It’s been nearly two years to the day that Bobby Murcer left us at the age of 62. I should have accepted this tragedy by now–it should have sunk in by this time–but his passing still stings. It still hurts that Murcer is no longer part of the Yankee broadcast booth, not to mention those wonderful Old-Timers’ Day reunions.

In looking for some consolation as we approach the second anniversary of his death, I can take some solace in his 1980 Topps card. For me, this card provided concrete evidence that Murcer had indeed returned to the organization in 1979, after a six-year layoff from the Bronx. That season became a swirl of disappointment, injuries, tragedy, and melancholy, but the return of Murcer represented at least one positive development.

The good news came on June 26, exactly 11 days after the official trading deadline of June 15. In the midst of an off season with the Cubs, Murcer slipped through waivers in both leagues, allowing the Yankees to acquire him for a minor league pitching prospect named Paul Semall. A lanky right-hander, Semall had won 17 games pitching at Double-A West Haven in 1978, but lacked a bigtime fastball. He was a decent prospect, but hardly a blue chipper. As it turned out, he never pitched in the major leagues, not for the Cubs or anyone else. Still, it wouldn’t have mattered much to me if Semall had become a 15-game winner for the Cubs; I was just thrilled that Murcer had returned to pinstripes, where he belonged.

As seen on his 1980 Topps card, Murcer brought a bit of a different look to his Yankee uniform in comparison to his earlier tenure. He now wore a helmet with a protective flap, having abandoned the old-style flapless helmet that was so common in the 1960s. He also brandished a large shin guard on his right leg, something that he had not worn in his earlier days.

Perhaps the extra equipment was a testament to his advancing age. Murcer was significantly older, at least in terms of baseball years. I didn’t much care that Murcer was now 33 and had already begun the declining stage of his career. He no longer had the power to hit 20-plus home runs a season and could no longer play center field the way that he had done for much of his first tenure in the Bronx. Yet, he still had real value as a role player. I figured that if the Yankees were smart, they would use him as a part-time left-fielder, platoon DH, and pinch-hitter extraordinaire off the bench. Those roles could all be filled in 1980, by which the time the Yankees figured to reload for another run at the American League East.

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I’m fairly certain that it’s been twenty years or more since the last time I scored a baseball game, so on Thursday night I printed out a couple blank score sheets, grabbed a clipboard and a pencil, put on the game, and sat on the couch next to my daughter to teach her how to score a game.  Now, I don’t mean to sound like a cranky old man, but you lose something when you follow a game on your cell phone or “watch” via ESPN’s Gamecast.  Sure, it’s convenient and easy, and any statistic you could ever want is only a mouse-click away, but you can never really get a feel for the game.  It turns out there’s no app for that.

So as Alison and I watched the Yankees and Mariners trade zeros through the first few innings, we noticed several things we otherwise wouldn’t have.  First of all, even though Andy Pettitte and Jason Vargas seemed to be matching each other pitch for pitch through the early going, they were actually pitching very different games.  Pettitte was cruising, facing just two over the minimum over five innings, but Vargas was walking a tightrope.

The Yanks put runners on in every inning, but Vargas was able to wiggle out of trouble each time, thanks mainly to a ground-ball-inducing changeup that bothered the right-handed hitters all night long.  (Jeter, Teixeira, and Posada totalled seven ground balls to the left side of the infield.)

Pettitte’s relatively easy first five innings paid dividends in the sixth, when he had to dig deep to avoid disaster.  The frame opened with consecutive singles by the eight and nine hitters, bringing Ichiro to the plate.  Just as I was explaining to my daughter how dangerous the situation was, Ichiro dropped a bunt in front of the mound.  Pettitte scrambled down the hill towards the third base line to field the ball and promptly fired it down the first base line, allowing the first run of the game to score as Josh Wilson scampered home from second base.  (By the way, I’d love it if someone could explain why this run was earned.)  It was Pettitte’s third throwing error in the past month, and he was visibly disgusted.  After the game, he explained: “I just panicked.  It’s terrible.  I just grabbed it and turned and looked over there, and I’m not even focusing on where I need to throw.  I just kinda threw it over there to a group of people… I gotta stop doing that.”  I’d agree.

Down a run with men on second and third and nobody out, Pettitte somehow managed to limit the damage right there.  He convinced Chone Figgins to ground out to third, freezing the runners, then followed an intentional walk by striking out Russell Branyan and José Lopez.  He scolded himself as he walked off the mound, but the reality is that he had just saved the game when he could’ve lost it.

Vargas finally ran out of gas in the eighth, as he walked A-Rod on four pitches and followed that by allowing a single to Robinson Canó.  Brian Sweeney relieved, then promptly uncorked a wild pitch that moved A-Rod to third, from where he’d score as Jorge Posada grounded into a double play, and finally the game was tied at one.

Managing by the book, Don Wakamatsu brought in his closer, Dan Aardsma, to pitch the top of the ninth, but it didn’t turn out the way he hoped.  After fanning Kevin Russo for the first out, Aardsma walked Jeter on four pitches and then gave up a double to All-Star Nick Swisher, who suddenly can’t do anything wrong.  Swashbuckling Swish was four for four on the night with two doubles and a walk, plus a nifty sliding catch in the field.  With the go-ahead run waiting patiently on third and only one out, Teixeira fouled out to the catcher, bringing the game to Alex Rodríguez.

