This isn't really Yankee related but I wanted to get smart baseball people's thoughts.  Is Jose Bautista really this good?  He has 2 HRs today and now has .361 BA and 7 HRs with 17 BBs.  Last year was clearly an insane season that came out of left field and I figured he'd still have a fine season (.275 30 Hrs 90 rbis) but he's beating his last year numbers already.  He's looking at .300 50 and 130 or something crazy again.  Is he going to be a force in the AL East for the next bunch of seasons?  Is he really going to maintain this monster pace?  Is he roiding?  Is that beard a magical beard like Brian Wilson?  Help me find the answers knowledgeable members of PSA.

Is AJ Burnett's good start a fluke or has AJ turned it around from last year, that's the question we all want to know.  Last year Burnett dominated in April and fell off the rest of the year, are we in for the same nonsense this year?  I think these first two games are a sign to come for a few reasons.

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There is a laundry list of concerns I have with Joe Girardi, but I am only going to focus on the major problem I have and that was regarding last nights game and numerous others like it.  He refuses to take these final games seriously and is not learning from mistakes.  I'm not suggesting we should wear everyone out before the postseason but I do think this 4 game series vs the Rays should suggest playing our best. In the exact mirror image of last week's game, we played the rays with Garza and nova on the hill. Last week we went up 6-0 and blew the lead, last night it was 4-0.  Either way if we have learned anything it's that Ivan Nova struggles in the 5th and 6th as hitters start to see him a 2nd and 3rd time (hardly PC related).  Last week he gave up the 6 runs and blew the lead, so knowing that last night Joe left him in too long and then after pulling him for Logan (who had nothing), he went to...Chad Gaudin??? Bases chucked 4-3 Yankees and Gaudin is the best we got?  I know its the 6th inning but HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY.  Joba went unused last night and it would have been fine to see him get 1 out there and maintain the lead.  I just really cannot support that managerial decision to leave Nova in and then use Gaudin.  Asking to give up the lead? You bet ya.  I hope it doesn't bite us in the butt because I think winning the division means a lot.  I want homefield in both rounds, i dunno about Joe.

It took only 2 hours and 40 minutes for the Yankees to see Hideki Matsui get pied in the face by AJ Burnett. In case you didn't know, that's the new signature Yankee sentiment given to the player who delivers the game winning hit. Tonight that was Hit-Deki Matsui, who crushed a 2-2 Jim Johnson pitch into the night in the bottom of the 9th. Matsui's home run came with 1 out and no one on in the 9th inning in a 1-1 ball game. Despite hitting the 9th game winning hit of the season and 27th come from behind came, the story of the game was the pitching and the defense.

Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees, meanwhile questions surround him about whether he's slowing down or will fall apart in the second half just like last year. Pettitte temporarily answered those critics with a dominant pitching performance, 7 1/3 innings of 1 run ball and not to mention a season high 8 K's. Pettitte seemed to be mowing down batters and never looked uncomfortable. Any time he reached any sort of jam, he made all the pitches he needed to get out of the situation unscathed. Even after Pettitte left the game, the Yankees relief pitcher Phil Coke was able to get out of a 2nd and 3rd 1 out jam left on by andy Pettitte. The batter Nick Markakis smoked a ground ball to Teixeira, who fielded it cleanly and fired home. Molina applied the tag and Izturis was out at home. Next batter Adam Jones got to see only 1 pitch that inning as the ball was a wild one and got away from Molina. Molina raced down to the ball, slid and threw almost simultaneously to Coke who tagged Roberts for the final out in the inning. Twice the Orioles failed to score that inning with a man on third. All game the Yankees got big outs in big situations, including numerous double plays and great defensive plays.

For the third game in a row the Yankees won by a score of 2-1, showing they are capable of winning games on the strength of their starters and bullpen. The offense came up with some clutch hits when it needed (all 3 games taking the lead late in the game) and of the 6 runs, 5 of them coming on 5 solo HRs- Hinske, Teixeira, Matsui, and Arod twice. But overall the offense has been a bit sluggish out of the gate in the second half. The reason this hasn't been mentioned? The Yankees are 4-0. When the team wins the questions and the concerns will of course disappear.

