What’s the old saying? Baseball is designed to break your heart.

Well that played out this afternoon. The Yanks paid tribute to Mariano Rivera before the game in a ceremony that had all the subtlety of a buffet on a cruise ship. And then there was the game. Andy Pettitte was beautiful. Gave up two hits and left in the 7th inning with a man on second and the game tied, 1-1. David Robertson let the run score and then Mariano got the last two outs.

Which set it all up nicely for a happy ending. Alex Rodriguez singled to start the 8th and moved to third on Robinson Cano’s double. Second and third, no out. And wouldn’t you know it but they didn’t score. Didn’t score, man.

Mo didn’t allow a run in the 9th but Sergio Romo retired the Yanks 1-2-3 and that was that.

No dice. Giants 2, Yanks 1.

Season over.

And that’s baseball, Suzyn.

[Photo Credit: Joel Zimmer]

The Yanks scored 3 runs in the third, a couple more in the fourth, and Lil’ Sori added a solo home run a few innings later. It was more than enough for Ivan Nova who went the distance and tossed a shutout. It made for a tension-free afternoon in the Bronx. Two-and-a-half hours, folks.

Tidy.

Final Score: Yanks 6, Giants 0.

Only drag is that the Rays beat the O’s again.

[Photo Via: toiletwolf]

We’re at the well-take-what-we-can-get stage of the season and so what’s not to like about Friday night’s game? C.C. Sabathia pitched his best game in recent memory, Alex Rodriguez broke a 1-1 tie in the 7th with a grand slam, and Mariano Rivera retired the Giants in order in the 9th. Yup, a tidy, send-’em-home-happy win if there ever was one.

Too little, too late? M’eh, let’s not think like that. It was a good time.

Especially nice to see Sabathia in control. Rodriguez, who has been in a terrible slump with his leg injuries, was able to use his upper body to smack a fly ball to the shallow part of the park in right for his grand slam. He’s now the career record holder with 24, passing The Iron Horse.

And Mo, ah, Mo. A strikeout, broken bat pop out and a ground out. Made to order.

Final Score: Yanks 5, Giants 1.

(Story of the night in the AL playoff race was that the Rays outlasted the O’s, 5-4 in 18 goddamn innings.)

[Photo Credit: Mike Fitzpatrick/AP]

That’s all, folks.

Sure Hiroki Kuroda wasn’t great but he toughed it out again. Sure, Joe Girardi didn’t help matters when he brought Joba Chamberlain in a two-run game. And of course it isn’t all Joba’s fault either. He’s just being himself. Tonight that meant walk, base hit, three-run homer. Yet that wasn’t the worst of it because the Yanks only managed one lousy run, on a solo home run of all things. Apart from one inning last night they haven’t done dick in this series. Just got their asses handed to them and went out like lambs.

The final score: Jays 6, Yanks 2.

Pathetic it what it was.

Funny thing happened on the way to another loss, for a brief moment the Yankee offense woke up, scored four quick runs, and wouldn’t you know it but it was enough to give them the win.

The final score: Yanks 4, Jays 3.

“Tonight (gives me hope),” said Vernon Wells. “When nothing’s going our way, just in the blink of an eye we take the lead again.

Here’s the funky part: Rays beat the Rangers 4-3, Twins beat the White Sox, 4-3, Cards beat the Rockies 4-3, and the Marlins beat the Phillies 4-3. There was a 3-2 game, 5-4 game and 6-5 game too. Not that it means anything, just sayin’.

Phil Hughes gave up a 2-run homer in the fourth inning and was pulled. Had to feel bad for the guy, Joe Girardi has zero confidence in him. David Robertson pitched the 8th but when he allowed a base runner with 2 out, Mariano was called in to get the final out. Two flat cutters resulted in a couple of singles for the Jays to start the ninth but Mo worked out of it without allowing a run. Hey, we’ve got precious few Rivera performances left, nothing like a nail-biter thrown in the mix, right?

[Photo Credit: Aberrant Beauty]

The Yankees loaded the bases against in the first inning as R.A. Dickey approached 30 pitches but he struck Mark Reynolds out without allowing a run. In the 2nd, Alex Rodriguez grounded out softly with runners on first and second to end the inning.

That, I’m sad to report, was as close as the Yanks came to scoring all night. A pair of solo home runs was enough for the Jays to beat a punchless Yankee team, 2-0. The only reason it doesn’t hurt more is because our nuts are still numb from getting kicked repeatedly last weekend, so what’s a few more belts?

So there’s no real shock. It’s just disheartening is all. Especially because Andy Pettitte really pitched a nice game. But we see where this is headed, don’t we?