I dwelled on Teixeira’s failure to get that run in as I explained to Alison that it would be much more difficult to get the run in with two outs.  With the optimism of a ten-year-old, she looked down at her scorecard and told me that Alex Rodríguez was up next.  “He hits a lot of home runs, Daddy.”  He didn’t hit a home run this time, just a base hit to right field, but it was good enough to score two runs and pass the game on to Mariano Rivera.  Alison was right; I needn’t have worried.  Oh, and here’s an interesting stat that I don’t believe but can’t possibly verify.  After the game Ken Singleton told us that of the last 18 times the Yankees have scored a tying or go-ahead run in the ninth inning, Alex Rodríguez has been responsible all 18 times.  Believe it or not.

Rivera, of course, worked a hitless ninth inning, saving an Andy Pettitte victory for the 68th time, possibly my favorite statistic ever.  Yankees 3, Mariners 1.

Last week, After Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez became the first pitchers in a decade to toss consecutive complete games against the Yankees, I pointed out the following about their recent performance.

In their last six combined starts, Lee and Hernandez have gone 5-0 with five complete games. In the sixth game, Hernandez allowed just one run in nine innings, but the Mariners lost in 13.

Both pitchers have made one start since then. Lee beat the Tigers, holding them to one run over eight innings, striking out 11 against one walk. Hernandez allowed a whopping two runs in seven innings to the Royals in a game the Mariners’ bullpen blew immediately in the eighth.

The Yankees will have to run the Lee/Hernandez gauntlet again this weekend in the middle two games of a four-game set against the Mariners that will conclude the first half for both teams. That puts the onus on them to make hay against bookend starters Jason Vargas and Ryan Rowland-Smith, the latter of whom held the Yanks to two runs over six innings in the finale of last week’s series only to be out-dueled by CC Sabathia. Rowland-Smith has posted a 4.15 ERA in seven starts since returning to the rotation from a May stint in the bullpen, but he has walked four more men than he has struck out and allowed seven home runs, including one to Robinson Cano, in those seven starts.

Tonight, the Yankees and All-Star Andy Pettitte (10-2, 2.82 ERA) take on Jason Vargas, the former Marlin and Met lefty who came to Seattle in the massive J.J. Putz trade. Vargas, now 27, has proven to be a perfect Mariners pitcher in that he throws strikes (2.3 BB/9) and lets his defense and ballpark take care of the rest. Opponents are hitting .263 on balls in play against Vargas, and the lefty has gone 5-1 with a 2.30 ERA at home (against 1-3, 4.50 on the road), though to his credit he’s also just flat-out nails against lefty batters, holding them to a .173/.204/.288 line this season with 18 strikeouts against just three walks.

Despite Vargas’s dominance of lefthanders, Curtis Granderson starts in center (after sitting to start Wednesday night’s game). Robinson Cano returns to the lineup after a 24-hour Derbyitis bug. Alex Rodriguez will be the DH with Ramiro Peña filling in at third base. Brett Gardner drops to eighth against the lefty, hitting between Gardner and Peña.

Oh, and Nick Swisher won his popularity contest.

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There’s been lots of talk here and elsewhere about Mark Teixeira’s painfully slow start this season, but I always felt like the most interesting angle had nothing to do with his hitting.  The only question worth asking, I think, was why didn’t anyone care that he wasn’t hitting?  Every Yankee has heard the boos cascading down at one point or another, even the legends.  Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, Paul O’Neil, Alex Rodríguez — and even Derek Jeter — were all booed during slumps.  But why not Teixeira?

Even as his average hovered in the low .200s, Tex could pop up with a runner on third, strike out with the bases loaded, or ground into a rally-killing double play, all with relative impunity, as evidenced by his jog back to the dugout beneath a cloud of indifferent silence.  Analysts would say it was because the true fans understood that he was still helping the team with his on base percentage and stellar defense, but that’s not it at all.  Mark Teixeira is vanilla.  He hits for a decent average, slugs thirty to forty homers a year, drives in a boatload of runs, plays Gold Glove defense, and helps the team win — but no one cares.  We have no expectations for him, so we can’t be disappointed when he fails, even when it’s happening for weeks and months at a time.

Alex Rodríguez, of course, is different.  His at bats stop conversations and delay trips to the concession stand because we expect greatness each time he steps to the plate.  He could be mired in a slump and facing, say, Roy Halladay, but we don’t wonder if he’ll succeed, we wonder how far the ball will go.  Sure, there are a lot of other variables here — the steroid issue, the enormous contract, the opting out of the enormous contract, the social awkwardness, the shadow of Jeter — but the main thing is the great expectations.

All of which brings us to Tuesday night’s game in Oakland.  The Yankees had just tied the score at one in the top of the third when Teixeira came to the plate with runners on first and third, and that’s when the idea of an A-Rod grand slam first popped into my head.  Three pitches later Teixeira was writhing in pain after being plunked in the back by an errant fastball from Trevor Cahill, and the bases were loaded for Mr. Rodríguez.

Any base hit would’ve been fine, but I expected more.  After getting the benefit of the doubt on a check swing call that pushed the count to 3-1 instead of 2-2, A-Rod jumped on a flat sinker and banged it off the bleachers in left center field, 423 feet away.  A-Rod’s response to these no-doubt home runs has always been interesting to me.  Reggie would pause for a second or two, and then take a few deliberate steps towards first before breaking into a Cadillac trot around the bases, all designed to give everyone — Reggie included — ample opportunity to admire what he had just done.  A-Rod instead bolts from the box and immediately turns his head towards his teammates, none of whom are looking at him.  They’re celebrating and following the flight of the ball, and when A-Rod looks into the dugout he seems to be channeling Sally Field: “You like me!  You really like me!” He needs their approval and can’t wait to get around the bases and into the dugout so he can accept their congratulations.  You could psychoanalyze this all you want — or maybe I just did — but all it really means is that he wants to be loved, and I love him for it.

