Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number One

This is the end of the countdown. Previously I have covered Andy Pettitte's retirement, the Yankees' triple play, Derek Jeter's return from injury, and Ichiro's 4,000th hit.

Number One: Mariano Rivera's Retirement

As I have written about before, Mariano Rivera's retirement was so significant that a street was named after him. Rivera is the best closer of all time. His record of 652 saves will stand for many years. He holds other records such as 952 games finished and 205 ERA+. He will leave a void for the Yankees that will be hard to fill because he will be a first ballot Hall of Famer.

His last game came against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 26. He pitched 1.1 innings in a 4-0 Yankees loss. He was taken out of the game by Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter who walked to the mound instead of Joe Girardi. It was great to see three of the best Yankees of the last decade together in what was the last season for Pettitte and Rivera.

How would you rank the best moments of the Yankees' season?

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number Two

This is the last day of the year, and the top two of my countdown. The previous entries have been the Yankees' triple play, Andy Pettitte's retirement, and Ichiro's 4,000th hit.

Number Two: Derek Jeter's Return From Injury

In a painful year for Derek Jeter, there was one bright spot. On July 28, after injuring his right quad in his first return from the DL on July 11, Jeter came back to play the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. In the first pitch he saw, he swung and homered to right field. The ball traveled 380 feet. It was memorable to see Jeter come back from injury to play in his second game of the year and try to give the Yankees a jolt of energy. 

This energy propelled the Yankees as they won the game 6-5 with Alfonso Soriano hitting a walk-off single. Unfortunately, Jeter only played in fifteen more games the entire season. His first home run turned out to be his last of the year.

Tell me in the comments, what were your favorite moments of the 2013 season?

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number Three

The end of the year is getting closer, and so is the end of the countdown. I have previously covered the Yankees' triple play and Andy Pettitte's retirement.

Number Three: Ichiro's 4,000th Hit

Through thirteen years in the MLB and nine years in Japan, Ichiro has been hitting. He has hit over .300 in eighteen of the twenty-two seasons. On August 21, he recorded his 4,000th hit between the U.S and Japan. This hit came against the Toronto Blue Jays and R.A. Dickey. It was a line drive single past third base and into left field.

To go along with 4,020 hits at the end of the season, Ichiro has blasted 111 MLB homeruns and 118 in the JPPL (Japan Pacific League). Even into his late thirties, Ichiro has a reputation as a fast runner, stealing 472 bases in the U.S. and 199 in Japan. His last forty steal season was in 2011, when he was thirty-seven. He has led the AL in hits seven times, and was first in batting average twice. All of these accolades come together to make him a probable Hall of Famer.

Tell me in the comments, what were your favorite moments of the 2013 season?

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number Four

Yesterday, I covered the Yankees' triple play against the Orioles for the number five spot. Today, I will continue the countdown with number four.

Number Four: Andy Pettitte's Retirement

Andy Pettitte was a great player. His retirement at the end of the 2013 season was a important moment in Yankees history. He contributed to the Yankees as a member of the Core Four and was a part of five World Series Championships. He holds many records, such as being the pitcher with the most wins in postseason history or recording the most strikeouts in Yankees history. One of his greatest qualities was his astonishing durability. Even though he took steroids over a short period of time, his accomplishments of 531 games played and 3316 innings are outstanding. This puts him eighty-seventh on the all-time innings list. Pettitte may even be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but his 3.85 career ERA is mediocre. He will truly be missed by a Yankees team that is in need of leadership and pitching.

Be back tomorrow for part three.

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013: Number Five

Please read yesterday's post for an introduction to the series.

Number Five: Triple play against the Orioles

On April 12, the Yankees faced the Baltimore Orioles in Yankee Stadium. C.C. Sabathia faced Manny Machado with Nick Markakis on first and Alexi Casilla on second. There were no outs with a count of three balls and two strikes. Machado hit a ground ball to Robinson Cano, who threw to Jayson Nix at second for the force out of Markakis. Casilla then tried to advance, but was called out when Kevin Youkilis, after receiving the ball from Nix, throwing it back, and getting it back again, tagged him. With Machado trying to advance, Youkilis tossed the ball across the diamond to first baseman Lyle Overbay. Overbay saw Machado going to second base, and gave the ball to Robinson Cano, who tagged Machado out, completing the triple play. The play was scored 4-6-5-6-5-3-4.  It was the first time the Yankees obtained a triple play since April 22, 2010 in Oakland, and the first at home since 1968.

The next part of the series will come later today or tomorrow.

Top Five Yankees Moments of 2013

While this year was a disappointing one for the Yankees, they still had some great times. From triple plays to records to retirements, there were many memorable moments. In the last days until the end of the year, I will countdown the top five. The first post will come later today or tomorrow.

Yankees have a chance to acquire Masahiro Tanaka

The Yankees have a chance to sign Masahiro Tanaka after his team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, decided to post him. This gives teams in the MLB a chance to bid on Tanaka. If a team pays twenty million dollars, they will be allowed to negotiate with Tanaka. He was amazing last year, going 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA in the regular season. He would be an instant upgrade to any MLB team. Many teams are expected to go after him, perhaps more than half the league. After the Yankees' bad pitching last year, they will want to sign him. This will be a crowded field of bidders, but I am confident that the Yankees have the resources to sign him.

Merry Christmas to all of my readers.

Yankees hire new bullpen coach

After losing Mike Harkey to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Yankees had an opening at bullpen coach. To fill this void they hired Gary Tuck. Tuck was a bullpen coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2007-2012. He also was a player, manager, and scout for various teams over more than thirty years. This brings some much needed experience to the Yankees' bullpen that will help them reclaim their good pitching form.

US Mint to release baseball coins

In honor of the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 75th anniversary the United States Mint will produce coins with a baseball on one side, and a glove on the other. What makes these coins special is that they are curved, a first in US Mint history. The baseball bulges outwards while the glove is drawn inwards. They will be issued in five, one, and half-dollar denominations. The five dollar gold coin will be sold for thirty-five dollars and have a production run of 50,000, the silver dollar coin will be sold for ten dollars each and produced 400,000 times, and the half dollar copper coin will have 750,000 coins in circulation by the end of production. The copper coins will go on sale for five dollars. The coins will go on sale in 2014. These will be great collectibles and unique pieces of US and baseball history.

Yankees to officially introduce Beltran today

After being signed on Thursday, Carlos Beltran will be officially introduced this morning at 11. Beltran will help to replace Robinson Cano and will provide hitting help. Beltran is also a great postseason player who has lots of experience. He was signed for 45 million dollars over three years.

History of the Yankees in 25 objects Part 6

After taking a long break, today is part 6.

Number 6: Babe Ruth's Hall of Fame plaque



Babe Ruth was one of the greatest players in MLB history. From 60 homeruns in a season to hitting 714 in his career to maintain an amazing .342 batting average, he had many great accomplishments. Ruth was not only a great batter, he pitched for eight full season with an ERA of about 2.25. He compiled ninety-two wins over this time period. He also pitched in single games in 1930 and 1933, winning each time.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. His plaque has a simple design, but yet is still beautiful. There is great detail work on his face.

You can find Part 5 of the series here.  

Street in New York is named after Mariano Rivera

After an illustrious career for the Yankees, Mariano Rivera was given one more accolade after a street was named for him. This street was formerly known as River Avenue and is near Yankee Stadium. A vote in city council passed 47-0 in favor. This is a honor that is a testament to the wonderful career that Mariano Rivera had.

What is the longest home run in MLB history?

With Matt Prater setting the all-time NFL record for longest field goal, I think that it is time to see what the longest home run in MLB history is. This record is disputed, since the home run was measured after the fact, but I think that there is enough evidence to declare it the longest in history. This home run was hit by Mickey Mantle on April 17, 1953. The home run was estimated at between 550 and 600 feet. This monumental blast was against the Washington Senators at their home field, Griffith Park. The ball flew out of the park and landed across the street. It was later measured by the Yankees' PR director, Red Patterson. This was a truly monumental home run that will go down in history books for many years.

Yankees lose Cano and Granderson

In one day, the Yankees lost two of their best players. Robinson Cano signed with the Seattle Mariners and Curtis Granderson is now a New York Met. This comes soon after the Yankees made big moves to acquire Kelly Johnson and Jacoby Ellsbury. Johnson is expected to fill in for Cano at second base. This is damaging to the Yankees because Cano was an excellent hitter, much better than Johnson or most other second basemen. But, now with Cano lost, the Yankees should have money to spend on other good free-agents to help them win a World Series.

Yankees sign Ellsbury and Johnson

Continuing their free-agent signings, the Yankees have signed Jacoby Ellsbury and Kelly Johnson. Ellsbury is a former Red Sox player and a center fielder. He batted .298 last year with nine home runs. He also had a good .355 on-base percentage. He is also somewhat young, he turned 30 in September. He will be paid $153 million dollars for seven years. I am hoping that this will not turn into a contract that will hurt the Yankees for years to come. The last few years of the deal might be painful if Ellsbury's production declines.

Kelly Johnson was a less prized free-agent, but still a valuable one. He will be paid three million dollars for one year. He is also a possible replacement for Robinson Cano if needed. Johnson's main asset is his power, he has hit 16 home runs in each of the last two years. This is some much needed power for the Yankees. He is a valuable piece to fill the Yankees' gaps.

Phil Hughes to Twins

Phil Hughes has signed a three year deal with the Minnesota Twins that will pay him eight million dollars a year, for a total of twenty-four million. He will not be missed much by the Yankees after going 4-14 with a 5.19 ERA. This bad performance helped the Yankees miss the playoffs. The signing frees up a spot in the rotation that could possibly be taken by Michael Pineda or a free agent. Overall, this is a good move for the Yankees. They avoided re-signing a pitcher who was horrible for them last year.

Yankees lose bullpen coach

Mike Harkey, the Yankees' bullpen coach since 2008, has gone to the Diamondbacks to be their pitching coach. This creates a vacancy for the Yankees. Some candidates are Scott Aldred, the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitching coach, and Gary Tuck, who has done many jobs around the league. I expect someone to be hired in the next few weeks since the Yankees have many other pressing matters to attend to.

Yankees on the 2014 Hall of Fame Ballot

The ballot for the election to the Hall of Fame for 2014 has been released. There are many Yankees who will be up for induction: Mike Mussina, Armando Benitez, Kenny Rogers, J. T. Snow, and Roger Clemens. Of these players, only Mussina and Clemens have a chance to be inducted. Mussina is on his first ballot while Clemens is on his second.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers.

100th post

This is my 100th post. It has been great to see my blog grow from back when I started it to where it is now. I have been able to cover a wide variety of subjects, from history to trades to the World Series. In April the MLB season will start again and I will be able to cover the beginning of the season. Please keep reading and commenting.

Brian McCann to Yankees

Today, Brian McCann signed a deal that will make him a Yankees for the next five years. This a great addition to a team that at times was looking for catching help after Russell Martin left. Last year Chris Stewart failed to provide offense and the Yankees struggled. While McCann only hit .257 last year, his 20 homeruns will give the Yankees' offense some power. He is one of the first major signings of the Yankees' off-season.

Yankees Spring Training

Yankees pitchers and catchers will report on February 14, Valentine's Day. The rest of the team will report five days later, on February 19. The team will then have another few days to practice before the first game against Florida State University on February 25. This will be followed the next day by the first major league spring training game against the Pittsburg Pirates. This is all leading up to Tuesday, April 1 when the Yankees open their season against the Astros.

History of the Yankees in 25 objects Part 5

Today, we move to the fifth part of the series.

Number 5: Bill Mazeroski's Jersey from Game 7 of the 1960 World Series



In 1960, the Yankees played the Pirates in a thrilling World Series that went to seven games. In the seventh game, Bill Mazeroski hit a walk-off homerun to win the series for the Pirates. This is regarded as one of the best homeruns of all time, as it was extremely timely. The series featured many amazing players such as Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, and Roberto Clemente.  This is a part of Yankees history, representing a time where the Yankees got close to the championship but could not quite reach it.

The next post will be later this week.

You can find part four here.

History of the Yankees in 25 objects Part 4

Today is part 4.

Number 4: Roger Maris' 61st home run bat and ball



On October 1,1961 Roger Maris hit his sixty-first home run to break Babe Ruth's record of sixty that had stood since 1927. This record stood until 1998, when Mark McGwire broke it. This was a landmark for Maris because Babe Ruth was one of baseball's greatest players. The bat and ball now reside in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. As you can see, the bat was made by Louisville Slugger. Maris later had his number retired by the Yankees. In his career he hit 275 homeruns with a .260 average and 850 RBI. He was voted MVP twice, in 1960 and in 1961.

Later this week will be part 5.

You can find Part 3 of my series here. 

History of the Yankees in 25 objects Part 3

Today is part 3.

Number 3: Photograph from September 11, 2009



On September 11, 2009, Derek Jeter broke the Yankees all-time hit record with a single off Chris Tillman of the Orioles. This record had previously belonged to Lou Gehrig, who had amassed 2,721 hits in his career. Derek Jeter broke the record and now has 3,316 hits. Jeter is getting closer all the time to the all-time hits record. He is one of the greatest players in history and holds many Yankees record. This photograph commemorates a great moment in Yankees history.

You can read part 2 of the series here.

2013 MVP

The MVP votes are in and Robinson Cano has finished fifth. Miguel Cabrera won MVP with 385 points and Cano finished with 150. Mike Trout was second with 282 points, Chris Davis was third with 232 points, and Josh Donaldson came in fourth with 222 points. Cano had an amazing year and was definitely the Yankees' MVP.

History of the Yankees in 25 objects Part 2

Today is part 2 of the history of the Yankees.

Number 2: Program from the 1923 World Series

This program is from the 1923 World Series. The Yankees won the series in six games for their first world championship. This series featured great players like Babe Ruth, Herb Pennock, and Dave Bancroft. As you can see, the program depicts Giants manager John McGraw and Yankees manager Miller Huggins. This program's placement of the two managers tells us that this program was from the Polo Grounds, not Yankee Stadium. The home manager was on the left. This program is a part of Yankees history. It shows how far design has advanced from a simpler era in the early 20th century to now.

You can find Part 1 of my series here.

Part 3 of my series will come tomorrow or later this week.

History of the Yankees in 25 Objects Part 1

In this series of posts I will talk about the history of the Yankees in 25 objects. This will cover a wide range of objects from bats to baseballs to photographs. Today is part one.

Number 1: Seat from the old Yankee Stadium

This is a true part of Yankee history.  The old Yankee Stadium was there for many victories, pennants, and World Series Championships. It saw some of the best players and teams in MLB history. It also held 82,000 people at its peak in 1927 and 56,936 people when it closed. Most of the important events in Yankees history were held there. 

I think that one of the best parts of the chair is the Yankees logo on the side. It is simple, but stands out among the other parts of the chair, which are mostly blue.

Later this week, I will have part two of this series.

Robinson Cano wins Silver Slugger

Robinson Cano has won his fifth Silver Slugger award. He was the only Yankees player to win it this year. He was elected as the best second baseman in the American League. This came after a season with a .314 batting average, 27 home runs, and 101 RBI. This is a great accolade for Cano.

Yankees resign Derek Jeter

After a long injury filled season with many trips to the DL and bad play while on the field, Derek Jeter has been resigned to a one-year, 12 million dollar contract. Jeter could have opted out of his contract to become a free-agent or might have accepted his 2014 option of 9.5 million dollars. Jeter, who will be forty by next season, will try to regain his career form.

I personally think that this is a horrible signing by the Yankees. It is almost totally based on nostalgia rather than performance. With the Yankees trying to save money in order to build a team, they would have been better off letting Jeter opt out of his contract or taking his option for less money. An old shortstop with injuries should not have been paid even 6 million dollars, much less 12. Even if Jeter had accepted his option, the Yankees still would have saved 2.5 million dollars to offer to free-agents. But, time will tell whether this deal turns out badly for the Yankees.  

Red Sox win

Last night was Game 6, a potential season ending game. The Red Sox were leading the series 3-2, but the Cardinals had star pitcher Michael Wacha on the mound to try to push the series to a final game in Boston. Trying to end the series, the Red Sox had John Lackey start.

In the thrid inning with the bases loaded, Shane Victorino came to bat against Wacha. He hit a bases clearing double, scoring Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, and Jonny Gomes. This broke the game wide open and gave the Red Sox a commanding 3-0 lead in the game. In the next inning, the Red Sox scored again, with a home run by Stephen Drew. Mike Napoli and Victorino each added a RBI single to make the score 6-0.

By this point, the game was almost over, even in the fifth inning. Wacha had left the game after giving up six runs. In the seventh inning Carlos Beltran had a single to score a run, but this made the score only 6-1. In the top of the ninth inning, Koji Uehara faced Matt Carpenter and struck him out, giving the World Series back to Boston.

The MVP was David Ortiz, who had an amazing .688 batting average in the World Series.

Red Sox even series at two

The Red Sox were in a hole. They had just lost a game to make the series 2-1 in favor of the Cardinals. Even worse, they had been defeated in the worst of ways, an interference call. Game 4 was the second of three games in St. Louis. The Cardinals started off the game with a run, a RBI single by Carlos Beltran. This score of 1-0 for the Cardinals held until the fifth inning, where David Ortiz scored on a Stephen Drew sacrifice fly to tie the game. In the sixth inning, the Red Sox made their mark. Jonny Gomes hit a 387 foot home run to score Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia.

The next major drama came in the ninth inning, after the Cardinals had made the score 4-2 earlier in the game. With a man on first and two out, Beltran came to bat against Koji Uehara, who you may remember from my last post. Pinch-runner Kolton Wong, the man on first, was then picked off by Uehara to end the game.

The player of the game was David Ortiz, who went 3-3 to raise his World Series average to .727. The series is now tied again 2-2.

Cardinals vs Red Sox: Game 3

Game 3 of the 2013 World Series started out normally, but ended with a fantastic finish that left many wondering what had happened. The Cardinals quickly took a lead in the bottom of the first inning with a pair of one run singles by Matt Holiday and Yadier Molina off Red Sox starter Jake Peavy. But, the Red Sox climbed back out of the deficit with a run in the fifth and sixth innings. In the seventh inning the Cardinals struck back to retake the lead. Matt Holiday got his second and third RBI on a two run double. This was not the end of the game for the Red Sox though, they tied the game in the eighth inning with a single and a fielder's choice.

This is where the game got interesting. The Red Sox led off the 9th inning but Trevor Rosenthal sent them down in order. In the bottom of the inning, the Cardinals got a man on first with one out after Yadier Molina singled. Allen Craig pinch-hit for Trevor Rosenthal. Then Craig doubled to left to put him on second base and Molina on third. The very next play is the one to remember. Jon Jay was at the plate, with Koji Uehara pitching for the Red Sox. Jay grounded to second, and the ball was thrown home to tag Molina. This was accomplished but there was still only two outs. The ball was then thrown by Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to third to beat Craig, who was trying to advance. The ball went by third baseman Will Middlebrooks who dived to catch the ball but failed. Craig then tried to run home to beat the throw to the plate. He tripped while starting his run because Middlebrooks' legs were still stretched out in the baseline. Craig almost beat the throw to home but was called out. This did not matter, however because third base umpire Jim Joyce called interference on Middlebrooks for tripping Craig.

The Cardinals were awarded the run and won the game in a walk-off. Later it was explained that even if Middlebrooks had no intent to do so, he was still obstructing the runner. This was the end of a fantastic game and great for the Cardinals because they now have a 2-1 series lead.

Cardinals Tie Series

The Cardinals came into Game 2 of the 2013 World Series having been obliterated to night before 8-1. But, star rookie Michael Wacha was on the mound. Wacha was amazing in the NLCS and won MVP honors. He was the Cardinals' best hope to get back on track. The game started well enough for the Cardinals, with a run in the fourth inning. But in the sixth inning, the Red Sox struck back with a two run homerun by David Ortiz. After that inning, with the score 2-1, Wacha left the game.

In the seventh inning the game was decided. Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly that scored two, after an error Daniel Descalso moved to third. This was important because on the next at-bat, Carlos Beltran hit a single to score Descalso. This was the last scoring play of the game as it ended 4-2. Trevor Rosenthal got the save and Wacha got the win to even the series at 1-1.

World Series starts tonight

The 2013 World Series starts tonight in Boston. The Cardinals' Adam Wainwright will go against the Jon Lester for the Red Sox. This is the first game of a series that should be exciting considering how even the teams are. Allen Craig, who hasn't played since early December, should return to provide punch to the Cardinals' lineup. The game will begin at 8:07 ET on FOX. Tommorrow, I will write a recap of the game.

World Series prediction

On Wednesday, the 2013 World Series will begin. The St. Louis Cardinals will face off against the Boston Red Sox in Boston. These two teams have met three times before in the World Series, with the Cardinals winning the 1946 World Series 4-3 and the 1967 World Series 4-3. But, in 2004, with the Red Sox trying for their first World Series in many years, they finally broke through to win 4-0 for Boston's first title since 1918.

This year, the teams are quite evenly matched. They both have great pitchers such as Adam Wainwright for the Cardinals and Jon Lester for the Red Sox. But, the arrival of rookie phenom Michael Wacha tips the scales in the Cardinals' favor.  At other positions, Shane Victorino hit a grand slam that helped the Red Sox to the World Series. Carlos Beltran has been in his usual great postseason form.