[Photo Credit: Madein Sheffield]

During my freshman year of college there was a girl down the hall who happened to be dating one of our RAs. The RA’s birthday was coming up, and the girl — we’ll call her Caroline — had a brilliant idea for the perfect birthday gift. Since the RA — we’ll call him Neil — loved to sing, Caroline decided to make a donation to one of the campus a cappella groups, which would then allow Neil to sing a song with them. Ah, but here’s the beautiful part. Caroline chose a love song, knowing that Neil would end up serenading her in front of the entire dorm. Needless to say, it worked like a charm. So Caroline got a gift for Neil that was actually a gift for herself.

All of this came flooding back to me as I watched the Red Sox fumble their way through the pre-game ceremony meant to honor Mariano Rivera. Mo’s been getting gifts at every stop this season, so I knew there’d have to be something special at Fenway, but I had no idea the Sox could screw it up so badly. (I should’ve been paying attention; the Sox can’t do ceremony. Exhibit A: Pedro Martínez and Kevin Millar completely butcher Fenway’s 100th birthday celebration; exhibit B: Big Papi’s F-bomb during the Boston Strong ceremony.)

As the festivities began, Master of Ceremonies Dave O’Brien directed the crowd’s attention to the video board where they showed a clip of the sarcastic cheers Mariano received on opening day at Fenway Park in 2005 after blowing those two saves in the 2004 ALCS. I have to say that I’m curious to know how long it took them to come up with that angle.

“Okay, so we have to plan something for the Rivera ceremony. Any ideas?”
“Sure, why don’t we just give him something cool and talk about how great he is?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Okay, well why don’t we tie it into the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry?”
“That sounds better, what do you have in mind? Maybe Rivera’s greatest moment?”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that three-inning relief stint in the ’03 ALCS. That was wicked awesome.”
“No, that won’t do. Why don’t we tie it into one of our greatest moments? Like ’04?”
“You want to honor him by reminding him of one of his greatest failures?”
“No, I want to honor the Red Sox while we give him a cheap painting!”

I wish I could say that I’m making that up, but they really did choose that moment as the one that said the most about Rivera. To his credit, he simply smiled and played along.

But things got worse. As Dustin Pedroia presented Rivera with the #42 placard which was slid into the Fenway scoreboard each time he took the mound, O’Brien couldn’t just introduce little Pedroia, he had to sing his virtues. “Presenting that gift is another Red Sox player who, like Big Papi, might join you one day in Cooperstown, our brilliant second baseman, Dustin Pedroia.” Who was the ceremony for again?

The next gift was presented by Koji Uehara, whose brilliant 2013 season stands as a reminder of how great Rivera has been for so many years. He really said that.

The ceremony closed with a video montage. I’m not sure if it was produced by the Red Sox and shown in the park, or if it was something that ESPN put together for the viewers at home, but it was more of the same. The first clip — the very first clip of the video meant to honor Rivera — showed Dave Roberts stealing second base in that ’04 ALCS, and the next highlight was the line drive going back through the middle past Rivera, bringing home Roberts. The rest of the video focused on the Rivalry and included Pedro throwing Don Zimmer to the ground and Jason Varitek punching A-Rod in the face. You know, all the touching, emotional stuff you’d expect to see when an organization is honoring a retiring athlete.

Stay classy, Boston. Stay classy.

If you think I sound bitter about that, imagine how I felt once the game got started. When I wrote the recap for last Sunday’s game against the Red Sox, I referenced the Boston Massacre. What happened in Boston this weekend could hardly be called a massacre. It was nothing so dramatic as that. This was a slow death, a syringe in the arm, the victim left to bleed out over the course of several hours — or in this case, three days.

It wasn’t long ago that I believed the Yankees were actually better than the Red Sox. I can’t imagine how I ever thought that.

The Yankees picked up an early run in the first inning after Granderson walked, went to third on an errant pickoff attempt, and scored on Alex Rodríguez’s ground out. It was meek, but it was a run.

Fifteen minutes later, the game was over. It seems pretty clear that Ivan Nova isn’t healthy, but that’s not the way Orel Hershiser sees it. The Ol’ Bulldog believes that Nova simply isn’t trying hard enough, isn’t bearing down, isn’t emotional enough. I don’t want to stir things up, but comments like that sound an awful lot like the criticisms Latino players have been hearing for the past fifty years. But perhaps Hershiser knows better than I do. Maybe Nova simply stopped caring after being the best pitcher in the league in August.

Either way, Nova isn’t right. He was hit hard in the first inning, giving up a double to Daniel Nava, a single to Ortiz, and a homer to Mike Napoli. The score was only 3-1 and there were eight innings left to play, but the hole felt a lot deeper than it might’ve a few weeks ago.

