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New York Yankees starting pitcher AJ Burnett took the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday afternoon.

Burnett was pulled in the third inning, marking his shortest outing in pinstripes. This time Burnett’s frustrations got the better of him, which certainly did not go well over with his teammates.

In the first inning Burnett gave up a double to Carlos Pena that scored Evan Longoria. In the top of the second inning, the Rays’ Reid Brignac hit a two-run homer that put the Rays ahead of the Yankees 3-2.

It was not keen, but against the Rays, it is not the end of the world.

Then to start the third inning, Burnett hit Evan Longoria with a pitch, and gave up a RBI single to Carlos Pena. Burnett’s location was a problem and Joe Girardi went out to remove him from the mound.

Concerned fans waited for the verdict that was revealed: lacerations on both his hands. Burnett said the cuts were from a fall the previous evening, which seemed odd.

Later on, Burnett admitted that after the second inning he took out his anger on a clubhouse door. This was the real cause of the cuts on both his hands.

Without a doubt, this was a selfish act because it jeopardized the whole team. Burnett could not get through the third inning because he could not control his frustrations.

It was disappointing from all aspects and it’s downright unacceptable behavior. The fact is that it happened, and Burnett apologized to his teammates.

Burnett knows one time can be overlooked, but that is it. The Yankees lost 10-5 on Saturday, and Burnett should be blamed.

Following that incident, the Yankees came out with a win on Sunday afternoon. It sealed up the series for the Yankees, taking two of the three games and pushing away the Rays even further.

Everyone has witnessed Burnett put on a dynamic performance and they know he is capable of winning, but the problem is his lack of consistency because he can be wildly out of control just as easily.

Luckily, Burnett’s self-inflicted wounds did not sever his fingers. He is slated to make his next start against the Kansas City Royals next Friday. You can expect all eyes to be watching him.

The Yankees have made it clear to Burnett that enough is enough. If this embarrassment was not enough to hit rock bottom for Burnett, he better start looking for a new job that does not require a team. Yankees’ fans would be truly surprised if Burnett didn’t get it together quickly.

Without question, losing Pettitte will be devastating, but how much remains in Burnett’s hands, bleeding or not?

Read more on….Lady Loves Pinstripes.

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To kick-off the second-half of the baseball season the New York Yankees will play host to the Tampa Bay Rays

It is the number one team vs. the number two team of not only the AL East, but all of the MLB.

Entering the All-Star break the Yankees lead the Rays by two games, but this series will be watched because it will set a tone for the two teams. It’s a great reality check for the Rays to show their stuff, as this battle might go down to the wire.

Pitching will dictate the series, so let’s break down the two AL East Rival weekend matchups:

CC Sabathia vs. James Shields

Sabathia has won his last eight starts, pitching a minimum of seven innings and a 2.37 ERA. Sabathia has 12 wins this season and at the break was the best pitcher in the AL. Sabathia is historically better in the second-half, so expect big things for the ace.

Sabathia will face James Shields who has not had the best first half with a 7-9 record and an ERA of 4.20. Shields has 109 strikeouts and issued only 26 walks. That makes for a great strikeouts to walks ratio, which shows the youngster has the stuff to be much better.

Winner: CC SABATHIA has the advantage as everything from his velocity to his location is working great. The Yankee bats cannot go silent, as Yankees middle relievers tend to give up runs.

AJ Burnett vs. Jeff Niemann

Burnett is 7-7 with a 4.75 ERA so far, but it is no secret that he is fresh off his worst down period in his career. Burnett has to continue using his changeup more. Last time Burnett faced the Rays was not pretty, but it’s a waiting game to see what Burnett we will get.

Niemann has been the Rays most consistent pitcher with a 2.77 ERA and a record of 7-2. He has thrown one complete game and one shut-out this season, of his 36 earned runs, 14 were home-runs. Niemann did exit his last start early due to back stiffness, but is supposedly on target to go on Saturday. Neimann tends to slow down in the second-half of the season, but not by much.

