The Yankees had lost three straight going into last night’s game and frustration built by the inning as Chris Young was stingy and kept the Bombers off the board. Frustration turned into irritation when Young hit a two-out RBI single in the sixth inning to put the Mets up, 3-0.

And then, over the course of four pitches, the game changed.

Mark Teixeira led off the seventh against Young and worked the count full. He hit a foul tip that was dropped by the catcher, Josh Thole. The next pitch was over the plate but low for ball four. Close, and on a different night with a different umpire it could have easily been called a strike. Nick Swisher took a big swing at the first pitch he saw and it was likely his swing that caught right fielder Lucas Duda off-guard. Duda stepped back, hesitated, and then ran forward. Swisher hit the ball off the end of the bat and was so sure that he’d made an easy out that he ducked his head and loafed out of the box. But Duda’s hesitation was costly as he ran ahead and dove for the ball. He missed and the ball squirted behind him. Teixeira moved to third and even without hustling Swisher made it to second.

Before Yankee fans could say “runners in scoring position” Raul Ibanez hit a line drive on the first pitch he saw from Young. It was a seed, headed for the right field corner, and whoosh! it went over the fence, a three run homer. Four pitches and the game had changed.

Jon Rauch relieved Young, struck out Russell Martin and got ahead of pinch-hitter Eric Chavez 0-2 when he looked to waste a pitch up in the zone. It was at Chavez’s shoulders but the lefty fought it off and hit a fly ball to left. It appeared to be a long foul ball, but it stayed fair and went over the fence to put the Yankees ahead 4-3.

That’s how the score remained as the Bombers worked out of trouble in almost every inning–David Robertson pulled his usual Houdini act in the eighth, walking two and striking out the side–as it was the Mets’ turn to come up short with men on. Raphael Soriano got the save. The last out, a long fly ball off the bat of Daniel Murphy, looked scary coming off his bat. But it didn’t have that good sound and it fell into Swisher’s glove.

Yanks look to end their modest three-game skid tonight with Ivan Nova on the hill. I like their chances agains Chris Young. This weekend will get a whole lot more uncomfortable for Yankee fans should the Mets win what with R.A. Dickey pitching tomorrow night.

1. Jeter SS
2. Granderson CF
3. A-Rod 3B
4. Cano 2B
5. Teixeira 1B
6. Swisher RF
7. Ibanez LF
8. Martin C
9. Nova P

Never mind those scrappy underdogs: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Shannon Stapleton]

Luck played a good part in the Yankees’ 10-game winning streak. They weren’t blowing teams out, instead, they won close games. And now they’ve lost three straight, games they would have won last week. That’s baseball.

Andy Pettitte had a tough first inning and it gave the Mets enough of a lead to carry them to a 6-4 win on a rainy summer night in Queens. Couple of walks and a hit loaded the bases. Pettitte had two outs but Justin Turner lofted a soft line drive to center to drive in two and then Ike Davis swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a high fly ball to right field. Nick Swisher moved close to the fence and it appeared as if he had a hard time seeing the ball. He jumped when he reached the wall and the ball bounced off the thumb of his glove and dropped out of view for a three-run home run.

The Yanks continued their season-long futility driving home base runners stranding men in almost every inning. Alex Rodriguez and Andruw Jones hit solo homers and Robinson Cano hit a two run home run–all three of them were shots–and the Mets tacked on a run against Corey Wade.

All of which set things up nicely for Frank Francisco, he of the fat ass and fatter mouth.

The Yankees put the tying run on base after Russell Martin led off the inning with a hard line drive that was caught, but Curtis Granderson looked at a fastball right down the middle for a third strike (it seemed inexplicable at first but he must simply have been fooled, expecting the split-finger pitch), and Mark Teixeira popped up to short.

Francisco survived to back up his dopey boast and for a night Mets fans have bragging rights. They may be damp and Francisco may have tested their patience, but they go home happy.

As for the Yanks, tomorrow becomes a big game what with R.A. Dickey waiting for them on Sunday night. I believe Ivan Nova will pitch well and they’ll end this small losing streak.

