The Yanks lost a dud of a game yesterday, 6-2. This afternoon their best pitcher, Michael Pineda will pitch. Love to see him pitch well again, go deep into the game, and help give the Yanks a series win.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Happy Mother’s Day and:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Afternoon game at the Stadium.

Ellsbury CF
Gardner LF
Young RF
Teixeira 1B
Beltran DH
Pirela 2B
Headley 3B
Drew SS
Murphy C

Never mind the fog:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

It’s the Warren Report tonight at the Stadium.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Jose Pirela 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the warm weather:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags.

When we look back on the 2015 season we’ll be able to recognize tonight’s game as one of the loveliest in terms of the weather. It’s a beautiful spring night, a little cool, you’ll need a sweatshirt or a jacket at the ball park, but it’s crisp and clear, just a great night to be at the Stadium. Maybe a little cool later, but not prohibitively cold.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

The latest Big Question Mark is on the hill for the Yanks. Weaver, Black Jack McDowell, Pavano, Burnett, you know the line. I don’t have a read on the guy yet. He reminds me of Pavano physically but with more stuff. I can’t figure out if he’s a mope like Pavano yet. I don’t want to think so. It’d be really cool to see him get better unlike, says, A.J. who just sort of was what he was.

Never mind those birds a’chirpin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

One last game in Toronto for The Scrubby Mustache Gang.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Chris Young LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew SS

Jose Pirela 2B

C.C. vs. ol’ Mark B.

Never mind nuthin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Time for the Yanks to play it cool and rebound from the tough loss with a big win, like good teams usually do. I’m still not convinced this is a good team, but might as well act like one either way since they’re already in first place by a couple of games and all.

Feels like Michael Pineda is just the big lug the Yanks need to establish their presence with authority and even up this series.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Gregorio Petit 3B

Lineup via LoHud

Update:

Lohud also says Jose Pirela has joined the Yankees in Toronto, but has not been activated. The “for rent” sign on second base has grown thick with dust. Let’s hope he takes it and does something with the place.

The Toronto Blue Jays are you at the Halal cart, next in line to order chicken over rice, white and hot sauce please, waiting patiently and quietly, perhaps distracted by an interesting cloud formation or a bike-messenger’s near-miss with a yellow cab. Meanwhile, the rest of the American League East pushes around you, yells over you and slaps their money on the counter and doesn’t even bother to look at you, let alone apologize, as they plant an elbow in your rib cage and knock you back to last place.

And look at that, the Yankees travel to Toronto and find the Blue Jays are in last place. The Rays drafted their way to the front of the line when the Yanks and Red Sox were both still trying and the Orioles have at least taken advantage of the latest Yankee “blue period” and the Boston cellar/series/cellar Oreo to play October baseball. The Jays are going nowhere, fast, again.

A few times the prognosticators have anointed them, most especially when they were able to off-load Vernon Wells on the Angels. But unloading a terrible contract doesn’t necessarily lead to being a good team. Shedding salary (albeit unconscionable salary) just creates empty space. Bautista, Encarnacion and now Donaldson are fun as heck as they swing from the heels and try to hit everything in orbit, but it still seems a sideshow thus far this year.

That doesn’t mean they can’t bloody a team in a short series. Look no further than opening week when the Yanks were fortunate to win one of three and were outscored 15-8. Chase Whitley will find a different breed of hitter in this game than he did against Tampa. And R.A. Dickey has handled the Yankees well as a Blue Jay. But even still, the Yanks have muscled their way into first place, now’s not the time to look back and apologize.

Photo via Wikipedia

The Yankees have the chance to leave Boston with a red smear on the bottom of their spikes. They’ve won the series either way, but putting an exclamation point after the third game would be a welcome conclusion.

It’s a Sunday night special, under the lights. Adam Warren and Joe Kelly have the honor of trying to keep the game under five hours. Godspeed to them. It’s a fortunate schedule as it’s majestic outside right now.

I’ll keep my eyes peeled for the lineups, but in the meantime, enjoy a heckuva day.

Hopefully the Yankees celebrated last night’s victory and Alex’s historic homer with an early bedtime and chaste reflection. Though actually the 1986 Mets would be just getting back to the hotel right now, and that worked out pretty well, so who knows.

Either way, it’s a day game with Nathan Eovaldi and Wade Miley as the most recent versions of National League exchange students who very well may soil themselves when pitching in front of the Green Monster. (Burnett, Pavano, Wright, Vazquez, Clement, Penny, Dempster… will they ever learn?)   Here’s hoping that Eovaldi, and not Miley, breaks that cycle.

