A lot of attention has been paid to the Bronx Bombers nose dive in the A.L. East, and with good reason. By allowing a 10-game advantage to disappear, the 2012 Yankees became only the second team in franchise history to fritter away a double-digit lead. However, as they enter a crucial four-game series in Baltimore, the pinstripes remain front runners. Considering all the hysteria, it’s easy to over look the fact that the team remains in first place, but, even amid a collapse, that’s exactly where the Yankees have resided for most of the season.

Yankee fans, and the organization itself, are a little spoiled. Since its inception in 1901, the franchise has spent over 6,200 days in first place, or nearly 36% of all game dates. That figure jumps up to 42% going back to 1923, when the team migrated to theBronx. So, if the Yankee Universe treats having a lead as a birthright, well, who can blame them?

Distribution of Yankees’ Standings Position, 1901-Present

Note: Based on position at the end of game dates only (i.e., off days excluded). Includes five last place finishes. 1981 finish is based on total record from both season halves.
Source: Baseball-reference.com

The Yankees are guaranteed to spend at least one more day atop the division, which would give the team a longer stint in that position than nine other seasons that ended with a first place finish (excluding 1994). Of course, unless the Yankees hold the top spot on the final day of the season, the longevity of their lead won’t matter. Once again, however, history is on the side of the Bronx Bombers, as only two other teams in franchise history spent more days in first place (1924 and 2010) without sealing the deal.

Days Spent in First Place, Per Season Since 1901

Note: Based on position at the end of game dates only (i.e., off days excluded).Years with no days in first place omitted. Red bars indicate seasons in which the Yankees finished in first place.
Source: Baseball-reference.com

The Yankees have spent at least one day in first place in 93 of 112 seasons, and at least 100 days leading the division in 29 campaigns. Interestingly, despite occupying the top spot so often, the 1927 Yankees are the only team in franchise history to hold a lead from wire-to-wire. On the other end of the spectrum, the 1978 and 2005 Bronx Bombers were the only first place finishers to spend less than 20% of the year looking down at the competition. And, on each occasion, the Red Sox were the team the Yankees caught from behind.

After holding a double-digit lead, a one-game edge almost feels like being behind. However, the rest of the division is still chasing the Yankees, who have historically been at their best when leading the pack. With only 26 games remaining, the marathon has now become a sprint. Will the 2012 Yankees be able to maintain their position as front runners, or suffer the fate of a pacemaker? Let the pennant race begin.

Matt Moore pitched like Sandy Koufax to start the game tonight, struck out six of the first nine batters he faced. But in the fourth, Alex Rodriguez hit a hard RBI double and Russell Martin followed with a two run double of his own. Funny moment when Rodriguez was batting. A pitch landed in the dirt and Rodriguez waved his arm for Jeter to run to third. It was a gut move and the wrong one. The ball didn’t roll far enough away. Immediately, Rodriguez caught himself and held up his hand. Jeter cracked up, so did Rodriguez and then he cracked the double.

But Hiroki Kuroda couldn’t hold the lead as the Rays tied it 3-3, and then 4-4 after Martin’s solo homer put the Yanks ahead.

The Yanks took the lead for good in the seventh on a throwing error by the second baseman Elliot Johnson. A sacrifice bunt by Jayson Nix put runners at second and third with one out. Infield in, Jeter, who had three hits so far, hit a tapper to second and Johnson threw it away. Both runners scored.

Boone Logan got two outs in the bottom of the inning while Jeter made a nice over-the-shoulder catch to end the inning (came up limping some, too). Then David Robertson and Rafael Soriano shut the damn door.

Final Score: Yanks 6, Rays 4.

Yeah, and the Orioles lost.

It wasn’t easy but it was a win. And for one night we can exhale.

[Photo Credit: Estera Lazowska]

It’s Hiroki as the Yanks look to stop the bleeding with a win. They’ll face a tough pitcher in Matt Moore.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Russell Martin C
Curtis Granderson CF
Andruw Jones LF
Steve Pearce 1B
Jayson Nix 2B

Never mind the self-pity: LET’S GO YANK-EES!

[Photo Credit: Luca Pierro]

I got people coming out the woodwork calling, e-mailing, and texting me, busting my goddamn balls about the Yankees. Pat Jordan’s on the horn three times a day, cackling like the true sadist that he is.

Hank Waddles called last night too, but to commiserate. He likened watching the Yankees to having a fight with your spouse. One of those bad fights where you try to remember back to when you weren’t fighting and things were easy and happy but can’t. Like when you’ve got the flu and can’t recall being well.

The Wife says to me, “Are you going to be like this all month?”

I say, “Every time they lose.”

What am I going to do with you? That’s what she’s thinking and she’s right.

