Another M’s ace takes down Yanks alone

For the second straight night, the Mariners’ starter went the distance in a victory. Except tonight, Felix Hernandez tossed a shutout, one-upping Cliff Lee’s performance Tuesday night, for a 7-0 victory to clinch the series.

Best of All: Mark Teixeira and Colin Curtis were the only two Yanks to collect hits off King Felix — one apiece.

Javier Vazquez earned a quality start, but he couldn’t match up with Hernandez. He struck out eight while his record sunk below .500, once again, to 6-7.

Worst of All: The bullpen was not effective, but at least it didn’t matter in the end. Damaso Marte and Chad Gaudin allowed two earned runs each.

I don’t blame the Yankees’ offense. Clearly, Felix was on his game tonight and you can’t do anything about that. When he’s going right, he has some of the best stuff in the league.

Coming Up: The Yankees will try to avoid the sweep Thursday afternoon with CC Sabathia on the mound.

Hal Reniff Featured Card of the Week

Hal Reniff was a true reliever for the Yankees and Mets from 1961-1967. Let’s just say being a true reliever during that era wasn’t a high regard for a pitcher.

He recorded a team-high 18 saves with a 2.62 ERA for the Yankees in 1963 and finished with a career record of 21-23. He played his final 29 games in 1967 with the Mets after struggling with the Yankees early in the season.

He pitched in the 1963 and 1964 World Series, allowing no runs over 3 1/3 innings, but the team lost to the Dodgers and Cardinals.

Mariners rock Hughes, Swisher’s 2 jacks fall short

Phil Hughes allowed seven runs (six earned) in a 7-4 loss to Cliff Lee and the Mariners. Nick Swisher launched two solo shots, but Lee went the distance for the second time in a row to secure the series opener.

Best of All: Swisher’s up to 13 dingers on the year now and is hitting .292/.372/.517.

Boone Logan and Chan Ho Park finished the last 3-1/3 innings with scoreless pitching. Not much else good in this one for the Yanks.

Worst of All: You have to wonder if the extended rest affected Hughes in this start. I think it did a little, but not enough to account for seven runs. It might’ve been the first time in his career starting on extra rest. But the fact is, Hughes has been a different pitcher in his last nine starts. Not awful, just not first-six-starts-of-the-year good.

Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez combined to go 1-for-8. That’s never good.

Coming Up: It doesn’t get much easier for the Yankees Wednesday. King Felix is on the mound.

WSJ: Harkey’s pitching career shows why Yanks use Hughes rules

As expected, much talk has surrounded the Hughes Rules today because Phil Hughes is making his first start tonight on extended rest.

One article in particular has ignited the debate, written by the Wall Street Journal’s Brian Costa, which tells the tale of how Yankees’ bullpen coach Mike Harkey is an “example of what the Yankees are trying to avoid with Hughes.” (I couldn’t phrase that any better myself.) A quick excerpt:

On June 24, 1990, at age 23, Mr. Harkey threw 160 pitches in a game after throwing 128 in his previous start. He went on to pitch on short rest repeatedly as the Cubs went to a four-man rotation that summer.

Finally, in early September, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, and he was never the same pitcher again.

My pitching theory: If a pitcher looks like he’s losing his control and he’s starting to get hit hard, it’s time to make a call to the pen. Obviously, if it’s the beginning of the year or if the pitcher is prone to injuries, you have to factor that into the decision as well.

Also, never trust pitchers that want to stay in. They always want to clean up their own messes. If you don’t believe me, ask Grady Little.

I’ve always believed the 100-pitch “maximum” set by most managers is ridiculous because high school and college pitchers exceed that limit and pro hurlers used to exceed that limit regularly.

A couple historic examples to back up my point:

• Ex-Japan Pacific League hurler and current Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka famously threw a 250-pitch game the day after throwing a 148-pitch shutout in high school. My own teammate in high school averaged 150 pitches per start and once threw 200 in a 10-inning game.
  
• I wonder how Walter Johnson was able to throw almost 1,500 innings in a four-year span.

Harkey’s workload wasn’t extreme for his time, yet injuries plagued his whole career. Some pitchers are more fragile than others.

As for Hughes, I support the Hughes Rules because of his recent history of injuries and they’re not nearly as extreme as the Joba Rules were last year.

Mariners-Yankees series preview

The Yankees kick off a three-game set with the last-placed Seattle Mariners tonight, but the M’s aren’t playing like a 31-44 team lately.

They won two of their last three series in interleague play and their pitching has continued to be phenomenal to lead them to a 7-3 record in their last 10 games. In that span, their pitching staff has allowed 21 runs (I think you can do the math).

But in that stretch they haven’t faced an offense of the Yankees’ caliber. New York ranks first in OBP, second in runs and fourth in slugging percentage and batting average.

Head to Head: 
They have no history yet this year, but in the previous two years the Yankees have won 13 out of 19 meetings.

Pitching Matchups:

Date:	Mariners starters	Yankees starters
Tues., 7:05 p.m.	Cliff Lee (6-3, 2.39)	Phil Hughes (10-1, 3.17)
Wed., 7:05 p.m.	F. Hernandez (5-5, 3.28)	J. Vazquez (6-6, 5.16)
Thurs., 1:05 p.m.	Rowland-Smith (1-7, 6.18)	CC Sabathia (9-3, 3.49)

Players to Watch:
Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki. The only .300 hitter on the team, and always an exciting player to watch. He is a career .327/.374/.432 hitter against the Yankees.

Yankees: Brett Gardner. Again, he’s having an excellent June and, like Ichrio, he’s got motorized wheels for legs. Keep an eye on his spot in the batting order too.

Prediction:
Thursday looks like a lock victory for the Yanks based on the pitching matchups, but tonight and tomorrow will be major challenges. It’s all a question of whether or not the Mariners can give their aces any run support. I’ll give the nod to the M’s this week: they’ll take two out of three.

AccuScore: Yankees picking up steam in playoff hunt

AMERICAN LEAGUE	WEEK 12 REVIEW		PLAYOFF		% CHANCE
TEAM	21-Jun	28-Jun	% DIFF	WIN DIV
Chicago White Sox	1.3%	17.0%	15.7%	14.8%
Texas Rangers	81.0%	95.0%	14.0%	94.7%
New York Yankees	80.0%	89.8%	9.8%	71.2%
Toronto Blue Jays	3.9%	5.1%	1.2%	0.9%
Baltimore Orioles	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Cleveland Indians	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Kansas City Royals	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%
Seattle Mariners	0.1%	0.0%	-0.1%	0.0%
Detroit Tigers	41.2%	40.4%	-0.8%	35.3%
Oakland Athletics	5.6%	1.3%	-4.3%	1.0%
Boston Red Sox	56.6%	50.8%	-5.8%	15.9%
Tampa Bay Rays	48.2%	40.8%	-7.4%	12.0%
Los Angeles Angels	13.9%	5.4%	-8.5%	4.3%
Minnesota Twins	68.1%	54.3%	-13.8%	49.8%

Thanks to Zach Rosenfield for the table.

UPDATE: For ongoing playoff forecast updates, scroll down on the page and you’ll see a playoff forecast box in the right sidebar.

Poll Results: Realignment not on fans’ minds

The majority of voters either didn’t know what I meant by realignment or didn’t believe realignment should ever occur in baseball.

For those who don’t know what it means, realignment refers to the rearranging of the divisions in baseball, like moving the Red Sox to the AL West.

Some even think it’s time to return to the old way of doing it with just two leagues and no divisions (top 4 make the playoffs).

I actually wouldn’t mind that way of doing it — scrapping the divisions. It would make up for the situation that baseball has today with three of the best teams in one division but only two of them can possibly make the playoffs.

News broke yesterday that Dave Eiland finally will make his return to the Yankees Tuesday, which leads me to my next poll.

Poll: Will Eiland’s return cure Burnett’s pitching sickness?

Cano finishes off comeback win with 10th-inning homer

The Yankees trailed 6-2 heading into the ninth inning, but scored four runs off closer Jonathan Broxton to tie it. Then Robinson Cano cranked a two-run homer to left-center off lefty George Sherrill in the top of the 10th and Mariano Rivera completed his second inning of work to give the Yankees an 8-6 win.

Best of All: What a comeback win it was. They were down by as many as five runs but beat a normally good bullpen to take the series.

Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the sixth to break up Clayton Kershaw’s shutout. Derek Jeter had three hits and got on base four out of five times.

Worst of All: Brett Gardner left the game after being hit by a pitch in his first at-bat and is considered day-to-day.

Coming Up: The Yankees are off Monday before facing the Mariners and Blue Jays at home this week. One more week on the west coast road trip after that and we’ve hit the All-Star break!

Like always, the season always seems to fly by.

Dodgers even series as Burnett’s struggles continue

The Dodgers took advantage of A.J. Burnett early, making for one of the longest, unexciting games of the year. The Dodgers won easily, 9-4, and Burnett was almost unbearable to watch.

Best of All: Mark Teixeira’s three-run homer in the first inning. It was the only positive moment of the game from the Yankees’ standpoint. His 13th of the year.

Worst of All: Burnett allowed six earned over three innings on six walks and six hits; he’s been the exact opposite of  CC Sabathia in June. He’s 0-4 with a 10.35 ERA. Burnett doesn’t consider pitching coach Dave Eiland’s absence an excuse, but I do.

Derek Jeter K’d three times on his birthday. He turned 36, by the way. But he did single, steal a base and score in the first inning.

Coming Up: Sunday night’s game should be a dandy now, right?

Entourage cast hangs with Yanks in L.A.

Screenshot of Kevin Connolly (E) and Jerry Ferrara (Turtle) from TV

Entourage just might be my favorite TV show. After all, it is the only show I watch that’s still producing new episodes (which excludes Friends and Seinfeld). When Entourage gets mixed with the Yankees, you get a big smile on my face.

Season 7 of Entourage premiers Sunday night on HBO and I’ll be watching. If you need to get caught up with old episodes, just head to SideReel.

If you’re on Twitter, follow me @lenNYsYankees for Yankees updates and Entourage commentary.

CC, A-Rod steal spotlight from Torre reunion in 2-1 win

Joe Torre met up with the core four before the game as planned, but Alex Rodriguez “didn’t see him,” supposedly. But I’m sure Torre saw him when A-Rod cranked the game-winning homer in the sixth to give the Yankees a 2-1 win — all while I was out bowling with my EIC team.

Best of All: CC Sabathia: W, 8 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 7 K. He’s now 5-0 with a 2.19 ERA in June. Can you say, AL Pitcher of the Month?

A-Rod also had a double and scored on Jorge Posada’s single in the second.

Worst of All: The bottom four combined to go 0-for-12, which includes Brett Gardner, who is red hot in June, and CC, who is one of the top hitting pitchers.

Coming Up: The Yankees can clinch another series win when they play tonight (a little earlier for us east coasters).

Yankees-Dodgers series preview

The Yankees are back in the spotlight this weekend, as two storied franchises square off for the first time in six years. First, a bit of history:

- The Yankees and Dodgers met in the World Series six times between 1947 and 1963. The Yankees won the first five meetings, but the ‘63 Dodgers, from L.A., swept New York.

- The Yankees got their revenge in 1977 and 1978 with World Series victories over the Dodgers, but the Dodgers had the last laugh with a 4-2 World Series win over the Yanks in 1981.

As much history as there is between the two teams, the focus is on one man. The man who the media tabbed as “Clueless Joe” when the Yankees hired him in November, 1995. That same “clueless” man went on to bring the Yankees four rings in five years and 12 straight postseason berths.

That man is Joe Torre, the new head of the Dodgers. He said:

“The odd thing for me is that I’m going to be over there in that dugout pulling against people I’ve never pulled against before.”

The Yankees core four showed very strong appreciation for their ex-manager.

