Matsui looks ahead to his future

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:49 GMT

Though no date has been set, Hideki Matsui is likely to have surgery on his ailing left knee to repair cartilage damage, and he believes he can be ready to help the Yankees defensively in 2009.

Game 142: Yankees at Mariners

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:37 GMT

YANKEES (75-66)
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
A. Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
I. Rodriguez C
Ponson RHP

Sidney Ponson (7-5, 5.13) vs. the Seattle hitters.

Ryan-Rowland Smith (4-2, 3.56) vs. the New York hitters.

Notes: The Yankees are 3-2 on their 10-day road trip, having lost the last two. … They are 6-1 against Seattle this season. … The Yankees started the day 11 games out of first place in the division, 8.5 games out in the wild card and 0.5 games ahead of fourth-place Toronto.

SIR SIDNEY: Ponson is 0-3, 8.75 in his last five starts. in 23.3 innings, he has allowed 38 hits and 23 earned runs. Ponson faced the Mariners on May 5 when he was a Ranger. He allowed one run over seven innings. The game was at Safeco.

Ponson is 3-4, 6.22 in 12 starts for the Yankees since signing in June.

GOOD MAN IN A PINCH: Joe Girardi made the right choice when he had Wilson Betemit pinch hit in the eighth inning on Friday night. Betemit doubled and is now 6 for 21 as a pinch hitter this season.

LACK OF RUNS: The Yankees have scored two or fewer runs 43 times this season, three or fewer runs 60 times and four or fewer tuns 73 times.

HAS ANYBODY SEEN MO: Mariano Rivera has not pitched since Aug. 29.

TORRE IS BACK: No, not that one. Torre Tyson, the manager of Class A Charleston, is with the team on this road trip. When rosters are expanded, teams also can add an extra coach.

Back later with updates.

Plenty to play for: Like third place

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:18 GMT

Toronto beat Tampa Bay in extra innings this afternoon. The Jays now have the same record as the Yankees, 75-66.

So the Yankees need a win tonight to avoid falling into fourth place in the AL East. The Yankees have not been in fourth place this late in the season since 1992.

The good news, of course, is that Sidney Ponson is on the mound.

A reader speaks out, and speaks for many

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:56 GMT

Here's a recent comment on the blog from a reader named Dan:

I gotta say as a season ticket holder, that I was expecting a lot more out of this last season … both from the stadium, and the players. Their playing performance aside, they really have not done much outside of the 5th inning lever pull to count down home games, which is pretty much a disappointment. The only ones worth cheering for that I saw were Babe Ruth’s daughter and Paul O’Neil. They have not really done anything special outside of the All-Star Game, and I tend to think that we as fans deserve a lot more. Thoughts?

Dan is voicing an opinion I've heard a lot lately. The Yankees have 10 home games left and hopefully they have some big plans, especially for Sept. 21.

But to this point, they have botched it. Outside of the All-Star Game, what special has gone on in the Bronx this season? And that was largely a MLB production.

Richard Sandomir of the Times had a story today revealing the disappointment of the Ruth and Mantle families that more wasn't done.

It's hard to say who is directly responsible for this. Ultimately, it's the Steinbrenner family and team president Randy Levine. There should have been more done. First pitch ceremonies, National Anthem singers, days honoring certain players, days honoring certain moments, even ceremonies honoring opposing teams or players.

Each team that left the Stadium for the last time could have been presented with some memento. Something like that. Every game should have had some special touch.

Perhaps the Yankees have big plans for the remaining games. But they have already let five months go to waste, five months that can never be recaptured. It's hard to say what has been more disappointing, as Dan wrote, how they played or how they said goodbye to the Stadium.

What's your take on this?

Scranton looks to advance

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:39 GMT

Triple-A Scranton has a 2-1 lead on Pawtucket in the first-round of the International League playoffs.

Phil Hughes is supposed to pitch tonight. But like everywhere else in the northeast, so I hear, heavy rains are expected.

This could have an impact on the Yankees to some degree. If Sidney Ponson gets knocked around again tonight, the Yankees would have to at least consider replacing him with Hughes.

In the short term, they can skip Ponson's next turn to let Mike Mussina pitch on regular rest. But at some point, what is the upside of running Ponson back out there? Now that the Yankees are toast, at least use these remaining games to give guys like Hughes a chance to build some experience.

Yankees Lose to Mariners in Two-Hitter

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 07:07 GMT

Brandon Morrow's bid to become only the second pitcher in modern history to throw a no-hitter in his first major league start ended when pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit doubled with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Seattle Mariners beat the New York Yankees 3-1 Friday night. <a href="http://www.wcbs880.com/Yankees-Lose-to-Mariners-in-Two-Hitter/2918098">READ MORE >></a>

Yankees invite 36 to Instructional League

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:40 GMT

For those of you who love to follow the prospects - and we know you're out there - you'll appreciate this info.

