113 Games left in the season and the Yankees have a lot of work to do.  Coming into tonight’s game against the Blue Jays (22-27), the Bombers are looking up at 12.5 games they need to make up if they want to make this the tenth straight season with a division title, an achievement just about everyone is saying can’t be done.

Yesterday in the Daily News, the Yankees comparison to the 1978 was mocked by most saying that the team that went on to overcome 14 games back in July and win the World Series was much different than the team we are presented with in 2007.

But, this team has yet to show its true colors and you have to believe tonight is the night that the Yankees begin a historic comeback.  There is always that chance that Matt DeSalvo will fold tonight and McGowan who a 7.17 ERA will pitch a gem and shutdown the Bombers who have done anything but bomb the opposition this season.

Tonight could be the start of something the Yankees need more than ever.  That run that Joe Torre keeps waiting for when they win 9 of 10, putting together a serious string of wins.  There is not a much better time than against the Jays, a division opponent and team struggling just like the Bombers.  There truly is no better time because the Yankees are running out of time.

When I complained about Mike Mussina receiving two years at$25 million this off-season I was right. The Moose was horrible
once again, this time against the Red Sox, and this time for a chance at a
sweep against the division rival. The
right handed washed up veteran has two wins this season, both against the
Rangers, who are nothing special, with the Bombers being 5-1 against them and
15-23 against the rest of the league, in other words a quarter of Yankee wins
have been against the terrible team from Texas.

Moose is getting gradually worse, and the rotation is slowly losing a
spot for him as Tyler Clippard and Matt DeSalvo have shined and Philip Hughes
starting his hamstring rehab period. With the Rocket coming back the Moose should be sent to left center with
the relievers to watch Yankees baseball from 400 feet away, as far as we can
get him besides being a paying spectator.

But the problem with Mussina is that Joe Torre is too loyal to the man
who has done nothing for Joe, including zero rings in six seasons in the Bronx,
and holds a playoff record that is under .500 during his tenure in
pinstripes. Is there anyone else that
Joe would let go out there for the seventh inning in a 4-2 game, and is there
anyone that Joe would let stay out there after a leadoff walk? The answer is no. Joe would be more likely to have taken Wang
during his near perfect game then Moose in 4-2 Yankees/Red Sox game when the
Bombers need momentum and a series win. Here
is a breakdown of Mike Mussina and his collapse at the age of 38 and the
beginning of a new two-year deal:

VS BAL – L, 4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 HR, 3 BB, 4 K

@ MIN – 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 0 K

@  TEX – W, 5 IP, 4 H,
1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 0 BB, 3 K

VS TEX – W, 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K

@ CWS – L, 5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 0 BB, 1 K 

VS BOS – L, 6.2 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 1BB, 2 K

The New York Yankees have earned the reputation of being a
horrible spring team. Between April and
May, the Bombers seem to be in the basement before turning it on right before
the

Bronx

is filled with spectators in shorts
and t-shirts. However, the loss against
the Mets on Friday night, a devastating 3-2 heartbreaker, a game where Andy
Pettitte threw seven quality innings and then watched his offense tank once
again leave him with a 2-3 record and the team at 18-22. Pettitte moved under .500 on the season like
his club has been for the majority of the season and his 2.83 ERA is very
similar to his and Roger Clemens’ efforts in

Houston

. But, when Andy’s pal, Roger Clemens announced he would be returning to
the Yankees on May 6, everyone thought that would spark the Bombers to turn it
around and begin to dominate the league. They have gone 4-7 since the announcement.

Breaking
down the Yankees is pretty easy. Derek
Jeter and Jorge Posada are the only people hitting with Hideki Matsui in spurts
starting to turn it around. The big
bats, A-Rod, Abreu, and Giambi have been horrendous and continue to slump,
causing the Yankees who were once 7-2 in May and on their way up to now be 9-8
in the month. If you look at the team
even a little closer, the record speaks for itself, but inside those 18 wins
and 22 losses, there are some very telling signs.

