capitalized on hanging pitches. What a game for Jason Bay, with 4 hits tying a career high. The last game takes place tomorrow at 8:05 on ESPN as CC Sabathia takes the ball for the Yanks and opposes Johan Santana for the Mets.

NBA PLAYOFFS
Boston Celtics - 94, Orlando Magic - 71
Celtics takes 3-0 series lead.

NHL PLAYOFFS
Philadelphia Flyers 3, Montreal Canadiens - 0
Flyers take 3-1 series lead.