YANKEES 13, ORIOLES 3

When you are talking about the New York Yankees since their season pinnacle on July 18 until now, it has been the proverbial one step forward and two steps back. But on Sunday their slumping bats awoke to take a giant leap forward and the Baltimore Orioles paid the price by allowing the Bronx Bombers to leave Oriole Park at Camden Yards in first place in the American League East.

Curtis Granderson has been so horrible at the plate that he was benched to start the game. But he came off the bench with a vengeance as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning to swat the first pitch he saw into the Orioles’ bullpen in left-center. He ended the day with five RBIs to lead a relentless 14-hit attack on Oriole pitching as New York salvaged a split of their four-game battle for supremacy in the division.

It was the Yankees’ biggest blowout victory of the season and it could not have come at a much better time.

Joba Chamberlain (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief while striking out four of the five batters he retired to earn the victory.

Meanwhile, Oriole left-hander Zach Britton (5-2) found control to be an elusive thing in the fourth inning and he was saddled with the loss.

Britton perhaps got an inkling of how frustrating the day would be when Derek Jeter opened the contest with a infield single and he advanced to second on a throwing error by third baseman Manny Machado. Britton then walked Nick Swisher.

Alex Rodriguez stopped the momentum a bit by hitting into a double play but Britton then served up an RBI single to Robinson Cano.

In the fourth, Britton found that his sinker was sinking out of the strike zone and he paid dearly for it.

Rodriguez singled to begin the inning and Britton then walked Cano and Russell Martin to load the bases.

Steve Pearce then drew a bases-loaded walk to score Rodriguez to make 2-0. After Andruw Jones struck out, Jayson Nix hit a dying quail single into shallow center to score Cano. Ichiro Suzuki followed with a “Baltimore-chop” to shortstop J.J. Hardy and Suzuki beat out Hardy’s throw to first to score Martin.

Britton then ended his day appropriately by issuing a bases-loaded walk to Jeter that made it 5-0.

Britton gave up five runs on five hits and five walks and struck out two in 3 1/3 innings.

However, the Yankees were unable to savor their four-run inning for long because starter Freddy Garcia stumbled in the bottom of the inning.

Garcia walked Nate McLouth and then hit Hardy with a pitch. Wilson Betemit followed with a two-run double to center and, one out later, Matt Wieters plated Betemit with a single to right.

Manager Joe Girardi, showing the veteran Yankee right-hander one of the shortest leashes of the season, removed Garcia in favor of Chamberlain to keep the game at 5-3.

The Yankee bullpen of Chamberlain, Boone Logan, Cory Wade and Derek Lowe threw 4 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, surrendering just one hit and two walks the rest of the way.

At the same time, the Yankees continued to pile on the runs in front of a paid crowd of 40,346.

Granderson, who has been benched the past two games mired in a 5-for-43 (.116) slump, then teed off on Jake Arrieta’s first offering in the sixth inning for his 35th home run of the season and his 100th home run with the Yankees.

Granderson later really broke the game open with a two-run single in the seventh that ran the score to 8-3 and he and Jeter keyed a five-run eighth inning that buried the Orioles and sent their new-found bandwagon fans home disappointed.

Jeter blasted a two-run home run, his 15th of the season, off Kevin Gregg and Granderson later added a two-run double.

The Yankees ran their record against the Orioles this season to 9-9 and they are 79-61 on the season. The Orioles are 78-62.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

• Granderson’s 3-for-3 day with a homer, a double and five RBIs was a welcome sight for fans who were growing disgusted with him swinging and missing at breaking pitches in the dirt or out of the strike zone. Granderson is the team’s leading home run hitter and, in order to have a shot at the playoffs, he has got to start producing better. Sunday was a nice first step.
• Chamberlain has never looked better and perhaps has turned the corner in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. Chamberlain reached as high as 97 miles per hour on his fastball and, even better, he had command on the location of it. It is the first time Chamberlain has struck out four batters in an outing since his electric rookie season in 2007.
• Jeter was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Jeter is batting .324 this season, which third in the American League. He trails Mike Trout of the Angels by .004 and he could possibly win his first batting title at age 38.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

• Garcia’s magical run as a starter may be over. He has failed to pitch five innings in three of his last four starts and he is 0-1 with a 7.64 ERA in those four starts. With Ivan Nova poised to return to the rotation and Andy Pettitte right behind him, Garcia likely will not start another game this season. He is 7-6 with a 5.19 ERA overall.
• Swisher is in a worse slump than Granderson. He was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout on Sunday and he is now hitless in his last 28 at-bats. His batting average has dipped from .271 to .255 in that span. The question is with the team in a pennant fight can they afford to bench him?
• Jones has also fallen on hard times and he was 0-for-2 with a strikeout on Sunday. He is now batting .202. Teams are beating the bushes to toss left-handers at the Yankees because it neutralizes lefty hitters like Cano and Gramderson and benches Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez. Jones’ ineptitude at the plate has been a big bonus for the opposing teams.