Winner: JEFF NEIMANN is a more stable bet than Burnett because which AJ will show-up is getting harder to predict. If Neimann cannot make the start due to his back or AJ is throwing heat this could easily flip-flop.

Andy Pettitte vs. David Price

Pettitte is putting together a career season. He is 11-2 with a 2.70 ERA. In his career against the Rays, Pettitte has struggled as batters are hitting .292. Don’t forget that Pettitte is a clutch performer, so pitching the third game in the series is to his advantage.

Price is the Rays ace, with 12 wins and a 2.56 ERA this season. Earlier this season Price beat the Yankees, but that was early May and the Yankees bats were hot before the break and tend to scorch the second-half. Keep your eye on Mark Teixeira especially, but Price needs to mix-up his pitches to keep the Yankees on their toes.

Winner: ANDY PETTITTE but this depends on the results of first two games. If the games are spilt or the Yankees have lost two games prior, Pettitte will make the Rays pay the price. Also, Pettitte shuts down teams running games completely, so stealing won’t be a factor in this game.

Series:

Yankees love the second-half of the season, so this is the Rays series to prove themselves. The Yankees are in first place and I predict they will remain atop.

Crawford has not been 100% which has slowed him down. Also, outfielder BJ Upton has been lazy which is never a good sign for such a young player on a contending ball-club.

Mark Teixeira is on fire, which the Rays haven’t seen this season yet. Watch for Tex, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano to be big in Yankees success. Also, Brett Gardner needs to get his running sneakers on to pester the Rays pitchers.

Yankees win series taking two of three games.

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Let’s continue with summing up the wild first-half of the MLB season, by looking at the National League.

One thing is for sure, the NL is no longer “the other” league in baseball. The NL is providing plenty of drama and talent to compete with their AL counterparts.

NL EAST:

The hottest team in the NL is the first place Atlanta Braves. Braves fans finally have something to cheer about. After a sluggish start to 2010, the Braves have been on fire once everything started to click.

Rookie sensation, Jason Heyward who was voted an All-Star but due to a deep bruised thumb will not participate. Thus far, the 20-year-old Heyward has 13 doubles, three triples, 11 home-runs, 45 RBIs, 42 walks and five stolen bases. The Braves strong pitching staff lead by Tim Hudson has made this team a real force.

Coming in second are the New York Mets, who are four games behind. Right on the Mets heels are the 2008 and 2009 NLCS champion Philadelphia Phillies who are just a half-game out.

Mets David Wright is back on his game again and Mets fans are starting to believe again. Jose Reyes and the nifty Angel Pagan make-up a solid line-up. It’s the pitching that will dictate their future.

Hopefully, the Mets won’t give-up and pout if the Phillies squeak past them down the stretch. It would not be the first time, so the Mets have to stay mentally strong.

The Phillies, like the Red Sox are injured all-around. However, they are getting their stride back as of late, so count them out. The 2009 Yankees were exactly where the Phillies are now.

The Marlins (10 back) and Nationals (13.5 back) have fallen to the back of the pack. Still both ball-clubs have bright futures. The Marlins have young ace Josh Johnson and hard-hitting and headed Hanley Ramirez.

The Nats have prodigy pitcher Steven Strasburg. Strasburg is on a 110 innings limit for good reason and already has the hottest selling jersey in all of MLB.

NL CENTRAL:

The Cincinnati Reds are the real deal. Featuring a deep line-up with the newly awakened Scott Rolen, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Drew Stubs, and Jay Bruce. They have a arsenal of talented arms, as Travis Wood almost threw a perfect game against the Phillies just last week.

The St. Louis Cardinals, just like their AL counterparts the Minnesota Twins, have owned this division for quite a few seasons. Manager Tony La Russa has made some questionable calls this season, considering the Cards awesome pitching and great hitting.

