Kuzul

The Yankees dropped the series finale against the Orioles yesterday, but still were able to take two of three and win the series. Today they start a much bigger series against the Rays, which could determine who wins the AL East.

Here are some notes:

• Nick Swisher came back on Saturday after missing some time with a sore knee. He is two-for-10 since coming back.
• Robinson Cano picked up his 100th RBI of the year this weekend, and along with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, they are the first threesome of infielders to have at least 100 RBI in a single season.
• A.J. Burnett‘s black eye was a popular story this weekend, Brian Cashman didn’t seem to mind, as he liked the way Burnett pitched with it. I wonder if any of the Yankees are fans of the movie Beerfest?
• By the way, there was no police involvement regarding Burnett’s eye.
• Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie has hit three Yankees this season, including in spring training, and Joe Girardi is not a fan of that.

Swisher and Brett Gardner seem like they’re ready to go against the Rays, but the Yankees bullpen is a bit taxed as Boone Logan, Kerry Wood, Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera all pitched yesterday. Only Joba pitched in back-to-back days, so most of the pen will be available tonight, but it’s not exactly like all hands on deck.

Check back throughout the day, as we’ll have plenty more Yankees news and updates.

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• September 5, 2010— Yankees Notes: A-Rod, Kearns, Golson, Vazquez, and the Lineup
• August 10, 2010— Pregame Notes: Cano, Granderson, Posada, Teixeira
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• June 23, 2010— The Yankees Unusual and Unexpected Road to the Top of the AL East

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Via Chad Jennings:

“Over time you get educated,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. “You want to all be macho and say, ‘American League East at all cost,’ but hey man, I’ve been part of the Yankees now for a long time. I’ve been beaten by a Wild Card Red Sox team in ’04. I’ve been beaten by a Wild Card Florida Marlins in the World Series in ’03. I’m not saying give me the Wild Card. I’m just saying we’ve got to realize perspective. We’re in this to try to win a World Series. If we don’t, people remember that we didn’t more than whatever we did.

“This is about trying to line us up and getting our guys in a position to play at full gear if we can get ourselves to October. We’ve got to get there, but I don’t think the conditions of Swish and Gardner during the Tampa series, I don’t think they would have helped us regardless. But I think we’re in a better position now because we backed off and didn’t try to push them through.”

Brian Cashman is absolutely right. The only thing that matters is winning the World Series. If the Yankees aren’t at 100 percent by October, their chances take a big hit. If that means they have to get to the playoffs via the Wild Card to be healthy, so be it. If the Yankees win the Series again in 2010, nobody will care if they were only the Wild Card.

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The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 in Camden Yards last night behind a pair of homers by Alex Rodriguez—including a three-run homer in the top of the ninth with two strikes and two outs to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead—and a decent pitching performance from starter A.J. Burnett.

Here are some highlights:

• A-Rod got the scoring started in the second with a solo shot and the Yankees didn’t score again until his ninth inning three-run homer.
• Burnett was good, but not great. He tossed seven innings and allowed three runs and two homers. He walked just one and struck out five.
• Aside from the home runs, the Orioles were largely shutdown though.
• David Robertson and Mariano Rivera each pitched perfect innings.
• The Yankees offense picked up 10 hits, but still managed to leave 11 batters on base.
• In addition to A-Rod, Robinson Cano and Lance Berkman also had multi-hit nights.
• The Rays lost 4-3 to the Angels, dropping them to second place.

This was a big win, but the Yankees really needed it to start them on a roll. The Orioles have been hot lately, but they are still going to nearly lose 100 games. The Yankees need to treat the O’s as such and at least take two of three, but preferably sweep the series.

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Brett Gardner, who has been dealing with an injured wrist that needed a cortisone shot last week, is back in the lineup tonight against the Baltimore Orioles. RHP Romulo Sanchez will also joined the team in the bullpen.

Gardner is not likely 100 percent, but with no damage to his wrist,  just inflammation, he can play without making things worse as long as there is no pain. And he’s probably pain free thanks to that shot. A cortisone shot doesn’t necessarily make anything better, but it does dull the pain.