“He’s been like a father figure to me,” Derek Jeter said. “It’s just out of respect.”

Jorge Posada reiterated Jeter’s statement, Mariano Rivera called him a “mentor” and Andy Pettitte raved how he supported him through the good times and the bad.

But you won’t see the players show those emotions on the field this weekend. And Torre won’t either, like always.

Also, don’t forget about Don Mattingly! He left the Yankees with Torre to be the Dodgers hitting coach.

Head to Head: 
These two old rivals haven’t faced each other since 2004 when the Dodgers took two of three at Dodger Stadium.

Pitching Matchups:

Date:	Yankees starters	Dodgers starters
Fri., 10:10 p.m.	CC Sabathia (8-3, 3.68)	V. Padilla (1-1, 6.67)
Sat., 7:10 p.m.	A.J. Burnett (6-6, 4.83)	Hiroki Kuroda (6-5, 3.06)
Sun., 8:00 p.m.	Andy Pettitte (9-2, 2.48)	C. Kerhsaw (7-4, 3.24)

Players to Watch:
Yankees: Brett Gardner. He’s hitting .396/.476/.566 in June. That’s bad news for opposing pitchers catchers.

Dodgers: Andre Ethier. He isn’t as hot as he was in April, but he may be back on track after a good series against the Angels earlier this week.

Prediction:
This should be a good series, culminating with the ESPN Sunday Night game. But the Dodgers are slumping lately, and the Yankees aren’t. I’ll give a 2-1 edge to the Yanks.

The deserving 2010 All-Star Game rosters

Below are my chosen players deserving of a selection to this year’s All-Star Game for both the American and National League.

Obviously, all these players won’t be voted in by the fans because the Midsummer Classic is a popularity contest. And, obviously I’ll be voting all Yankees when I fill out my real ballot 25 times on MLB.com.

First, the American League:

Catcher:
1. Joe Mauer
2. Victor Martinez

First Base:
1. Miguel Cabrera
2. Justin Morneau
3. Kevin Youkilis
4. Paul Konerko

Second Base:
1. Robinson Cano
2. Ty Wigginton

Third Base:
1. Evan Longoria
2. Adrian Beltre
3. Alex Rodriguez

Shortstop:
1. Derek Jeter
2. Alex Gonzalez

Outfield:
1. Josh Hamilton
2. Magglio Ordonez
3. Nelson Cruz
4. Ichiro Suzuki
5. Carl Crawford
6. Brett Gardner

Designated Hitter:
1. Vladimir Guerrero
2. David Ortiz

Pitchers:
1. David Price
2. Clay Buchholz
3. Phil Hughes
4. Andy Pettitte
5. Cliff Lee
6. Jon Lester
7. Ricky Romero
8. Mariano Rivera
9. Neftali Feliz
10. Rafael Soriano
11. Jose Valverde
12. Joakim Soria
13. Jon Rauch

And for the National League…

Catchers:
1. Yadier Molina
2. Brian McCann

First Base:
1. Adrian Gonzalez
2. Albert Pujols
3. Joey Votto
4. Adam Dunn
5. Troy Glaus

Second Base:
1. Rickie Weeks
2. Dan Uggla

Third Base:
1. David Wright
2. Scott Rolen
3. Ryan Zimmerman

Shortstop:
1. Hanley Ramirez
2. Troy Tulowitzki

Outfield:
1. Corey Hart
2. Andre Ethier
3. Jayson Werth
4. Matt Holliday
5. Marlon Byrd
6. Andrew McCutchen

Pitchers:
1. Ubaldo Jimenez
2. Josh Johnson
3. Roy Halladay
4. Adam Wainwright
5. Matt Cain
6. Jaime Garcia
7. Chris Carpenter
8. Brian Wilson
9. Heath Bell
10. Jonathan Broxton
11. Billy Wagner
12. Carlos Marmol
13. Jose Contreras

---
Feel free to argue anyone that should or should not be on this list. Keep in mind both rosters will have 21 position players and 13 pitchers. Remember, this list is who I think belongs based on their statistical performance in 2010 — not their 10 previous All-Star selections.