But this article isn't meant to point out the offensive struggles, but more importantly to highlight the incredible pitching and defense that has propelled this 4 game win streak. In the 4 games since the All-Star break, the Yankees have held their opponents to a total of 6 runs. 6 runs on 26 hits in 36 innings. The starters for the Yankees had quality starts (at least 6 innings of 3 ER or less) in every one of the 4 games and the bullpen only gave up 1 run on the Marcus Thames solo homer off of Aceves on Saturday. The defense has been highlighted by the spectacular work of Mark Teixeira. Mark showed why he deserved the 8 yr 160+ million dollar contract he offered the Yankees in the offseason. He hit home runs in both Friday and Sunday and then came up with outrageous defensive plays in all the games. Molina also showed why he is on the 25 man roster and not Cervelli, saving the Yankees from giving up a run in the 8th. Overall it's been taking a total team effort on every front to win three straight games while only scoring 2 runs in each. The Yankees go for 5 in a row tomorrow and we'll see if they can continue their pitching dominance with Sergio Mitre on the mound.

Yesterday's 2-1 win over Detroit marked big strides for starting pitcher Joba Chamberlain.  It was the longest outing for Joba since June 1st and the first time he had given up less than 2 runs in a game since his last start vs Detroit on April 29th.  Joba overcame early struggles and settled down to win his 5th game of the year, his first win since June 24th against Atlanta.  Joba seemed to be in much better command of his fastball, hitting upper 90's with consistency, and seemed to be increasing as the game went on.  Joba has a tendency of nibbling around the plate and not being able to put guys away, but yesterday he only had 3 walks and struck out 8 batters.  His 8 strikeouts was the second most he has recorded this season, showing he came with a different approach to challenge hitters.  This helped keep his pitch count low and allowed him to go 6 2/3 innings as well. 

The most important thing I saw from Joba yesterday was how he picked up his teammates.  In his last 2 starts Joba gave up unearned runs because he couldn't get out of jams created by his teammates errors.  More specifically his start on July 5th vs Toronto, while leading 5-3 with 1 out in the 4th inning and a man on first, Cody Ransom made an error on a possible double play ball, setting up first and second with 1 out.  Joba could have cracked down and gotten out of the situation, but it ballooned and he ended up giving up a double, single, and home run for a total of 5 runs.  This goes down in the stats as 3 er and 8 runs, so Joba's era remains in tact, but this is a situation where you need to bear down and help your teammate out.  In the last few outings Joba failed to do this and let his game get out of control.  Yesterday howevere, different story.  Joba faced Granderson with 1 out and no one on in the 6th and Granderson lined a pitch to Nick Swisher.  It was a well hit ball and certainly should have been a hit, but Swisher tried to play the ball on a short hop and let it get right by him after doing an embarassing leap up.  Granderson ended up on third as the go ahead run, and still only 1 out.  Joba managed to get out of the inning unscathed thanks to a 97 mph fastball on a 3-2 pitch to Marcus Thames that blew right by him.  After recording the out, Joba did his signature celebration with fist pumps and a voilent shake.  It was good to see him help out his teammates and not let a small mistake blow up.  It was also refreshing to see Joba excited and happy on the mound for the first time in a while.  On top of that Joba wasn't afraid to go after the hitter on a 3-2 pitch and dialed it up to 97! Overall many good signs from Joba yesterday and if he can continue this, a good 1-2-3 in the rotation.