There is good news, though, and it is this: The Yankees are in first place today.

Every opening I came up with for tonight’s 5-2 loss to the Rays was depressing and cheap. The Yanks have played poorly, blown a big divisional lead and I was ticked. But I stopped myself and tried again. I remembered this isn’t the finish line.

If this collapse coincided with the end of the season, like it did for the Red Sox and Braves last year, then we could thrash and roll about all night. However, there are 27 games left and it’s now a flat-footed tie with Orioles. If they come up short in this sprint, we’ll have plenty of time to hash out why they weren’t good enough this year. In the meantime, maybe they’ll get mad, play well and win.

We don’t know if it will happen that way, and by the look of things, the chances aren’t that great. But it could and we should keep watching and hoping like the fans of the other, less pre-destined, teams.

I didn’t come to this outlook on my own. I woke up this morning to mouse clicks followed by a small voice repeating “Yes!” I figured my son was at the computer checking baseball scores, just down the hall from my room. The problem with that is I knew that the Pirates lost yesterday afternoon and I knew my son knew this, too. I pulled myself out of bed to see what he was celebrating. He sat there dangling his feet and grinning like he just heard about Cookie Crisp cereal. I pulled up over his shoulder and asked him what he was doing.

“Checking out the olden days,” he said. He had clicked all the way back to June. The Pirates won a lot of games in June, so he was thrilled. It didn’t seem pathetic either, like it is when I hole up with Baseball-Reference.com and swaddle myself in past glory each time the Yankees get bounced from the Postseason. I think he just wanted to see the whole picture of the season rather than dwell on their most recent disappointment.

The 2012 Yankee team has access to something better than this. There are some guys that could play better and some guys that could get healthy. If it all happens that way, I think they’re the best team over the last 27 games and I hope their records indicates that. If it doesn’t, well, my son wouldn’t mind if we joined him rooting for the Pirates.

As for the game I have only one thought. After the Yanks went down 3-2 in the third, they sent 21 batters to the plate for the rest of the game. Three over the minimum over the final six innings. I am sure some will credit the Rays pitcher Alex Cobb with grabbing the lead and not letting it go. And some will blame the Yanks hitters for tightening up and failing to execute when they fell behind. I don’t know which is correct, so I hope the Yanks load up on both lead-holding and come-backing for these last 27 games. Find out where the O’s and Rays are shopping.

It’s Fab Five Freddy Garcia and a whole lot of sweaty palms for Yankee fans tonight.

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher 1B
Robinson Cano DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Raul Ibanez LF
Jayson Nix 2B
Chris Dickerson RF
Chris Stewart C

They are still in first place, though.

Never mind the Pepto: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

It’s wasn’t a blow out, the Yankees did not embarrass themselves, but they still found themselves on the losing end of another ballgame at the Trop. The Rays had a few RBI bloops and bleeders that proved to be the difference as they beat the Yankees, 4-3. Alex Rodriguez managed a soft single but didn’t look strong in his first game back, Ichiro Suzuki continues to strikeout and has almost become an automatic out.

Robinson Cano, well let’s just say his lack of pep on certain plays–like the go-ahead single in the eighth–doesn’t not reflect well on him (though on second thought, there is an explanation…)

The Yanks hit the ball hard against James Shields but most of those hard hits were right at defenders. Shields deserves credit too, almost everything he threw was off the plate and he pitched deep into the game. It was a tough-minded performance.

Painful loss, but then again, every loss is painful at this time of year. The Orioles made it hurt but good as they won and now trail the Yanks by just one game.

Tomorrow, the Bombers turn their eyes to Fab Five Freddy Garcia.

Hang tight, they haven’t choked anything away yet, and strap in: this is going to be a wild month.

[Photo Credit: Tomorrow Started; Chris O’Meara/AP]

Or some such thing. What do I know from cards? All I know is that C.C. Sabathia goes against James Shields today and every day is a must-win for the Yanks–and the Rays for that matter. Game is in Tampa, where the Yanks are 2 for their last 10.

Alex is back.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Eric Chavez 3B
Raul Ibanez LF
Russell Martin C
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chris Dickerson CF

Never mind the shpilkes: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture Credit: Eduard Bezembinder]

Forget digestion, forget relaxation, forget peanuts, crackerjack and all that “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” good timey horseshit. The Yankees gave their fans all the agita we could handle and then some Sunday afternoon. It began with Phil Hughes, who couldn’t hold a humble 3-1 lead and was rounded off by no hitting, a lousy bullpen, and poor managing.

Hughes coughed up the lead in the sixth when Mark Reynolds–yeah, Tom Brunansky’s left ass cheek–hit his second home run of the day. The first one was a bomb. Second one was no cheapie either.