Andrew Brackman promoted to Double-A

The Yankees promoted ‘07 first-round pick Andrew Brackman to Double-A Trenton today. This is huge news for Yankees fans, even though it was expected, because of his resurgence.

Brackman was downright awful in 2009 with the Charleston Riverdogs, going 2-12 with a 5.91 ERA while battling injuries. This year, the 6-foot-10 tower from North Carolina State strung together seven starts with a 2.05 ERA to earn himself the promotion.

But perhaps more importantly, he’s showed huge improvement in command with his SO/BB ratio.

2009 SO/BB Ratio	2010 SO/BB Ratio
1.36	6.22

There you have it. Brackman will enter the Hall of Fame in 2039.

2010 Yankees – Girardi nickname style

Because we just can’t stand listening to Girardi talk about his players…

Hitters	Nickname	Pitchers	Nickname
Derek Jeter	Jeet	CC Sabathia	ZZ
Robinson Cano	Robby	Andy Pettitte	Andy
Mark Teixeira	Tex	A.J. Burnett	A.J.
Nick Swisher	Swish	Phil Hughes	Hughesy
Alex Rodriguez	Alex	Javier Vazquez	Javy
Brett Gardner	Gardy	Joba Chamberlain	Joba
Curtis Granderson	Grandy	Chad Gaudin	Chad
Francisco Cervelli	Cervy	Mariano Rivera	Mo
Jorge Posada	Georgie	Sergio Mitre	Serge
Marcus Thames	Marcus	David Robertson	Davey
Nick Johnson	Nicky	Chan Ho Park	Diarrhea
Ramiro Pena	Pena	Boone Logan	Booney
Randy Winn	Randy	Damaso Marte	Damo
Juan Miranda	Juan	Alfredo Aceves	Ace
Kevin Russo	Kevin	Mark Melancon	Melancholy
Chad Moeller	Moley	Romulo Sanchez	Rom
Chad Huffman	Huffy	Ivan Nova	Ivan
Greg Golson	G.G.
Colin Curtis	Smiles

Coaches	Nickname	Broadcasters	Nickname
Kevin Long	K-Long	Michael Kay	Mikey
Dave Eiland	Davey	Ken Singleton	Kenny
Mick Kelleher	Mickey	Paul O’Neil	Pauly
Rob Thomson	Robby	John Flaherty	Flaherty
Tony Pena	Tony	John Sterling	Johnny
Mike Harkey	Harkey	Suzyn Waldman	Suzy

Grandy’s dinger in 10th secures series win

After forcing extras with a run in the ninth, Curtis Granderson homered to open the 10th and give the Yankees a 6-5 win along with the series win.

Best of All: Mariano Rivera’s first two-inning save of the year. He had us all thinking back to 2001 when he loaded the bases with nobody out, but then a couple of pop ups and a strikeout later the game was over. Mo also collected his fourth career trip to the plate. Sadly, he failed to get his first hit, grounding out to first.

Granderson’s homer was his third hit of the day, as he fell a triple shy of the cycle. Something tells me this guy will hit for the cycle one day.

Here’s a rare line for you: 0-for-4, 3 runs scored. That would be Derek Jeter, who walked twice and reached on a fielder’s choice.

Worst of All: Javier Vazquez’s start wasn’t very memorable. Five innings, four earned runs on six hits and two walks. Only one K for a strikeout pitcher. Not terrible, but poor for a guy who has pitched well of late.

Coming Up: The Yankees get a day off today before facing the Dodgers over the weekend for what should be a huge media-hyped weekend.

Tonight’s Yankees lineup – nickname style

Jeet
Swish
Tex
A-Rod
Robby
Cervy
Grandy
Gardy
Javy

And maybe Georgey will make a pinch-hit appearance!

I almost forgot: Mikey and Johnny are on the call.

Thanks for all the creative nicknames, Girardi! (He has a lame last name, by his standards.)

