Oh, man, this looks like a fun series by Christopher Orr.

The Yanks were luckless last night as their slight playoff chances decreased again. The Rays chased our man Hiroki early and had what seemed like a comfortable 4-1 lead in the bottom of the 5th. Yeah, 3 runs ain’t much but this year…So the Yanks get a rally going against Chris Archer, who hit Chase Headley to start the inning. Then comes 4 straight hits. The last of which sent Stephen Drew home where he was tagged out. Didn’t look like the catcher gave him a lane and the play was reviewed but the cockamamie rule was upheld and Drew was out.

From Chad Jennings:

“To begin with, just a bad send,” third-base coach Rob Thomson said. “Just an error on my judgment. I take full responsibility for it. We’re all accountable around here. It just wasn’t a good decision. Nobody out, the middle of the lineup coming to the plate, I’ve got to stop him right there. I thought the outfielder was going a little bit further to the line. He came up and squared up (to throw) pretty quick. I should’ve stopped him. … From my perspective, the ruling doesn’t really come into play. It’s just a matter of whether I think that guy is going to be able to score or not, and (the rule) shouldn’t come into play, especially with nobody out.”

Or, to put it another way:

“You can’t make the first out at home,” Joe Giradi said. “It’s a quick decision he has to make. It’s a bang-bang decision — and it’s not an easy job — but you have the bases loaded and nobody out (if he doesn’t send the runner).”

So, here are the Yanks, down 4-3 with runners on first and second, 1 out, for Jeter. And he hits the ball hard–the only well-struck ball he had all night–but it’s right at the second baseman who flips to second to double off the runner.

Couple of innings later, Ichiro singles with 1 out, steals second and then runs to third and looks to have another stolen base, except the batter (Drew) swings at the pitch, lines out to right, and Ichiro is a dead duck. Another double play.

Yanks lose, 4-3.

Picture by Bags.

Let the Chris Young Era commence!

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Derek Jeter SS
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Chase Headley 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Stephen Drew 2B
Chris Young LF

Never mind the standings:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Kelly Nicolaison via This Isn’t Happiness]

Once Upon a Time…

There is no shame in going out on a weak team even if it is something to which you are not accustomed. Jeter looks old now at the end, he looks tired, and so do the Yankees. He hasn’t had that Willie Mays 1973 moment of humiliation but he was so bad in August that the talk radio chatter about dropping him in the lineup seemed to be getting to him. Every at bat is a Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony. It must be exhausting. Top of that, the Royals had a kid starting today throwing 98 mph. Almost each guy out of the pen throwing 97 plus. Good luck, old man.

Nobody hit much of anything today. Royals didn’t hit much, either. But 2 is more than none and they leave New York with a series win.

Final Score: Royals 2, Yanks 0.

The usual suspects were there to honor Jeter (Torre, Cone, Paulie O, Bernie, Jorgie, Tino, Torre) but also childhood hero Dave Winfield, pals Gerald Williams and Tim Raines, and fellow icons, Reggie Jackson, Cal Ripken and Michael Jordan.

Jeter addressed the crowd and said the he hoped he’d brought us joy and entertainment. That you, did, Hombre. He said the right thing as always, but you can’t imagine it was much fun for him, all the attention on himself instead of the team, playing out the string without much of a chance for October.

The Farewell Tour begins its Final Weeks! run. now. I’m sure Jeter will be hugely relieved when it’s all over.

Saying goodbye is never easy.

Smile, DJ. I’m sure you’re loving’ this.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Derek Jeter SS
Martin Prado 2B
Carlos Beltran RF
Brian McCann C
Mark Teixeira 1B
Stephen Drew DH
Chase Headley 3B
Ichiro Suzuki LF

Never mind the Hoopla:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Via: Andrew Theodorakis/N.Y. Daily News]

Brandon McCarthy, who looks like he comes from an earlier time, pitched well yet again today. His old pal Martin Prado had 3 hits, and Ichiro had 2 as the Yanks beat the Royals, 6-2.

The fans who came to say goodbye to Jeter saw him collect a sac fly RBI, ground out twice and whiff. It was hot and humid as we had another day of the summer weather that we mostly avoided this year. The fans may have been bummed about Jeter’s day at the plate–he DH’d and didn’t play the field–but they were also easily pleased: singing “YMCA”, watching themselves dance on the jumbo screen, doing the wave, and rooting the Yanks to victory.

[Photo Credit: Dorothea Lange]

Who will be in the house for Jeter day tomorrow? The usual suspects–Posada, Bernie–of course. Yogi? Reggie? And then: Jordan? Tiger?

Hell, think Barak is around?

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Derek Jeter DH
Martin Prado 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Carlos Beltran RF
Chase Headley 3B
Zelous Wheeler LF
Brendan Ryan SS
John Ryan Murphy C

Never mind the storm clouds:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture by Bags]

Pineda was good, Sheilds was better.

Yanks lose, 1-0.