The Yankees couldn’t do a thing against Clay Buccholz after that gifted run in the first. Buccholz was having serious trouble with his control, but the Yankees could never take advantage. The Red Sox, meanwhile, kept adding to their lead in quirky ways, one run at a time.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was credited with a steal of home in the fourth when Brendan Ryan, the defensive specialist, dropped a throw to second on the double steal, then kicked it around long enough to allow Saltalamacchia to score. In the fifth, Nova plunked Mike Carp with the bases loaded, making it 5-1, then they scored two more in the 6th and two more in the 7th to stretch the lead to 9-1.

The Yankees scraped together a run in the ninth, but it hardly mattered. The game and the series were over. Red Sox 9, Yankees 2.

Of all the games I’ve watched this season, there is no question that this one was the most difficult. The backhanded ceremony, the irritating ESPN announcers, the dominance of the Red Sox, and the increasing possibility of a postseason without the Yankees was simply too much to take. Monday’s off-day couldn’t come at a better time, and not just for the Yankees. I could use a break, too.

Oh, and that song that Neil sang for my friend? Wouldn’t it have been fitting if he had sung “Sweet Caroline”? Thankfully, that wasn’t it. “Only You,” by Yaz. It was absolutely adorable.

[Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images]

“I’ve always been a guy that’s said bend, don’t break,” C.C. Sabathia said after the game today. “I’ve been breaking a lot this year.”

Sabathia wasn’t great, Jon Lester was. Minus Lil’ Sori, the Yanks got 3 hits, while the Sox chipped away with 5 runs as the Sox beat the Yanks again.

Final Score: Red Sox 5, Yanks 1.

Boo, Hiss.

[Photo Credit: Robert Herman]

I played high school baseball with a mountain of a kid named Burns. He was an offensive lineman, really, and he played third base for us. He was the kind of guy who struck out or hit the ball 350 feet. He wasn’t mobile in the field but he had a strong arm, the kind of guy you hated to have a catch with warming up because he threw so hard. One day during infield practice, a ground ball took a bad hop and hit Burnsie in the nuts. He remained in his crouch for a moment and then, in the same position, fell to the ground. I was at second base and it was hard not to laugh. But you had to admire his lack of fear.

I thought of Burnsie last night when Shane Victorino led off the bottom of the 7th with a screamer to third. Eduardo Nunez, no third baseman by trade, took one look at it and ducked out of the way. You couldn’t blame him but it was play he had to make. It was the last hitter that Hiroki Kuroda faced and before the inning was over the Red Sox turned a 4-4 game into an 8-4 advantage. Losing the game wasn’t Nunez’s fault, but it was a drag because after giving up 4 runs in the first and looking absolutely lost, Kuroda pitched valiantly.

The Yanks ran into some back luck, hitting the ball hard but not getting hits (having a gimpy Alex Rodriguez on the bases failing to score from first on a double in the gap by Robinson Cano), and their recent string of tough loses to the Red Sox continued. Worse than their hurt feelings was the fact that the Rays, Orioles and Indians all won.

A cruddy night for our boys, no other way to put it.

[Photo Via: MPD]

“Get me Hughes,” said the Captain.

“Is Hughes the right guy for this Cappy?” asked the Lieutenant.

“Of course not,” said the Captain and he slammed the door leaving the Lieutenant on the other side with his stupid questions.

The newspaper pressed the headline before the clerk opened the case file. The crime scene was so fresh it didn’t even stink yet. Two patrolmen waited for a detective to arrive. They stretched yellow tape around the perimeter and snuck glances at the mess inside, hoping they wouldn’t shudder and diappointing themselves when they did.

The city disgorged a heavy case load that week. All over town, things were falling apart and each detective paired up a new crime until all the dance cards were full. Well, all except for Hughes. Hughes had once been a hot-shit-detective, advancing through the academy with unprecedented talent – the test scores and the muscle to back them up. Now he was just hot-shit.

Hughes had at a desk in the back corner of the records room. If you searched his mug, you’d have to sift through equal parts Bailey’s, sugar and donut chunks before you’d find any coffee. His muscles and test scores were now buried under fat layers of failure. Everyone knew he was gone the next time the department made cuts, so everyone ignored him. Until the night the Lieutenant ran through the room yelling his name.

Hughes blinked his eyes repeatedly to wipe the fatigue away. He cracked a raw egg into his coffee mug and swallowed the whole thing in one gulp before his brain could formulate the question, “how long have I had that egg?” He felt the fat on his ribs jiggle when he belched.

He could tell the Lieutenant was eyeing him slantways as they walked upstairs to the Captain’s office. Hughes still had great instincts, especially when he directed them towards himself. The Lieutenant was thinking “why Hughes?” but didn’t have the guts to say it out loud. He didn’t have to; Hughes was thinking the same thing.