All smiles for Colin Curtis’s first hit

Colin Curtis went unmentioned in my game recap because I felt he deserved a separate post. Yet another Yankee made his debut Monday, and it only took two at-bats for another ball to get thrown into the dugout for safe keeping. 

In Curtis’s second at-bat, first last night, he cranked a two-run double over the center fielder’s head. Yes, his parents and brother were in attendance. Yes, Curtis’s face was lit up like the fourth of July. Yes, it was an awesome moment to watch. And yes, I’m glad I stayed up for it.

He tipped his cap to his parents on his way back to the dugout, where he seemed very comfortable with the rest of the Yankees. He chatted it up with Phil Hughes, as the two played with each other for two different minor league teams in 2007.

Curtis was called up Monday, taking the place of Chad Moeller. Curtis flied out to center in his first chance on Monday.

Yanks tackle D’Backs’ bullpen in rout win

Backed by another excellent outing from Andy Pettitte and an eighth-inning explosion from the offense, the Yankees cruised to a 9-3 victory last night while most of you were sleeping.

Best of All: It was Pettitte’s sixth consecutive start of at least seven innings pitched and two or less earned runs. His ERA actually went up a point in his ninth win of the year.

The top four hitters — Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez — had two hits apiece. That is the first time those four have accomplished that this year. The top four did it once when Brett Gardner hit second.

A-Rod’s two-run bomb was the difference for most of the game until Dan Haren left after the seventh, giving way to the worst bullpen in the majors.

Worst of All: Speaking of Gardner, he went 0-for-3 after his 4-for-4 night on Friday. He and Jorge Posada were the only two starters who went hitless.

Coming Up: The Yankees still have a chance to win the series after Monday’s embarrassing loss. All they need is Javier Vazquez to stay hot tonight.

Pete Mikkelson/Bob Meyer Featured Card of the Week

Pete Mikkelson and Bob Meyer are both labeled star rookies in this card. However, neither turned out to be stars — or last long with the Yankees.

The Yankees let go of Meyer 18 1/3 innings through the 1964 season, allowing the Angels to purchase his contract. He had a 4.91 ERA with the Yankees and a 4.38 career ERA.

Mikkelson had a fairly good rookie campaign, going 7-4 with a 3.56 ERA strictly as a reliever. He started three games with the Yankees in 1965, but those were the only starts of his nine-year career. The Yankees traded him in the offseason that year for Pirates’ longtime hurler Bob Friend.

A-Rod is liked more this year than last year

Alex Rodriguez is by far the most hated Yankee today. Whether it’s his loaded contract, his admitted use of steroids or his “dirty” way of playing his sport at times, non-Yankees fans tend to dislike A-Rod the most.

As it turns out, he’s still the most hated Yankee, but he’s made some progress. This year’s Top 10 of Forbes’ Most Disliked People in Sports for 2010 ranked A-Rod the eighth most disliked. Last year, he ranked third.

2009 Hate Level	2010 Hate Level
57%	45%

Clearly, his stealthy approach with the media has helped decrease the hate level. No more interviews with Peter Gammons. No more Kate Hudson Perez Hilton reports. He’s proven fans right that he can avoid media distractions in 2010.

Unfortunately for him, I think that the latest numbers will rise if he continues to have a sub-par season. When you make as much money as he does, underperforming gets magnified even more.

Burnett shelled early in loss to D’Backs

The Diamondbacks rocked A.J. Burnett in the first inning for five runs on three homers to put the game away early. They went on to win 10-4, as 22-year-old Justin Upton led the way with a 3-for-3 day including two homers, four RBIs and four runs scored.

Best of All: Brett Gardner had a huge day in the No. 8 spot, going 4-for-4 with a stolen base. He scored twice, but didn’t drive in any runners.

Chad Gaudin had a nice day in relief: 2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, K.

Worst of All: Burnett was atrocious: 4 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Burnett’s 6-6 with a 4.83 ERA.

Chan Ho Park allowed Upton’s second homer dampening his line to 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 K.