I won’t be in for the lineups, but let’s hope Alex is in the game and mushing 661 with the sun high in the sky.

The Yankees won April. That’s one more month than I thought they were going to win. But they’re only up one game on the Rays and Sox and barely more than that over the Orioles and Jays. One bad weekend and we can turn these standings upside down.

Of course, it’s more than the records. The Yankees have held their own against their direct competitors and their series wins against Detroit and the Mets are more impressive than anything else the AL East has mustered. But one bad weekend and… you know.

The coming weekend series, whether good, bad or otherwise, is up in Boston against those second-place Sox. The Yanks would do well to leave Boston with the Sox in third or fourth. But just keeping them in second would be a major accomplishment.

The Red Sox, against all odds, do not have the starting pitcher with the higher ERA in tonight’s matchup. CC Sabathia, 0-4, would fit right in the Boston rotation however as they, as he, have served it up to all comers thus far. Chops will be licked in Fenway tonight.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Garrett Jones DH

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Lineup via LoHud

Likely exhausted from the many, arduous takes of that omnipresent bobblehead commercial, Masahiro Tanaka is going to be out for a long time. The Yanks say he’ll sit on the shelf for at least a month, right next to the damn doll. Though it’s hard to guess the return date, the “forearm strain” is quite often the precursor to full-blown ligament replacement. Screw that! “Maybe only a month” is what I’m choosing to hear.

That leaves it to Michael Pineda to slide up a day (he’s still on normal rest however, so it’s nothing crazy) and take the ball for this afternoon’s series finale. The Yankees have already taken the series from the Rays and sit on top of the AL East by two full games, so no matter what happens today, they’ll wake up tomorrow in first place. Wow, just wow to that notion.

But since we’re here anyway, maybe just win this one too?

(Today’s lineup via LoHud)

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Chris Young LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

John Ryan Murphy C

Gregorio Petit 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

(Photo by Charles Wenzelberg, Via NY Post)

Tuesday night in the Bronx gives:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Garrett Jones DH

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the ‘staches:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

The Yanks played well in Tampa. Tonight, the Rays come to town for the first time this year.

It’s the Warren Report featuring:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran DH

Chris Young RF

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Will be watching Didi with special interest–I’m rooting for the guy, I feel for him, especially in the field where he seems all screwed up. I just hope he can ride it out because he should be better than this and he will be better than this. It’s not easy following Jeter, you know?

I know Beltran has sucked but I hope he stops sucking any day now. It’s bound to happen.

Hey, never mind the kvetchin’:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Okay, so Matt Harvey was great, we expected that. Now to see about winning this series. Eovaldi goes against Jonathan Niese tonight on ESPN.

Gardner LF
Young CF
Rodriguez DH
Teixeira 1B
Beltran RF
Headley 3B
Murphy C
Drew SS
Petit 2B

Never mind your bed time:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags. 

I expect Matt Harvey to pitch his best game of the year today. Only hope C.C. can come close to matching him and the Yanks squeeze out a “W”.

Never mind the late afternoon spring light:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

The Mets steam into the Bronx riding high. They’ve won 11 in a row and have given their fans reason to cheer. The story line goes time is ripe for them to take the town from the Yanks. And it makes sense the way things go in cycles and all. The Yankees have played some decent ball these past couple of weeks so this could be a well-played series.

It’s Pineda vs. deGrom tonight.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran RF
Chase Headley 3B
Stephen Drew 2B
Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the noise:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Rene Groebli via MPD]

It’s Tanaka time this afternoon as the Yanks look to take the series from the Tigers. Be a downer if they don’t pull it off:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Carlos Beltran DH

Brian McCann C

Chase Headley 3B

Chris Young RF

Garrett Jones 1B

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the cold:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Eddie O’Keefe via Lover of Beauty]

Yanks face their old pal David Price tonight in Detroit. Adam Warren goes for the Bombers.

Supposed to be cold and rainy–wait, does the forecast call for sleet?

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Chris Young LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Carlos Beltran RF

Chase Headley 3B

Gregorio Petit 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the galoshes:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Andres Medina via untrustyou]

It’s Eovaldi, Take Three. And our first look at Shane Greene in a Tigers uniform. 

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Brian McCann C

Chris Young RF

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew SS

Gregorio Petit 2B

Never mind the cold:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Christer Stromholm via Kvetchlandia]

Yanks are in Detroit to start the week. Tonight, they’ll face the tough Alfredo Simon.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Brett Gardner LF

Alex Rodriguez DH

Mark Teixeira 1B

Carlos Beltran RF

Brian McCann C

Chase Headley 3B

Stephen Drew 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind .500:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags