WHY THE YANKEES WILL LOSE ALDS WITHOUT MOMENTUM

The Yankees lost tonight and yes, they are Eastern division champs, but don't we want to win? We need momentum and we need to build momentum tomorrow, the final game of the season, just in time for the playoffs. Without it, we lose the ALDS.

Tonight Matt Joyce was the hero for the Rays, and when that happened, momentum changed...the Rays got hungry. Ben Zobrist homered tonight as well and the Wild Card race between the Sox and Rays is crazy right now...it's unbelievable.Rafael Soriano looked lost tonight when Joyce cranked out his home run. He didn't look too promising. Again, it's all about momentum and earlier in the game when Russell Martin hit into a triple play and blew a chance for the Yankees to break it wide opened, it changed momentum away from New York and toward Tampa Bay.

In addition to the triple play, Martin hit a solo shot off of Jeremy Hellickson. Nick Swisher hit an RBI double to give the Yankees their 3 runs.
Bartolo Colon, whom I have hammered as of late pitched decent tonight. Not outstanding and not shitty, but good. He allowed 2 runs and 7 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He finishes the season with a 4.00 ERA. Not too shabby for a guy we found on the scrap heap. Thank you Bartolo for your service. You did us proud.

Look, we lost tonight, I don't like losing...we lost.

Final Score: Rays 5 - Yankees 3

My only thought on the last few days is this; The Yankees may not need to win these games, but they should win them. I know they are playing games because they are on the schedule, but these are still regular season games and the goal is to win as many as you can, regardless of clinching an Eastern Division. Tomorrow, Ladies and Gentlemen I consider a must win, for tune up purposes, for momentum purposes... for rhythm. Here come the New York Yankees.

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WHY I'M NOT UPSET WITH THIS YANKEES LOSS

(Photo: Getty)
Yankee fans, let's admit, this game for the Yankees meant absolutely nothing to us. The Yanks have already clinched the American League East and home field advantage in both rounds of the American League playoffs. So with that in mind, it was OK that the Yankees lost this game to the Tampa Bay Rays. There's very few of these games a year, if any at all, that mean absolutely nothing whether it's a win or loss. So let's recap...Hector Noesi squared off against James Shields for the Rays in this one. Noesi was on a pitch count as he was starting just his second game of the season. He went 2 innings while allowing five hits and three runs on 59 pitches. He allowed all three of his runs in the third inning, so it seemed like he ran out of gas. We very well may have seen Noesi for the final time this season as he finishes the year with a 2-2 record with a 4.47 ERA in 30 games while pitching in quite a variety of roles. It's his rookie season, and we give him kudos for pitching in a number of important games for the Yanks this season. Phil Hughes also made an appearance in relief. He went an 1.2 while allowing two walks on a hit and a strikeout. Andrew Brackman made his second career appearance as he recorded the final two outs in the 8th.

This was a huge game for the Rays. Pretty much a must win for them since they were one game back of the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card race entering play on Monday. He went 8.2 innings for them while allowing six hits on two walks and three K's. Former Yankee Kyle Farnsworth finished off his former team by recording the final out in the 9th.The offense for the Yankees pretty much came from one source, and that was Robinson Cano. Cano went 2 for 4 with a solo homer and and RBI single in the first and third innings, respectively. The rest of the team combined to go 4 for 27 (.148 AVG), which includes Jorge Posada's 0 for 4 in what may have been his last start at first base this season. Although he went 0-for he made a couple of nice plays at first.

Final Score: Rays 5 - Yankees 2
I'm not upset with this loss whatsoever. The Red Sox lost, again, so they're now 6-19 during the month of September, which means the Rays and Red Sox are tied in the Wild Card race with identical 89-71 records. Boston's collapse has been very fun to watch all month long and it'd be awesome if they can complete it. Bartolo Colon (8-9, 4.02 ERA) goes for the Yanks against Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.90 ERA) for the Rays on Tuesday.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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WHY POSADA'S CLUTCH HIT CLINCHED THE AL EAST

What a day in the Bronx. Heading into last night's game, we knew if the Yankees swept their doubleheader against the Rays, and if the Red Sox lost their game against the Orioles, the Yankees would be American League East Champs. Well, guess what Ladies and Gentleman, they did, along with the help of the Orioles. CC Sabathia got back on track, the offense got some timely hits--especially from Jorge--and some clutch work out of the bullpen helped secure the AL East, their 17th AL East title in franchise history.
Casey here at Bleeding Yankee Blue is obsessed with Jorge and while it didn't always work out his way, I know he's smiling right now. In a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 8th inning, Jorge Posada pinch hit for Jesus Montero with the bases loaded and two out. And boy, did he come up clutch! He lined a sharp single to right to bring home two for the eventual game winner. What a moment for a guy who has been through a whole ton of crap all season long.
CC Sabathia matched up against possibly the front runner for AL Rookie of the Year in Jeremy Hellickson. CC went 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, two walks, with six strikeouts. But, he left the game with the bases loaded in a 2-2 tie, so odds are CC will not get his 20th win this season since he may have to make an abbreviated start in the coming days to align him up for Game One of the ALDS. David Robertson once again came on and got out of a bases loaded jam. Houdini... unbelievable. It took him one pitch to induce a double play off the bat of Ben Zobrist. Robertson throws one pitch and gets the win while Sabathia throws 127 pitches and doesn't get the win. As John Sterling would say, "That's just baseball, Suzyn." Hellickson pitched well in this one too for Tampa as he went 7 innings, allowing just two hits, while walking four and punching out three.

