Yanks vs Birds at the Stadium

As every Yankee fan knows, the Baltimore Orioles are making noise in the AL East and are knocking on the Bomber's door for sole possession of first place. With a record of 72-58, 3 games back of the Yanks, Baltimore may seem a little scary to New Yorker's this summer.

The Yankees did not play their best baseball when they needed to the most against the Blue Jays, losing 2 of 3 to an abysmal Toronto ball club. This weekend begins the start of September baseball; it will be the best baseball we will see this season. For the Yanks, 13 of their next 16 games will be played against Baltimore and Tampa Bay. In order for the Bombers to keep their stature in the American League, they will NEED 2 of 3 from these O's this weekend. There are no more wants, only needs.

Here's how brutal the final month of the season will be:

8/31-9/2: vs. Baltimore
9/3-9/5: @ Tampa Bay
9/6-9/9:  vs. Baltimore
9/11-9/13: @ Boston
9/14-9/16: vs. Tampa Bay


I cannot stress enough how important these games will be for the 2012 New York Yankees. Business always needs to be taken care on home turf. It's time to end the Baltimore fantasy land they've been living in and show who really owns this division. Bring the A-game Yanks. It's your only choice.

PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
                 
                     BAL (72-58)                 NYY (75-55)

Friday:  M. Gonzalez (5-3, 3.66) vs. H. Kuroda (12-9, 2.98)
Saturday: W. Chen (12-7, 3.78)  vs. F. Garcia (7-5, 4.90)
Sunday: C. Tillman (7-2, 3.26)  vs. D. Phelps (3-4, 2.96)

Beantown Breakdown

Dating back from last year's collapse against Baltimore, the Red Sox never recovered. A disorganized clubhouse resulted in losses and incidents with personnel, and especially beer and fried chicken contributed.

Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett have been sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Dodger scrubs. It is quite remarkable how this Red Sox organization has gone from one of the top threats in the American League to now one of the most overrated teams in the League.

Yankee fans, after the Boston Massacre of 2011, who would've thought it would come down to this. Cherrington was so desperate, that he gave away hundreds of millions of dollars to LA just to bring peace in Boston. This goes down as one of the greatest days for Yankee fans. How sweet is this!

Now there are many questions. How can the Dodgers afford this roster? Will David Ortiz now have to play 1st? Will the Sox release Ellsbury and go after FA's Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke, and Joey Votto?

What a day for New York sports fans. Let's enjoy this day, and lay to rest the Boston Red Sox.

Yankee Fans, Take A Deep Breath

Let's stop beating around the bush. The Yanks are playing their worst baseball so far. Remember that 10 game winning streak in the first half of the season that sounded so sweet? Who would have thought at the moment that the wonderful 10+ game lead in the division the Yanks had at the ASG would trim down to just 3 games on August 22. The most important stat that goes around is that the Bombers have a record 0-44, trailing after 8 innings. Pitching is one problem. Clutch bats are another.

Unfortunately, I might have jinxed the Yanks this series. Getting swept by anyone doesn't look good. But you need to ask yourself a question: Do you want to play the White Sox or Tigers in the ALDS?

To me, it's a clown question (Thanks Bryce Harper). I want absolutely nothing to do with this Detroit club. They may be struggling now, but wait till they heat up in September's crunch time.

If you know your Yankees, the concern level might be creeping a bit higher and higher after each loss. Let's look at the positives before the negatives. This team is 72-52. Most wins in the AL. Don't worry bout how good the Nats, Reds, or Giants look. And enough about the A's. Colon is gone, they have no pitching (case closed). Whether this team takes the division or wild card, it's way way way to early to be concerned about the Rays or Orioles. There are 38 games remaining; let's take a deep breath, and remember how talented this ball club is. Everything is going to work out. The AL East is used to competition, and the Yanks know how to manage the pressure.

Every team has it's funk. I'd be glad its happening in August rather than September. By the way, I'm sorry to rain on Derek Jeter's parade. 3 homers in 3 games is something he's never done (not to mention breaking records vs. Chi Town). Derek was the only man keeping the Yanks in this series.

Yanks Go South Side

For the first time this season, the Yanks will be traveling to US Cellular Field in Chicago, IL to play a three-game set with the Central leading White Sox. The Yanks took two of three from Boston, and all is well in the Bronx.