Why accept the assignment then? It occurred to Hughes to just hand the file right back to the Captain. In fact, that was what he intended to do, but when his fingertips touched the thick manilla folder, he felt a spark and a current ran up his spine. He stood taller than he had in years.

Hughes looked the Captain in the eyes so there was no misunderstanding between them. Neither man thought Hughes could do the job. But both men knew the department in and out, and while maybe one or two of the junior guys could make a go of it, Hughes was the only one that had a prayer in Hell of bringing it all the way home.

Hughes knew all the usual suspects. On the back side of that coin is that all the usual suspects knew Hughes. Whatever happened that night, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Hughes would get his man, like he had many times in the past, or the man would get Hughes. The only real question was how long it would take.

The rain didn’t make a difference. The evidence had been preserved and Hughes got to work. His tools were rusty, but the hammer still hammered and before long he had a lead. He also had support. Perhaps the rest of the department didn’t count on him anymore, but they didn’t hate the guy. And what the hell, they all wanted to close the case.

Hughes had that lead and he was going to follow it to the ends of the earth. He came to work the next day in pinstripes that mostly fit. But the Captain looked at him and he couldn’t see the muscles and the test scores. He thanked him for the lead and he handed it to Huff. Hughes didn’t even know Huff’s first name, but he understood. He went back to his desk.

Before he sat down, he grabbed his mug and went to the sink to give it a good wash.

Of course Hughes took the case. When his wife introduced him to her friends at parties, she would say “This is my husband Phil and he’s a cop.” At least that’s what she would say if anyone would marry him or invite him to a party. A bad doctor couldn’t pretend he was a shoe salesman if some poor soul walked up to him with a knife stuck between his ribs. He rolled up his sleeves and did his best. A bad cop is still a cop.

***

Rain delays suck the most on school nights. A nuclear meltdown by David Robertson in the 8th inning threatened to extend this game deep into the recesses of a responsible bed time. But after a fortunate run in the ninth to retake the lead, Mariano Rivera ended things on the happy side of midnight with a 6-5 win.

The game moved quickly enough through six innings – even though the Yankees led 4-1, Chen settled down and began striking out Yankees with alarming ease. Then in the seventh Granderson homered off Chen and that started the Orioles bullpen machine. In the bottom half of that inning, a Markakis homer off Huff got the Yankees up in arms. Joe Girardi used three pitchers to get through the seventh – including rookie Cesar Cabral facing the tying run with two outs.

David Robertson started the eighth with a three-run bulge. Machado took him deep to left and Soriano raced to the wall on a collision course with the burgeoning homer. His leap looked perfect but he hung his head as if he missed it and everybody held their breath. He popped the ball out of his glove and snatched it with his bare hand and smiled. If you weren’t laughing with him, you were probably cursing at him. Maybe both.

Michael Kay blathered about how that play had to knock the wind out of the Orioles. The Orioles tied the game four batters later and the fifth was standing on second with two outs, poised to take the lead. The big blow was Danny Valencia’s three run homer off a grooved first pitch fastball. Soriano’s antics would have played better if the O’s didn’t splatter Robertson all over the infield grass. Somehow, Robertson rebounded and found his curve ball to strike out Wieters and “preserve” the tie.

Brendan Ryan chose a good time to notch his first hit as a Yankee to lead off the ninth. Jim Johnson air-mailed second base on the subsequent bunt and the Yanks had two on with no out. Granderson also bunted and set up Alex Rodriguez for the big moment. The third pitch to Alex was short on a Little League field and bounced to fence allowing Ryan to score. I am not sad that happened, and I’m not certain Alex was going to come through, but I didn’t dread his at bat there like I did a year ago. I thought he was going to get it done.

The O’s walked Alex and got Soriano to bounce into a double play to hold the score at 6-5 for Mariano. He’s pitched a lot lately and not always well, but he was on today. He mowed through three hitters in ten pitches, many of them unhittable. Manny Machado almost broke his wrists swinging at an inside heater.

The strange night didn’t end with the ball game. Turns out the official scorer was so offended by Robertson’s performance that he refused to give him the win. He transferred the win to Mariano, which is all well and good, but if Mariano gets the win then he doesn’t get the save. Nobody should really care about that, but if in 20 years, Craig Kimbrel is breaking Mo’s record, I wonder if they will remember this one.

Rays and Indians won. The Yankees kept pace and head to Boston. Probably without Brett Gardner, who strained an oblique in the first inning. That’s not a quick heal usually, but hopefully Gardner is back out there very soon. All hands on deck and all that.

***

Hughes spent the rest of the week in those pinstripes. He watched the Captain put the file on a merry-go-round from Huff to Warren to Cabral to Robertson and of course they fucked it up. He could have told the Captain that if you keep looking you’ll find the guy that doesn’t know what he’s doing.