A-Rod’s slam gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead, and that was more than enough for CC Sabathia, who has been pitching like CC Sabathia for the past six weeks.  Following his start in that disaster game in Cleveland on May 29, CC’s record stood at 4-3 with a 4.16 ERA.  Since then he’s rattled off seven straight wins and lowered his ERA with each outing, dropping it to where it now stands at 3.19.  He was dominant again on Tuesday night, striking out ten in seven and two-thirds innings and never really allowing the A’s a look at the game.  He gave up a couple of singles and a walk to the load the bases with two outs in the fifth, but recovered to strike out Daric Barton, who slammed his bat down in disgust at the call and was instantly tossed by home plate umpire Mike Winters.  (And is it just me, or are a lot of opposing hitters getting run lately?)

If all that wasn’t enough to crush the Athletics’ spirit, A-Rod added a second home run (and an second glance into the dugout) with the next half inning, and that was pretty much it.  Yankees 6, A’s 1.

[Photo courtesy of US Presswire.]

Photo by Associated Press

Believe it or not, I was in Oakland on Monday morning. A family road trip for the Fourth of July weekend had us driving back and forth across the San Mateo and Bay Bridges all weekend long, and Monday found us on the east side of the bay as we started our trip home. Much has been made recently about rule changes that have made it more difficult for teams travelling across the country, and the Yankees certainly faced an uphill battle after playing in the Bronx on Sunday afternoon, flying to Oakland on Sunday night, and squaring off against the A’s on Monday night, but I’ll ask that you not feel sorry for them.

I’m guessing that during their seven-hour trek from Yankee Stadium to their hotel in Oakland, their journey was a bit softer than mine. While they were lounging in luxury, watching DVDs and flagging down cocktail waitresses on a chartered flight, I was battling holiday traffic, oppressive heat, outrageously filthy gas station restrooms, and three fussy children. At the end of my journey I knew I’d have to watch the game and file a game report, all without the help of greenies or amphetamines.

But I digress. The Yankee hitters, perhaps suffering from jet lag, weren’t overly impressive. They got on the board in the second inning when Nick Swisher doubled, Curtis Granderson tripled, and Francisco Cervelli singled — all with two outs — to jump out to an early 2-0 lead, and Mark Teixeira added an insurance run with his 14th home run in the sixth. That was pretty much it, but it was enough.

Javier Vazquez was on the mound on Monday night and continued his resurgence, throwing 110 pitches over seven strong innings while allowing only only three hits, two walks, and a single run. His only struggle came in the third inning, as Chad Pennington tripled with one out and then scored on a Coco Crisp sacrifice fly. He worked around a walk and a single in the fourth, allowed a walk to start the fifth, but then retired the next nine batters in a row to finish his night. Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera took care of the final six hitters, and the deed was done. Yankees 3, A’s 1.

Trevor Cahill, the A’s lone All-Star this year and CC Sabathia’s opponent Tuesday night, was on the disabled list with a scapula problem when the Yankees took two of three from the A’s in Oakland in April. Since then, he’s gone 8-2 with a 2.47 ERA while three other members of the A’s rotation (Brett Anderson, Justin Duchscherer, and Dallas Braden) have landed on the DL. That leaves tonight’s starter, the brittle Ben Sheets, as the only member of the A’s intended Opening Day rotation not to hit the DL this year.

If that wasn’t troubling enough for the A’s, Sheets has been struggling through his worst major league season (3-7 with a career worst 4.98 ERA and 1.85 K/BB). Mind you, Sheets hasn’t been awful, he has just been consistently unimpressive. Out of his six June starts (1-4, 5.11 ERA), he lasted six innings in five (seven in the exception) and allowed four runs in five (five runs in the exception). When he faced the lowly Pirates, he struck out nine against no walks. Against everyone else he struck out 14 against 11 walks over five starts, and he has allowed a home run in each of his last seven outings.

Consistently unimpressive pretty much describes this A’s team as a whole. They’re scoring just 4.1 runs per game, but in this pitching-dominated year there are seven teams that score even less often, including the Yankees’ next opponent, the Mariners. The pitching has been solid when healthy, though even Cahill isn’t particularly threatening or exciting, their ballpark helps, and 31 of their games (37 percent of their schedule to this point) have come against the Mariners, Orioles, Indians, Cubs, and Pirates, five of the teams below them in runs per game.

The A’s enter this series hot because they just played three of those teams and went 7-2 against the Pirates (sweep), Orioles, and Indians (two of three, each). Tonight they face Javier Vazquez, who struck out eight Mariners in a futile quality start against Felix Hernandez his last time out. Javy posted a 3.23 ERA in June and his first win of the season came in Oakland back on April 20. With the Yankee bats having shown some life the last two days, the all signs point to a good series for the Yankees this week. If only they could bring that glaring summer afternoon Bronx sun with them to these three night games in Oakland.

With Jorge Posada day-to-day with a sprained left ring finger, Joe Girardi tries a new look lineup tonight. Brett Gardner leads off with Derek Jeter batting second and Nick Swisher hitting in Posada’s vacated sixth spot. I can dig it. Swish is the DH tonight, Colin Curtis plays right field and bats ninth behind Francisco Cervelli.

Oh, and it has nothing to do with the game, but Andy Pettitte is indeed going to the All-Star game, as Clay Buchholz’s injury replacement.