The two wild card team format for the playoffs has made me play many scenarios through my head. As of now, the Chi Sox have a 1.5 game lead over Detroit for the division. Because of the playoff change, and how dangerous this Tigers team can become, it might be a safer bet to lose against this Chicago team to keep their playoff chances still alive. Detroit tortures the Yanks in the playoffs; there's no need to sugar coat it.

At 72-49, the Yanks are best in the AL, 5 ahead of an all of the sudden smoking hot Rays team. I'm looking out for the future stand point of the club. If getting swept or losing two of three means a better chance of easier competition during crunch time, then so be it. The way the division is playing out, it's hard to see Baltimore keep it together. That argument has to be the same for the Chi Sox. Chicago knows how much pressure is on them. I don't mind chipping in to screw the Tiger's playoff dreams.

After the White Sox, the Yanks get three easy games in Cleveland.....that's a topic for another column.

All in all, I'm expecting the White Sox to take two of three this week. No hard feelings Chi Town.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

                    NYY (72-49)             CHW (65-55)

Monday: F. Garcia (7-5, 4.68) vs. G. Floyd (9-9, 4.43)
Tuesday: I. Nova (11-6, 4.76) vs. F. Liriano (4-10, 5.22)
Wednesday: P. Hughes (12-10, 4.23) vs. C. Sale (14-4, 2.72)

Round 4: The Rivalry Continues

After a great series against the proposed AL Champs in Texas, the Yankees showed their true colors, taking 3 of 4 from the Rangers.

The Bombers have had a shaky August; questions with the rotation and injuries have affected them heavily. Yet, at 70-48 with the best record in the AL, the Yanks have remained the beast of the East. 

There is not much to say about this 58-61 Boston Red Sox squad. Let's face it; Bobby V is a disappointment, the clubhouse has turned to a nuthouse, and injuries have screwed playoff hopes and fantasies for Fenway Hopefuls. Even though I doubt Baltimore and Oakland will be there in the end come October, the Sawx playoff chances have turned slim to none. There is no consistency in their game and the discord in the locker room doesn't aid the odds.

But the Yanks can't take this team for granted. As we all know, these games last four hours on average, and fluky plays occur frequently. Can the Clippers sweep the Sox? Most likely yes. The x-factor is the pitching of both teams, and whether or not it will perform against the spotlight of the Bronx. No one expected 3 of 4 W's through that dirty Texas lineup. So why not dream big? I'm calling a sweep this weekend. Seal the deal Yanks. It's not a rivalry if only one team wins all the time. 

PITCHING MATCHUPS

                   BOS (58-61)                                   NYY (70-48)

Friday: F. Morales (3-3, 3.29)  vs. P. Hughes (11-10, 4.44)
Saturday: J. Lester (6-10, 5.20) vs. D. Phelps (3-3, 2.53)
Sunday:  J. Beckett (5-10, 5.19)  vs. H. Kuroda (11-8, 3.06)

Bye Week for FTHC

vacation week for FTHC....Yanks-Sawx preview comes on Friday

Yanks Home Series vs. Seattle

After two difficult games against Baltimore and a much needed victory in the series finale, the Yankees still seem to struggle. Whether it is injuries or slumps, its evident that the Bombers have clearly not been playing their best baseball. Every team goes on cold streaks. Luckily, Thursday's off day lets the Yanks cool off. But most importantly, the Seattle Mariners come into town.

The Yanks will be looking for revenge against Seattle, a group of young, scrappy ball players who took 2 of 3 at Safeco Field just over a week ago on one of NY's worst west coast trips in years. These three games are very important for the future outcome of the 2012 season. After this weekend series, the Yanks travel to Detroit for a four game series, head up to Toronto for three, and then arrive back home in the Bronx for four against a bitter league rival in a Texas Rangers club (not to mention the Yanks play the Sox after that).

We all know the Yankee pitching is like a 'box of chocolates' (you never know watcha gonna get), but hopefully the bats will provide the protection the pitchers need to excel and win games that are vital for the division. The Mariners may have proven me wrong last week, but there's no good reason why the Bombers shouldn't sweep this group of scrubs with the loss of their franchise's greatest player in a trade.

PITCHING MATCHUPS:
                            SEA                                   NYY
Friday: Kevin Millwood (4-8, 3.90) vs. CC Sabathia (10-3, 3.57)
Saturday: Felix Hernandez (9-5, 2.79) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (10-7, 3.28)
Sunday: Hisashi Iwakuma (2-2, 4.10) vs. Freddy Garcia (4-5, 5.10)