Surprisingly bad play by the Milwaukee Brewers has put them 10.5 games out, along with the Chicago Cubs.

The Houston Astros, at 13.5 back still stink, but they are not the worst.

Last place is cemented again by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are 18 games behind.

The Cubs should look just across the city for some inspiration from their rival White Sox. Giving up is the Cubs motto. But, haven’t the fans earned a post-season berth by now?

NL WEST:

The San Diego Padres have lead the West pretty much from the start of the season. The pitching gets questioned a lot due to an arm-friendly Petco Park, but it is completely irrelevant considering they have the best ERA in MLB in away-games.

The Padres have the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies both two back from stealing first-place. Both the Rockies and the Dodgers are steadily getting back to playing consistently good baseball, so the Padres can’t miss a beat.

The San Francisco Giants are still in this race as they trail the Padres by four games.

The “freak” aka Tim Lincecum was the Cy Young last year, but his velocity is down this season. Lincecum fast-ball is gaining some speed again so things look to be on there way up. Maybe trading Bengie Molina was not the best idea for a pitching staff that is now struggling.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have the younger Upton, who is destined for greatness. Not sure if that will happen while in Arizona, a team 17 games back, but they can start to look towards 2011.

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Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden is famous for being protective of his pile of dirt. Especially if you trot over it on your way off the field.

Just ask Alex Rodriguez about the fit Braden threw in the A’s dugout. He was in total outrage over A-Rod taking the shorter way over his beloved pitching mound. Braden threw his glove, kicked some cups that still had water in them and cursed like a truck driver.

Guess that fact that A-Rod was right there, in the A’s stadium, his house, was just not an option. Hey, it was the next best thing than challenging A-Rod to his face.

Do not forget, Braden also threw a perfect game on May 9, 2010 but has not done much of anything since. Like win another game. Braden only had six strikeouts that day, but it was against the Tampa Bay Rays, and they are legit.

After the historic game, Braden’s grandma commented on the feud, saying, “Stick it, A-Rod.”

Now, the New York Yankees are back for three games in Oakland in Dallas Braden’s house. A-Rod is now there for the taking.

If I were A-Rod, I would assume that route back to the dugout again.

Why not?

Sticking it to Braden’s grandma is good enough reason. No older respectable woman needs to talk like that or at least add some curse words to look like real white trash.

Go figure that Braden is on the DL with elbow stiffness. He has thrown bullpen sessions. One would think this would be a series Braden would not miss unless his grandma cut off his arm.

The A’s are even trying to profit from that April 22 jog, selling festive historic T-shirts that read, “Get off my mound.”

“Get off my mound” is kind of desperate, considering Braden said it to everyone but A-Rod.

Well, that is Braden in a nut shell. A big mouth, famous via A-Rod, who got lucky on one day.

I would be concerned that I could not throw off this hump and that A-Rod still owns it.

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The New York Yankees have a rising superstar in their mitts, with Brett Gardner .

At first, I was hesitant to believe this 5’9 player had just hit some beginners luck at the start of the season. Still, I never questioned his work ethic because all you have to do is watch Gardner and that becomes evident.

Now this prosperity is consistent, as Gardner has stood out all season making dynamic catches out in left-field to hitting in clutch situations. He makes contact with 93 percent of his swings.

Let’s not forget how fast the 23 year-old is on the bases. Gardner has stolen 24 bases this season and has an 83 percent success rate.

Gardner is an all-around nuisance to have to play against because he can do it all. Whether it is in the field , on the bases or at bat, he cannot be ignored or else he will make an enemy pay for forgetting.

Try watching Gardner at the plate, the way he reads the ball with such wise eyes that are well beyond his years. Gardner has kept up with baseball’s best as a Yankee and has stolen the spotlight playing the game the right way.

In essence, Brett Gardner continues to be the glue holding the New York Yankees together. A true team player who comes out every game to win an d plays hard.