The Yankees edged a little closer to the AL east division leading Red Sox yesterday after beating Detroit 2-1 and the Red Sox losing to the Blue Jays 6-2.  The Yankees now trail 2 games, with 72 to go, 10 of them against the Red Sox.  Considering the Yankees failed to make the playoffs last year for the first time in almost 15 years, it'll be nice for them to return to the postseason even as a wild card.  The idea being that any team has a shot to win the World Series once they make the playoffs, you just need good front end starters and hot bats.  Look at the cardinals in 06, they won 83 games and managed to win it all.  The Yankees this year have to be thinking about more than just making the playoffs.  After bringing in Sabathia, Teixeira, Burnett, Swisher, and others, the expectations are for bigger and better things.  If the World Series is the goal (and I don't see why it shouldn't be), then we have to look at what gives the Yankees the best chance to make it to the promised land.

Clearly a wild card makes it more difficult because you lose home field advantage but this year even more than that is the ability to avoid Boston and LAA in the opening round.  With the current standings, Boston with the best record would play the wild card but since that's the Yankees and you cannot play the first round within the division, they'd play the next worse record, the Tigers.  That means despite having a better record than the Angels, the Yankees still go on the road for a best of 5 series to Anaheim.  If they manage to win that series they'll likely get Boston in Boston.  I know it is possible to win both those series, but let's be practical, the Angels and Red Sox are crushing the Yankees this year and if we need to play both to get to the World Series we probably will not make it.  However if we should happen to win the division, assuming the Tigers still have the worst record and the Yankees still have a better record than the Angels, then the Yankees would take on Detroit at home, and the Angels would host Boston.  A home series vs Detroit wouldn't be a walk in the park but then again no playoff series is, but easily the best matchup for NYY.  That leaves the winner of the LAA vs Bos series flying to New York for a best of 7.  Either way it'll be tough but only having to beat one of those teams and playing at home gives the Yankees a much more legit chance at winning it all. 

Clearly winning the division is always much better than winning the wild card, but this year it might mean just a little bit more.

Last night's Yankee game was a very nice way to open up the second half of the season. A nice 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. AJ Burnett really impressed me last night, not because he had dominating stuff tonight, but because he did not have his best stuff and still managed to keep the Yankees in the game. He went 6 innings 3 earned runs off of 6 hits and 5 walks and a hit by pitch. That's a pretty high WHIP (walks and hits in innings pitched), but a quality start nonetheless.

The Yankee bats were quiet in the beginning off rookie starter Lou french, but awoke late off of Joel Zumaya. It was capped off by a mammoth 3-run HR into the 2nd deck in left by Mark Teixeira. After forty minute rain delay in the middle of the 8th inning, the game resumed to see Rivera get the final outs and close down the 5-3 win. It was a typical Yankee victory, but one that showed some good signs.

First the Yankees came from behind just like they always do, but a good sign of a good team. Being able to beat a playoff contender late in the game, good work NYY. Second impressive thing was the Yankee pitching. Burnett as I mentioned earlier being able to put a solid outing together despite his hardships. Also the bullpen, 3 scoreless innings to nail down the W. Most importantly I saw a lot from Joe Girardi last night. Sometimes the best decision is to stop thinking about lefty-righty matchups or how this pitcher does vs this hitter, blah blah blah. The best thing sometimes is the best player, straight up. I really liked that after a 20 pitch 7th inning, Girardi brought Hughes out for the 8th inning as well. He brought his total to 40 for the game, but he struck out all 6 batters he faced and looked phenomenal. I was happy that he trusted Hughes and was thinking about the W and not about anything else. Hughes has been dominant lately and I was glad he just let the man do his job. Hughes-Rivera is an unbeatable combo, rivaling the Joba-Rivera duo in late 2007.

Overall a good Yankee win and in typical fashion, my only qualm with the whole game was the decision to send Posada home earlier in the game when Melky hit a single with 2 out and a runner at second. I understand that with 2 outs you want to be aggressive, but with Jeter on deck I don't like the call. Not to mention that the outfielder caught the ball when Posada was just hitting 3rd base. He is a slow runner and he was out by 567 miles. O well, a small aspect of the game, just something that would have been a major issue had the team lost 3-2. Jeter is batting over 400 with RISP and 2 outs, so you might want to know who's on deck and who's on the base paths (slow ass Jorge) next time that situation arises.