Boston chokes.... Rays win the Wild Card

The pictures say everything......

Still shocked at what a crazy ending to the season. Something that you would never see if Bud Selig pushes his two wild card teams idea through.

Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner 5-17-2011

Tuesday means Talkin, Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner that is, tonight the guys discussed the Yankees struggles and what the bombers could do to improve. Also they talked alot about the whole Jorge Posada issue A.K.A "Posada-gate".

Jason Collette of DRaysBay.com joined the program and talked about the Rays for over 15 minutes, that interview can be heard by simply clicking down on the tab and selecting correctly labeled interview.

For the remained of the show we discussed our favorite Subway Series moments along with what the Mets have done since we last left off.

At the end we did the weekly true/false segment and finished it off with our POW's and WOW's.

Enjoy and remember to tune in live every Tuesday from 7-9pm on WCWPSports.org

Hot start would be perfect for Yanks

Tex has gotten off to a hot start with
three home runs in three games, but can the Yanks do the same?

From 2004-2009 the Yankees were 70-74 in games played in March and April. Last season they broke that trend going 15-7. But it is still something very important for the Yankees this season, is to have a good start.

With the "underdog" status around the Yankees this season, it very important for Joe Girardi to make sure his club starts out hot. The last thing the Yankees want is media coverage around a struggling team asking about why the pitching is falling apart or for the Yankees to make a knee jerk move and trade away Jesus Montero or one of the killer B's for a pitcher.

So far the bombers, have lived up to their century long nickname, out hitting the Tigers this weekend to win two of three games. But some credit should go to the pitching. Sabathia gave the Yankees a chance to stay in the game only allowing three runs over six innings. Burnett pitched well despite battling a head cold, and the Yankees bullpen looked very strong.

Hughes did sputter today giving up a pair of long homers to Yankee killer Miguel Cabrera, but the Yanks offense kept them in the game the entire time.

The Yanks would rather look down at their opponents
in the standings, instead of up.

New York fans don't have alot of pacients, they began to boo A-Rod after one season, and booed Mark Tiexeria after a month. The last thing they want is to watch Ivan Nova struggled through a 5 five inning start in April in the cold, plus it sets a precedent for the rest of the season. How many times do teams get off to a hot start and suddenly all is forgotten about? Last season the Mets were in the playoff picture, and just as fans began to believe they bottomed out. But the issues of the Mets weren't mentioned as often when they were winning. That's  exactly what the Yankees want, to not hear the problems on the team.

From 2004-2009, each season the Yankees found ways to get hot in the second half of the season, but that can be tough. After the all star break or "the dog days" of the season most teams are beat up. The Yankees have a ton of older players who are going to battle injuries, and it would be tough for them to make up ground, especially against teams like the Rays, who are a young team with starting pitching depth. Or the Red Sox, who have been given the crown of AL East favorites.

Rays get Manny and Damon, Blue Jay dump Wells. What move effects the bombers more?

Manny: Its OK Johnny we will be teammates
 again in 2011

It wasn't long ago that Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon were causing destruction at Yankee Stadium, actually it may have been longer then I have realized. It will have been 6 years since Damon and Manny were Red Sox teammates, that ended when Damon jumped to the right side of the rivalry and became a Yankee. But the pair of 2004 World Champions, will be reunited this season with the Tampa Bay Rays. Damon was able to squeeze $5.25 Million from the Rays while Manny will take just $2 million, a far cry from his $18+ Million salary last season.

While the Rays were adding offense in Damon and Manny, the Blue Jays were trading away 31 home runs and 88 RBI's. At first though I was surprised at how the Jays would want to trade away that offense, especially since trading Shaun Marcum arguably there second best pitcher has hurt the rotation. But when you look at the fact that the Jays were able to receive Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera in return and didn't have to pay a penny of the $86 million remaining of Wells deal. This is a move that may not come to hurt the Yankees at the moment, in fact it may help the Yankees since losing Wells is a big hit to the Jays offense, but this deal will be freeing up alot of cash for the Jays. Juan Rivera will be in the final season of his contract, so his numbers come of the books after the year, and Mike Napoli fits the need at catcher. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Jays add a big free agent next winter.