[Photo Credit: SNY]

The unofficial Yankee Score Truck makes its way around town each and every weekday. I saw it driving north on Sixth Ave last summer and then again the next day headed south on Seventh Ave. But it was moving and I didn’t have to take a picture. I didn’t see it again although I kept my eyes peeled. Last weekend, however, I sat in an outdoor cafe with my cousin when I saw it drive by.

And then today, I’m walking up Eighth Ave and I stop for the light at 57th Street when the Score Truck drives past, moving east. I looked after it–missed it again!–when it stopped at the light on Broadway. I took off and ran through pedestrian traffic until I reached it before the light turned. Got my pictures and talked about tonight’s game with the driver.

Here’s the line up:

1. Jeter SS
2. Granderson CF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Cano 2B
6. Swisher RF
7. Jones LF
8. Martin C
9. Pettitte P

Tonight gives two lefties with pronounced noses. Let’s hope the rain stays away.

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

It took a while, but in the sixth inning DiMaggio stepped up to the plate and killed two birds with one stone as he sent a home run to right, bringing his personal hitting streak to thirty-five games and stretching the Yankee home run streak to a major-league record eighteen games in a row. The homer gave his team a brief lead, but the Yanks would need a two-out ninth-inning rally (which included a DiMaggio double) to earn a 5-4 win.

The Yankees hope to start a new winning streak against the Mets at Citi Field.

The Yankees entered yesterday’s off day in unfamiliar territory: on a losing a streak. It had been almost a full month since the Yankees last lost consecutive games, so you can bet the Bronx Bombers will be chomping at the bit to get back in the win column tonight at CitiField.

Over the first three months of the season, the Yankees have had seven stretches featuring consecutive losses, but none has lasted longer than three games (three have been two games and four have been three games). Even when they weren’t playing particularly well, the Yankees managed to avoid the kind of long losing streak that can put a team deep in the hole. As a result, the Yankees recent hot stretch has allowed them to build a lead instead of chip away at a deficit.

Distribution of Yankees’ Losing Streaks, Since 1918

Note: Includes all streaks of three or more losses.
Source: Baseball-reference.com

The last time the Yankees avoided a losing streak of at least four games was 1980. Probably one of the most overlooked teams in franchise history, Dick Howser’s club won 103 games that year, but all was forgotten when they were swept by the Royals in the ALCS. Ironically, the Yankees had only lost three games in a row on three occasions during the regular season, just once more than the lowest total in franchise history. Unfortunately for Howser, the team’s fourth three-game losing streak came at an inopportune time as it not only denied him a chance to manage in the World Series, but also wound up costing his job.

It’s a good thing the Yankees have avoided losing streaks in June because, over the first two months of the season, they were on pace to rank near the bottom in terms of both the number of losing stretches and games contained therein. Since 1918, 26 different Yankees’ teams have finished the year with four or fewer losing streaks of at least three games, which puts this season’s current total in perspective. Pro-rated over the entire season, the 2012 Yankees would still fall toward the bottom quintile in both catgeories, which illustrates the extent to which the team sputtered in April and May.

Yankees’ Top-10 and Bottom-10 Total Streak Losses, Since 1918

Note: Totals are the sum of losses that are a part of distinct losing streaks of three or more games in one season.
Source: Baseball-reference.com

Tomorrow night against the Mets, the Yankees will be seeking to avoid another three-game losing streak. After winning at least 10 in a row for only the 26th time in franchise history, the last thing the Yankees want to do is start ceding some of the ground they gained by following up that stretch with a string of losing. Over the years, the Yankees have done a good job of avoiding a winning streak hangover, so history seems to be in their favor. Not only has the team gone 14-11 after having a long winning streak snapped (one streak came at the end of the season), but on only three occasions did the Bronx Bombers lose three or more games in a row.  Is that a good omen heading into the Subway Series? Perhaps, but having Andy Pettitte on the mound doesn’t hurt either.