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The Yankees make their final west coast trip of the season, and we’re not even at the All-Star Break yet. Go figure that.

Sox and Rays are playing tonight, so have at it if you’re just kickin’ around before the late night game in Oakland.

We Keep the Light On…

[Picture by Bags]

Phil Hughes took the mound against Brandon Morrow on Sunday, trying to put his last start, a flu-and-skipped start-dogged subpar affair behind him.  For a while, the only thing in his and the rest of the Yankees’ way were gopherballs and the outfield arms of the Blue Jays.

Hughes cruised through the first two innings on 20 pitches, featuring three swinging Ks.  Leading off the 3rd, Lyle Overbay launched a Monument Park homer, the ninth homer Hughes has allowed at home this season (strangely, Hughes hasn’t allowed one in his road starts).

The Yanks put two on the board in the bottom of the inning on a single to left, an infield single to third, a Jeter sac bunt in which Lyle Overbay tried and failed to get Brett Gardner on a force out at third, a Mark Teixeira sacrifice fly and an Alex Rodriguez RBI single.  While it didn’t match the Bombers’ 11-run 3rd inning outburst from Saturday in terms of clout and duration, Hughes was pitching well enough that one thought it might be enough.

The Yanks tacked on a gift run in the 4th. With one out and Curtis Granderson on first, Grandy was allowed to advance to 2nd on a Gardner called swinging third strike/wild pitch, even though the ball appeared to nick Gardner’s leg, which would have made it a dead ball.  Ramiro Pena plated Granderson with a 2-out single.

The Jays got to Hughes again in the 5th, with the big blow coming from DeWayne Wise, a 3-run doink high off the right field foul pole on a floating breaking ball mistake from Hughes.  Wise was only starting in center for the Jays due to Vernon Wells getting a day off in the midst of an 0-for-18 slump.  Mr. Wise’s day would get more interesting soon thereafter.

Nick Swisher led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to center, and then Teixeira boomed a double over Wise’s head (Wise plays a notoriously shallow centerfield).  Swisher hesitated rounding second to make sure Wise didn’t catch it, then was waved around third, and was gunned down 8-6-2, with our old friend Jose Molina deftly blocking the plate and applying the tag.  Teixeira took third on the throw home.

Then Rodriguez lofted a flyball to medium center, and Wise threw a one-bouncer to Molina, who tagged Teixeira as he was trying to hook his arm around home plate.  End of rally.

Hughes served up yet another homer (his 7th in the last four starts) in the sixth, this time a bullpen blast off the bat of  Adam Lind.  Hughes’ day would be done after the sixth, having allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk, with seven Ks.

Down 5-3 now, Jorge Posada knocked a one-out single and after Granderson K’ed (one of four on the day for him), Gardner belted another ball over Wise’s head.  This time though, Wise caught up to it in time enough to put up his glove, only to lose the ball in the tough sun, and have it tick off his glove as Wise fell to the ground in self-defense.  Gardner circled the bases on a debatable inside-the-park homer, tying the game at 5.

Damaso Marte pitched a perfect top of the 7th, but the Yanks lost Jorge Posada with one out in that frame due to a foul tip off the edge of the glove that bent Posada’s fingers back.  It was eerily reminiscent of the recent injury to the BoSox’ Victor Martinez.  (Fortunately, x-rays proved negative, and a sprained ring finger makes Jorge day-to-day).

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I watched the entire game yesterday. Bob Dylan’s voice kept repeating in my head, “It’s a hard, it’s a hard...” Just about everything was hard yesterday, for both teams, but especially for the Yanks who scored just one run (in the first inning). I’m a just try and fergit it and hope for better things today.

The heat has returned. Gunna be a scorcher today and tomorrow.

Keep cool and Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

[Picture by Bags]

There was one positive that came out of Friday afternoon’s game: A.J. Burnett pitched well. It’s impossible not to credit pitching coach Dave Eiland for that. Eiland had been away for most of the last month due to an undisclosed family issue, and Burnett went 0-5 with a 11.35 ERA in five starts without his pitching coach around. Eiland got back on Tuesday, talked some “Arkansas talk” to the righty from North Little Rock, and got him to fix the sloppy mechanics that had derailed his season by making sure all of his energy was directed toward the plate.

Burnett looked sharp in the first inning, working around a two-out single, throwing all but two of his 13 pitches for strikes and striking out Alex Gonzalez and Vernon Wells on a total of seven pitches. The Yankees then scored a run in the bottom of the first without the benefit of a hit (two walks followed by two productive outs). With that, the Yankee bats said, “there’s your run,” and Burnett made it stand up into the seventh, frequently working out of small jams by making the sort of in-game corrections he had seemed incapable of during Eiland’s absence.

Burnett got some help. Curtis Granderson made a running catch, going back and leaping over the lip of the warning track to reel in a one-out drive by Lyle Overbay in the fourth, Burnett’s only 1-2-3 inning. Damaso Marte got the final out of the seventh for Burnett, and Brett Gardner one-upped Granderson with a leaping catch at the wall on a shot to lefty by Gonzalez off Joba Chamberlain to start the eighth.

Then it all went wrong. Joba walked Jose Bautista on five pitches and, with two outs, gave up back-to-back singles that tied the game. Mariano Rivera worked around a single in the ninth and David Robertson worked around a two-out walk in the tenth, but the Jays broke the game wide open against Robertson in the 11th.