He is having an All-Star season with 29 RBIs , 33 walks, five home-runs, six doubles, four triples, a .319 batting average and .401 on-base-percentage .

Have a feeling that there is plenty of time for Brett Gardner, who I look forward to seeing represent baseball as an All-Star for years to come.

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On Thursday afternoon, the New York Yankees avoided getting swept by the Seattle Mariners.

Yankees ace CC Sabathia led the team in the 4-2 win over the last place team in the AL West.

A-Rod sealed the deal with a two run A-Bomb. It was really in the bottom of the eighth inning and not the ninth, but who cares? A-Rod doesn’t seem to think it mattered, and he was right.

Over the July 4th weekend (Happy Birthday America!) the Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are a team that known for starting out hot, but always end up finding their way back to fourth place in the AL East.

The Blue Jays can play baseball, and have proved it for over two months without Roy Halladay. Toronto just offers no fan support.

They play in a stadium that only fills when the Red Sox or Yankees are in town. It is not motivating when a team goes into a slump. There is no booing or heckling from 30-40,000 fans to encourage players to want to turn things around.

That is the only excuse left for the Blue Jays. Fans are essential and that is consistently what the Blue Jays don’t have.

Ironically, the Yankees latest problem is ex-Blue Jay AJ Burnett, who will open up the series in the Bronx.

Burnett has an 11.35 ERA since June 4th, the day that Yankee pitching coach Dave Eliand took a personal leave of absence. For such a tough guy, Burnett has been affected by Eliand’s absence. Guess we will find out today if this rumor has any truth to it.

No matter what the reason, the fact is that Burnett has to pitch well in this start. His strikeout rate has been down all season, but Burnett’s problem seems to be more mental.

Girardi, being a player’s manager, rested catcher Francisco Cervelli so he can be fresh to catch for Burnett. This was smart and considerate of the Yankee skipper.

In Burnett’s last three starts, he only made it through a total of 10 innings, with 12 walks and 12 strikeouts. Burnett’s walk rate had been down prior to June 4th, but his focus should be on the bigger picture for now.

Its about time for AJ Burnett to be getting back to being himself again so that he can win games. At some point, Burnett has to address his walk rate. He already has 41 this season…yikes!

Burnett will face Blue Jay’s Brett Cecil, who is in a similar situation.

Cecil has only pitched 15 innings total in his last three starts, striking out 13 and walking an acceptable four batters.

Cecil beat the Yankees already this season, going eight innings, striking out five, walking just one batter and allowing only one earned run to score.

It seems that this new Cecil will not present as much of a challenge for the Yankees lineup. The Bombers are also hitting as a whole, making any pitchers job much harder.

Yankee fans need to watch the Red Sox and Rays. Our rival Red Sox are just 1.5 games behind. The even hated more Tampa Bay Rays are just 2 shy of stealing back a spot these entitled kids had for too long anyway.

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How are the Seattle Mariners in last place?

The Mariners have the best one-two punch on the mound with Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez. Add players like Ichiro Suzuki, Milton Bradley, Chrome Figgins, Jose Lopez, and that makes a valid, post-season contending ball-club.

The group the New York Yankees have faced the last two nights is not the Mariners who are 13.5 games out in the AL West.

Not only did Lee pitch a complete game in Tuesday’s win, his teammate King Felix followed his lead by going all nine innings to defeat the reigning World Champions, again.

The King ruled more like a dictator against such a tough Yankees line-up. Allowing only two hits, walked three and fanned 11 Yankee bats, who each resembled a deer in headlights. The Yankees did not score a single run.

The Mariners bats certainly did not slack-off because of who was on the mound. They complimented the pitching. Scoring seven runs on both nights against starters Phil Hughes, Javier Vazquez and the Yankees weakest link (aka. the bullpen) is a tremendous deal.