Jeter, Swisher, Cano, nobody hit on this homestand. Ibanez and Andruw Jones are automatic outs these days. Cano, in particular, looks like he takes at bats off. He shanked a throw in the eighth inning that underscores his lack of concentration.

This was an exasperating loss for the Yanks whose lead over the Orioles is down to two. They haven’t shit the bed yet, there is a long way to go, and plenty of time to stop playing like they were sponsored by Chico’s Bail Bonds, but right now…they stink.

Final Score: Orioles 8, Yanks 3.

[Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images]

Yanks lose today, their lead in the American League East shrinks to two and we’re back to bitching. They win, the lead is four and we can digest.

And so it goes in September.

Never mind the speech-making: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Inge Morath via It’s a Long Season]

About the best thing that can be said for the Yankees through the first six innings today is that they weren’t trailing by more than they were. Curtis Granderson left the game with an injured leg and was on his way to the hospital for an MRI with the score 3-1, the lone Yankee run coming on a solo homer by Robinson Cano.

Cano just missed another homer too in the sixth inning, too.

The Wife and I were in the car, driving across Sixth Avenue on Eighth Street, listening to John and Suzyn on the radio. Sterling gave it the ol “It is high, it is far…” only to report that the ball was caught. It took everything in me a) not to crash the car into a pedestrian or b) scream at the top of my lungs and frighten my Bride. If I’d been alone who knows? Instead, I calmly clicked the radio off and said, “That man is irresponsible.”

Cano was fantastic in the field, too, turning a wonderful double play and making a tough over-the-shoulder catch.

The reason the Yanks were fortunate is because David Phelps walked the world. But the O’s couldn’t take advantage. Then, in the seventh, the Yanks had an unlikely rally. With one out, Steve Pearce singled for his first hit as a Yankee. Russell Martin flew out and then Jason Nix fell behind 0-2. We were still in the car, now on the West Side Highway driving home, and with each ensuing pitch I called the strike out that never came. Instead, Nix walked. That brought up Eduardo Nunez–remember him?

Don’t hack at the first pitch, don’t hack at the first pitch.

So he hacked at the first pitch, a fastball and drove home Pearce. Then, a new pitcher, and Ichiro waled. Bases loaded for Jeter. We were home now but stayed in the car knowing we couldn’t miss what came next. So it’s 0-2 with the quickness but the Captain worked the count full and walked. Game tied. Fist bump with The Wife.

By the time we got upstairs and turned on the TV they were replaying SS J.J. Hardy’s error which allowed the go-ahead run to score. Go figure that, especially since Hardy is a good fielder. David Robertson pitched a clean eighth and Rafael Soriano mowed ’em down in the ninth and the Yanks won, 4-3.

Feels about as big a win as they’ve had all year.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. We will take it.

Yanks aim not to suck and give us indigestion this afternoon when they host the O’s at the Stadium.

Never mind the Malox: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture by Thomas Brendan]

Out boys got their asses handed to them by the surging Orioles tonight at the Stadium. Mark Reynolds, the reincarnation of Ron Kittle’s nutsack, hit a two-run home run against Hiroki Kuroda, made two beautiful plays in the field, and hit another dinger against Derek Lowe.

It was more than enough.

Yanks had a couple of chances to score and didn’t do chiggiddy boom bam with them (Nick Swisher struck out four times). A solo homer by Curtis Granderson in the ninth is all that kept them from being shut out. The Yanks are a flat team since they played the Rangers a few weeks back and are paying the price for their ineptitude. The O’s now trail the Yanks by two.

Final Score: O’s 6, Yanks 1.

Yanks turn to our Hiro in one of the biggest games of the year.

1. Jeter SS
2. Swish 1B
3. Cano 2B
4. Granderson CF
5. Chavez 3B
6. Ibanez LF
7. Martin C
8. Ichiro RF
9. Nix DH

Never mind the prologue: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

The Yanks host the Orioles this weekend at the Stadium. Next week, they go to Tampa for three and then to Baltimore for a four-game series.

So, here it is, the Yanks have been mincing around for a month and now they’ve got their toughest ten-game stretch of the season.

I wonder if they’ll rise to the occasion. I can’t call it.

[Photo Credit: Matthew Pugliese]

Yankee ace CC Sabathia had two runs in one pocket and a ray of sunshine in the other. He didn’t have the world’s greatest defensive performance behind him, but the runs and the sunshine should have been enough against the lowly Blue Jays. It wasn’t nearly. The Jays beat the Yanks 8-5, took the series, and if you watched all the games without knowing the standings, you’d be shocked to learn that the Yankees were on top and the Jays were on the bottom.