Sanchez, 26, hadn’t been called up until today because he’s been on the DL with an arm injury. He had a brief stint (just one appearance) with the Yankees on May 9th where he tossed 3.2 scoreless innings before being sent back to the minors.

Nick Swisher is still not back in the lineup. He was seen running the bases earlier today, but the Yankees are probably trying to be very cautious with him.

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According to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, Joe Torre will soon announce that he is stepping down as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he will be replaced at the helm by former Yankee captain Don Mattingly.

It has been assumed for years that Mattingly would eventually take over for Torre, but most imagined that it would happen in the Bronx.

But when Torre left the Yankees after the 2007 season, the Yankees and their ownership were wowed by Joe Girardi, and he snatched the job from Donnie Baseball.

Mattingly then followed Torre to the Dodgers because he knew that if he stuck around and Girardi got off to a slow start, the media would be calling for Girardi’s head and demanding that the job go to its rightful successor.

The move was smart because the 2008 Yankees struggled under Girardi and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993. If Mattingly was around, there certainly could have been problems.

Even if the pair made it through 2008 intact, with Girardi leading the team to the World Series last year, he’s probably going to be the man in charge for a while. General manager Brian Cashman and the ownership seem firmly entrenched behind him, even if the faith of a few fans begins to waver.

In Los Angeles, Mattingly is in position to take over the head job in just three years.

At least part of me is questioning whether this is worth it for the Hit Man. The Dodgers are having a poor season and are in disarray as their two owners, Frank and Jamie McCourt, are locked in a bitter divorce battle that seemingly has the team in limbo. If this divorce becomes prolonged and the team takes a while to turn around, it could end up reflecting badly on Mattingly as he runs his first team.

Perhaps I am misreading the situation though.

Mattingly’s calm demeanor could be the right thing for a split team. It really depends on how different he is going to be on his own than Torre is now. They seem almost identical, but in reality it is impossible to tell because Torre has been around throughout Mattingly’s entire post-playing career.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see, because if Tim Brown is on the money, the Mattingly era begins in 2011.

But, to me, he’ll always be Mr. Yankee.

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There is not much to report on today thanks to the off-day yesterday. Obviously the Yankees start a three game series against the Orioles tonight. A.J. Burnett starts tonight, CC Sabathia goes tomorrow and Sunday is the triumphant return of Andy Pettitte. Also, don’t miss our pieces on Derek Jeter, everybody is overreacting about a play that spurred Jess to write an article on instant replay.

Here are some notes—

• The Yankees have announced details for the George Steinbrenner monument ceremony scheduled to take place September 20th.
• Over the last two days we’ve heard that the Marlins are interested in Tony Pena for their manager and Double-A Trenton Thunder manager Tony Franklin is looking for a major league job. Now we get a rumor that the Blue Jays may be interested in third base coach Rob Thompson to be their manager.
• Speaking of the Thunder, they continue their playoff series tonight. They are tied at one game apiece with Altoona in a best of five series for the Eastern League title. Adam Warren starts tonight, then Manny Banuelos and Andrew Brackman are scheduled to go in games four and five if necessary.
• Adam Jones, the Orioles outfielder, is encouraging O’s fans to make it to the park this weekend. They are hoping to play spoiler in the AL East.
• Finally, Joel Sherman thinks the Yankees are going to go with Sabathia and Pettitte and then tag-team everybody else in the playoffs, keeping a short leash on starters and relying on the bullpen. I bet he’s right.

No injury updates for now on Brett Gardner or Nick Swisher. It’s possible one or both could be playing tonight, but somehow I doubt it. Gardner is supposed to be closer to rejoining the lineup. I’ll have an update on that later in the day so be sure to check back for that.

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Via Chad Jennings:

Forgot to mention this pregame, but when Girardi was asked whether Royce Ring would be the last of the September call-ups, he hesitated. Then he said, “Don’t write that.” Sounds like there’s a good chance someone else will be here eventually. Andrew Brackman?