Overbay and John Buck led off with singles. Jarrett Hoffpauir bunted the runners up to second and third. Joe Girardi had Robertson intentionally walk lefty Fred Lewis to face the righty Gonzalez, and Gonzalez responded by singling home the go-ahead run.

With the bases still loaded and just one man out (via Hoffpauir’s sacrifice), Girardi called on Chan Ho Park. Park used up seven pitches on each of his first two batters. The first, Bautista, struck out looking on a sinker just below the knee and got run for arguing the call. The second, Wells, worked a walk to force in an insurance run. That brought up Dewayne Wise, who had pinch-run for Adam Lind in the eighth. Park fell behind Wise 2-1 after which Wise creamed one into the right-field gap for a back-breaking, bases-loaded triple. Kevin Gregg set the Yankees four, five, and six hitters down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, and the Blue Jays won 6-1.

Blame the bullpen, they deserve it, but where was the offense in this game? The Yankees had two on and none out in the first and eked out just one hit-less run. In the third they had the bases loaded with none out and got nothing as Toronto starter Brett Cecil struck out Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano before getting Jorge Posada to ground out. Francisco Cervelli singled in the second and fourth but was stranded both times, then in the sixth, with two on and none out, he hit into rally-killing double play (after which Brett Gardner popped out with a man on third to end the inning).

Then the Blue Jays bullpen came on and the Yankees managed just one more baserunner in the final five innings, a one-out single by Nick Swisher in the seventh that was erased when Mark Teixeira lined out-to Overbay, who doubled off Swisher for an inning-ending double play.

Don’t expect things to improve against Ricky Romero tomorrow, or against emerging Yankee-killer Brandon Morrow on Sunday. The Yankee offense is slumping in part because they’re facing some very good pitchers (even Cecil was 7-2 with a 3.22 ERA before a recent three-start skid), but Romero (a lefty with a 2.83 ERA, 8.3 K/9) and Morrow (2.20 ERA in his last seven starts, 10.0 K/9 on the season) are pretty darn good as well.

Incidentally, after the game, Kim Jones asked Girardi if he thought about having Cervelli bunt before he hit into that sixth-inning double-play. Girardi’s answer was impressively thorough:

That’s a legitimate question. You have a slow runner at second [Posada]. You have a lefty on the mound. He’s falling off toward third base. It’s gotta be a perfect bunt. Cervy’s got two hits off of this guy. Lefties are hitting .180 [off Cecil (actually .178 heading into the game)], there’s a lefty behind [on deck: Gardner]. The wind’s blowing in. Sac fly’s gonna be difficult.

We’ve seen this before. Last year, the Blue Jays shot out of the gate, were 27-14 (.659) on May 18, but went just 48-73 (.397) the rest of the way. This year, the Jays were 25-17 (.595) on May 19 and have gone 15-23 (.395) since. Of course, they took two of three from the Yankees in Toronto during the latter stretch, but that’s because the one thing the Jays still have going for them are some strong starting pitchers.

Tell me if this sounds familiar: the Jays have scored just three runs per game since June 1, but lefties Brett Cecil and Ricky Romero and righty Brandon Morrow, the same three pitchers who will face the Yankees this weekend in the Bronx, held the Yankees to a total of four runs in 23 combined innings in that previous series. Cecil, who faces A.J. Burnett tonight, has struggled in his last three starts (0-3, 9.19 ERA), but the other two, who face Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes over the weekend, have remained sharp.

Of course, the focus today will be how A.J. Burnett responds to the early-week return of pitching coach Dave Eiland. Not that Eiland had any magical fix. Here’s what he had to say upon returning to the team on Tuesday:

For me to sit here and say the reason that A.J. pitched the way he pitched was I wasn’t here is not fair. A.J. has been pitching a long time. He knows what he needs to do. It’s nothing that A.J. and I haven’t addressed and discussed already. Every pitcher you have to stay on about certain things, and with A.J. there are a couple of things. They’re very minor things that are going to make a huge difference. But A.J. has to do it. He’s been told over and over in the past what they are.

It seems Burnett’s main problem was opening up his left side to early. Said Eiland Thursday after working with Burnett in the bullpen, “It’s not like I gave him anything new today. Mike Harkey was telling him the same thing.”

There’s a certain element there of not wanting to throw Harkey under the bus for failing to get Burnett straightened out, but there’s also a lot of exasperation in those Eiland quotes.

Normally you’d feel good going up against a pitcher like Cecil who has been 0-3 with a 9.19 ERA in his last three starts, but Burnett has gone 0-3 with a 16.55 ERA in his last three starts and was 0-5 with a 11.35 ERA in June. The big question heading into tonight’s game is which one of these guys is going to snap out of their funk. The upside might be that, if the answer is neither, you have to like the Yankees’ chances of winning a slugfest in their own park.

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Orel Hershiser is fast becoming one of the most astute analysts on network television. In bringing some actual analysis to ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball booth, Hershiser consistently exhibits an ability to fairly and clearly assess whatever team happens to be playing that night.

In working last Sunday’s game with the Dodgers, Hershiser pointedly discussed the Yankees’ needs as they approach the July 31st trading deadline. He pinned the tail correctly, as he listed the bullpen and the bench as the two areas the Yankees should target in trying to strengthen themselves for the final two months of the season. That runs counter to all of the columnist and beat writers who have suggested the Yankees make a priority of adding Cliff Lee to their rotation. But the acquisition of Lee would not address a weakness for the Yankees. Outside of alternating slumps by Javier Vazquez and A.J. Burnett, the Yankee rotation has been firm and formidable. There are also competent reinforcements at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, where prospects Ivan Nova and Zack McAllister have pitched reasonably well and remain legitimate second-half options.