Yankees’ Season Record in Years with and Number of Losses Immediately Following a 10-Game Winning Streak, Since 1918

Source: Baseball-reference.com

Another good sign is the amount of success enjoyed by Yankees’ teams that have won at least 10 games in a row during a season. The 23 different Bronx Bomber ballclubs to record such a lengthy stretch of winning (three teams had two 10-plus game winnings streaks in one season) have posted a combined winning percentage of .628, and all but six wound up finishing the year in first place (four of which still won at least 94 games). The only real outlier in the group was the 1968 team, which won 10 in a row in September. Unfortunately, it was too little too late as the winning streak only pulled the Yankees to within 16 games of first place. Besides, even had they been closer in the standings, losing six in a row and nine of 10 immediately thereafter would have been the final nail anyway. At the very least, the 10-game winning streak helped the 1968 club finish above .500, thereby avoiding a share of the franchise record of four consecutive losing seasons.

Even the very best baseball teams lose 30%-40% of their games, but the ones who enjoy the most success seem to spread them out evenly over the season. Although the long stretches are the ones that gain the most notoriety, streaks of three and four games can really take a toll. The 2012 Yankees probably won’t become the fourth team in franchise history to have two 10-game winning streaks in one season, but if they can avoid those smaller losing streaks, another division title could be in the offing.

DiMaggio came to bat in the first inning and got jammed, but managed to muscle a single over the head of Detroit first baseman Rudy York, extending his streak to thirty-four straight. That total matched George McQuinn’s streak from 1938; all that remained was Ty Cobb’s 1911 streak of forty games and Sisler’s record forty-one. The other streak continued as well, as Phil Rizzuto (Holy Cow!) knocked one out to left. The Yankees had homered for seventeen games in a row, tying the major league record. None of this was enough to earn a win on this first day of summer, however, as the Tigers posted a 7-2 victory.

If you just look at the score, you’ll think the game wasn’t close. If you just watch the highlights, you’ll think the game was played in a time machine set for April of 2009 when every pop fly seemed like it floated into the seats. But if you skipped work and took in every pitch — or if you’ve got the entire summer off, like me — you know the truth. This was a close game, and there were exactly four moments that decided the outcome. Each moment fell in favor of the Braves; things might have turned out differently if even one had gone the Yankees’ way.

Moment #1: Top of the first, two outs. Michael Bourn on first base.
Bourn is one of the fastest men in the major leagues, and has stolen more than 250 bases in his career. Even though he plays in the other league, I’m guessing his name came up in the pitchers meeting this week. Still, Phil Hughes ignored him, and with two outs Bourn was able to take four steps towards second before Hughes even moved. It might’ve been the easiest steal of Bourn’s life. Four pitches later, Dan Uggla singled to left, easily scoring Bourn. If Hughes had paid attention to Bourn when he was still on first, that run wouldn’t have scored.

Moment #2: Top of the first, two outs. Dan Uggla on first base.
Hughes has been so good recently that some people (okay, me) have been thinking that maybe — just maybe — he might still live up to all that hype that’s evaporated over the past couple years. But even as good as he’s been, he still hasn’t been able to get past his home run issues. Facing Freddie Freeman immediately after yielding the Uggla single, Hughes peered in and located Russell Martin’s target, low and inside. I know you have to pitch inside, even in Yankee Stadium, even when you serve up gopher balls like heated towels on a first class flight, but it makes me nervous every time I see a Yankee catcher slide over to the first base side of the plate. Sure enough, the fast ball that was meant to be just a touch inside floated out over the heart of the plate and was quickly deposited into the right field seats. Braves 3, Yankees 0.

Moment #3: Bottom of the seventh, one out. Runners on first and third.
We’ve skipped over several home runs, all solo shots. In order: Derek Jeter in the first, Martín Prado in the third, Jason Heyward in the fourth, David Ross in the fifth, Eric Chávez in the fifth, and Alex Rodríguez and Robinson Canó, both in the sixth. All of that brought the score to 6-4, Braves, when Curtis Granderson singled to right to score Martin and push Jeter to third. The Yankees trailed by only a run, and Rodríguez was headed to the plate. I think it says a lot about the 2012 version of A-Rod that whenever he comes up in situations like this,  instead of hoping for a home run or base hit — or even a sacrifice fly — I find myself hoping he avoids the worst-case scenario. The camera zoomed in on him as he dug his cleats into the dirt and rocked back on his heels before coiling in anticipation of Chad Durbin’s first pitch. I took the opportunity to have a quick chat with him. “Please don’t ground into a double play,” I said. “Please.” He hammered Durbin’s second pitch to short for a made-t0-order 6-4-3 double play.