BOMBER BANTER

Mark Teixeira is scheduled to undergo an MRI in New York on Monday and it is possible he may miss the final 3 1/2 weeks of the season. Teixeira re-aggravated his left calf injury while unsuccessfully trying to beat out a double-play grounder that ended Saturday’s game against the Orioles. Girardi said he would use Swisher and Pearce at first base to replace Teixeira.  . . .  Pettitte is scheduled to throw a side session on Monday at Yankee Stadium and he hopes to be cleared to continue his comeback from a fractured left ankle. If the team physician clears him, Pettitte will then throw a simulated game of about 60 pitches and then could be activated off the disabled list.

ON DECK

The Yankees have earned a day off on Monday before resuming their pennant chase on Tuesday at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.

Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (13-10, 3.14 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. Kuroda gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks and struck out three in six innings in a victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in his last start. Kuroda is 1-1 with a 3.45 ERA against the Bosox this season.

The struggling Red Sox will counter with left-hander Jon Lester (9-11, 4.99 ERA). Lester surrendered three runs on nine hits over six innings in a victory over the Seattle Mariners. Lester is 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA in three starts against the Yankees this season.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by MY9.

The Nationals are pawns in one of the many schemes Boras has spun over the past few decades. The guy is good. Put the big contracts like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texiera, Prince Fielder, Matt Holliday, Manny Ramirez, and more away for a minute. By themselves, those are gigantic accomplishments. But the manipulation that Boras portrays is truly uncanny. What about the five-year $90 million deal for the 37-year-old Barry Bonds. That contract caused a rebuilding plan for the San Francisco Giants.

He made guys like Greg Maddux unbelievable rich. In 1990, Boars was able to obtain a modest $1.2 million for high school pitcher Todd Van Poppel, who was a bust. That contract also had a half-million signing bonus. He advised J.D. Drew not to accept his draft selection to the Philadelphia Phillies. Drew was just a kid that wanted to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. Boras twisted Philly’s hand and guess where Drew played his first few campaigns?

I won’t get into Boras’ record in salary arbitration cases. Whether it was Kyle Lohse upgrading a $395,000 to a $2.4 in 2005 or Andrew Jones $8.2 arbitration ruling in just his second year of eligibility in 2001, Boras always wins. We have not even mentioned the Jayson Werth, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gonzalez, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kevin Millwood, Barry Zito, Derek Lowe, Magglio Ordonez, along with the multiple repeat contracts.

Now, he’s tied the hands of the Washington Nationals. Everyone in the world is clueless as to why this is happening. Analysts preach about winning now. “Don’t worry about the future, this year is your chance to do something special!” It doesn’t matter. Boras has ahold of the franchise. He’s told them to shut down Strasburg this season with the hope of having him for years to come. That won’t happen. Boras will search for the best deal from the only two or three teams that can afford the young right-hander. He hopes that Matt Cain’s contract with be a joke compared to the one Strasburg will command.

Washington has to shut down Strasburg at the mercy of agent Scott Boras. If they were to keep pitching him, what little chance the team has of keeping him would be out the window. It’s sad. It’s true. It’s baseball in 2012.

***

Whitey Bulger‘s Wanted from the Ma State Patrol. Image courtesy of
http://bostinno.com/2012/06/16/whitey-bulgers-crimes-murders-hideouts-and-gun-caches/

In 1982, several members of the Boston Police, gang raped and murdered a 16-year-old honor student at a private bar called The Silver Shield Athletic Association, in Roxbury, Ma.

The resulting investigation uncovered the largest Police corruption case in the city’s history, one of the three largest cases in the nation.

A common practice was for members of District D to pick up prostitutes on Haviland Street, Hemenway St. and Symphony Road in Boston’s seedy East-Fens area. They would offer the girls a choice. Go in for booking – or take a ride. Essentially, the girls had no choice, and saw all this as part of the cost of doing business. The cops saw it as an unwritten perquisite in their benefits package.