It is no
secret the Yanks have been an awful road team (8-13), but their loss to the
Metropolitans dropped them to 4-14 in games decided by one and two runs. In the game that ended 3-2 to tonight in
favor of the boys from Queens, the Bombers fell to 1-9 in games where they
score three runs or less, and as the Mets continue to lead their division (two
games up on the idle Braves), Joe Torre and gang are 9-14 against teams .500 or
better, a record that needs to vastly improve if October is in their minds.

When the
Yankees were looking to turn things around, mainly against the Rangers who they
are 5-1 on the season against, they were putting up crooked numbers game after
game, ranking them first among all 30 offenses in the league, giving them a
15-6 mark when they score five runs or more.

“It’s
getting late early out here is a quote I have used before. Even though it might be a little cliché and
over done, Yogi Berra was right when he trademarked that Yogism. However, it is time to start worrying as the
Red Sox lead hit double digits Friday night, but looking at the past the
Yankees have a history of slow springs, well at least since 2004, the year
A-Rod put on the pinstripes.

The last
time the Yankees went to the World Series, they were 20-6 in April and were
31-19 (.620) after May. Since then, the
Yankees are 43-48 in April, but have always turned it around in May (62-36). The Yankees have eleven games left in May,
two against the Mets, three against the Red Sox, three against the Angels, and
three against the Blue Jays. Three of
the four are first in their division, and the Blue Jays are no push over, going
5-2 after losing nine straight.

The Yankees
need to go 8-3 in the last 11 game of May just to get over .500 on the season
and remain in reach of the Red Sox. In
the mean time, they play Boston three times in
the Bronx, where they are 1-2 against the Sox
this season. The Yankees need to turn
this thing around starting tomorrow afternoon at Shea Stadium. Boston comes to the Stadium on Monday, the
Yankees better not be worse than ten games back, or the return of the Rocket
and the final four months of the season might be meaningless.

You can’t win games when you don’t score runs.  The Yankees problem had been getting good pitching before, now that they found some good pitching, they aren’t helping it out.

10.2 innings pitched from Darrell Rasner over his previous two starts and only 3 runs allowed by him.  Tonight Joe Torre took the right hander out too early (after the 5th with 78 pitches) and who else came in but Mr. Proctor, it wouldn’t be a Yankees game if Scott Proctor didn’t pitch.  I forgot, but isn’t he part of the formula when the Bombers are winning to hold the lead?  Now he is pitching when we are down by three with plenty of other bullpen options.

But, Rasner was not the problem.  Bobby Abreu (.243), Robinson Cano (.242), and Hideki Matsui (.243) continued to swing at pitches nowhere near being called strikes and the breaking balls from Washburn had Abreu looking he was just called up to the bigs for the first time as Abreu continues to slump terribly and hurt the Yankees at the top of the lineup.
Its usually Johnny Damon sitting out with calf strains, but available to pinch hit later in the game, but tonight the injured Yankee out of the lineup was Jason Giambi as he sat out with bone spurs, (thought Torre might have kept him out with ridiculous precautions), but it is hard to win ball games with a different lineup each night (not counting the switches of Mientkiewicz and Phelps).  Jason is making $23,428,571 without having to use a glove.  He’s really earning that paycheck sitting on the bench, unavailable for four at bats as the DH.

Frustration is setting is as it had begun to fade last week when the Yankees looked like they were actually starting to heat up and were going to go on a serious roll here before hitting the part in their schedule that includes the White Sox, Mets, Red Sox, Angels, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and White Sox, all in that order.  Maybe the Blue Jays are not what they could have been given the injuries they are currently dealing with, however all seven of those series are against contending teams.

There is still time left in May and the Yankees are 7-4 in the month with 17 games left in the month after finish five games under .500 in April.  With Matt DeSalvo going tomorrow to work off his incredible first start and Andy Pettitte set to go on Sunday, the Yankees need to pick up these two wins before heading to Chicago.  They are getting the pitching, it’s time to start hitting.

One of the worst call that has ever been made last night happened last night when Robinson Cano dropped down a tag to catch Seattle’s Willie Bloomquist from stealing, and though the tag had Bloomquist by a good two feet, umpire crew chief Jerry Davis, missed the call leading to an RBI single by Kenji Johjima, tying the game at two.  Then, Mariano left at the top of the strike zone for Adrian Beltre to deposit over the left field wall.