A strikeout or popout would’ve passed the baton to Canó; a fly ball would’ve tied the game; a base hit would’ve tied the game and upped the ante. A home run? That’s the old A-Rod. (Well, actually this is the old A-Rod, and we’d better get used to it.)

Moment #4: Top of the eighth, one out. Runners on first and third.
Still trailing 6-5 (see Moment #3, above), Freeman rifled a ground ball directly at first baseman Eric Chávez. The ball came up on Chávez a bit, and it bounced away from him. He recovered to make the out at first, but the run scored from third. Had Chávez fielded the ball cleanly and started a 3-6-3 DP, the inning would be over. (I know I’m not supposed to, but I just assumed the double play.) Heyward came up next and launched his second homer of the day, a no-doubter into the seats in right. Twenty minutes earlier the Yankees looked ready to tie the game at six; now they trailed 9-5, and nothing else mattered. Final score: Braves 10, Yankees 5.

The good news, of course, is that thanks to their torrid June, the Yankees still sit comfortably atop the standings in the American League East. We could worry about their failure to hit with runners in scoring position, but no one else would shed a tear. We could lament the end of a streak which saw Yankee starters pitch at least six innings in nineteen straight games, but we wouldn’t get any pity.

Here’s the bottom line. Even though yesterday’s recap had a funereal theme and this one focused on what might have been, we just might be talking about the best team in baseball. And that’s never a bad thing.

[Photo Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images]

Phil Hughes looks to keep rollin’ on a hot summer afternoon in the Bronx.

So why do I have a hunch he’s going to get smacked around?

Derek Jeter DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Eric Chavez 1B
Russell Martin C
Jayson Nix SS

Never mind my misgivings: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Markus Hartel]

The Detroit Tigers came to New York for a three-game series and were greeted rudely by the Bronx Bombers, who crushed Detroit pitching and came away with a 14-4 win. Tommy Henrich hit a high drive into the right field seats in the first inning, keeping the Yankee home run streak alive at sixteen games, and DiMaggio singled immediately after to keep his own string going. He would add three more hits, two singles and a double, to give himself a nice 4 for 5 afternoon. With seven hits in two days, DiMaggio’s season average was up to .354, good enough for fifth in the league but still far behind Ted Williams, who led the galaxy at .420. DiMaggio had now moved to within eight games of Sisler’s mark, still believed to be the all-time record, and he seemed to be paying attention. Much later, DiMaggio would look back at this game as pivotal: “I didn’t get warm about this thing until the 33rd game.” As summer arrived in the Bronx, he’d get warmer still.

Gather ’round family, friends and fans. Tonight we bear witness to the passing of a winning streak. It lived a long, rich life. It just turned ten games old yesterday as a matter of fact. It lasted longer than any of us could have hoped when it started.

It’s natural to think about the things that could have been done differently to extend its time here on earth. To beat your chest and moan about the two separate runners thrown out at home plate. Both were good sends by the third base coach; both runners were clearly out. To gnash our teeth about the Braves knack for the two-out RBI. To pity the unfortunate Hiroki Kuroda who pitched well enough to win on some nights. To wail about the unfair quality of closer Craig Kimbrel’s filthy arsenal.

All of this is natural and healthy. But while it’s proper to mourn the loss of something great, it’s also necessary to celebrate the greatness. Do not wallow in the sad, helpless, final moments of the streak, but rather revel in the wonderful, improbable events that led to this point.