The Yankees start Instructional League on Sept. 17. The first workout will be Sept. 18. They will play a six-game schedule:

Sept. 22: Phillies at Yankees, 1 p.m.
Sept. 24: Yankees at Pirates, 1 p.m.
Sept. 26: Rays at Yankees, 1 p.m.
Sept. 29: Yankees at Phillies, 1 p.m.
Oct. 1: Yankees at Pirates, 1 p.m.
Oct. 3: Pirates at Yankees, 10 a.m.

Here's who was invited:

Pitchers: Manuel Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Jeremy Bleich, Noel Castillo, Wilkins de la Rosa, Christian Garcia, Brett Marshall, D.J. Mitchell, Jhonny Nunez, Mike O'Brien, Dave Phelps, Matt Richardson, Amauri Sanit, Nik Turley, Arodys Vizcaino.

Catchers: Franciso Cervelli, Kyle Higashioka, Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, Chase Weems.

Infielders: Dave Adams, Carmen Angelini, Mitchell Delaney, Corban Joseph, Brandon Laird, Garrison Lassiter, Eduardo Nunez, Jimmy Parades, Damon Sublett, Brad Suttle.

Outfielders: Abraham Almonte, Kelvin DeLeon, Eduardo Sosa, Taylor Grote, Francisco Santana, Chris Smith.

A few notes: Lots of notable 2008 draft picks in this crew. Bleich, Adams, Smith, Lassiter, Marshall, Mitchell, etc. … Sanit is the oldest player on the list. The 29-year-old is a Cuban defector who now resides in Costa Rica.

————

Speaking of Jeremy Bleich, Brett from the Bronx Block went to see his debut for Staten Island and posted a full report on his blog. There's even video.

Today in The Journal News

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:07 GMT

Brandon Morrow missed a no-hitter by four outs as the Mariners beat the Yankees. Wilson Betemit broke it up in the eighth inning.

Melky Cabrera returned to the Yankees with his career at a bit of a crossroads.

————

Tonight was the first time I got a real sense from the players that they knew the season would end on Sept. 28 and not in the playoffs. Even guys like Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon were forced to admit that the Yankees have dug a hole there is no getting out of.

Let's be honest, finishing in third place might be a stretch at this point. Toronto is only a half-game behind the Yankees and has much better pitching.

Tonight was the 43rd time in 141 games that the Yankees were held to two or fewer runs. It almost doesn't seem possible. The Yankees have a run differential of +41. They finished last season at +191.

Yankees hoping upon hope

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:04 GMT

As the Yankees try to tackle the task of winning a series against the Mariners at Safeco Field, they can continually find out-of-town results frozen with the time difference from the East Coast.

Morrow, M's master Yanks

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:33 GMT

The Yankees couldn't get anything going on Friday night, producing only two hits against Mariners pitching, and fell to the M's, 3-1.

Morrow Nearly No-hits Yankees in 1st Start

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:11 GMT

Brandon Morrow's bid to become only the second pitcher in modern history to throw a no-hitter in his first major league start ended when pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit doubled with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Seattle Mariners beat the New York Yankees 3-1 Friday night.  <a href="http://wcbs880.com/Morrow-Nearly-No-hits-Yankees-in-1st-Start/2918098 ">READ MORE>></a><br />

Seattle 3* vs. N.Y. Yankees 1 (Major League Baseball)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:40 GMT

Major League Baseball

Seattle 3
N.Y. Yankees 1

Yanks deny Morrow a no-no in opener

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:33 GMT

Brandon Morrow came within four outs of a no-hitter before allowing an RBI double to pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit, as the Mariners defeated the Yankees, 3-1, on Friday.

Thunder walk into Eastern League Finals

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:43 GMT

Thunder walk into Eastern League Finals

Igawa tops Sox in Triple-A playoffs

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:23 GMT

Igawa tops Sox in Triple-A playoffs

Other Yankees Newspaper Links

Matsui looks ahead to his future

Game 142: Yankees at Mariners

Plenty to play for: Like third place

A reader speaks out, and speaks for many

Scranton looks to advance

Yankees Lose to Mariners in Two-Hitter

Yankees invite 36 to Instructional League

Today in The Journal News

Yankees hoping upon hope

Morrow, M's master Yanks

Morrow Nearly No-hits Yankees in 1st Start

Seattle 3* vs. N.Y. Yankees 1 (Major League Baseball)

Major League Baseball

Yanks deny Morrow a no-no in opener

Thunder walk into Eastern League Finals

Igawa tops Sox in Triple-A playoffs