Coming Up: The Yankees will look to get out in front early tomorrow at 9:40 p.m.

Curtis called up, Hughes rules implemented

Before tonight’s game, the Yankees made a couple of key team decisions. First, The Yankees announced Phil Hughes won’t make his next scheduled start on Friday in an attempt to keep his innings count under control. He will now make his next start a week from Tuesday against the Mariners.

Bryan Hoch reports he won’t be pushed back any more until at least after the All-Star break. To quickly sum up the plan, he’ll make three starts instead of four before the break, and then will rest an additional full turn in the rotation after the break.

I’m glad the Yankees are essentially ignoring the fact that Hughes is the co-league leader in wins right now and his 3.17 ERA. They’re looking ahead to the future, not getting caught up in one season. I have no problems with the move.

The Yankees second decision was designating extra catcher Chad Moeller for assignment, opening up a spot for minor league outfielder Colin Curtis.

Curtis was hitting .280/.357/.368 in Triple-A with 0 HR and 12 RBIs.

Curtis joins backup outfielder Chad Huffman on the bench. It will be interesting to see how Joe Girardi uses them. Even more interesting will be the mini competition between them to keep their roster spot when say Marcus Thames returns from the DL.

Yankees-Diamondbacks series preview

Bad flashbacks, anyone? It’s the Diamondbacks in Arizona this week. Fortunately, I have three tips that should help ease your pain:

1. Mariano Rivera has retired 21 straight hitters and allowed one hit in his last 11 innings pitched. He’s 40 years old and nobody notices.
2. Luis Gonzalez retired two years ago.
3. Repeat after me: Byung-Hyun Kim. Byung-Hyun Kim.

Head to Head:
The Yankees have played the Diamondbacks nine times since the infamous 2001 World Series and the Yankees have won seven of them. The last three came in 2007 with a sweep in the Bronx.

Pitching Matchups:

Date:	Yankees starters	Diamondbacks starters
Mon., 10:10 p.m.	A.J. Burnett (6-5, 4.33)	Rodrigo Lopez (2-6, 4.70)
Tues., 9:40 p.m.	A. Pettitte (8-2, 2.47)	Dan Haren (7-5, 4.71)
Wed., 9:40 p.m.	J. Vazquez (6-6, 5.01)	Dontrelle Willis (2-2, 4.78)

Players to Watch:
Yankees: Mark Teixeira. He has hit two homers in the last two days. Maybe he finally is breaking out of his season-long slump for real this time. 

Diamondbacks: Dan Haren. He’s an elite pitcher having a bad year. Something says he will value a start like Tuesday’s against the Yankees.

Prediction:
Let’s hope the Yankees are riding a five-game winning streak into the weekend series against the Dodgers, because that would mean the Yankees swept this team with ease.

Who is ready to stay up late this week and watch these games?

AccuScore: Red Sox take giant step toward playoffs

AMERICAN LEAGUE	WEEK 11 REVIEW		PLAYOFF		% CHANCE
TEAM	14-Jun	21-Jun	% DIFF	WIN DIV
Boston Red Sox	23.8%	56.6%	32.8%	24.7%
Texas Rangers	61.5%	81.0%	19.5%	80.8%
Minnesota Twins	64.6%	68.1%	3.5%	63.8%
Chicago White Sox	0.4%	1.3%	0.9%	1.2%
Baltimore Orioles	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Cleveland Indians	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Detroit Tigers	41.4%	41.2%	-0.2%	34.9%
K.C. Royals	0.4%	0.1%	-0.3%	0.1%
Seattle Mariners	0.4%	0.1%	-0.3%	0.1%
Toronto Blue Jays	4.6%	3.9%	-0.7%	0.9%
Oakland Athletics	12.0%	5.6%	-6.4%	5.5%
N.Y. Yankees	89.5%	80.0%	-9.5%	54.5%
L.A. Angels	26.8%	13.9%	-12.9%	13.6%
Tampa Bay Rays	74.6%	48.2%	-26.4%	19.9%

Thanks to Zach Rosenfield for the table.