[Illustration by Daniel Stolle]

Yanks and Royals both looking to take care of business this weekend. Yanks hanging on to slim playoff hopes, not that anyone  expects them to make it.

The good news is that big, bad Michael Pineda is on the hill tonight. Man, does this dude needs a nickname or what? I mean, c’mon, just look at him. Any thoughts? I haven’t landed on one yet.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Derek Jeter SS

Brett Gardner LF

Carlos Beltran DH

Brian McCann C

Mark Teixeira 1B

Stephen Drew 2B

Chase Headley 3B

Ichiro Suzuki RF

Never mind those George Brett flashbacks:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Larry Sultan]

The Yanks and Sox don’t score much this year, which makes them similar to just about every other team in the game. But last night there were a few big flies, a couple off the bat of David Ortiz. Derek Jeter had a nice shot, a double to center that drove in two runs, and in the 9th, Mark Teixeira and Chase Headley hit solo home runs against the weary Red Sox close Koji Uehara, good enough to give the Yanks a 5-4 win.

[Picture by Cameron Stewart]

It’s Cappy as the Yanks and Sox play for the last time in the Bronx this year.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Derek Jeter SS
Brett Gardner LF
Carlos Beltran DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Chase Headley 3B
Stephen Drew 2B
Ichiro Suzuki RF

Never mind the night:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: Tamara Lichtenstein via Hellanne]

Joan.

Head on over to Slugball Radio and listen to me schmooze with host Matt Hughes.\

Or just click play below:

[Photo Via: Nieman Journalism Lab]

Any win is a good win, Nu? Good ol’ Hiroki.

Picture by Bags. 

The ship be sinkin’…

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Derek Jeter SS
Brett Gardner LF
Carlos Beltran DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Chase Headley 3B
Stephen Drew 2B
Ichiro Suzuki RF

It’s our man Hiroki.

Never mind the bollocks:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Drawing by Herge.

Brett Gardner batted with bases loaded and two outs in the fifth. He represented the tying run. The home plate ump rang him up on a pitch that split the border of Weehawken and Hoboken. Gardner unleashed the power of a thousand exploding suns, or at least a bunch of frustrated Yankee fans.  He got ejected and, yeah, it was worth it.

It’s hard to believe, but the Yankees actually had a legitimate shot to win this game before Gardner got tossed. They opened that inning with five straight base runners. But because Carlos Beltran could not score from second on a double over the head of Cespedes (he got a bad read, he’s old, he’s slow, the there were no outs, the ball was somewhat close to being caught, all true, but gotta score on a clear double from second base unless your hamsting rips apart) Martin Prado ran up the back of Brian McCann at second and was tagged out. They still ended up scoring two runs in the inning, but with the gift out on the bases and the bridge and tunnel whiff of Gardner, the Red Sox only needed to get one out on their own. 

That’s not to say the Yankees didn’t get walloped. They lost 9-4 as the youngsters from Boston clobbered homers off an off-model Shane Greene. I know this is heresy, but I like both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts and am kind of excited to see what they become.

The loss was awful and the Yankees look less and less like a team that will play meaningful baseball in September. That’s OK. When they lost four of six in Detroit and Toronto, that was the official sign to stop thinking about October. Of course there’s no reason to write them off until they’re eliminated, but I no longer feel the need to check the standings or the scores of the more realistic contenders. If they play improbably great baseball for the rest of the month and get back into it, fabulous.

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

The Yanks host the Sox and there ain’t much at stake but the Bombers’ flickering playoff hopes.

All that and Zoilo Almonte was designated for assignment. At least Zelous is still around.

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
SS Derek Jeter
LF Brett Gardner
1B Mark Teixeira
RF Carlos Beltran
DH Brian McCann
2B Martin Prado
3B Chase Headley
C Francisco Cervelli

Never mind the call ups:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags. 

Roger Angell on DJ:

All right, I’ll settle for one more inside-out line-drive double to deep right —the Jeter Blue Plate that’s been missing of late. It still astounds me—Derek’s brilliance as a hitter has always felt fresh and surprising, for some reason—and here it comes one more time. The pitch is low and inside, and Derek, pulling back his upper body and tucking in his chin as if avoiding an arriving No. 4 train, now jerks his left elbow and shoulder sharply upward while slashing powerfully down at and through the ball, with his hands almost grazing his belt. His right knee drops and twists, and the swing, opening now, carries his body into a golf-like lift and turn that sweetly frees him while he watches the diminishing dot of the ball headed toward the right corner. What! You can’t hit like that—nobody can! Do it again, Derek.

It’s sobering to think that in just a few weeks Derek Jeter won’t be doing any of this anymore, and will be reduced to picturing himself in action, just the way the rest of us do. On the other hand, he’s never complained, and he’s been so good at baseball that he’ll probably be really good at this part of it too.

HD.

And if you haven’t seen it, check out Margaret Talbot’s 2007 New Yorker profile of David Simon.