So long Jorge, sorry for hitting .307/28/104 against you
guys, over the course of my career (161 games against).

Ramirez and Damon only had a combined 18 home runs and 93 RBI last season, a decent number for a single player, but not two combined. The Rays are looking for offense, having lost Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford this off season (along with practically the entire bullpen). Manny and Damon will help the Rays on offense but both are over 37 years old  and a shell of what they use to be. Also take into account the fact that neither can play defense anymore, makes them a pair of DH's or liabilities in the field. So while the Rays newest members may be Yankee killers in the past, the move doesn't really hurt the Yankees, since facing Damon/Ramirez in 2011 is better then facing Crawford/Pena in 2011. On the other hand the Jays trading away Vernon Wells weakens them in the short run, but may hurt the entire AL East in the long run, as their pitchers begin to mature they will have lots of $ to spend during free agency to improve the team.

Rays or Rangers? The choice is yours

Tonight at the Trop the Rays and Rangers battle to see who will face the Yankees in the ALCS. As a Yankees fan you hope that Cliff Lee and David Price throw over 100 pitches, and the game goes 18 innings. But who matches up better for the Yankees?

The Rays and Rangers can both hit, but the Rays have struck out almost 300 more times then the Rangers as a team. Both teams are made of power and speed, but the Rays have stolen close to 50 bases more then the Rangers. The teams are equal in home runs, with the Rangers having just two more, but batting average is an east win for the Rangers who have hit .29 points better then the Rays. The Rays do draw more walks, and the teams have similar on base percentages.

Now aside from stats both teams do have thier share of scary hiitters. The Rangers have Josh Hamilton who could easily be the MVP, Vlad Guerrero who the Yankees have seen and been hurt by numerous times while with the Angels.Texas also has a pair of all star sluggers in Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler who may not have the best stats this season, due to injury but are both major threats.

The Rays on the other hand have a perfect mix of speed and power. Carl Crawford is a perfect example of a guy that can hit one out, but at the same time could get on base and steal with ease. Evan Longoria had another great season, but has been banged up over the end of the season. Carlos Pena has had the worst season of his career, and Ben Zobrist fell back to form. But the Rays as a team each contribute, and the key for the Yankees if they face them is to keep them off base, because with Posada behind the plate the Rays will run all over, it doesnt help that many of the Yanks pitchers dont hold runners on.

Pitching the teams are very similar, both are full of young arms and have a lefty ace. But the Rangers have the better starting staff, with four starters having ERA's below four. The Rays have a slight advantage with experience since many of the starters are the same ones that helped the Rays make it to the 2008 Postseason. The Rangers do have Cliff Lee, but he is the only pitcher other then Darren Oliver to have experience.

The bullpens are again very similar, although the Rays may have a slight advantage since Rafael Soriano is a stronger closer then Neftali Feliz, who has a higher WHIP. Again the bullpen's are very similar, but the Rays have a bit more expereince.

Both teams had great season's and its understandable. They both can hit and pitch and rely on youth. The youth could help a team, but the inexperince could also hurt. I think that tonight the Rays are going to pull out a win at home, but the Yankees should be aware of facing them. I do believe that the Yankees dont care either way who they face and will be prepared no matter what, but of the two teams I feel the Rangers match up better cause of the lack of experience.

Yankees win the Wild Card

The Rays and Yankees seemed to wanting the other team to win the division, both teams losing at an alarming pace for teams that had been so good during the regular season. When the Yankees lost the last two games against the Red Sox it was a done deal that they would indeed be the Wild Card champions.

This brings me to the fact that the while the Rays popped corks in Kansas City as AL East champs, the Yankees did not celebrate winning the wild card, and why would they? The Yanks goal was to win the east and then go ahead and win # 28. To some the wild card could be looked at as a disappointment for the Yanks, but they gave the Rays so many opportunity's in September.

The Yanks will now head to Minnesota to face the Twins. The bombers have beaten the Twins in the ALDS in 2003, 2004 and 2009, but this season it will not be as easy. I will have a playoff preview sometime in the next few days.