But, I think one of the factors that will decide this series is postseason experience. David Ortiz has lots for the Red Sox. The Cardinals have it in droves after winning a World Series in 2011. My prediction is that the Cardinals' pitching will be too much for the Red Sox, and the World Series trophy will go to St. Louis after six games.

World Series

The World Series matchup has been set: St. Louis Cardinals versus the Boston Red Sox. This will be one of the most exciting World Series in recent memory. The teams both had the same regular season record at 97-65. The home field advantage will go to the Red Sox, though, because the AL won the All-Star Game. The first game is on Wednesday. 

My prediction and more coverage will come tommorrow and in the next few days.

Cardinals vs Dodgers: Game 6

Yesterday, the Dodgers, having won game 5, went to St. Louis to stay alive. The score of the series was 3-2, but the Dodgers had ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound, going against the Cardinals' Michael Wacha. Kershaw had an good playoffs, with a 3.13 ERA and a 1-2 record. But Michael Wacha was having an amazing postseason, emerging as a great player with a 0.43 ERA and a perfect 3-0 record. He had only given up one run and eight hits in 21.0 innings. This was also his first postseason and year in the major leagues.

The game started out slow, with no runs in the first two innings, but in the third inning the Cardinals struck with four runs. The score held for one more inning until the Cardinals got another five runs off the Dodgers. Kershaw exited the game after giving up seven runs. Wacha pitched great and held the Dodgers' potent lineup off the scoreboard until he exited after the seventh inning. The Cardinals then held for another two innings and got the win 9-0 to advance to the World Series.

*Note: All stats from after Game 6

Dodgers and Tigers win

In Game 5 of the 2013 NLCS, the Los Angeles Dodgers needed to win, they were down 3-1 in the series and needed to stay alive. But, the St. Louis Cardinals wanted to close out the series in order to avoid going back to St.Louis. Adrain Gonzalez hit two home runs as part of his 3-4 night and the Dodgers won 6-4. Game 6 is in St. Louis on Friday.
The ALCS is now tied 2-2 after the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3. The Tigers fearsome pitching rotation has started to play well and could carry them all the way to the World Series.

Dodgers vs Cardinals, Game 3

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers and St.Louis Cardinals clashed in Game 3 of the NLCS. Hyun-Jin Ryu took the mound for the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Ryu tossed a gem, with only 3 hits in seven innings to leave the game with a shutout. But, the real hero for the Dodgers was Yasiel Puig who went 2-3 with an RBI triple to score the Dodger's second run. Adam Wainwright got the loss for the Cardinals, and the Dodgers won, 3-0.

2013 NLCS

The 2013 NLCS has started. In the first two games, the St.Louis Cardinals have pitched well and lead the series 2-0. The Cardinals have quite a bit of postseason and World Series experience on their roster. This should help them in coming games. The Los Angeles Dodgers, even with their huge spending over the last few seasons, have not won a game yet. Their chances of getting to the World Series are seriously in doubt. Tonight, Adam Wainright, who has a perfect 2-0 record this postseason, goes up against Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu in Los Angles for Game 3 of this series.

You can find my ALCS preview here.

2013 ALCS matchup is set

With the Detroit Tigers defeating the Oakland Athletics to advance to the ALCS, the matchup is set, the Boston Red Sox will face off against the Tigers in a best of seven series. The first game will be at Fenway Park in Boston. The Red Sox, as top overall seed, get home field advantage. The first game will see Jon Lester for the Red Sox, and Anibal Sanchez for the Tigers pitching. This is sure to be an exciting matchup.
Later today, my post about the NLCS will be up.

Dodgers and Red Sox advance

This has been a great postseason so far. The Red Sox beat the Rays and the Dodgers defeated the Braves. But, the real intrigue is from two Game 5s happening in the next two nights. The St.Louis Cardinals play the Pittsburgh Pirates in a NL Central Division rivalry. In the AL, the Detroit Tigers head to Oakland to face the Athletics in a win-or-go home situation. These exciting matchups have been great for the MLB so far this postseason.

  

2013 NLDS

The 2013 NLDS has been very close so far. It features many interesting teams and good matchups. The Atlanta Braves and Los Angles Dodgers are tied 1-1. The Dodgers have spent quite a bit of money and are hoping to get to their first World Series in a long time. In the other series, the Saint Louis Cardinals play their inter-division rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates. This year, the Pirates broke their losing season streak of over 20 years. That series is also tied 1-1. I predict that the Cardinals and Dodgers will meet in the NLCS.

2013 ALDS

Even though the Yankees's season is over, the playoffs have started. There are two series going on in the AL.The Rays,after winning the Wild Card game, are going to Boston to play the Red Sox. The Detriot Tigers are playing the Oakland Athletics. I predict that the Red Sox and Tigers will win.

The Yankees' Season is Over

The Yankees' season has ended. They ended with a record of 85-77, good for 3rd place in the AL East. They endured a year of injuries and retirements and stayed in contention until the end of the season. They have many holes to fill and free agents to sign, including Robinson Cano, who will be a free agent. The Yankees ended the season by playing the Houston Astros and will open the 2014 season by playing them again. The next

season will begin on April 1st.

Andy Pettitte throws a complete game in final start

Coming into last night's game against the Astros, both teams were eliminated. Mariano Rivera had played his final game, and the Yankees were finishing a bad season. But, Andy Pettitte threw a complete game in his final outing to win 2-1. Pettitte threw 116 pitches with only five hits and one earned run. He will finish the season at 11-11. This is important because he has never had a losing season. That is a testament to Pettitte's longevity and the fact that the Yankees will struggle to replace someone who was so consistent.

Yankees win, have two games left

The Yankees won 3-2 Friday against the Houston Astros, in a meaningless game for both teams. This was the third-to-last game of the season. It is the end of a dismal year marked by injuries and losses. Derek Jeter has barely played any games and is on the DL. Two of the Yankees' most consistent players, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte are retiring. Pettitte plays his final game on Saturday, in the place where he spent three of his 18 major league years. 

The Yankees will not make the playoffs

After a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees are now 5 games back of the wild card with only 5 games to play. Barring a complete miracle, they will not make the playoffs. This is a sad conclusion to the careers of Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. The Yankees will probably also be bad next year, as they will continue to cut costs. But in 2015, there is hope.

Yankees lose and ruin Rivera's celebration

Yesterday, the Yankees held a celebration for Mariano Rivera. They retired his number and had many of the players Rivera had won World Series with come back. 42, Rivera's number was painted on the field. This was also Andy Pettitte's last game at Yankee Stadium. He was perfect through four innings and had a no-hitter through five. But, after he left in the 8th inning to a standing ovation, David Robertson let one of Pettitte's base runners score. Rivera later came in and pitched a scoreless inning and two-thirds. But, the Yankees could not score another run to tie the Giants' two and they lost 2-1.

Alex Rodriguez Breaks Grand Slam Record

Last night, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate in the 7th inning with the bases loaded to face Giants reliever George Kontos.  He then hit his 24th grand slam of his career. This put him past Lou Gehrig for 1st on the all time grand slam list. Gehrig and Rodriguez had been tied for a while with 23. This is a landmark record for Alex Rodriguez.