Down 3-2, the Yankees had their chance with two outs and Jeter moving to second on a passed ball, but all Bobby Abreu could do was take a pitch right down the middle to end the game looking.  Yankees lose 3-2 and fall to 14-16.

The Bombers could have moved to .500 with that win and really begun to climb the standings starting with a Texas team that they swept last week.  Instead they will need to win two of three to get to .500 and sweep to get to 17-16. 

On another note, Roger Clemens was at the University of Kentucky today throwing and getting ready for his return to the Yankees.  The Rocket is in Kentucky to attend his son, Koby’s, minor league game. 

Carl Pavano is still not officially a lost cause though he is close to be.  He is visiting more doctors as Brian Cashman hopes someone will say he can pitch, then Pavano will have no option and won’t be sitting in the dugout where he doesn’t belong.

He’s back, and earlier than expected.  Roger Clemens has returned to the Bronx and will join a rotation that currently holds Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, and Mike Mussina.  With the outing Darrell Rasner gave today, he might be back after he is optioned out.  Philip Hughes is playing catch and looks to be back in four to six weeks.

The Rocket is back, and the reaction in the Bronx today was just what this team needed.  Between a shutout win, a strong starting pitching performance, and Hideki Matsui joining the coveted Meikyukia club, Japan’s highest sports honor, Roger Clemens announced his return and like Michael Kay has said before "pandemonium in the Bronx."

What does this mean for the Yankees?  Well, for one, their rotation is starting to shape up.  Now that they are getting healthy, the Bombers will be able to make up the lost ground from their April troubles as they have already started out 5-1 in May.

Clemens will give the Yankees great pitching, and as you can see by his numbers in Houston, he hasn’t lost a step since he left the Bronx, and he is hungry to get his third ring in pinstripes.  Clemens will be able to teach Philip Hughes his own tricks and get the youngster prepared to be the next ace in the Yanks’ rotation of the future.

Roger Clemens was throwing in the bullpen after the game today.  The Yankees are heating up and it’s only a matter of time until the Rocket returns to the hill.

Chien-Ming Wang has only made one start this season, one where is wasn’t his best, but gave the Yankees a chance to win.  Today, Wang will face the Red Sox in the rubber match of this three-game set, and try to improve the Yankees to 10-13 on the season and lead them in the right direction to climbing the standings before the Bombers meet their division rival at the end of May.  At that point in the season, it would only be logical to think that the Yanks and Sox would be one and two, maybe not in that order.

Doug Mientkiewicz is back in the lineup today due to the amount of ground balls thrown by Wang, and Melky Cabrera is back on the bench after having a key ground rule double to make it 3-0, a run that was much needed since the tying run came to the plate for Boston in the ninth.

Mariano looked like the Mo of old yesterday, and hopefully will get a chance to pitch again.  Also, in the pen if the Bruney-Farnsworth-Rivera combination can do all season what they did yesterday, then the Bombers after the sixth should lock it up like the days of ’96.

Gametime, 1:05 PM.

If the words of John Sterling could be typed accurately enough to give justice to his infamous "Yankees Win" call then I would put them here, however the Yankees were able to hold the lead today for the first time in a long time and maybe it’s time they began to show the league about the Yankees.

Kei Igawa was amazing today and gave the Bombers just what they needed.

6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 0 HR

Igawa has obviously pitched himself back into the rotation, and lowered his ERA to 6.08, which could easily be in the fives with another start next week. 

Brian Bruney did his job again (2.04 ERA) and in my mind has earned the spot to pitch in the seventh.  Bruney allowed no base runners and struck out one.

Kyle Farnsworth looked almost like the Farnsworth that Steinbrenner paid for.  He made his pitches, but Mike Lowell fought one off for a bloop RBI single.

Mariano doesn’t look like the old Mariano yet, but it was a good step in the right direction, and he got his first save (22 games later) today.

Overall, a great effort by the Yankees.  They had their chances to blow the game open in just about every inning, but I am glad they held on because they obviously outplayed the Red Sox today. 

The Yankees looked like the Yankees we all thought we were going to see this season.  Now they just need to do it tomorrow, and then again in Texas on Tuesday.