Additionally, the asking price for Lee figures to be high. The Mariners will almost certainly ask for Jesus Montero and possibly one other prospect in any deal for their left-handed ace. Given Lee’s age (31) and impending free agent status, Montero should stay off limits to Seattle and everyone else. Finding a solid reliever and/or a good platoon player figures to come at a far less substantial cost than a top-flight left-hander like Lee.

As Hershiser suggests, the bullpen and bench are more pressing needs for New York. With Joba Chamberlain mired in his enigmatic quagmire, and Chan Ho Park and Boone Logan continuing to occupy roster spots that they do not deserve, an effective late-inning reliever becomes a near necessity. Power-armed Mike MacDougal is now available after opting out of his minor league contract with the Nationals. On the trade front, Octavio Dotel, now with the Pirates, might be worth pursuing for a second stint in the Bronx. Or perhaps Arizona’s Chad Qualls, who has been good in recent years before falling off a cliff in 2010, would benefit from escaping the Diamondbacks’ bubonic bullpen plague.

In terms of bench concersn, the Yankees always seem to have someone facing a nagging day-to-day injury, with Brett “The Jet” Gardner the latest victim. So whom should the Yankees target for depth on the bench? The bargain basement shelf includes corner infielder Chad Tracy, recently released by the Cubs. On the trade market, Washington’s hard-hitting Josh Willingham could be an option at DH and a platoon partner for Curtis Granderson (with Brett Gardner moving over to center field). Baltimore’s Ty Wigginton would be an ever better fit. He could DH against lefties, spot Alex Rodriguez at third base on days when he needs to DH, and back up both Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira on the right side of the infield.

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Man, has it ever been gorgeous in the Big Apple the past few days. It is bright and sunny again this morning. Gunna get back to real summer over the weekend but for now, it’s just a delight.

Light morning here at the Banter, and another 1 pm start for the men in pinstripes today.

Here’s hoping everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

[Picture by Bags]

Cliff Lee was good on Tuesday night, limiting the Yankees to a pair of Nick Swisher solo home runs and two meaningless ninth-inning tallies on his way to a complete game victory. Felix Hernandez was great Wednesday night, limiting the Yankees to a trio of walks and just two hits, one of which was a pop-up to second that Chone Figgins lost in the gloaming and Colin Curtis hustled into a double, on his way to an 11-strikeout complete game shutout. Lee and Hernandez thus became the first two pitchers to throw back-to-back complete games against the Yankees since 2000 and Hernandez became the first visiting pitcher to shutout the Yankees at the new stadium.

Meanwhile, the Mariners scored seven runs against the Yankees in each of the last two contest. Phil Hughes, who was not only pitching on nine-days’ rest but also fighting off a cold, gave up all seven on Tuesday. Last night, Javier Vazquez turned in a bare-minimum quality start (6 IP, 3 R), striking out eight but using up 113 pitches in the process, then the bullpen coughed up four more Mariner runs in the final three frames. All but one of those Seattle runs came on home runs. Milton Bradley hit a solo shot of Vazquez in the second. Michael Saunders had a pair, a solo of Vazquez in the third and a two-run jack off Chad Gaudin in the eighth. Lefty-swinging Russell Branyan, just reacquired before this series to give the Seattle lineup some thump, did his part with a two-run shot off Damaso Marte in the seventh. The other Mariner run came with two outs in the third when Vazquez hit Branyan with an 0-1 pitch, Bradley reached on an infield single, and Jose Lopez singled Branyan home from second.

The lone legitimate Yankee hit was a double down the left field line by Mark Teixeira to lead off the fourth. He never got to third base as Hernandez retired 17 of the next 18 men (the exception being Curtis’s dropped pop-up) until Ramiro Peña, who entered the game with the subs in the top of the ninth, walked with one out in the bottom of the ninth and Hernandez up past 100 pitches.

Amazingly, this was just the second time all season that Lee and Hernandez registered back-to-back wins, though the first time was just two turns ago. In their last six combined starts, Lee and Hernandez have gone 5-0 with five complete games. In the sixth game, Hernandez allowed just one run in nine innings, but the Mariners lost in 13.

Facing Cliff Lee wasn’t much fun for anyone other than Nick Swisher last night. Facing Felix Hernandez doesn’t seem likely to be much more pleasant. In his last three starts, King Felix has posted this line:

26 2/3 IP*, 14 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 26 K, 1 HR, 1.69 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 8.67 K/BB

*That’s one out shy of three complete games, in case you didn’t notice, but only one of those starts turned into a complete game as the Mariners lost his last 3-2 in 13 innings.

Four starts ago, Felix got lit up by the red-hot Rangers, but his two starts before that both saw him go eight innings and allow just one run (with 16 total Ks), and in his last nine starts he’s posted a 2.62 ERA and allowed just three home runs. Of course, the Mariners have gone 3-6 in those nine games thanks to either poor bullpen support, poor run support, or both.

Javier Vazquez wasn’t sharp his last time out against his old team in Arizona, but in his four starts prior to that he posted a 2.25 ERA and 0.79 WHIP, lasting exactly seven innings each time out, his only loss coming when the Yankee bats got shutout by Hisanori Takahashi and company. Dating back to May 12, he’s 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA, and 0.98 WHIP in eight starts and one relief appearance.

Brett Gardner remains out of the lineup but is available to pinch-run and play defense. Colin Curtis starts in left and bats eighth. The rest of the lineup is the same as last night’s.