2013 AL Wild Card Standings

With the end of the season fast approaching and the Yankees eliminated in the AL East race, here are the updated 2013 AL Wild Card standings.

1.Tampa Bay Rays 82-67
2.Texas Rangers 81-68
3. Cleveland Indians 81-69 .5 games back
4. Baltimore Orioles 79-70 2 games back
5. New York Yankees 79-71 2.5 games back
6.Kansas City Royals 79-71 2.5 games back

Yankees get swept

A few days ago, everything was looking good for the Yankees. They had just beaten the Baltimore Orioles and were close to the playoffs. But then, the Yankees came into Boston to play the Red Sox. They had horrible starting pitching and a bad offense and lost each of the games by at least 4 runs. Now, with only 12 games left in the season, they are 3 games out of the Wild Card with two AL East teams ahead of them. The Yankees will need a miracle to make the playoffs.

Derek Jeter's season is over

This season has been a bad one for Derek Jeter. Not only has he played just 17 games, but he has hit .190 with 12 hits and 10 strikeouts. He has been on the DL four times, counting this one. This comes at a critical point where the Yankees are only a few games out of a Wild Card spot. He was taken out of Saturday's game and after a CT scan and second opinion it was confirmed that he had reinjured his ankle. The Yankees have traded for Brendan Ryan from the Seattle Mariners, who is batting .192 with 3 homeruns this year. But, Ryan is much better at defense than Eduardo Nunez, who would have replaced Jeter.  

Yankees American League Champions Rings

Since I haven't done a post on World Series Rings in a while, I thought it would be good to show some American League Championship rings. Even if you don't win the World Series, rings are still made for the team if it wins the pennant. While these rings are not as good as a World Series ring, they are still nice.


This ring is from 2001, when the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Yankees in 7 games for their first World Series.

Another nice ring is from 1964, when the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Yankees in 7 games.



Between World Series and American League Championship rings, Derek Jeter actually has seven. By the end of his career, he could have enough for both hands.

Yankees lose to Red Sox 13-9

Today marks the third straight winnable game that the Yankees have lost. The final score was 13-9. David Huff got the start instead of Phil Hughes and proceeded to give up 9 runs in 3.1 innings. Jim Miller then came in and gave up 3 runs in 1.1 innings. The Yankees' offense was great, however, Brett Gardner went 2-3 with a walk and drove in two runs. In the sixth inning Derek Jeter left after injuring his left ankle. This is the second straight game the Red Sox have scored at least 12 runs.There is still one game left in the series, which is tomorrow.

Yankees make changes to pitching rotation

David Huff will replace Phil Hughes in the Yankees' rotation for a game against the Red Sox this weekend. This comes after Huff threw 5.2 innings for the win on Monday against the White Sox. Phil Hughes has had a bad season, with a 4.86 ERA and a 4-13 record. The Yankees cannot afford to give away games with bad starting pitching while they are going for a Wild Card spot. Hughes will be a free agent at the end of this season, but the Yankees will probably not try to re-sign him. If the Yankees do make the playoffs, this will not affect them as they will go with a 3 or 4 pitcher rotation without Hughes or Huff.

Yankees win after long delay

The Yankees won on Monday after a 2 hour delay in the top of the 2nd inning. Phil Hughes pitched 1 and a third innings before the rain started. After the rain, David Huff pitched 5.2 innings and later got the win. Derek Jeter got 2 hits and is 2 hits from tying Eddie Collins for 9th place on the all-time hits list. The Yankees offense broke out in the 4th inning with 8 runs against Dylan Axelrod. In a pinch hit at-bat, J.R. Murphy got his first career MLB hit in his first game. The Yankees finally won the game 9-1 to continue the push to the playoffs.

Yankees Callups for September

This September, as rosters expanded, the Yankees called up 6 players. LHP Cesar Cabral, RHPs Dellin Betances, Brett Marshall, Preston Claiborne, infielder David Adams and catcher J.R. Murphy. The Yankees are trying to help a bullpen that needs to be almost perfect if the Yankees are going to make the playoffs by coming back from a 3.5 game deficit.

Today, Phil Hughes takes the mound against the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a three game series.

What Yankees Records Does Mariano Rivera Hold?

Mariano Rivera is one of the best players in Yankees history. He has been the closer for many World Series titles. He is the all-time leader in saves. But, he also holds many Yankees records. His 2.21 ERA beats Russ Ford, a pitcher in the early 20th century. Obviously, the Yankees saves title belong to him, outpacing Dave Righetti by an incredible 422 saves. He has also played in 1103 games, better than Righetti's 522. His .212 average against ranks first. He also has never gotten a hit in 3 at-bats, but has walked and driven in a run. After his retirement this year, the Yankees will definitely have lost one of their great players.

Yankees Minor League Update

As the Yankees move closer to the end of the regular season it is time for a look at how the minor league affiliates are doing.

The Staten Island Yankees are having a bad season, going 28-39. One bright spot is Eric Jagielo, a Yankees rookie who has been hitting .272 with a very good .383 OBP and 5 homeruns with 24 RBI. Caleb Smith has also been doing well in his first year with a 1.89 ERA over 47 and two-thirds innings. He also has 52 strikeouts against only 15 walks.

The Charleston RiverDogs are doing well, with a 73-60 record, good for 3rd in the South Atlantic League's Southern Division. Gregory Bird has been the star of the team with 20 homeruns and is batting .291 with a spectacular .424 OBP. He also has a good .520 slugging percentage.

The Class-A Tampa Yankees have had an abysmal season with only a 54-74 record. Rob Refsnyder has a .413 OBP with 49 RBI.

The Double-A Trenton Thunder are 70-65. Gary Sanchez has a .323 OBP with 14 homeruns between Tampa and Trenton. He is one of the Yankees' top prospects. Fred Lewis has a 2.28 ERA through 43.1 innings with 39 strikeouts. He has only given up 20 walks.

The Scraton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are 65-73. Sam Demel has 1.88 ERA through 48.0 innings. He also has recorded 58 strikeouts after playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.

Overall, the minor league affiliates for the Yankees are doing badly but have some bright spots that should be in the majors soon.

Where did the interlocking NY of the Yankees' logo come from?

One of the most beloved logos in sports is the Yankees' interlocking NY. The logo has seen many changes throughout the years, but how the original came about has an interesting backstory. In 1877, Tiffany created a medal for the New York Police Department to give to policeman John McDowell. This was a valor medal because McDowell had been shot and survived. The logo was adopted onto the uniform in 1909. This may have to do with the fact that one of the Yankees' owners at the time, Bill Devery, was a former policeman. Even though the logo looks similar, the design went through some changes.

 
 

The bridge of the "N" on the medal has a more wavy line than the uniform logo. Also, on the medal, the "N" seems to be going over the "Y" while on the uniform the opposite is true. Overall, even though the Yankees' logo has evolved many times, it is still one of the best in all of sports.

Alex Rodriguez hits his 650th homerun

Yesterday, Alex Rodriguez became the 5th player to hit 650 homeruns, joining Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds. He has hit them in 31 stadiums, against 395 pitchers, and versus 26 opponents. He is currently 10 homeruns behind Willie Mays for 4th on the all-time list, and 112 behind all-time leader Barry Bonds. If Rodriguez played for 5 more seasons, he would have to average 22.6 homeruns per season to break Bonds' record.