Luckily there was one guy in the department that could close any case, Rivera. He picked up the case where it was left for dead and meticulously put the pieces back together. He got the usual suspects to talk. How did he do it? Hughes never really knew but he suspected there was a pile of broken bats somewhere. Hughes was satisfied to be a small part of a happy ending.

Rivera walked past Hughes desk. There was no reason for him to be in the records room. “Nice suit,” said Rivera.

So it’s the bottom of the 7th last night and Andy Pettitte has just thrown his 106th pitch, a breaking ball that Nate McLouth won’t chase. Then Andy’s got the ball back from Chris Stewart, glove over his face looking it at the sign, nodding. He’s in rhythm. There’s one out in the inning and it’s 2-2 on McLouth. Pettitte throws a couple of more breaking balls–one inside, another one low–nodding, in time, working. This is what he does. Might not be much longer, but this is a man at work.

McLouth doesn’t bite and draws the walk. That’s the end of Pettitte’s night. Just an inning before a double play got him out of trouble and Andy pumped his fist. He gave up a bunch of hits but kept the team in the game. A prol plying his trade.

Couple of innings later the Yanks had a two-run lead, thanks to a home run by Robinson Cano, a triple by Curtis Granderson and an infield single by Lyle Overbay. And so now here’s Mo, emptying the tank. The Yanks have been riding him hard and there’s something thrilling about watching the old guy respond. He got weak ground balls from the first two hitters, and gracefully ran to first base to cover the bag on both outs. Then, there’s this bastard McLouth again, down to his last strike again. Mo tries to backdoor him and throws the ball to the spot but McLouth guesses along with him, squares the pitch up and hits it over Brett Gardner’s head in center field.

Okay, so Mo gets ahead of Brian Roberts too. Down to the last strike. Throws a cutter high but right where Stewart wants it and Roberts is waiting, gets on top of it and drives the ball to right scoring McLouth. One run game. Manny “the Future is Now!” Machado, who could be Mo’s son is next. Mo does something we rarely see, he uses a slide step. Throws a cutter for a strike and then another one, lower, called a strike. An improbable strike, a groaner for Buck Showalter and the home team, and good fortune for the Yanks. Still with the slide step Mo throws a fastball, high and out of the zone. The kids chases it. It’s only 92 mph but he’s late.

And behind two old pros–with some help from the home runs by Cano, Alex Rodriguez and a long one by Granderson–the Yanks win, 5-4.

They’re just a game behind the Rays.

[Photo Credit: Patrick Semansky/AP]

When the Yanks are down to their last game then the final three outs of the season I always think, well at least they’ve got a shot, at least we can watch a few more pitches, a few more swings. It’s like when you are falling asleep and you hear things louder–everything is heightened. Well that’s the way I feel about the last three weeks of the season but in a less acute, anxious way. Every game is something to savor because soon enough it’ll be cold and all we’ll have is football and hot apple cider.

There will be no more Andy Pettitte, no more Mariano Rivera. We likely won’t see Curtis Granderson back, and who knows when we’ll see Alex Rodriguez again?

Okay, so the 2013 Yanks aren’t a great team. They could make the playoffs but nobody around here is holding their breath. Still, they’re play night and they keep us company.

Last night they made enough mistakes–an error by Eduardo Nunez, a bone-headed cutoff by Rodriguez–to lose. But then they knocked the crap out of the ball in the 8th inning–double for Rodriguez, who scored on a single by Cano (he was pulled from the game due to a tight hamstring but the injury isn’t reported to be serious), home run by Lil’ Sori (his second of the game), double by Granderson who scored on a double by Mark Reynolds. They went from trailing 4-3 to leading 7-4.

Mariano came on to get the final out in the 8th and put heads to bed–order restored!–in the 9th as the Yanks beat the Orioles, 7-5. If you can’t drink in every pitch from Rivera now, whether they are good or not, I feel for you.

And so for one night it was the Orioles who were left smarting while hope remained the thing with feathers for the Yankees. Course tonight could be different.

But that’s baseball, Suzyn…you can’t predict it.

When Mariano Rivera blew the game Thursday night, my foot slipped. When the 8-3 sure-fire-win on Friday night became another loss, my shoulder dipped. And when Mariano blew Sunday’s game, my ass flipped right over my head and I was lost in the Negative Zone. Not even winning Sunday could draw me out; I was adrift and doomed.

And I’m not coming back. Not this year.

CC Sabathia gave a decent effort when nothing short of his best would do. The Yankees didn’t hit Chris Tillman, who’s been good this year, but hardly Tom Seaver and the 4-2 loss is the latest nail in the coffin.

In the first inning Alex Rodriguez smacked a home run and things looked up for about a minute. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but CC Sabathia couldn’t hold the lead. Not even for an inning. Nick Markakis hit a lead-off double and scored two batters later.