On the night the cops picked up Lucia Roberts, they thought she was a prostitute, and offered her the deal. She said she had no idea what they were talking about. The cops assumed she was trying to get over on them and made the decision for her. They took her to the Silver shield.

Somewhere along the line, as they took turns on her, they realized their mistake. When she threatened to bring them up on charges, they knew they had a problem.

They took her body to Morton Street and Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan, to a place known as Lane’s Bar. In the official report, they claimed that she was trying to buy drugs at the known gang hangout.

The only people to not believe that report were the girl’s parents. They took the case all the way up the ladder, to the Federal Attorney. When all was said and done, allegations ran up the chain of command, all the way to the Commissioner. Although the Lucia Roberts incident was only the tip of the iceberg, it served as the trigger that caused their entire house of cards to fall. The cops were exposed selling drugs, laundering money and carrying out gangland executions.

http://www.bpdnews.com/2010/01/24/lucia-kai-roberts/

The Boston Globe released a report, over a thousand pages, listing names, dates and contacts. Many of the names in that report, including that of Whitey Bulger, are now household words. Months after the investigation concluded, people were still being transferred, demoted and reprimanded. A handful of the conspirators were actually fired. No one, however, served any time.

***

About three years later, a friend and I were hanging out behind a local pizza shop, smoking a joint. A cruiser pulled up along side of us and the cop got out. We tried feebly to hide the pot, but the jig was obviously, up.

The standing game, in those days, was that the cops would search us, and confiscate any marijuana they might find. They’d make a big show of telling us that they we’re going to do us a favor and not run us in. They’d get free reefer, we’d get to stay on the streets – fair deal all around. These were the rules, and we all knew how the game was played.

“No. I want to be arrested, and tomorrow morning, at the arraignment, I’d better see exactly, that amount of pot,” my friend, defiantly piped up.

“Don’t worry about him, officer, he forgot to take his medication,” I squealed, feeling the noose already tightening around my neck. “I’ll take him home,”

Again, my friend protested, throwing in the usual blather about Rights and the Constitution. Again, I managed to keep the cop from blowing his lid.

All of a sudden, this Wunderkind blurted out, “I remember the Silver Shield.”

A silence fell over all three of us, like Fenway Park, in the 9^th inning of Derek Lowe’s No Hitter.

The cop took out his Tonfa baton, grabbed me, put the nightstick up against my throat, and told me, “I’ll take you out in the fucking woods and shoot you – and claim you were trying to escape.” I could see the rage in his eyes.

I learned a lot that day. I learned just how far the Constitution goes, out in our alley jury world. I learned that stupid friends could get you killed. I learned that Justice rarely lands on the truly deserving – but above all, I learned, don’t piss off cops.

Related articles

• Quincy was the one local police department Whitey Bulger hated (enterprisenews.com)
• Feds quietly end probe of ‘America’s toughest sheriff’ Joe Arpaio; no charges (righttruth.typepad.com)
• Lawyer: Whitey Bulger Will Testify At His Trial (boston.cbslocal.com)
• A license to kill? Notorious gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger argues he has … – Boston.com (boston.com)

5 ways the Indians can salvage the 2012 season:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1313883-5-things-that-can-salvage-the-cleveland-indians-2012-season

How does the Dodgers and Red Sox blockbuster trade hurt the Indians?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1311891-mlb-how-does-the-blockbuster-deal-for-los-angeles-and-boston-hurt-cleveland

Who deserves the most blame for the Indians’ 2012 season?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1307986-who-deserves-the-most-blame-for-cleveland-indians-disappointing-2012-so-far

Manny Acta calls out ownership

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1300955-mlb-cleveland-indians-manager-calls-out-ownership

How can the Indians stop the bleeding?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1288012-mlb-cleveland-indians-how-can-you-stop-the-bleeding

The disaster-filled decision-making 2012 Indians season

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1284719-mlb-the-cleveland-indians-and-the-2012-disaster-filled-decision-making

ROBERTO’S FUTURE: The Indians have a short amount of time to see Hernandez for the rest of 2012, and then will have to determine if they want to pickup his $6 million dollar option this offseason.

So far Hernandez is 0-3 with an ERA of 7.53 ERA. The Indians may not have much of a choice in letting him walk, as right now the only two players that you can honestly say are a ‘for sure’ in the starting rotation in 2013 is Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez.

“I really didn’t come into the season anticipating my number three guy (Derek Lowe) was going to be released, my number four guy (Josh Tomlin) would need Tommy John surgery, and my number five guy (Jeanmar Gomez) would be sent to the minors,” Acta said. “That is not how we drew it up.”