Coming into last night’s start, Cliff Lee was 4-1 with a 1.62 ERA over his last six starts, half of which were complete games. In that span, he had struck out 44 men against just three walks and three homers. Given that Lee had dominated the Yankees the last time he came to the Bronx, there wasn’t much reason for optimism heading into Tuesday night’s series-opening tilt against Lee and the Mariners, I don’t care how pathetic the Mariners’ offense has been this season.

That Phil Hughes lacked his good stuff pitching on extra rest after being skipped the last time through the rotation sealed the deal. Hughes fastball topped out around 91 miles per hour and his location wasn’t sharp. As a result, the Mariners were able to build a picket fence against him with runs in the second, third, fourth, and fifth, before delivering the finishing blow with a three-run sixth as Hughes seemed to lose it around 90 pitches. Boone Logan and Chan Ho Park held the line from there, but when the line is a 7-1 deficit against Cliff Lee and the opposing offense is the worst in the American League, who cares?

Through the first eight innings, all the Yankees managed against Lee was a pair of solo homers by Nick Swisher. Hitting a pair of right-handed home runs off a pitcher who had allowed just three dingers in his last six starts isn’t impressive, particularly when those were just Swisher’s second and third right-handed home runs of the year, but the rest of the offense didn’t show up until the ninth.

Just one other Yankee made it as far as second base in the first eight innings (Jorge Posada following a one-out walk in the second, the only walk Lee has issued in his last five starts), and no more than one Yankee reached base in any of the first eight innings of the game. Swisher’s two home runs came in the first and the sixth, and after the second, Lee retired the next nine men he faced until Mark Teixeira led off the ninth with a double down the left-field line. A Robinson Cano single, Michael Saunders throwing error, and Posada ground-rule double got the Yankees to within 7-4, but it took Lee just three more pitches to retire Curtis Granderson (who did have a pair of singles earlier in the game and was the only Yankee other than Swisher with a multi-hit night) and Chad Huffman (who started for the injured Brett Gardner) to nail down his third-straight complete game victory.

While Hughes season-worst outing was somewhat reminiscent of Joba Chamberlain’s struggles after the Yankees started skipping his starts last year, Hughes didn’t blame the rest for his poor performance, and he didn’t really get lit up until the sixth. He’ll stay on-turn until the All-Star break as the Yankees have no off-days in the next two weeks. His next start comes on Sunday at home against the Blue Jays. Meanwhile, here’s hoping Cliff Lee gets traded back to the National League, just don’t get your hopes up about him coming to the Bronx, the Yankees made clear their unwillingness to trade prospects for a pending big-money free agent such as Lee by letting CC Sabathia go to the Brewers and Johan Santana go to the Mets.

In other news, Dave Eiland returned to the team and Gardner could be out for a few days with a wrist contusion after being hit by a Clayton Kershaw pitch on Sunday. Meanwhile, Marcus Thames is expected to start at designated hitter for Triple-A Scranton on Wednesday, meaning he could be activated from the disabled list soon.

Okay, so I just wrote one of the longest previews I’ve ever written getting some stuff off my chest that’s been there since November and shoved aside some other important work to do it. But it all got erased. So while I try not to lose my mind, here’s the roster of the Mariners, who have scored just 3.4 runs per game this year, but are running out one of the league’s best pitchers tonight.

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A few weeks ago I got together with Bags, whose photographs have graced this space for more than a month now.

Bags takes pictures the old fashioned way. He uses film. Taking photographs is an excuse for him to tool around the city and look, really look at what’s around him (Bags isn’t from New York and I wonder if it takes an outsider’s sensibility to really appreciate the wonders, small and large, that our town has to offer.)

I haven’t used film in years and what I like about it is that it forces you to be selective. You can’t just snap away like you can with a digital camera, not caring how many shots you take. You have to look, carefully, before you decide to press “click.” Also, you may just miss a shot–you get the composition right, but then the classic old guy walks through the frame too quickly and you’ve lost the moment you want to capture. The possibility of this loss, makes it all the more exciting when you do get what you’re looking for.

And then there is the suspense of waiting for your pictures to come back from the lab. Oh, the agony. My feeling is that if you can get one good, I mean really good shot out of a role of 36 you should be pleased.

Anyhow, Bags and I tooled around the Upper West Side–a neighborhood he doesn’t know from–and snapped away. I haven’t gone to the lab yet, but this weekend I’m going to take more shots and then see what I’ve got. In the meantime, I’ve found myself, even without a camera in my napsack, stopping and looking. And for that alone, I am grateful.

As Cliff noted in his recap of Saturday’s loss, A.J. Burnett has been lit up recently.  Burnett has basically gone 0-for-June, amassing an 0-5 record featuring a slash stat line of .357/.455/.724.  In his first 11 starts of 2010, Burnett pitched to a 1.08 GB rate with 15% line drives.  The last five starts, those numbers are 0.63 and 22% respectively.

But I’m not here to opine on what ails A.J. (It can’t be as simple as not being able to find an Eiland on a map, can it?).  I’m just here to have fun with numbers (and avoid doing my laundry on this beastly hot day).

This is the third time in Burnett’s career, and the first time since 2005, that he’s had five consecutive starts with Game Scores no higher than 50*.  Now, to be fair, the prior two occasions each featured ERAs of 7.40 with only two homers allowed, while this fivesome is festooned with nine homers surrendered and an 11.35 ERA.  So, this is a whole ‘nother level of ugly.