The last thing about this wild card stuff, why on earth do they bother to print up wild card champion shirts? I mean I could understand if it was the Pirates or Royals that just made the postseason and they want to celebrate making it, but when your the Yankees their is no need to celebrate the fact that they came in second place. In fact I would be ashamed of any Yankees fan that goes out and gets wild card champions shirt, unless they find it on the discount rack. Although I must admit that I do like the design, but I intend on getting a World Series Champions shirt like that.

The Yankees split with these guys ?

What a bad way for the Yankees to lose these last two games, after winning the first two. The Yankees last three series are against the Blue Jays (3 games) and Red Sox (6 games), while the Rays face the Mariners, Orioles and Royals. The worst part is that the Yankees lost to a bunch of guys who dress like this....



Joe Madden, David Price and Evan Longoria along with the rest of the Rays.



George Steinbrenner monument ceremony 9-20-2010

If you missed it last night, aside from Curtis Granderson going off on the Rays. The Yankees dedicated a monument to late owner George Steinbrenner.

Torre and Mattingly return to the Bronx for first time for unveiling of George Steinbrenners monument

From the New York Post

Joe Torre and Don Mattingly will attend the unveiling of George Steinbrenner’s monument in Monument Park, according to multiple people with knowledge of the names who will be on hand tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium.

The Steinbrenner family invited people with ties to The Boss and Torre and Mattingly responded by telling the Steinbrenners they will attend.

Also expected to attend are Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, David Wells, David Cone. Lou Piniella was attempting to make the unveiling prior to the first of a four-game series against the Rays.

Well all I can say is I didn't see that coming. Maybe with all the talk about Torre retiring and Mattingly taking over as the Dodgers manager, Torre would like to make peace with the Yankees. If that is the case it shouldn't be long before we see Joe Torre day or Torre getting a front office job (could him and Cashman get along ?).

Although I am excited to see the reaction both get from the fans, something doesn't seem right that they should steal the spot light from George. George would want all the eyes to be on him, and it should be that way.

Yankees vs Rays just don't sell like Yanks - BoSox

The Rays may have gained a short lived lead in the AL East this past week, when they took two of three from the bombers but it doesn't mean that they are now a hot ticket. The division race is not over , and the Yanks and Rays will face each at the start of next week September 20-23, a four game series at Yankee Stadium.

Maybe it is because it is during the week, and school is back in session but the ticket prices for that series can be had for below face value. This year has been a tough one if you sell a lot of tickets since the Yankees market became flooded and seats were widely available for cheap. But in the middle of a pennant race against a team that is just half a game back is crazy. I'll admit that I sold two of the games I had from this series early in the season because I figured that by this time the Yankees would have a nice lead and the series wouldn't mean that much. Tickets can be had for as low as $8 on Stubhub for the series. It should also be noted that on three of the four nights there will be a promotional giveaway (including a Yankees Snoopy doll).

So while the Rays series is going for less then face, when the Red Sox come into town the next night the prices are above face. The Red Sox are currently six games back , and just don't seem to have that fight to get back into the mix. Yet because its Boston and the whole rivalry the prices are reasonably high. Another factor could also be because it is the last regular season series and it is being played on the weekend.

So while the Red Sox series may come when the Yankees are about to clinch a playoff berth, it wont have the same rivalry feeling. The Red Sox will be out of contention and will have young players in the game, not the old usual suspects that Yankee fans love to hate. Meanwhile the Tampa Bay series will feel much more like a playoff game, with every single pitch mattering. It just shows that even with the Rays being one of the best teams in baseball, coming to Yankee Stadium for a possible ALCS preview, the New York vs Boston rivalry holds stronger.

2010 Postseason Yankees Pre-on-sale Information

Today I received an e-mail from the Yankees regarding the 2010 Postseason pre-sale.

Friday 9/24 -Ticket holders may purchase tickets online only to the ALDS and ALCS. For both series their will be a two ticket limit for the entire series, so pick accordingly to what game you want.