That would be an understatement. Lowe, Tomlin and Gomez combined to go 17-25 at the Major League level, putting up an ERA of 5.68. Ouch.

LONNIE’S REHAB: While the pitching staff is a huge question mark, another position that the team needs to be concerned about in the future is that of third base. The team does expect to get a look for at least a few weeks at Lonnie Chisenhall, who has been out after getting hit by a pitch back on June 29th and having surgery on his fractured right ulna.

Chisenhall ran the bases at Progressive Field Tuesday, taking BP and doing some fielding as well. Acta says he needs a few more sessions in the cage before he goes out on an assignment. “Hopefully we will be able to get him some games in Akron,” Acta said. “Then after he plays some games over there we will add him up here.”

AWFUL AUGUST: The Indians can’t wait for the 8th month of the year to end, as August has been nothing short of a nightmare for the team. They are 5-20 this month (.200 winning percentage) after Monday’s 3-0 loss to the A’s, the 7th time in 2012 they have been shutout.

The 20 losses in August marks the second time in the past 21 seasons from 1992 to 2012 that the Indians have lost 20 games in a given month. The last time they did it – September 2009 when they went 7-21 and ended the year 65-97. That September it was announced that then manager Eric Wedge would not return for the 2010 season. The team wrapped up the Wedge era with a five-game losing streak, including being swept in their last four games by the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

CORD HONORED: Indians minor league second basemen Cord Phelps was named Tuesday to the International League’s postseason All-Star team. The 25-year-old hit .277 with 16 homers and 58 RBI for the Columbus Clippers this past season. He was honored as the starting second basemen for the IL’s midseason All-Star team.

It would not be a surprise to see Phelps be up at the MLB level in the month of September when the Indians call up players from the minors after the rosters expand.

LINEUPS:

August 28th vs Oakland:

A’s – Drew SS
Reddick RF
Cespedes CF
Smith DH
Carter 1B
Moss LF
Donaldson 3B
Norris CA
Rosales 2B
Milone P

Indians – Kipnis 2B
Cabrera DH
Choo RF
Santana CA
Brantley CF
Duncan LF
Lillibridge SS
Kotchman 1B
Donald 3B
McAllister P

Follow @Loede923TheFAN

—

Exactly a month before last night’s debacle of an 8-7, 11-inning loss to the lowly Blue Jays, I wrote the following about so-called Bad Losses:

The critical part of a Bad Loss is an abject failure of execution. Sometime it’s an error at the worst time, sometimes it’s a manager playing what appears to be Hungry Hungry Hippos with his bullpen moves. Either way, the loss can linger for days, weeks or even an entire season.

“Abject failure of execution” is a perfect way to describe what Rafael Soriano did against Rajai Davis and Colby Rasmus last night. With a man on and two outs in the ninth, Soriano got ahead of Davis 0-2. The Yankee Stadium crowd rose to its feet for a game-ending cheer, and the Yankees prepared to savor a hard-fought 6-4 win.

(Since I’m about to excoriate Soriano, I should point out that he has saved 33 of 36 chances since stepping in for Mariano Rivera. That said, his performance on and off the field last night was so atrocious that he deserves what’s coming to him.)

At this point, Soriano had at least one and possibly two pitches to waste. His slider was not breaking well, and Davis had barely missed an 0-1 hanging slider, fouling it off. But Davis was champing at the bit to swing, and Soriano had only to put a pitch in the dirt, or at his ankles, and the game would be over. Before the 0-2 pitch, Russell Martin actually motioned toward the ground with his glove and then set the glove about six inches off the ground, the equivalent of a neon sign reminding Soriano to PUT IT IN THE DIRT.

Instead, the Yankee closer threw yet another hanging slider at the belt, and Davis slapped it through the hole into left field for a single. Missing that badly on an 0-2 pitch is inexcusable at any point in a game, but it can be deadly for a temperamental closer like Soriano**, who was clearly rattled as Rasmus came to the plate. Two pitches later, Rasmus crushed another hanging slider into the second deck in right field, and justlikethat it was 7-6 Toronto.

**Soriano left the clubhouse after the game without speaking to reporters, a move he pulled before with the Yankees early last season. I won’t belabor this point because it’s moot right now, but… would Mariano Rivera EVER blow off the press after blowing a game? This guy agrees with me.

The Yankees tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on a home run by Derek Jeter, who continues to party like it’s 1999. But they couldn’t push across another run, and a throwing error by Derek Lowe in the 11th set up an RBI groundout that gave the Blue Jays the win. Abject failure of execution, indeed.

—

After the sordid finish, we learned that Mark Teixeira suffered a Grade 1 left calf strain during the game and will miss 1-3 weeks. It’s the same injury Jeter had last June, and he missed exactly three weeks. Nick Swisher has filled in adequately for Teixeira at first, and new pickup Steve Pearce can spot Swish at times. But the injury leaves a gaping hole in the Yankee lineup, which currently looks something like this:

1. Derek Jeter
2. Nick Swisher
3. Robinson Cano
4. Eric Chavez/Curtis Granderson
5. Granderson/Chavez
6. Andruw Jones
7. Jayson Nix/Casey McGehee (gulp)
8. Ichiro
9. Russell Martin

That’s a terrible lineup once you get past the top five — only Ichiro has had any recent success among the guys in the bottom four spots. The Yanks will need all the pitching they can get to hold off the Rays and Orioles with Teix, A-Rod and Andy Pettitte injured. And they certainly can’t afford another Bad Loss like Soriano’s implosion last night.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi kidded reporters before the game when asked about Soriano’s condition. “I just shook hands with him, and he’s fine,” Girardi said.

The skipper didn’t get to shake Soriano’s hand after the last out, which is customary after a relief pitcher notches a save. Soriano blew a save for only the third time in 36 opportunities this year as he gave up a three-run home run to Colby Rasmus with two out in the ninth inning that turned a 6-4 Yankees lead into a 7-6 deficit.

Fortunately for Soriano and the Yankees, Derek Jeter led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Casey Janssen that sent the game into extra innings. It was not a good night for closers.

And it was from the mound that Derek Lowe made a costly error as pinch runner Mike McCoy went all the way to third base after a wild pickoff attempt at first base. Excellent base running by McCoy on a slow roller by Adeiny Hechavarrria resulted in the deciding run. Third baseman Jayson Nix made a fine, charging play, and McCoy broke for the plate the moment Nix released his throw to first base. Eric Chavez playing first base threw home but had no shot at McCoy.

The Blue Jays stopped a seven-game losing streak with the 8-7, 11-inning victory. The Yanks had their lead in the American League East shrink to 3 ½ games over the Orioles, who jumped over the Rays and into second place.

Even worse news for the Yankees was the possible loss of Mark Teixeira for the remainder of the homestand and perhaps even longer. Tex came out of the game after scoring a run in the fourth inning because of a left calf strain.

“I’m concerned,” Girardi said after the game. “It is hard to replace middle-of-the-lineup guys, especially a switch hitter who helps to break up our lefties.”

On the positive side, Alex Rodriguez, another middle-of-the-order guy who has been disabled since July 25 with a broken bone in his left hand, got the okay to take batting practice Tuesday.

Soriano’s failure took a deserving victory away from David Phelps, who had another solid if not spectacular outing for the Yankees as a spot starter. Phelps was victimized by the long ball as home runs by Adam Lind and Yorvit Torrealba accounted for three of the four runs he allowed in 6 1/3 innings.

The ball was carrying well in the humid air. Robinson Cano smacked two home runs and Nick Swisher one. Yet in the eighth the Yanks played some small-ball as Russell Martin sacrificed Chavez into scoring position. Chavez had singled on another ball off a pitcher. An insurance run there would have been nice, but Andruw Jones and Ichiro Suzuki both grounded out.

Moments after Rasmus’ stunning drive put Toronto ahead 7-6, Derek Jeter tied it with a home run off Casey Janssen. But the last-place Blue Jays didn’t cave, scratching out a run two innings later to stop an eight-game slide at Yankee Stadium.

The loss might be a costly one in more ways than one for the AL East-leading Yankees. Slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira was pulled with a strained left calf and sent to the hospital for an MRI.

Yorvit Torrealba had a two-run shot and Adam Lind also went deep in his first plate appearance for the banged-up Blue Jays since coming off the disabled list. Missing slugger Jose Bautista and several other regulars, Toronto had dropped a season-worst eight straight on the road.

Robinson Cano homered twice and Nick Swisher hit a two-run drive for New York.

Torrealba singled leading off the 11th for his third hit and pinch-runner Mike McCoy scampered to third when Lowe’s pickoff attempt got past first baseman Eric Chavez and rolled into foul territory up the right-field line. Lowe (8-11) was charged with an error.