Tuesday night, the Mariners had 12 hits off Hughes. Ichiro and Johnson had two RBIs a piece and Gutierrez hit one home-run. Mariners over Yankees 7-4.

The Mariners continued on their hitting spree on Wednesday night, as Michael Saunders hit two home-runs, while Milton Bradley and Russell Branyan each had one bomb. Mariners over Yankees 7-0.

This leaves me altogether perturbed.

Why are the Mariners already throwing in the towel this season? Offering up Cliff Lee for the taking is sure evidence it is over in Seattle.

It is not over for the Mariners, unless they are quitters. Giving this team a chance to shine is not going to make things any worse in Seattle, but the potential upside could be fantastic.

Just in case any reader is wondering why a lifelong New York Yankees fan is writing this, I had not choice, but the Mariners still do.

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Once again, the New York Yankees fell victim to their own rules.

Last night, the result ended with a Yankees loss of 7-4 to the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners have consistently held the last spot in the AL West this season.

The Mariners had baseball’s best pitcher on the mound in Cliff Lee to face a well-rested Phil Hughes.

Hughes has exceeded all expectations this season and entered the game with a 10-1 record, an ERA of 3.17 and has been the most consistent on the Yankees rotation.

No question that Hughes is the real deal, but at 24 years old the Yankees worry about using him too much.

Hughes just turned 24 and this is his second full season in the bigs—the first as a full time starter. So the Yankees place an innings limit on him, also known as the Hughes Rules.

Innings limit on young arms is the latest craze around baseball. I was under the impression it was used when a pitcher was transitioning from the minors.

Looking at pitching sensation Steven Strasbourg of the Washington Nationals, it makes sense. The Nats manager was upfront that Strasbourg was allowed to pitch for 120 innings in 2010, no matter what.

Strasbourg is clear on this rule, along with everyone who watches Sports Center . It is extremely helpful, especially from a young player’s mental outlook.

That is why skipping over Hughes’ start made utterly no sense. Hughes was in a rhythm, which was working.

Why did Girardi not let Hughes throw the allowed 170-180 innings on an unchanging basis?

Not to mention Hughes skipped start was in his hometown and his parents were planning on attending. Remember the last time Mrs. Hughes was in the house her son almost threw a no-hitter.

Did the Joba’s Rules not teach Girardi and GM Brian Cashman anything?

It brought horrible memories back for me. Girardi having panic attacks when Joba got near 70 pitches or was through four innings. Even when Joba was throwing heat, everyone knew he was coming out no matter what, including Joba.

This whole state of affairs falls under something my dad calls, “The Da-Boom-Theory.”

The Da-Boom-Theory is when a person gets an idea (the ‘da’) in their mind that makes sense by anyone’s standards. Then instead of thinking it out or learning from past mistakes, that someone goes boom.

The ‘boom’ is acting on the idea with positively no understanding of possible repercussions that might affect the result.

Specifically, in these situations the DA would be the Hughes Rules. The boom would be the skipped start, which ended in a Yankee loss and cut Hughes mental game.

Aren’t the young guys supposed to be the workhorses and the veterans coddled?

It is time to stop babying these men into boys and start letting them work. The timing here was totally off and the Yankees should know better than this.

Finally, congratulations to Mariners Cliff Lee who threw his fifth no-hitter of the season. It did not go overlooked, and the Yankees do apologize for the mess.

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Once again, the New York Yankees utilized inter-league play by crushing the NL teams, winning 10 of 15 games.

The stressful, yet successful trip out west was exhausting. The Yankees played with so much heart making sure to win both series against the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers.

Sunday night’s game against Joe Torre and his Dodgers felt like deja vu from last season, as the Yankees were up for a fight again.

It was the ninth inning with one out and the Yankees were down 6-2.

Initially, my heart went out to A-Rod. I wanted the Yankees to win for him and I guess his teammates did too, as the Yankees came back to win in the tenth inning, 8-6.