The game stayed knotted at one, but the Yankees were never going to be the team that loosened the knot. Sabathia kept the ball in the park, but off-the-wall can still hurt you. A handful of doubles, productive outs and timely hits put the Yankees in a 4-1 hole after seven.

Tillman retired 13 in row at one point. He struck out three straight to napalm the seventh and then Lyle Overbay scraped the sky with solo homer to start the eighth, so Showalter brought in Tommy Hunter to strike out the next three. The Orioles struck out 12 Yankees in all.

Alex hit a blue dart to center to lead off the ninth. After two ground outs, Curtis Granderson hit a full-count fastball to the middle of the warning track in center. I can’t say what it looked like from your seats, but nobody here in the Negative Zone thought it had a chance.

Thirty-five years ago to the day, as the Yankees were busy reeling in the Boston Red Sox, they stopped in Fenway Park and thrashed the Sox so  soundly that the series will be forever known as the Boston Massacre. The Yankees were four games behind the Red Sox when they arrived in town, but after sweeping the series (and outscoring the Sox 49-26) they left in a flat-footed tie. We all know how that season ended up.

The Yankees would rip out Boston’s heart again in August of 2006, taking the field in Fenway with a slim game and a half lead over the Sox but leaving four days later with commanding 6 1/2 game advantage after an unprecedented five-game sweep in which they outscored Boston by an identical 49-26 margin.

On Sunday afternoon in the Bronx, the Yankees looked to avoid being on the other side of one of those season-ending, soul-crushing, series sweeps. After inexplicable losses on Thursday and Friday, followed by an old-fashioned beating on Saturday, the Yankees took the field on Sunday as a desperate team.

Hiroki Kuroda was on the mound for the Yanks, and he was probably just as desperate as the Yankees were. He had been excellent through the first three months and dominant in July (3-0, 0.55 ERA, 0.88 WHIP), but he was a completely different pitcher in August as he finished the month 1-4 with a 5.12 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. He was a man in need of redemption, and Sunday looked like a good place to start.

He seemed to struggle a bit early on, as consecutive doubles in the second inning (David Ortíz and Mike Carp) produced a run, but he was lights out after that as he cruised through the next three innings before coughing up another run in the sixth.

Mark Reynolds doubled in a run for the good guys in the fourth, and Robinson Canó plated two more with a double of his own in the following frame, but it wasn’t until the eighth inning that the game really started to get interesting.

Did I mention that the Yankees were desperate? Clinging to a 3-2 lead, Joe Girardi brought in Mariano Rivera and hoped for a six-out save. Rivera worked around a harmless single in the eighth, but anyone who had watched the first three games knew that nothing — not even a Mariano save — would come easily in this series. In fact, the save wouldn’t come at all.

Rivera’s third pitch to Will Middlebrooks leading off the top of the ninth looked like it produced a lazy fly ball to right and what would be the first out of the inning. Ichiro slowly floated back on the ball, and no one seemed overly concerned — until it landed in the stands. The camera caught the normally placid Rivera in utter disbelief.

The game was tied, and — with Phil Hughes warming in the bullpen — all appeared lost. But Rivera recovered to finish out the ninth. The bottom half wasn’t exciting, except for the end result. Ichiro singled with one out, stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice fly from Vernon Wells, then scored when the next pitch from Brandon Workman got past Jarrod Saltalamacchia for a walk-off wild pitch. Yankees 4, Red Sox 3.

Sure, it was an ugly weekend, but the bottom line is this. Even after three straight heart-breaking losses (who’d have thought they could score 25 runs and still lose all three games?) and a litany of injuries (Jeter’s ankle is injured yet again; David Robertson and Boone Logan are also out) the Yankees are still — still — just 2.5 games behind Tampa Bay for the wild card spot.

There’s hope, people. There’s hope.

[Photo Credit: Seth Wenig/AP Photo]

Yeah, I don’t know, man. The Sox ain’t all that. Sure they scored 2 touchdowns today in the Bronx but they missed an extra point. Fuggin’ pussies.

David Huff got torched and so did the Yanks, dropping another game to the Sox, this one to the tune of 13-9. It was over early. The Yanks actually battled their way back into it but well, you get the way this weekend is going: Doom.

Derek Jeter left the game early, had a CT scan on his ankle and–good news!–it came back negative.

[Deiorama by Abigail Goldman]

Remember how we figured that last night was the worst loss of the year? Well, we were wrong. Tonight was worse.

The Yanks had an 8-3 going into the 7th and then the bullpen shit the bed, walls, and carpet as they gave up 9 runs over the next two innings. Hughes, Boone, Preston, and Jobber, oh my.

The burly bastards from Boston kicked the Yanks square in the nuts. Repeatedly. Yup, it was an old fashioned Bronx mugging.