Phil Hughes, given up for useless by every cognizant Yankee fan not related to him, has been outstanding. Ivan Nova, previously the undeserved beneficiary of massive run support, is now earning his victories and then some. A bullpen missing its heart, soul and right shoe has answered every bell with aplomb. And a lineup that has been better at creating opportunities than it has been at cashing them in, found a way to get it done ten games in a row.

Eleven games ago we didn’t really know what the 2012 Yankees could be. Now we know they just might be the best team in baseball. That’s a lot to digest.

So we send the winning streak to a better place. Give it one good cry and then dry your eyes, because after every loss there’s a chance that the next winning streak will start with the very next game. The next one might not be ten games long, it might not be five. But enjoy it, whatever it is.

Swish is back as Kuroda looks to give the Yanks another strong performance.

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C

Never mind counting: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

DiMaggio avoided any drama by singling in the first inning, bringing the streak to thirty-two games in a row. Apparently relaxed, he went on to collect another single in the fifth and a homerun in the eighth. These efforts, along with a grand slam by Charlie “King Kong” Keller (that’s Keller in the photo above), led to a much needed Yankee victory as they salvaged the finale of the their three-game set with the White Sox, winning 7-2. Thirty-two straight for DiMag, fifteen for Yankee home run hitters, and a home run in three straight games for Keller. Not bad at all.

Your calendar might tell you that the first day of summer is later this week, but for me it was Monday. I got out of bed at around 10:30, had a casual lunch, ran a few errands, then tried out the shiny new grill my wife got me for Father’s Day the day before. Let me tell you this with certainty — there are few things better than grilling some burgers while watching the Yanks during the late afternoon of a California summer day. (And if you’re interested, aside from the burgers the full meal included corn on the cob, fries, and a salad with the most incredible white peach balsamic vinegar for dressing.)

The only thing that could’ve made all this better, of course, was a Yankee victory — and that’s just what they delivered, cruising to their tenth straight win.

After suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees only ten minutes ago, the Braves came out determined to turn the tables and open the series with a win. Speedster Michael Bourne opened with a triple to left center, then scored on a ground out to give Atlanta an early 1-0 lead off Yankee starter CC Sabathia, and they’d add another run in the fifth to double their lead to two.

Mike Minor, meanwhile, was holding the Yankees down but good. There was a walk to Alex Rodríguez to open the second, but A-Rod was immediately erased on a 4-6-3 double play, and that was it. Minor had faced only twelve batters through the first four innings, but the Yankee bats came to life in the fifth.

A-Rod opened the inning with a line drive single to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Robinson Canó followed that with a walk, and two batters later Russell Martin rifled a ground-rule double down the left field line to score A-Rod and put runners at second and third with one out. After a walk to Jayson Nix and a popout from Chris Stewart, Derek Jeter came to the plate with the bases loaded and two out and his team needing a base hit to take the lead. The Captain delivered, bouncing a grounder back up the middle to score two and move the score to 3-2.

Mark Teixeira homered to left in the next inning to push the lead to 4-2, Jeter came up with another two-out RBI with another grounder through the box in the seventh, and Canó finished the Yankee scoring with a bomb into the monuments in dead center field in the eighth. Yankees 6, Braves 2.

The story of the game, though, was Sabathia. After the game he would say that the starters had all been going so well that he didn’t want to be the one to end the streak. He might’ve given up a few things early on, but once he got the lead and smelled the victory, the Big Man was on his game. In the final four innings he allowed only a single base hit while striking out six. It was Sabathia’s first complete game of the year, and according to ESPN’s Game Score stat, it was his best outing of the season.

Ten wins in a row for the Yank, a two and half game lead in the American League East, and just half a game behind the Dodgers for the best record in baseball. Life is good.

[Photo Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images]

It’s C.C. vs. last week’s hard luck loser, Mike Minor.

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Andruw Jones RF
Russell Martin DH
Jayson Nix LF
Chris Stewart C

Never mind complacency: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Uncredited Photo]

The Yankees lost their second straight to the White Sox, coming up on the short end of a 3-2 score. DiMaggio managed only a single in three at bats, a blooper over the head of shortstop Luke Appling, but it was enough to keep the streak alive. Charlie Keller’s two-run homerun in the second accounted for all of the Yankee runs and made it fourteen straight games that New York batters had homered.