Final Score: Yankees - 4 Rays - 2

The Yankees have gone through a ton of adversity this season and have proved the nay-sayers wrong. It seemed like every so called "expert" picked the Yankees to fall short of the division title. To be honest, this may be the sweetest division title in some time, but it's just one step to the ultimate goal, the Yankees still have much bigger fish to fry. Meanwhile, next goal is the win the best record in the American League. A great team work is never done, is it?

The Yanks will be going for the 'ol four game sweep in three days as Bartolo Colon (8-9, 3.81 ERA) squares off against Jeff Niemann (11-7, 3.95 ERA) tomorrow night.




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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WHY NOVA HAS A SHOT AT ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

(Photo: Getty)

It may sound bizarre, considering Ivan Nova was sent down the Scranton at one point during this season, but Ivan Nova is turning heads and proving to the world that he belongs in the major leagues. You don’t believe me? How’s this. Since he’s returned from Scranton, Nova is 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA. I know, that may not be enough for you, but how’s this. According to Jon Lane of YES.com, “Since being locked in the Yankees rotation, Nova is 7-0 with a 3.10 ERA in his last 8 starts.” To me, that speaks one word… Confidence.

Nova has all the confidence in the world and it’s that little thing that goes a long way. He’s not afraid to face anyone. When men are on base, he doesn’t panic anymore. Ivan Nova, dare I say, is pitching like a veteran.

Look, when Nova was demoted, we all know he was the wrong guy that had to go down, but it happened. Apparently, it didn’t hurt him though, it helped him. Why? Because he got a taste for the majors and knew that’s where he needed to be. According to YES.com, Nova harnessed that negative demotion into a positive, it helped him improve his performance on the mound.

(Photo: Getty)

Nova said “Confidence is the key to everything.” Hmmm, where have I heard that before, possibly here? I started writing about the importance of confidence back on September 2010 in WHY CONFIDENCE IS KEY about AJ and then again in March with WHY NOVA AND JOBA ARE KEY. We here at Bleeding Yankee Blue have been preaching confidence and the Pyramid of Pitching Dominance for almost a year now. It’s what makes a pitcher great and it starts with mechanics. With mechanic analysis comes confidence, when the confidence comes, any doubt leaves and focus takes over. Joba Chamberlain went through it, Phil Hughes is going through it and AJ Burnett’s struggling with it now. Nova has confidence, and that’s all you can ask for when putting a youngster out there. Good for him.

So, back to the point of all this, does Nova have a legitamite shot at Rookie of the Year? Sure, but if you’re a New York Yankee, you’re not thinking about individual awards, you're thinking about winning it all as a team. Nova, if he continues on this track has a great shot with other guys in the running too like Mark Trumbo of the Los Angeles Angels, Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals and JP Arencibia of the Toronto Blue Jays, Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays and Michael Pineda of the Seattle Mariners. Stiff competition? I say so, but right now, I'm putting my money on Supernova.

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WHY RAYS HAD YANKEES NUMBER

(Photo: Getty)
Wins against division rivals is the most important part of making it to the playoffs. The second most important part of that equation is winning each series. Tonight the Yankees lost to a rival with a chance to win the series tomorrow. It makes tomorrows game much more important now, doesn't it? Yes, it's easy to beat the teams that don't mean anything, but winning when it really matters, like beating the Rays to a pulp, every time is much more important, especially in the second half of the season.(Photo: Getty)
Bartolo Colon was on the mound tonight and he did pretty good, he had a strong performance. I must say, there wasn't the worry I thought I would have. He went 6.1 innings pitched, and 5 hits gave the Rays 3 runs. Colon also had 9 strikeouts. He literally was able to keep the Yankees in the game but Jeremy Hellickson did great job tonight too. Oh well, it sucks, but it's true.
(Photo: Getty)
Robinson Cano continues his great season, hitting his 16th home run tonight and was able to get the 2 RBIs of the game tonight, but that was it for New York. No more runs, they were just unable to hit Hellickson.

Now, onto alittle rant. I don't like piling on Boone Logan because I think that in the back of my mind I don't feel it fair to rip on our only lefty specialist, but tonight I have to. Logan allowed a sacrifice fly and go ahead run and the Yankees lost because of it. To me, you can't come in against lefties and allow lefties to hit against you, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR JOB IS TO GET THEM OUT. Yes, Granderson made the catch but at that point, it was do or die for the Rays and it's more about the hit happening in the first place. And, of all people Boone, you had to allow it to Johnny Damon, didn't you? Damn it! You can't let that happen Boone, you just can't. So, tonight I'm praying to the Gods that put Sergio Mitre on the Disabled List today for alittle more action on my behalf:

Dear God who I love so much,

You were able to make Sergio Mitre go the the DL (read HERE), can you please just give Boone Logan alittle abdominal pain, or blister or something so he can join Mitre on the DL? Then we'll be forced to find a lefty immediately in the farm or in a trade and move on. Thank you.

-Casey

P.S. I've been good all year so far...tell Santa

Look, you know how I feel about playing baseball. If you know you have a certain job to do, for example, getting out lefties, or fielding the ball cleanly without making errors, or just hitting in the clutch, damn it, you just have to do it. That's why you get a pay check. I'm annoyed at Logan tonight, and I think it's time to go.

The Final Score tonight: Rays 3 - Yankees 2. Tomorrow's a must win boys, win that and you must win 1 more to win the Series. Garcia vs. Price tomorrow. Do it Yanks!

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