Derek Jeter returns tonight

Tonight, with the Yankees in Toronto to play the Blue Jays, Derek Jeter will return. He will be at shortstop rather than DH and should replace Eduardo Nunez. Jeter is batting only .211 with 19 at-bats in six games. The Yankees are still only 3.5 games away from the second Wild Card, but, they have two divisional rivals ahead of them, besides the Red Sox. The Rays are in the first Wild Card, while the Orioles are 1.5 games ahead of the Yankees.

Yankees vs Rays- August 25

Today, the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in 11 innings. Coming into the game the Yankees had lost 2 straight to the Rays and were looking to win and improve their standing in the Wild Card race. Ivan Nova got the start and pitched well, giving up 2 runs in 6 and two-thirds innings. In the top of the 11th inning Alfonso Soriano doubled and stole third. Curtis Granderson then scored him with a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the inning Mariano Rivera came in for what was probably his last game at Tropicana Field. He got the save with a 1-2-3 inning.

Yankees win five straight games

With the Yankees beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-3 last night, the Yankees have now won five straight games and eight of their last ten. They swept the Blue Jays over four games. The playoffs are starting to look more realistic with the Yankees being only 3.5 games behind in the Wild Card race and playing a three game series starting tonight with one of the teams holding the Wild Card, the Tampa Bay Rays. Hiroki Kuroda goes for his 12th win against Chris Archer

Ichiro passes 4,000 Hits

Yesterday, Ichiro got his 4,000th hit between America and Japan. He accomplished this by having 1,278 hits in Japan and 2,722 hits in America. If his hits in Japan counted, he would be third on the all-time hits list. He broke the single-season record for hits in 2004 with 262. Even though he is 39, he has a good chance to break 3,000 hits in America. He has remained remarkably consistent, having 178 hits last year while playing in all 162 games and 116 this year. 

Robinson Cano hits his 200th homerun

In the first game of yesterday's double header, Robinson Cano hit his 200th homerun. This puts him only 177 homeruns behind Jeff Kent, the all-time second baseman homerun leader. Cano is only 30 so this gives him a good chance to break the record. Cano has been batting well lately, pushing his average to .308 on the season. Today, Ichiro Suzuki can get 4,000 hits for his career in Japan and the United States.

How does the Yankees' uniform measure up against the rest of MLB?

Every year UniWatch's Paul Lukas publishes his MLB uniform rankings. This year, the Yankees came in 7th place and dropped three spots from last year. I personally think that they should have made at least the top 5.



Here are the rest of the rankings:

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/story/_/id/9541646/uni-watch-power-rankings-rates-mlb-uniforms-1-30

Where do you think the Yankees should have ranked?

The Latest on Alex Rodriguez

Today, as ESPN has reported, Alex Rodriguez and his lawyers will probably sue Chris Ahmad, the Yankees' team doctor, for medical malpractice. This goes along with their claim that the Yankees wanted to ruin Rodriguez's career by making him play when he was injured. Rodriguez says that Ahmad intentionally covered up a left hip injury which he eventually had to have surgery on.

Yankees vs Red Sox- August 18

In last night's Yankees game, Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch from Ryan Dempster. This came on a 3-0 count where all of the other pitches had either been inside or behind Rodriguez. The two teams were then warned by the umpire and the benches cleared. Joe Girardi came out to argue Dempster not being ejected. Girardi was then ejected. The Yankees did not retaliate, but Rodriguez later hit a homerun off of Dempster, and the Yankees got the win, 9-6 with CC Sabathia picking up his 11th win of the season.

Alfonso Soriano ties 4 game RBI Record

Alfonso Soriano has been playing extremely well over the last four games. After last night's 10-3 win over the Red Sox, he has hit 5 homeruns and has 18 RBI over the last four games. This would tie the all-time record for RBI over a four game stretch.  He now has 25 homeruns on the season. He also recently picked up his 2,000 hit for his career. Soriano has been just part of a Yankee offense that has picked up recently and gotten hot.

Will the Yankees make the playoffs?

Even with the Yankees' 14-7 win last night, they are still far out in the playoff race. In the AL East, they are fourth and 9.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox. This is due to their 28-31 road record and negative 16 run differential. In the wild card standings the Yankees are 5.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays. It might benefit the Yankees if they were to play badly and get a better draft spot as the playoffs may no longer be an attainable goal. In other news, Derek Jeter ran and did batting practice in an effort to get back from injury.

Yankees beat Tigers 4-3

Alex Rodriguez played his first game in New York this season and went hitless. He had three strikeouts and went 0 for 4. Marino Rivera blew his second consecutive save after giving up a homerun to Miguel Cabrera in the top of the 9th inning. But, in the bottom of the 10th, Brett Gardner hit a walk-off single to win the game. Ivan Nova pitched 7 innings and gave up 8 hits and one run. Shawn Kelley pitched one third of an inning for the win. This broke the Tigers' 12 game win streak. Today, Phil Hughes is on the mound.

Yankees vs White Sox- August 5

Last night, the Yankees came into Chicago trying to get a win on Alex Rodriguez's season debut. He was batting 4th and playing third base. On the mound was Andy Pettitte. In the bottom of the first inning, Pettitte gave up 3 runs, putting the Yankees in a hole they would never climb out of. In Rodriguez's first at-bat, he hit a bloop single. In his next 3 at-bats he failed to get a hit again, even striking out once. Overall, it was a bad night for the Yankees, as they lost 8-1.

Alex Rodriguez suspended

Alex Rodriguez has been suspended for the rest of this season and the entire 2014 season. If he does not appeal, this suspension will be 211 games. The suspension will start on August 8, which means he will be able to play in tonight's game. He will also be allowed to appeal and play while going through that process. He was banned under the league's Joint Drug Agreement. He is expected to start tonight as the Yankees are in Chicago to play the White Sox.  

12 players suspended

Before Alex Rodriguez's suspension is announced later today, 12 other players have been suspended because of PEDs. All of them will have 50 game suspensions and have agreed to not appeal. These players are:

Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz, Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera, Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta, Phillies pitcher Antonio Bastardo, Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, Mets outfielder Jordany Valdespin, San Diego Padres pitcher Fautino De Los Santos, free-agent Jordan Norbert, and minor leaguers Cesar Puello of the Mets, Jesus Montero of the Mariners, Sergio Escalona of the Astros, and the Yankees' Fernando Martinez.

The Yankees have two players on this list, and a former player in Jesus Montero. These suspensions will not have a big effect on them, because Cervelli has been on the DL for a while and Fernando Martinez is still down in the minors.

Will Alex Rodriguez be suspended tomorrow?

As ESPN has reported, Alex Rodriguez will likely be suspended tomorrow. His suspension could range from 50 games to a lifetime ban from baseball. What is far more likely is that he will be banned from the rest of this season and the entire 2014 season. He will almost definitely appeal a suspension.  Also, around 10 other players will be suspended with most of them receiving 50 game suspensions. This could be great for the Yankees, as it will free up more than $30 million dollars in salary to get players this offseason. Through this all, Rodriguez is preparing to make his season debut with the Yankees on Monday.

Here is the original story from ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/9535752/alex-rodriguez-likely-suspended-2014-season-monday-according-sources

Curtis Granderson to return tonight

Curtis Granderson, an outfielder who hit more than 80 homeruns in the last two seasons, should return to the Yankees tonight when they play the San Diego Padres. He has been out since May 24 when he was hit by a pitch on his finger. He has hit around .250 as a member of the Yankees, but last year had a worrisome 195 strikeouts to go along with a .232 batting average. He will almost certainly provide help to a Yankees offense that has been horrible except for Robinson Cano. He could replace Alfonso Soriano in the outfield and Soriano could become the DH, taking Vernon Wells' spot. This might help the Yankees climb back into the playoff race and hopefully get to the World Series.

World Series Ring Gallery

After my recent top 5 Yankees rings, I thought that I should show some more.

Which one of these rings do you like the best?

Yankees Records

These are just some of the Yankees records that could be broken in the near future.

Derek Jeter is only 88 runs away from Babe Ruth's record. Barring injury, it will probably be broken next season.

Derek Jeter is also 10 doubles away from Lou Gehrig's 534. Jeter actually owns the record of grounding into double plays with 269. The hit by pitch record also belongs to him with 163.

Brett Gardner is quickly approaching the all-time Yankees record of steals held by Derek Jeter. Gardner has 154 while Jeter leads everyone with 348.

Andy Pettitte has 215 wins, placing him 3rd behind Whitey Ford's 236 wins. In 12 more starts, he will tie Ford's record of 438. In bad news, he only needs 16 losses to break that record.

As you can see, many records will be tied or broken soon.

My Top Five Favorite Yankee World Series Rings Part 5

Now for the final part.

Number 1

The 1999 Ring




The NY has 25 diamonds while the rest of the face has about 48. An employee ring belonging to a Yankees worker sold for $21,150 at auction. This ring belonged to Darryl Strawberry who had the number 39.


This ring is amazing because of the way the diamonds stand out. On the blue background of the interlocking NY, they shine through brilliantly. They immediately draw your eye to the center of the ring.



On the other side of the ring, the Yankees are said to be "The Century's Team" because they had won 25 championships in it.

Find all the parts here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

This concludes my series, tell me in the comments what your favorite World Series rings are.

My Top Five Favorite Yankee World Series Rings Part 4

After taking a day off yesterday, here is number 2!

Number 2

The 2000 Ring
 

 

  As you can probably see, this ring is Derek Jeter's. It came from the 2000 Subway Series against the Mets. The "26th" stands for it being the 26th World Series that the Yankees had won. The ring of flags behind the "26th" is the World Series trophy.

 

The ring has 22 diamonds and 34.5 grams of gold. On the other side of the ring, there are three subway cars. They represent the three straight World Series titles the Yankees had won and the Subway Series, the nickname of the 2000 World Series.

 

 

You can find the first part of this series here, the second part here, and the third part here. Check back tomorrow as I conclude this series with my favorite ring. 

Alfonso Soriano traded to Yankees

As I mentioned in a recent post, the Yankees were inquiring about the Cubs' Alfonso Soriano. Today, after he waved his no-trade clause, the Yankees got him and gave up Corey Black, a Single-A pitcher. The Yankees will only have to pay $6.8 million of the 24.5 million dollars Soriano is owed through the end of the 2014 season.

Growing split between Alex Rodriguez and Yankees

After Alex Rodriguez went on to the disabled list, he sought a second opinion from a doctor in order to get back to the field as soon as possible. However, this is not allowed by the CBA, which says that he has to use a team-approved doctor and must inform the team in writing. Adding to the growing divide is the fact that Rodriguez thinks that the Yankees are trying to get him banned for life for use of steroids. This would be a good move for the Yankees as it would save them many millions of dollars in salary over the next few years.

My Top Five Favorite Yankee World Series Rings Part 3

Today, we go to number 3.

Number 3

The 1927 Yankees World Series Ring


Like the ring I covered yesterday, which you can find here, this ring has a wonderful design. The diamond in the middle of the ring complements everything around it. Charlie Sheen once paid $250,000 in an auction for Babe Ruth's ring from this year.

   


























As you can see, this ring was made by Dieges and Clust jewelers.



You can find the first part of this series here.

My Top Five Favorite Yankee World Series Rings Part 2

Today is number 4!


Number 4

The 1953 World Series Ring







While this ring may not have the amount of diamonds or other precious gems as other rings, I believe that it has one of the better designs.

 

 Tell me in the comments, what are your favorite World Series Rings?

My Top Five Favorite Yankee World Series Rings

I am going to count down my top five Yankee World Series Rings starting today with number 5.


Number 5

The 2009 World Series Ring

 

Yankees talking to Cubs about acquiring Alfonso Soriano

As I mentioned here and here, Alex Rodriguez might not be coming back soon. He might have provided the offensive spark that the Yankees needed. Seeing this, the Yankees have begun to talk to the Chicago Cubs about trading for leftfielder Alfonso Soriano. He is 37 years old and is batting .256 this year. While his OBP is not the best at .286, his homerun total is 17 which would be good for second on the Yankees, behind only Robinson Cano. The Yankees are expected to give up only a low level prospect and the Cubs would pay most of Soriano's 19 million dollar salary. I think this would be a good deal for the Yankees, given their dire offensive situation.

Ryan Braun suspended

Today, Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was suspended for the rest of the regular season and postseason. The former MVP had been previously suspended in 2012 for 50 games, only to be saved by an appeal. He was linked to Biogenesis, a clinic which has been known to distribute PEDs. The next one to be suspended could be Alex Rodriguez.

Here is more on the minutes-old story from the New York Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/brewers-braun-suspended-remainder-season-article-1.1406090

Yankees vs Red Sox last night

The Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead but the Red Sox came back to win 8-7 in extra innings off of Mike Napoli's 11th inning home run to center field. This was actually his second home run of the game. The game lasted 4 hours and 46 minutes and ended at 12:53 am. Yankees starter CC Sabathia gave up 7 runs and 9 hits in 5 innings. The Red Sox lead the season series 6-3.

When will Alex Rodriguez return to the Yankees?

After Alex Rodriguez was scratched from the last game of his minor league rehab due to injury, he will have an MRI on his left quadriceps. He reached the 20 day limit of his rehab and now must go either to the disabled list or the majors. This is a big blow to a Yankee team that is currently 4th in the AL East and 6 games out of first place.

I am back

I am back from my leave of absence and will be posting shortly. Please comment if you like my blog!

Leave of Absence

I will be taking a one month vacation and I will not be writing for the blog, so until late July, please keep reading old posts!

Where did the name World Series come from?

If you watched the Yankees broadcast last night on MY9, you might have heard them talking about where the name World Series came from. They originally said that it was sponsored by The New York World newspaper and that the name was kept after the paper stopped publishing. But, a few innings later the broadcast team said that the theory was being debunked on Twitter. This is true as the theory had been disproved by many people over the years. In this series of posts, I will explore various theories of the origin of the name.

Zoilo Almonte called up by Yankees

As I talked about in my first prospect watch, Zoilo Almonte is playing very well. He was called up by the Yankees and will play in this series with the Los Angles Dodgers. He will provide hitting and fielding in the outfield. The Yankees also agreed to terms with two draft picks.

Longest Games in MLB and Yankees History Part 3

On Sunday, June 24,1962, the Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers 9-7 at Tiger Stadium in the longest game in Yankees history. 21 players took part in the game for the Yankees alone. The teams combined for 16 runs, 39 hits, and 7 errors. Jim Bouton pitched 7 innings in relief for the win.

AL East Standings

Boston 42-29
Orioles 40-30
Yankees 38-31
Rays 36-33
Blue Jays 32-36

The Yankees dropped from the top of the division due to their recent losing streak.

Longest Games in MLB and Yankees History Part 2

The second longest game in innings and the longest game in time was played on Tuesday, May 8,1984 at Chicago's Comiskey Park. The game was 25 innings long and took 8 hours and 6 minutes. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 on a walk-off homerun by right fielder Harold Baines. The White Sox had 95 at-bats and had 3 players recording 11 at-bats! Tom Paciorek had 5 hits on 9 at-bats for the White Sox.

Staten Island Yankees

The Single-A Staten Island Yankees begin their season on Monday, June 17 with a game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark versus the rival Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets' Single-A affiliate. They let fans pick the design of the field and diagonal stripes were chosen. The Yankees are hoping that first round pick Eric Jagielo can make an impact this year after quickly signing.

Yankees Baseball Card Gallery

Here are some of the most valuable Yankees baseball cards ever made.

Longest Games in MLB and Yankees History Part 1

With the Yankees losing to the Oakland Athletics in 18 innings yesterday, I am going to show you some of the longest baseball games ever played.

The longest game (in innings) in MLB history was actually a tie, with the Brooklyn Robins tying the Boston Braves 1 to 1 in 26 innings. This happened on May 1st,1920. The game was suspended because of darkness. Both of the pitchers, Joe Oeschger of the Braves and Leon Cadore of the Robins went the full 26 innings.

Here is the box score:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=192005010BSN

2013 MLB Home Run Derby

Here are David Wright and Robinson Cano with the 2013 MLB Home Run Derby jerseys.

2013 MLB All Star Game

With the 2013 MLB All Star Game on being played in New York at Citi Field, the two captains for the homerun derby on July 15 will both be New York players. The Mets' David Wright who has hit eight homeruns this season and 212 in his career will captain the National League team. The Yankees' Robinson Cano who has 15 homeruns this year and 192 in his career will captain the American League. This is the second year in a row Cano has been captain, he also won the event in 2011.

College World Series Update

The 2013 College World Series is in Omaha. The eight teams that will be there are Mississippi St., Oregon State, Indiana, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State, UCLA, and LSU.

You can find a link to the bracket here:

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/baseball/d1

Prospect Watch:Tyler Austin

Tyler Austin is the Trenton Yankees'(the Yankees' Double-A team) right fielder. He is 21 and was selected by the Yankees out of Heritage High School in the 13th round of the 2010 draft. This year, he is batting .270, which is 4th among qualifying members of his team. He is third on the team with five homeruns. But due to his .300 batting with runners on base, he is first on the Trenton Thunder with 34 RBI. He also maintains a good slugging percentage at .409 and a fine OPS at.774 , both good for fourth on the team. Among members of his team that have played more than 20 games, he is first in on-base percentage at .365. He also is one of the best fielders on his team committing zero errors in 56 games. While he is not on the 40 man roster, Tyler Austin is progressing well and should be in the majors soon.

Did another team want A-Rod?

Last fall, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan actually inquired about acquiring Alex Rodriguez from the New York Yankees. The probability of this actually happening was very slim however as The New York Times explains:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/sports/baseball/japanese-suitor-for-yankees-alex-rodriguez-got-no-response.html?ref=sports 

Could Michael Pineda be coming back to the Yankees within the month?

Today, Michael Pineda will begin his rehab with the Single-A Tampa Yankees. He has never played in a regular season game for the Yankees. He came over in a trade that brought Jesus Montero, a former highly-prized Yankees catching prospect, to Seattle.

Here is another article from ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/56884/pineda-30-days-to-the-bronx

Chien-Ming Wang to Blue Jays

He opted of his contract to pitch with the Toronto Blue Jays. Here is the story from Sports Illustrated.

http://mlb.si.com/2013/06/07/chien-ming-wang-yankees-blue-jays/

MLB Draft

The Yankees took Eric Jagielo, Aaron Judge, and Ian Clarkin in the first round. They took Gosuke Katoh.

You can find some scouting reports here:
http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/6/3/4386492/2013-mlb-draft-prospect-eric-jagielo-scouting-report

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/6/3/4387600/mlb-draft-2013-prospect-aaron-judge-scouting-report

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/6/3/4385724/2013-mlb-draft-prospect-ian-clarkin-scouting-report

World Series Rings

In this series of posts, I will be talking about the various Yankee World Series rings. Today, I will start off by analyzing the 1996 ring. In the 1996 World Series, the Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2. This particular ring is Rey Quinones' a Yankees administrator at the time. It has 1.5 ounces of gold and 23 diamonds on the interlocking NY symbolizing the Yankees' 23 championships to that point.

Yankees vs Indians

Mark Teixeira hit a grand slam for his first home run of the season and the Yankees won 7-4 to beat the former Yankee Nick Swisher's Indians. The winning pitcher was Shawn Kelly who is now 3-0. Mariano Rivera got his 20th save of the season.

Prospect Watch:Zoilo Almonte

This year, Zoilo Almonte is having a great season for the Scranton RailRiders. He is batting .286, has 6 homeruns, and has 34 RBI,12th in the International League and first on his team. But, he also has great value through walks, having 27 against only 39 strikeouts raising his OBP to .368. Last year in double A Trenton, he hit 21 homeruns and had 70 RBI. Zoilo Almonte mostly plays centerfield. He will probably be called up if a Yankee outfielder gets injured or if he continues to produce well. He also leads he team in hits, doubles, and is tied for the lead in homeruns.

Yankees 0- Red Sox 3

Clay Buchholz threw a two hit shutout in a shortened 6 inning game. Hiroki Kuroda got the loss. This drops the Yankees to 31-25 on the season, two games behind the Red Sox.

100!!!!!

Less than one day and I am already at 100 page views! Thanks to everyone who viewed my blog and please keep reading, I will post probably once a day!

AL East Standings

Boston: 34-23
Yankees: 31-24
Baltimore: 32-25
Tampa: 31-25
Toronto: 23-33

As you can see it is a close division with only Toronto being out of the race at this point. In their last 10 games, the Yankees are 3-7.

Yankees Game tonight

Vs. Red Sox 8:00PM on Espn

Minor League Update

The Scranton RailRiders won 9 to 1 over Durham last night. Zolio Almonte hit his 6th homerun of the year while Melky Mesa also hit his 6th. The winning pitcher was Chien-Ming Wang, who moved his record to 4 wins and 4 losses. Today, the RailRiders play their third game of the series against Durham, Brett Marshall will face off against the Bulls' Mike Montgomery.

First Post

In this blog, I will discuss all topics relating to baseball. I will try to post at least once a week.