The most likely players to get called-up are those already on the 40-man roster. The players on that roster that aren’t already here are Brackman, LHP Steve Garrison, RHP Hector Noesi, RHP Romulo Sanchez, and IF Reegie Corona.

Sanchez is currently on the DL, but may be coming off soon so it doesn’t necessarily rule him out. Corona is an infielder and would be overkill as the Yankees don’t really need another infielder. It could be that they can DFA Corona and put somebody else on the 40-man.

So Brackman, Garrison, Noesi, and Sanchez are the most likely suspects. Stay tuned…

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The Yankees lost 4-3 to the Tampa Bay Rays last night after journeyman Dan Johnson blasted a pair of two-run home runs off of Phil Hughes, and the Yankees offense was held in check by “Big Game” James Shields.

Here are some highlights:

• The Yankees offense wasn’t exactly absent, but they failed to get timely hits with men on base. There were 10 runners stranded during the game.
• Derek Jeter scored on a Curtis Granderson home run in the 7th after some theatrics got him on base as he faked being hit by a pitch.
• Rays’ manager Joe Madden was ejected after arguing Jeter’s performance.
• Aside from the two home runs, Hughes pitched a very good game getting into the seventh inning for the first time since July 9th.
• It’s fashionable to hate on Austin Kearns today as the backup left fielder went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts and was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.
• Andy Pettitte, groin, should be back Sunday. Brett Gardner, wrist, could be back tomorrow. Nick Swisher, knee, has no timetable, but this weekend is a possibility.

The Yankees have been in one of their worst slumps, certainly of this season, and probably since 2008. Out of their last eight losses though, five have been by just a single run.

So it’s not like they’re in a deep freeze; losing that many one-run games is really based on a lot of luck—or in this case, bad luck.

The Yankees have an off-day today and then a three-game series against the Orioles. The O’s have been better of late, but they are still beneath the Yankees and need to be beaten.

If the Yankees don’t win at least two of three, it should be considered a failure.

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In order to provide themselves with more bullpen depth, the Yankees have recalled LHP Royce Ring from the minor leagues.

Ring was not a member of the 40-man roster, so the Yankees designated outfielder Chad Huffman for assignment.

Ring, 29, is a former first-round draft pick out of the 2002 draft. He last pitched in the big leagues for the Atlanta Braves in 2008. He has spent this entire season in the minor leagues with Triple-A Scranton. There he has done well, going 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA over 42 innings and 52 games.

The Yankees called him up mostly because Boone Logan has been the lone lefty in the pen and they don’t want to burn him out before the playoffs.

Huffman, 25, is an outfielder who the Yankees claimed off the Padres’ roster at the beginning of the year. He hit .274 with a .763 OPS and 10 home runs in 104 games with Triple-A Scranton. The rest of the league has 10 days to claim him, or the Yankees can keep him.

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Via MLB.com:

“Having previous big league managing experience will be a plus for those under consideration to manage the Marlins in 2011.

“Meeting the criteria is Tony Pena.

“Currently the Yankees bench coach, Pena spent parts of four seasons (2002-05) managing the Royals. In 2003, he was named the American League Manager of the Year.

“Internally, the Marlins see Pena as a serious candidate.

[snip]

“Most likely, the team will explore several possibilities, including Bobby Valentine. With Pena expected to be in the mix, the search could last throughout the playoffs.

“The Yankees are primed to be in the postseason. So if the Marlins plan on interviewing Pena, they may have to wait until an opportune time arises in October or perhaps early November.”

When you win, other teams begin to pick off your coaches/personnel.

The 2009 Yankees won the World Series, and they have a decent shot at repeating in 2010.

Kevin Towers, in the Yankees’ front office, may be the first guy picked off if he gets the Diamondbacks’ GM job.

Tony Pena could follow him; after that there could be more—it’s one of the drawbacks of success.

Pena, of course, managed the Royals from 2002-2005. He was the Manager of the Year in 2003 before his team lost 104 games in 2004.

Here are the Royals’ standings under his leadership:

(H/T to Hardball Talk).

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