Monday 10/18- World Series pre-sale. Online only , also two ticket limit for the series.

The Yankees also will randomly select a few hundred plan holders and give then a pre-pre sale. Yes that is very confusing.

The Yankees announced the prices for the postseason about a week ago, and they can be found here . Currently the Yanks are half a game behind the Rays for the AL East, and the winner of the east will get home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Save that date ! 2011 preliminary Yankees schedule released

It seems like just yesterday Curtis Granderson was starting his Yankees career at Fenway Park with a home run. Boy, how the season has gone by so quick, and next thing you know the off season will be back and the winter doldrums will be sneaking back in. But anyways before this gets out of hand and I complain about winter, the 2011 preliminary schedule was released today and can be found here .

If you are too lazy to click the link, or would just like to read some of the tidbits here we go :

• The Yanks open at home against the Detroit Tigers. It will be two seasons that the current Yankee Stadium is up, but can we still call it New Yankee Stadium ?
• They play 18 games at home in April. I hate this since it will be cold and New York is known for poor weather during this time of year. Will also kill season ticket holders who are trying to re-sell games.
• The Red Sox make their first trip to the Bronx on May 13-15th, while the Yankees will be greeted at Fenway April 8-10th.
• The Yankees visit the Rays for a short two game starting May 16th, this will be their first meeting of the season.
• This year the Mets come to the Bronx in May and the Yankees go to Queens in July.
• Whether you hate of love interleague play it is here to stay. The bombers visit the Cubs and Reds , and host the Brewers and Rockies. It will be the first time the Brewers have faced the Yankees at Yankee Stadium since they were an American League team.
• The Rays don't come to the Bronx until July 7th.
• The Yanks should get use to having their suitcase with them in August, they play 20 games on the road.
• Once again the Yankees end the season on the road in Tampa Bay. This has bothered me for a while, the last time the Yankees ended the season at home was 2006, the time before that was 2003.
• The 2011 season will end on a Wednesday.

Yanks looking up in the standings



Jeter and the Yanks are looking up in the standings.

 Heart breaking loss for the bombers last night but with the way manager Joe Girardi was working the bull pen you could see it coming. Why in the world would you have Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre in a game against the Rays who are just half a game behind ? These pitchers have been long relievers the entire season and now you are bringing them in to games that count. It just doesn't work that way, and it doesn't matter if you want to rest a few pitchers in the pen or the long relievers had thrown well. Instead I would have liked to see Joba or even Albaledejo in the game instead of Sergio and Chad, or even let Boone Logan face more then one batter.

The Yankees have now lost 7 out 8 and dropped into second place. Tonight they send Ivan Nova to the mound, and although he has had a few nice outings, he is still a rookie who wasn't in the rotation a few months ago. By losing game one it will have to be an uphill climb for the Yanks but lucky for them they still have six more games against these pesky Rays. But until then they will be looking up at Tampa, and hoping to regain first in the east to gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Yankees half game up over the Rays with 19 to play

While most of the country will be watching the football season start, I know I'll be tuning into the Yanks and Rangers. The Yankees have lost the last two games in heart breaking fashion, both games they could have easily won. Joba did his best impression of himself, replicating game 4 of the 2009 World Series when he gave up a home run to Pedro Feliz. Well this time he gave up the tying shot to Nelson Cruz. A few innings later with Chad Gaudin in Cruz homered again for the win. The last night after a clutch hit by Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera walks two batters and hits a batter to give the Rangers a victory. So it is safe to say the Yankees cant wait to leave Texas.

The bombers may want to bolt from the lone star state, but it wont get much easier. The Yankees will head to Tropicana field to play the surging Rays and defend their slim lead in first. It will be like a small playoff preview, the games should be sold out down in Tampa (if they are not then they don't deserve to have a team anymore). If the season ended today and the Yanks won the AL East, they would have to face the Texas Rangers. The Rangers may have been swept in the Bronx in April, but since then the Rangers have had their way with the Yanks outside of one game that the bombers came back to win. So winning the Wild Card may not be the worst thing in the world for the Yankees, since they would get to face the Twins.