Well, like I had said before the Yankees need to win at least two games this weekend from Boston, so that the season series would be at 2-4 and they would have 12 games to play with in order to win the 18-game series from the Red Sox, which ulitmately could decide the AL East Champion and the season.

Last night the Bombers dropped the one game they could drop, one where Andy Pettitte was given the lead, and gave it right back.  The offense was subpar, putting up four runs, and doing nothing to the bullpen.  Doug Mientkiewicz once again displayed how awful he is at the plate right now (no one cares that you hit .283 or that you WERE a good hitter) and Bobby Abreu showed that he has no idea what is coming when Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the mound, as he swung at first pitch strikes, the same guy who walks 100+ times a season and is suppose to be the OBP machine. 

A-Rod has come back down to Earth.  I understand it has only been two games without a home run and no one expects him to hit one everyday, but he did not look at the plate last night, taking terrible swings at outside pitches (mainly breaking balls) the way Alex Rodriguez 2004-2006 did. 

Scott Proctor is still inconsistent, and Luis Vizcaino is worse.  Yeah, yeah they have had a lot of appearances, so what, that is your job, that is why you make multi-millions, not so Julio Lugo, who has about as much power as John Flaherty did, can take you deep down the left field line.  And Mariano, I understand you have had a lack of work, but that contract you were look for in spring training is getting farther and farther away from getting done and it’s only April.

The only positive from the game is that the Yankees know they have Daisuke’s number.  Sure, people will say he got the W and he pitched six innings, but pitcher’s records are not a true indicator of their actual performances (take a look at the Josh Beckett, Mr. 5-0, who easily could be 4-1, had the Yankees pitching not given up so many runs).

All in all, it was another loss, the first of this series, and the seventh in a row.  30 minutes from now, they will have a shot at redemption.  A shot to win a game and possibly go on a streak.  A shot to not be 8-14, and 0-5 against Boston.

Yogi Berra’s “Yogisms” have been etched into my head watching Yankees baseball and hearing of commentators talking about the legendary number eight. But out of all the clever lines Yogi has ever had, “it’s getting late early out here” explains the Yankees 8-12 start to the 2007 season.
20 games in no one would believe that the Bombers would have a .400 winning percentage and be in the basement of the division. Sure, they have done this in this past and even worse in 2005 when they were 11-19 through 30 games. But, this isn’t 2005, and I don’t know how many posts it will take to reiterate the point that the Yankees need to get it going, NOW. After the Boston sweep, I thought they could take these four games, that turned out to be three, but instead they went 0-3. Everyone will say well, the Red Sox went 1-2 well that’s great, but it doesn’t matter what Boston has done or is doing, the Yankees need to worry about their own games and play to win those nine innings everyday, and worry about themselves no matter how cliche it sounds. If they don’t start to soon, they won’t control their own destiny come September.

Philip Hughes looked fine tonight. About as good as a 20 year old kid, in his first major league start, in Yankee Stadium, against the powerful Toronto lineup should look. He is being held to the pitch count, no matter what Cashman tells the media, and if Derek Jeter had been playing short tonight, Hughes could have finished the fifth. But instead, Torre opted for the pen early and continues to overwork the only true power arm we have in Brian Bruney (Kyle Farnsworth as well, but Farnsworth isn’t getting work in crucial situations).

The lineup gave no run support, not one single run off A.J. Burnett who has struggled all year except the one night we need a W. Doug Mientkiewicz continues to be awful at the plate, taking up the number two hole tonight, going hitless, and Johnny Damon continues to fail as the leadoff man, hitting in the mid 200s.

This weekend means a lot, a lot more than last weekend, and we need every win right now to get SOMETHING going, anything. Everyone needs to play, that includes you Derek. We can’t afford to have Wil Nieves in there with his solid .000 average against Boston while Jorge sits on the bench only to pinch hit in the ninth with two outs against Papelbon.

It is time this Yankee team shows some character, some grit, some emotion. If Daisuke wants to bean someone early on, then Andy needs to go out there and do the same. Several runs were scored the last two nights because of Miguel Cairo at short, since Jeter was on the bench due to a Scott Kazmir fastball to the knee. If someone with the control of Matsuzaka wants to play that game, it is time the Yankees started playing as well.

Gametime 7:05.