I was at the game with my family and for two innings, we lived the ideal day at the ball park. Unobstructed views for the wee ones, shade, and the Yankees kicking ass. I noted it, but I should have savored it. My kids began melting down approximately five minutes before Sabathia did and it never really got any better. We ended up leaving the stadium in storm of tears, trailing by a run in the seventh.

By the time we got home, my kids had straightened things out, but the Yankees never did get it together. I didn’t properly appreciate the Yankees 2-1 win yesterday. In the face of this series chucking loss, the 2-1 win seems like an oasis of pleasure.

Losses on TV make me want to spill a thousand words. Losses in person just make me shrug my shoulders. It’s so obviously a game of action and execution when you watch it live. It’s not the scripted drama I tend to make it when I watch on TV.

Can’t say much for this series except the Blue Jays clearly outplayed the Yankees and deserved their two wins. The Yankees will be in first place for several more days at least. It could stretch for the rest of season. Despite the evidence on the field lately, I think it will.

Photo by Rich Schultz/AP

Yanks go for seconds this afternoon against the Jays at the Stadium.

It’s the Big Fella.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Andruw Jones RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Steve Pearce DH
Jayson Nix 3B
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Chris Stewart C

Oh, Scoretruck, where art thou?

Never mind those Birds on the Creep: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Jacinda Russell]

The Yankees won a taut, low-scoring affair with a big performance by a starting pitcher, some good defense and a solid bullpen. As long as you don’t have to answer any follow up questions, that’s our story for this game, OK? The Yanks can win close ones. All is well, everything will be OK from this point on, yada, yada. This 2-1
victory over the Blue Jays was the huge sigh of relief that the team needed after Monday’s disappointment. Got it?

Phil Hughes was good for the second straight game – a Yankee-Stadium-Special his only blemish. Never mind that he was up 1-2 on the hitter, and that the hitter was someone named Adeiny Hechavarria, who may or may not have discovered the silent “V”. It was Hechavarria’s first career home run, though I wonder if he’ll be fined in Kangaroo court for smiling – I’m not sure opposing batters are allowed count Hughes and Nova homers for personal milestones.

The Yankee offense jumped out to an early lead, that’s good right? Should it matter that the pitcher the Blue Jays sent against them is so lost this year he’s walked 5.1 batters per nine innings? He walked eight Tigers in his last start. He shut the Yanks down for seven innings.

But that’s not the whole story, because for Ricky Romero to have a shut-down game this year, something else must be at work. And yeah, there it is, the Yankees had recent re-acquisition Steve Pearce batting cleanup. Russell Martin batted fifth. Russell Martin, who may not be the fifth best hitting catcher in the Yankee system, was the fifth best hitter the Yanks could send out there tonight.

The game threatened to tilt in a tricky sixth inning, but the quick reactions of Robinson Cano saved the day. De-Fense, that’s important, right? Hughes walked the first two hitters and Adam Lind tried to order another Special, but the kitchen was all out of meatballs. He skied it to the wall in the right field corner. The tying run moved to third with one out. Yunel Escobar stung one Willie-McCovey style right to second. Cano snared and fired to third to catch Rasmus dancing by himself. The double play balm soothed those nagging doubts that began to appear.

If someone does start asking follow-up questions, like “why was that game against that pathetic team so damn close?” Or  “can you imagine a team like the Yankees fielded tonight winning many future games?” you just say, “how about that Red Sox trade?” And cross your fingers.

Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty

The Show Must Go On.

Hughes on the hill.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Steve Pearce DH
Russell Martin C
Curtis Granderson CF
Andruw Jones RF
Jayson Nix 3B
Ichiro Suzuki LF

Never mind the Band Aids: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Illustration by Tang Yau Hoong]

I’ll take the heat for last night’s loss. With the Yankees up 6-4 with two out in the ninth, I called out to The Wife, “Come in here, Soriano’s about to untuck his shirt.” I knew I was tempting fate but I said it anyway. Two hanging sliders later the Yanks were down 7-6, and even though Derek Jeter homered in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, I knew I’d jinxed it.

That’s the power of the fan, don’t you know? We control these things, not the players. So don’t blame Soriano for a lousy night–he was unfairly booed when he walked off the mound–or Derek Lowe, whose throwing error helped the Jays scored the winning run. I’m a team player. I’ll take the hit. I don’t do that again.

To make matters worse, Mark Teixeira left the game with a grade 1 calf strain. He’s gone for a week, maybe two. Chad Jennings has the low lights.

The Yankees once had a comfortable lead. But they’ve sputtered the last month and now the Orioles are 3.5 games back, with the Rays right close, too.

Looks like we’re in for a tense September.