12-8 was the final.

As one Banterite succinctly put it: Fuck this.

Another stinging loss. Anger and despair. But there’s no giving up round here. Tomorrow gives another game, after all.

We’ll be here and we’ll be rooting. Fuggin’ A right we’ll be.

Lousy start for Ivan Nova? Check. Ass-whuppin’ for Preston Clairborne? Check. Good start by Jake Peavy? Check. A 7-2 lead as Kate Smith belted “God Bless America” en route to an easy-breezy win for the Red Sox?

Negative.

Because the bottom of the seventh went something like this:

Against Jake Peavy...

I Suzuki walked.
V Wells hit for C Stewart.
V Wells singled to center, I Suzuki to third

M Thornton relieved J Peavy.

B Gardner singled to left center, I Suzuki scored, V Wells to second.
V Wells stole third. (Is he knuts? Maybe. Gardner didn’t budge off first and the replays showed that Wells was out.)
D Jeter walked, B Gardner to second.
R Cano grounded into fielder’s choice to second, V Wells scored, D Jeter out at second, B Gardner to third.

J Tazawa relieved M Thornton.

A Soriano singled to right center, B Gardner scored, R Cano to second.
C Granderson doubled to deep right, R Cano scored, A Soriano to third.
A Rodriguez struck out swinging. (Tough sinking fastball, a splitter perhaps. Sitting on my couch, I tapped my foot and my heart raced.  Rodriguez heard some boos but not as many as I expected.)
L Overbay singled to right, A Soriano and C Granderson scored, L Overbay to second advancing on throw.
I Suzuki struck out swinging.

And just like that, a couple of walks and a string of base hits gave the Yanks an 8-7 lead.

The question then, how would they finish? David Robertson didn’t pitch well last night and Mariano Rivera, having pitched two days in row, well, hell, he wasn’t going to pitch again, right?

Robertson struck Jacoby Ellsbury out looking on a 3-2 pitch to start the 8th. He got Shane Victorino to swing through a fastball for the second out and retired Dustin Pedrioa on a ground ball to Derek Jeter to end the inning.

The Yanks went down in order in the bottom of the inning and then wouldn’t you know it but: Enter Sandman.

And who should he face to start the inning but Papi Ortiz.

Went something like this:

First pitch, inside–almost too much of the plate–ball 1. Cutter inside, Ortiz hits it hard but the line drive goes straight at Lyle Overbay. Ortiz doesn’t have time to move out of the box. He glares and walks back to the dugout.

One out.

Daniel Nava. Cutter inside, 1-0. Fastball, right over the plate, 1-1. Hard to believe Nava took it. Now, cutter inside, ties him up, swing and a miss, 1-2. Now, backdoor? Upstairs? It’s upstairs but Nava holds up, 2-2. Then he goes outside but the pitch is low, 3-2. Goes back outside, or tries to, but the pitch is over the plate. Nava swings and hits a Mookie Wilson-to-Bill Buckner dribbler to Overbay. He fields it and steps on the bag for the second out.

Mike Napoli takes a fastball on the inside corner, 92 mph, for a strike. Fastball away, 1-1. Fastball low, 2-1. Heater, right down Broadway, good swing, but fouls it off, 2-2. Cutter, inside, but too far inside, 3-2. Fastball over the plate and Napoli slaps it into right center field for a base hit. The pitch was fat, juicy, and thank goodness it didnt go over the fence. Quintin Berry pinch runs for Napoli.

Stephen Drew. Takes a ball high. Berry takes off, Romine’s throw bounces in front of Jeter and into the outfield, Berry takes third (ah, shades of Dave Roberts). Next pitch, a cutter with no bite is hit into right for a base hit.

Tie game.

Jonny Gomes, pinch-hitting. Two-seamer comes up and in and almost hits Gomes, 1-0. Fastball, high, fouled back, 1-1. Another high fastball, popped foul behind the plate and caught by Romine for the third out.

Rivera’s 6th blown save of the year. 8-8. Yankees-Red Sox. On a school night. What else would you expect?

Alfonso Soriano walked with 1 out in the bottom of the ninth, got picked off first but Nava dropped the pick off throw and Soriano made it safely to second. And then the dumbass got picked off of second. I’d try to explain it but I can’t.

Needless the say, Curtis Granderson whiffed to send the game into extra innings.

And who should greet us to begin “free baseball” but Joba Chamberlain. And with Joba it’s not a question of “if” but “when”? Ellsbury singles and swipes second. Joba got 2 strikes on Vitorino, had him struck out on a check swing but first base ump Joe West ruled that Victorino did not swing. Even though he clearly swung. So of course the next pitch, a high fastball, is punched into right field for a base hit. Ellsbury scores and the Sox are back on top.

Boone Logan replaced Joba and Chamberlain got himself kicked out of the game by West. Ortiz is walked intentionally and then Nava is pinch-hit for by a righty,Brandon Snyder, who flies out to Gardner in center.

The Yanks went down like lambs in the bottom of the tenth (that’s not entirely right, Lyle Overbay had a valiant at bat before striking out) and the Sox, playing with house money, avenged that Sunday Night loss with one that hurt the Yanks were it counts.

Final Score: Red Sox 9, Yanks 8.

It looked like a cruise-control win for the Yanks, 6-1 lead going into the 8th inning. Robinson Cano had 3 hits, and Brett Gardner had a couple including a 2-run triple. The 4 runs the Yankees scored in the 4th inning gave C.C. Sabathia all the cushion he’d need and while he wasn’t dominate, he looked good. But after a few batters reached base he was replaced by David Robertson who had nothing and before you knew it, it was 6-5, tying run on second and here comes Mo.

Rivera was one pitch from loading the bases when he got a generous called strike 3 to get out of trouble. Hey, sometimes being a Legend helps. He retired the side in the 9th–flyout, groundout to the pitcher, and line drive to Alex Rodriguez–without breaking a sweat and the rest of us, who were, by that time, sweaty, felt great relief.

Yanks 6, White Sox 5.

[Featured Image: Bolenowe Moor; Photo Credit: Rich Schultz/Getty Images]

Sure the White Sox are a lousy team but with their ace Chris Sale in good form tonight this has to go down as one of the most satisfying wins of the year for the Yankees. Hiroki Kuroda was better than he’s been recently but it was still a struggle for him. An error by Eduardo Nunez in the first help lead to a run and Kuroda had to get two outs with the bases loaded. He left a pair of runners on in the second but then got through the next two innings without incident. Another mistake, this one from Robinson Cano when he botched the tag on a stolen base attempt with no out in the fifth, set things up the White Sox who broke a 1-1 tie with two runs. They added another in the seventh and that looked to be that.

Chris Sale, a true sidewinder if there ever was one, had his way with the Yankee lineup (his bending breaking ball to the lefties, Gardner and Cano, was unfair). But Cano got a fastball he could handle with one out and Jeter on first in the eighth, and lined a double to left.

That knocked Sale out of the game and then the Yankees went to work, chipping away, nickel-and-dime style–memories of the late ’90s! A single by Lil’ Sori drew the Yanks to within a run, a 3-2 base hit by Alex Rodriguez, and then a pinch-hit single by Curtis Granderson tied the game. All three hits came with two strikes. Mark Reynolds whiffed on a full count pitch, another tough at-bat, and then Nunez dropped the hammer on an inside pitch, inside and low, and pinged it to left for a double. It was the kind of hit that you never thought would stay fair. But it did, skipping down the left field line.

That gave Mr. Rivera a two-run lead. He struck out the first batter on a back-door cutter. Struck him out looking. Went out there on the 2-2 pitch, missed, and came right back to the same spot, made a better pitch, and got his man. A weak ground ball to second counted for the second out and then another strike out, again freezing the batter on a back-door cut fastball, ended the game. That’s the 9th time he’s recorded 40 saves in a season, tying a big league record.

We may only have a month left of Mariano, folks. No time like the present to savor it.

And this one here is a win to savor, ain’t it?

Final Score: Yanks 6, White Sox 4.

p.s. Girardi announced after the game that Hughes is headed to the pen; Huff will start in his place.

So The Wife and I were in South Carolina visiting friends over the weekend and I had little access to the Internet. Thanks to Jon D for holding down the fort so beautifully here at the Banter.

We came home today–puddle-jumper from South Carolina to ATL, 757 from ATL back home. Everything went smoothly until we were in the air and the rain in New York shut down the local airports for a few hours. Meanwhile, after circling and circling our flight landed in Allentown, P.A. And, yes, that earned me the right to sing the song, cept I wasn’t in any mood for singing.

As we refueled there was also a mechanical problem to contend with. So we sat some more. Some folks left the plane and scrambled to find rental cars. But considering the Labor Day traffic that seemed foolish so we waited it out.

Meanwhile, after a rain delay of close to 2 hours, the Yankee game resumed while we were in Allentown so The Wife and I listened to the critical 4th inning where the White Sox played like our trip home–a mess. They kicked the ball around, some poor shnook named Dylan Axelrod could not throw strikes and when the inning was over the Yanks had scored 8 times.

Soon enough our plane was back in the air and when we were treated a glorious ride over Manhattan on our way to LaGuardia.

And wouldn’t you know it but there was zero traffic on the way home. We were exhausted but that made us smile. The game was long over by then–9-1 Yanks was the final–and a long day had a happy ending.

We came home, showered, and walked across the street for a slice.