Swish saves the day

The Yankees were 2 outs away from being swept by the Baltimore Orioles when Nick Swisher showed some opposite field power and deposited a home run into the visitors bullpen. The walk off came at a time when the Yankees needed it most, having lost three straight after an eight game winning streak. The bombers job ain't over yet since they will have a tough road trip ahead facing the Rangers and Rays on the road, but the walk off by Swisher makes the trip start on a positive note.

A look at the Yankees remaining schedule

Much has been made about how the Yankees will have to face the Rays and Red Sox a combined 13 times in the month of September. The Yankees will also face the Oakland A's,Toronto Blue Jays,Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles in September. So with the Yankees tied for first in the AL East at the moment lets see how the Yankees have matched up to date with the teams they need to face (and beat) to make it back to the postseason.

If the Yankees want to win the AL East or even make it in as the wild card they will need to start by beating the Oakland A's starting next week at the stadium. It shouldn't be a big problem to the Yankees since they are 5-1 against them this season and all those games have taken place in Oakland. But the A's have been playing better, and the Yanks cant take them lightly. This could be the first time Dallas Braden makes a start in the Bronx since the famous "get off my mound" to A-Rod. Total games remaining against A's : 4 (all at home)

It will be a fight till the end for the Yanks especially facing the Jays.

Next up would be the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that surprised many this year. While they have not played well enough to make a run at the postseason they are above .500 and give the Yankees a ton of trouble. To date the Yankees are just 5-7 against them, that's the lowest winning percentage for the Yankees against all the teams they have faced this season (.417). The Yankees will face the Jays at home in early September, but the crucial games could come on in the last week of the season when the bombers will have to play in Toronto. Total games remaining against Blue Jays : 6 (3 away,3 home)

The easiest opponent for the Yankees would be the Buck Showalter led Baltimore Orioles. This season the Yanks are 10-2 against the birds, but this is before Showalter became the manager. In fact the last time the Yankees faced the Orioles it was in June. Since the O's got a new manager they have been playing much better. I'm sure Buck would love to play spoiler against the team he once managed. Total games remaining against the Orioles : 6 (3 away, 3 home)

Bengie Molina could be telling Swisher that the Rangers will see the Yankees in October.

As August is coming to an end most of the division races are tight, all except one and that's the AL West, and that's because the Texas Rangers have ran away with it. The Rangers were thought to be favorites in the west, but after an early season sweep in the Bronx and a overall slow start the Rangers didn't look ready to take the next step. Four months later and the Rangers are considered a playoff favorite since adding Cliff Lee. The Yankees are 4-1 this season against the Rangers, including a sweep of them in April and recently splitting a pair of games in Texas. One of the games in Texas the Yankees were down five runs against Cliff Lee and the Rangers bullpen but managed to over come the deficit and win the game, some consider it to be one of the Yankees biggest wins of the season. Total games remaining: 3 (all in Texas)

Once again the Yankees end the season up in Boston at Fenway Park. It has the chance to feel like a preview of October baseball (Technically it will be the series is Oct 1-3) or by then the Red Sox could be out of it, and what better would the Sox love to do then to cost the mighty Yankees a chance at the AL East and be forced to stick with the wild card. Then again you never know and the Rays could collapse all together and the Yanks and Sox could be in the fighting for the postseason. Either way a Yankees Red Sox game in late September always has some juice to it, even if the Red Sox will be clinging to stay alive.This season the bombers are 7-5 against the hated Boston bunch. Total games remaining: 6 (3 away, 3 home)

The Yankees and Rays are tied at the top of the standings and boy could the teams be anymore closer facing one another. So far this season the Yankees are 5-6 against the Rays, a fairly close record considering how well both teams have played. But even the runs are close, this season the Yankees have score 58 runs against the Rays, while the Rays have scored 59 on the Yanks. Pretty close wouldn't you say? So with seven games remaining against each other it may come down to that seventh game to decide who will win the series and possibly win the division. The Yankees play in Tampa Sept 13th-15th, but the crucial series right now looks to be when the Rays come to the Bronx the second to last week of the season to play four games. The strangest part maybe the Yankees playing important games against an AL East rival not named the Red Sox in late September. Total games remaining: 7 (3 away, 4 home)

A-Rod could be looking at a DL stint

Just when Alex Rodriguez had returned to the line up Friday night, he left once again. A-Rod had been recovering from a left calf strain but after one at bat in the Yanks 6-0 loss to the Mariners, Rodriguez was taken out of the game. After the game Joe Girardi said that a DL stint is possible.