The franchise record for longest streak of starts with game scores no higher than 50 is held by two Jeffs, current Dodger Jeff Weaver, and historical after-thought Jeff Johnson.  Weaver had 11 straight subpar starts from April to June of 2003, while Johnson’s rookie campaign of 1991 featured a Summer-full of bad pitching (July to September).

If you page down that list, you’ll note that the last Yankee to have five or more straight starts like this was Javier Vazquez, who managed to begin his second tour of duty with the Yanks as he ended his first one, getting hammered.  Vazquez’s streak of eight starts was preceded chronologically by some equally frustrating stretches by the likes of  Joba Chamberlain, Sergio Mitre, Chien-Ming Wang (though we might give Wang a pass due to injury), Carl Pavano (here we might NOT give Pavano a pass due to injury) and Sidney Ponson.

Now clearly, Burnett has enough of a track record to make one think he’ll snap out of it after pitching well enough for the majority of his first 1+ seasons with the Yanks.  The question now becomes, will Girardi let Burnett pitch himself back to normalcy without a bullpen stop?  It should be interesting what the return of Dave Eiland does for A.J.’s fortunes.

* - 50 is the baseline score used for assessing starting pitcher's
outings, as developed by Bill James.

Sunday night’s rubber game between the Yankees and Dodgers didn’t deliver on its promise as a pitchers duel. Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw was nails, but Andy Pettitte made two throwing errors on bunts in the third, putting the Yankees in an 3-0 hole, then coughed up two more runs in the fourth, the latter on a Ronnie Belliard solo homer, to put the Yanks down 5-0.

Kershaw, meanwhile, allowed just three baserunners through five innings, those coming on a Derek Jeter leadoff single, a pitch that hit Brett Gardner in the wrist, and a single by Gardner’s replacement, Chad Huffman (Gardner will see the team doctor on Monday). Jeter singled again to lead of the sixth, but Kershaw struck out Nick Swisher, and Casey Blake made a nice play on a hard grounder to his right by Mark Teixeira to force Jeter at second. That brought up Alex Rodriguez with two out. Rodriguez worked the count full, then turned on an inside fastball, sending it over the “Mannywood” sign in left for a two-run home run, his third jack in the last five games, to bring the Yankees within 5-2.

The Dodgers added an insurance run against Joba Chamberlain in the eighth, handing a 6-2 lead to their dominant closer, Jonathon Broxton, in the ninth. Broxton entered the game with some ridiculous numbers, including a 0.83 ERA, 13.2 K/9, and 9.60 K/B, and had allowed just one earned run in his previous 23 appearance, including 1 1/3 hitless innings against the Yankees on Saturday.

The Ox started his night by striking out Teixeira on four pitches, but Rodriguez singled on his fifth. Alex took second on defensive indifference on the first pitch to Robinson Cano, and when Cano connected for a double to right, Rodriguez scored to make it 6-3 Dodgers.

That brought up Jorge Posada, who quickly fell into a 0-2 hole, then battled Broxton for seven more pitches, working the count full before singling to right to bring the tying run to the plate. Following Posada’s nine-pitch battle, Curtis Granderson worked Broxton over for an eight-pitch walk, putting the tying run on base and loading the bases for . . . Chad Huffman?

With Brett Gardner knocked out of the game and no designated hitter, the Yankees’ rally came down to Chad Huffman and Colin Curtis, who had gone in for Nick Swisher as part of a double-switch, a pair of rookies who to that point in their major league careers had combined for three hits and three walks in 15 plate appearances. Joe Girardi’s bench at that point consisted of Francisco Cervelli, the backup catcher, and Ramiro Peña. On the mound stood the 300-pound Broxton, one of the game’s most dominating closers. It hurt to watch.

Until Huffman singled to right on a 1-1 pitch, scoring Cano and Posada and pushing Granderson to third. Suddenly all Curtis had to do was deliver a productive out with a speedy runner at third to tie the game. Curtis fell into a quick 0-2 hole, but then took three balls, one of which looked like strike three at the knees, and one of which, a slider in the dirt, almost tied the game on its own. With the count full, Curtis fouled off four pitches. Then, on the tenth pitch of his at-bat and Broxton’s 40th of the inning, he hit a hard grounder to James Loney at first base.

With two outs, Huffman on first, and Granderson on third as the potential tying run, Loney had two choices. He could either throw home to prevent the run, allowing the inning to continue, or he could throw to second in the hope of turning a game-ending double play. Loney chose neither of those options, instead trying to accomplish both at once by scrambling over to force out Curtis at first, then firing home to get Granderson. Only Loney’s throw tailed away from the runner and the time it took him to get the force was enough to allow Granderson so slide in clearly ahead of Russell Martin’s tag with the game-tying run.

From there, the Dodgers lost their cool as both Garret Anderson (who entered the game in the ninth as a defensive replacement for Manny Ramirez) and Martin got ejected for arguing over called strikes that were indeed strikes, while the Yankees made it look easy. Mariano Rivera worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth around Anderson’s ejection. Robinson Cano responded to Joe Torre’s decision to bring in lefty George Sherrill to face him in the top of the tenth by launching a two-run home run to left center, and Rivera worked around an infield single and Martin’s ejection to nail down the 8-6 win in the bottom of the tenth.

Meanwhile, the ESPN camera’s lingered on Joe Torre, who had the look of a man watching his ex-wife make out with an underwear model. Torre said before the game that he was looking forward to putting this much-hyped and emotionally charged series behind him. I don’t imagine that was ever more true than when he was watching Mariano Rivera nail down a comeback win against him for the first time.