There were some who believed that DiMaggio’s single hits in games thirty and thirty-one were questionable at best. The ball that hopped off of Appling’s shoulder on the 17th was seen as especially controversial, and various reporters at the time reported that fans at the Stadium stood in silence as they awaited the official scorer’s decision. That official scorer was Dan Daniel, and in October of 2007 David Robeson wrote an article in the Walrus in which he asserted that Daniel’s biased scoring had erroneously given DiMaggio two hits that he didn’t deserve. (The hit in the 31st game glanced off of Appling’s glove, and Robeson argues it should’ve been scored an error as well.) Here’s the crux of Robeson’s argument:

In keeping with the ethics of the era, Dan Daniel, a popular writer who had been covering baseball since 1909, enjoyed all the perks of covering the Yankees. He travelled with and befriended the players, and had his expenses paid for by the club itself. Daniel was, by modern standards, part of the team, as much a PR man as a reporter. He wrote of DiMaggio extensively, championing “The Big Dago” before DiMaggio had even appeared in the bigs, and it was he who authored the quote, “Here is the replacement for Babe Ruth.” The Clipper made for wonderful copy: he was a good-looking bachelor who patrolled the most revered position in all of sports, centre field for the New York Yankees. Daniel also happened to be the most important witness to the streak. The reason? This friend of DiMaggio and quasi-employee of the New York Yankees just happened, unbelievably, to be the Yankees’ official home-game scorer as well — the very arbiter of hits and errors. For games at Yankee Stadium, Daniel, and Daniel alone, decided if DiMaggio was to be credited with a hit.

There is, of course, no video of either play, so we are left only with a box score and a handful of written accounts. One thing is certain, though. There are countless variables in the game of baseball, ranging from an umpire’s view of a pitch in the neighborhood of the outside corner to the distance of one park’s fence as compared to another. An official scorer’s decision is simply one more thing which is beyond a player’s control. DiMaggio had a hit on the 17th, another on the 18th, and lots more after that.

Know what’s a good sign? That C.C. Sabathia has been the Yankees’ worst starter during their recent streak. ‘Cause I never worry about C.C. and if he’s their biggest problem, man, that sure does bode well. Ivan Nova had another outstanding performance today as the Yankees beat the Nationals 4-1. Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano hit solo home runs and the Yanks delivered a satisfying Father’s Day gift for all those Yankee-rootin’ Dads out there.

Felt damn good for the rest of us, too.

David Waldstein has the game story over at the Times.

[Photo Credit: Greg Flume/Getty Images; Painting by Wayne Thiebaud]

The Yanks look to make it nine straight this afternoon in Washington D.C. Edwin Jackson hopes to help his team get at least one win in this series.

Never mind the power drill n duct tape: Happy Father’s Day Fellas and Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Via: Ffffound]

David Waldstein has a long profile on Russell Martin and catching in the New York Times:

The physical penalties paid by the catcher, of course, are not often characterized by the spectacular violence of a wide receiver clotheslined by a safety. Neither are they frequently accompanied by the angry acoustics of a crunching hockey check into the boards.

The price paid, as much as anything, is one of plain, penetrating exhaustion, both mental and physical. It is about enduring a grinding, dirty routine, where, in St. Louis or Arlington, Tex., in August, a catcher can shed 10 pounds in a game. In 2007, when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Martin started 143 games behind the plate.

Three times this season, Martin has caught at least six games in six days. From May 11 to 17, he caught seven consecutive games, and once, from June 5 to 13, he caught nine in a row.

“When you’re going through it, you don’t notice it,” Martin said of the grind. “It’s when you stop for a day or two and then the aches from the foul tips and the fatigue kind of bubble to the surface and you’re like ‘Whoa, did I get hit by a train?’

“Sometimes I’d rather just plow through and keep playing, just soldier on, because it almost feels harder when you’ve been off for a day and you come back.”

Worth your time.

[Photo Credit: Jyekn; Thomas Ferrara/Newsday]