This has been one of the most difficult seasons for A-Rod with all the injuries, and comes at a hard time for the Yankees who have become a mess with the amount of injuries. Since A-Rod has been out of the line up the Yankees have done their best, but if you look back to last season when Alex missed the first month and a half the Yanks struggled a lot during that time. Even though A-Rod wasn't having his best season he was still a league leader in RBI's.

Any extended amount of time with Andy Pettitte (Groin) , Alex Rodriguez and Nick Johnson on the DL is going to hurt the Yankees a lot during time in which they only have a slim small game lead over the Rays. But if the Yanks are willing to take a wild card slot then this all could be a blessing in disguise. What I mean is that since the Yankees are an older team, it could lead to having two of their most important pieces healthy during October.

No Home Homer from A-Rod

On Thursday night Alex Rodriguez made himself one step closer to historic home run 600, by hitting 599. The entire weekend fans were waiting for 600 to land in the Bronx, but those fans will have to wait until when ? Well nobody is sure but if it is going to land in the Bronx, it will have to wait until August 2nd. The Yankees will be on the road in Cleveland and Tampa Bay.

It is completely possible that Alex won't hit another home run this week and it can happen in August when the Yankees return home against the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. Of course I don't have the power to choose when he hits the historic bomb, but I would love for it to be the first game back at the stadium or a game against the Red Sox.

It could happen as soon as Monday night in Cleveland, but any where it happens outside of the Bronx will ruin the moment for A-Rod. In Cleveland the fans are going to boo if the milestone homer is hit there along with possibly a few steroids chants. The same could happen in Tampa. although Tampa has been known to house alot of Yankee fans. But if Alex wants to soak in the moment, it has to be done in New York.

2010 Old Timers Day

It was that special time of the summer, when all the Yankees greats gathered in the Bronx to hear their names called one more time. Old Timers Day 2010 (For the remainder of the post it will be referred to as OTD) was more somber than most, with the passing off George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard this past week. OTD is still a special event that only the Yankees could pull off with all the legendary players that have wore the pinstripes, outside of Opening Day,OTD might be my favorite game.

I had purchased the tickets to the game earlier in the week as a present for my father,following the deaths of two Yankee icons I knew it would be a special day. The draw back was I made the purchase on stubhub so I got stuck with crappy print out tickets.

Once I had arrived around the stadium, the crowd was larger than for most games, even arriving 30 minutes prior to the start of the OTD ceremonys. I got to my seats in section 417 and noticed that the Yanks now have a new Budweiser ad out in left field (Yes something only a Yankee nerd would notice) and that the outfield grass that had been torn up and looking dry from the boxing match back in early June, looked alot better.

The great part about sitting in the grandstand is that after row 5 you are covered from the elements, and if you are sitting near the top of the section you get a nice breeze. The breeze and being covered from the sun was a must for today with how hot it was. Prior to the start of the OTD ceremony, I spotted a gentleman wearing a "Costanza" 00 Yankees Jersey, making what I assume is a reference to Seinfeld. Since Seinfeld is one of my favorite shows, this had made my day.

As always the OTD festivities were well done, they honored the 1950 championship team and had moments of silence for the Boss and Sheppard, along with a video tribute for Bob. On a sad note Yogi Berra was unable to attend since he fell in his home yesterday. Berra was sore, but was fine other wise. I was surprised this year, it seemed like a lot of recent old timers were not there ( Strawberry, David Wells, Willie Randolph, Paul O'neill,Al Leiter, Dave Winfield, and that is just to name a few).