The win came largely thanks to Robinson Cano’s two-run homer to take the lead, but getting to extra innings was a complete team effort. Torre also helped by over-using his closer Jonathan Broxton. I guess some things never change.

Before this series, never once did A-Rod mention anything about his feelings towards Torre. A-Rod respectfully took the high road, which was completely understandable.

Well, I am not A-Rod. I am a Yankees fan, and an A-Rod fan, so here is what I have to say…

I have three words on Torre’s The Yankee Years — low-class, unprofessional, and desperate. It was awful to read and it must have hurt A-Rod more than he will ever admit.

Torre deserved to lose. Torre was someone who I thought realized that players were human beings like everyone else. When he lead the Yankees for 12 years, Torre gave off the people first, baseball players second vibe.

Torre betrayed the organization that made him famous, the fans who were heart-broken to see him leave, and the players who trusted him.

This whole time, the real fraud was actually Joe Torre.

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Personally witnessing Cliff Lee manhandle the New York Yankees in two different uniforms, at both Yankee Stadiums, was far from fun.

All I can say is Cliff Lee is that good.

Our first time in 2008 was like a blind date, as Lee wore a Cleveland Indian uniform back then. I was simply going to see a regular season game and watched the Yankees make contact with the ball three times.

The next time was Game One of the 2009 World Series . Lee was throwing for the  Philadelphia Phillies and dictated the entire game, leaving the Yankees in awe once again.

The impression Cliff Lee has made on me is that he is the best pitcher in all of baseball.

Not Halladay, Sabathia, Santana, The Freak, Johnson Greinke, or Jimenez—it’s Lee any day of the week, no matter the uniform.

Why?

In 2010, Lee has faced 336 batters, struck out 76, and given up just three home-runs. His strikeout -to-walk ratio is a remarkable 19:1. Understand that only one other pitcher in the history of baseball, Brett Saberhagen, ended the season in double digits back in 1901. Lee is well on his way to being the second pitcher to hold that record.

Lee leads the AL in complete games with four and has a 2.39 ERA. Lee has not walked a single batter in his last four starts and has only walked four this entire season.

It is hard to imagine being this good playing for the Seattle Mariners . Each start listening to me, myself and I …because the Mariners are the definition of unreliable. Lee has racked-up three losses, but he is lucky it is not more. His numbers in defeat include an ERA of 2.70 and allowing nine hits in 30 innings pitched. Not too shabby by any standards.

The Seattle Mari ners have openly expressed trading Lee, or renting according to the NY Mets . Other teams rumored to be in the hunt are the Twins, Rangers, Dodgers, and supposedly the Phillies and Yankees. The Yankees are surely interested, but what team wouldn’t want Lee? Yankees fans should not hold their breath because realistically, when are Yankees not in the mix?

Fact remains—Lee is a bye into the post-season for a lot of teams. Get ready to give up a lot of prospects to get the 31 year old leftie, but Lee is well worth it.

Up next for Lee is my New Y ork Yankees, which makes me shiver just thinking about it. Lee will face Phil Hughes , who has been the most reliable of all the Yankee starters.

This will be a test for the young rightie, who has gotten major runs support from the Yankees bats. It couldn’t be a better timing as Alex Rodriguez seems to be getting hot, after crushing two homers in his last three games.

The best advice for Hughes facing Lee is to go into the game thinking that no runs will score, which is very possible.

Hughes is 24 years old and is on a innings limit, so Joe Girardi had him miss his last start. He is 10-1 in 13 starts, with 79 strike-outs and a 3.17 ERA in 82 innings pitched.

As much as I trust Phil Hughes, Cliff Lee is phenomenal, making this match up the Yankees vs. Cliff Lee.

The game is Lee’s to win or lose, but the odds are surely in his favor.

PREDICTION: YANKEES OR LEE?

Cliff Lee wins, final score 4-0.

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