In what was a very classy move the Yanks introduced Bob Sheppard's wife last and all the old timers, many of whom had their names announced by Sheppard, crowded around her. The game its self is always fun to watch, possibly for the wrong reasons. I find it hysterical watching the old players out there trying to play like they did back in the day. Mickey Rivers hit a ball all the way to the warning track in right center field, which impressed me. With how hot it was out, I was surprised to see many of the old timers taking part in the game.

Between the OTD game and the current Yankees game I went to get food and get away from the annoying lady sitting next to me. I felt like I was at the old stadium up in the grandstand/terrace level it was so packed. The lines for food and the bathroom were long where ever you went, but I was able to find a sausage stand that wasn't too bad. The sausage its self wasn't anything special for eight bucks, but I was glad with the sausage to bun ratio. While we are mentioning concession stands, I feel the need to mention that if you order a drink from rolling cart stand, it comes in a bottle, unlike at the regular concession stand that only have cups and never have tops.

The real game was about to begin and I headed back to my seat in row 13. A.J Burnett gave up a run in the first inning already putting the Yanks in a bit of a hole. Burnett just didn't have it again today and gave up four runs over two innings, and was taken out of the game early because of a cut to his pitching hand.

After A.J departed to boo's from the capacity crowd, Dustin Moseley came in and pitched alright for his first two innings of work even though he threw a lot of balls. Finally in his third inning of work, Moseley fell apart and gave Tampa Bay a 8-2 lead and with the six run advantage many fans headed to the exits.

I stayed to the final out of the Rays 10-5 beating of the Yanks, and here are a few notes about the Yanks.

•  Jeter dropped his season average to .269 and left six base runner stranded.
• Robinson Cano ripped a ball to left field for a double and his only hit. Cano has such great power the other way, makes sense why he hits so well at Fenway Park.
• Burnett's record is now below .500 at 7-8
• During the 7th inning stretch, to honor Bob Sheppard they had a recording of him singing "Let me call you sweetheart"

When Jorge Posada grounded out to the pitcher in the bottom of the 9th it marked the end of a long day of baseball. It takes a true hardcore baseball fan to be able to endure a long day of baseball, even though the Yanks lost it was well worth it.

This one was for the boss

For the first game back from the all star break, there was a lot of buzz around Yankee Stadium. As mentioned in my previous post, ticket prices were sky high and hard to come by following George Steinbrenner's death. The buzz around the house that George built would quickly turn to somber feelings before the game when the Yanks held a moment of silence for Sheppard and Steinbrenner. Their was also a video tribute to the boss, Jeter gave a quick speech and Mariano Rivera put flowers on home plate during the ceremony.

Once the game began, the crowd was in a quiet hush, still mourning the loss of two iconic figures in Yankees history. What has been over shadowed this entire time is that the bombers were facing the Tampa Bay Rays who are only two games back.

The game may soon become a Yankees Classic following the out come. The Yanks were down in the 8th inning when Nick Swisher blasted a solo shot to tie up the game. With the game still tied in the bottom of the 9th, and with two runners on Derek Jeter stepped to the plate. Earlier in the week Jeter had called Steinbrenner more then a owner, but a friend. With a base hit Jeter could win the game, add to his legacy and include a story book ending all with one swing. Jeter wasn't able to get the job done and passed on the opportunity to be the hero to Nick Swisher. Swisher,who was born in Ohio, just like Steinbrenner, came through with a base hit to right field to score Curtis Granderson from second.

The Yanks won in dramatic fashion and allowed for a player not named Marcus Thames to get pie this season. Not only was it a big win, cause they won it in walk off fashion for the boss. But the Bombers also picked up a game on the second place Rays.

A few quick hits before I go

•  Nobody was in the public announcer booth in honor of Sheppard. Throughout the night their were no announcements over the P.A
• Saturday is Old Timers Day, the plan was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1950 World Series team. With the death of Sheppard and Steinbrenner expect it to be a bit over shadowed.
• The Yanks wore patches on there jerseys honoring Sheppard and the boss. They will continue to wear them throughout the season, Sheppard's patch is on the sleeve while Stienbrenner's is above the interlocking NY on the home jerseys and above "york" on away jerseys.