After a strikeout, Adeiny Hechavarria hit a slow grounder toward third that forced Jayson Nix to charge the ball. McCoy waited until Nix threw to first, then dashed home and beat Chavez’s throw to the plate with a slide.

Darren Oliver (3-2) pitched two hitless innings for the win, Toronto’s first at Yankee Stadium since May 23, 2011.

Jeter lofted Janssen’s second pitch to right field, beyond a leaping Moises Sierra and into the front row of seats behind the auxiliary scoreboard. It was Jeter’s 14th home run of the season and fourth in seven games.

Rookie right-hander David Phelps gave the Yankees another solid spot start, this one in place of injured Ivan Nova, and New York opened a 6-3 lead in the fifth on a two-run drive by the streaking Swisher.

Hechavarria got Toronto’s comeback started with a two-out RBI single off Cody Eppley in the seventh.

Sierra and Rajai Davis singled in the ninth to bring up the slumping Rasmus, who drove a breaking ball deep into the second deck in right for his 21st home run.

It was Soriano’s third blown save in 36 chances since replacing injured closer Mariano Rivera in early May.

On a night when it was downright dangerous to be a Toronto pitcher, four times the Yankees hit sharp comebackers that caromed off the body of a Blue Jays hurler.

Henderson Alvarez took the worst one, Russell Martin’s hard grounder that smacked off the right-hander’s leg in the fourth inning and careened into shallow right field for an RBI single. Alvarez hobbled over to the first base line and bent over in pain. He was checked by a trainer and walked slowly off the field with a bruised left shin.

X-rays were negative and he is day to day. Aaron Laffey relieved and was given all the time he needed to warm up.

Alvarez also was checked by the trainer in the second inning after Chavez’s comebacker deflected off his pitching hand for an infield single. He threw a couple of warmup pitches and appeared to be OK.

Chavez had another infield single in the eighth that hit reliever Aaron Loup. Laffey recovered from a body shot to throw out Jeter in the sixth.

NOTES: Bautista, back on the disabled list with a left wrist injury, was examined by a hand specialist in Cleveland and was on his way to New York to rejoin the team, manager John Farrell said. The Blue Jays were awaiting test results. … Farrell said he will use Hechavarria primarily at third base for now, which is where he played Monday night. … RHP Jason Frasor (right forearm) threw another bullpen and is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend. … Yankees RHP David Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth inning hours after his wife, Erin, gave birth to their first child, a baby boy they named Luke Joseph. … The Little League World Series champions from Japan were on the field before the game. They took a tour of the New York clubhouse and met Ichiro Suzuki, Hiroki Kuroda and other Yankees. Then they watched the game from the stands. … The Yankees hosted the Women’s Sports Foundation, including Olympic gold medallists Christie Rampone (2012 soccer captain) and Sarah Hughes (2002 figure skating). Rampone and Hughes each threw out a ceremonial first pitch, and former WNBA star Kym Hampton of the New York Liberty sang the national anthem. … RHP Phil Hughes (12-11, 4.15 ERA) is slated to start Tuesday night for the Yankees against struggling LHP Ricky Romero (8-11, 5.63).

For example, the Tribe has won back-to-back games just twice in their past 44 outings, and they haven’t won three in a row since July 3-5.

Here’s another one for you, Tribe fans.

Derek Lowe, currently in the New York Yankees’ bullpen, made his last appearance in a Tribe uniform on July 31 against Kansas City.

Lowe won his eighth and last game as a member of the Indians on July 4, a 12-3 win by the Tribe against the Angels (part of that long-forgotten three-game winning streak).

Despite all that, Lowe currently has the third-most wins by an Indians pitcher this season, trailing Justin Masterson (10) and Ubaldo Jimenez (9).

It’s been that kind of season.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Good morning everyone and happy Sunday to you all. The Yankees unfortunately couldn’t back up Kuroda but they have a chance to gain a half game on the Rays who are off…on a Sunday…no fair. Anyway, here are your morning links.

– As we all know, the Red Sox and Dodgers pulled off the ultimate blockbuster trade yesterday. Now the question is, could you picture the Yankees doing the same thing? And do the remaining Yankees/Red Sox series mean anything?

– Speaking of the blockbuster trade, Derek Lowe (who was a former Red Sox with the 2004 Championship team) had a unique perspective on why the Red Sox and Dodgers did what they did.

–This was the sign that Chad Jennings of LoHud Yankees found on his window of his hotel room–and it has something to do with Joba Chamberlain and midges.

– Major League Baseball suspended former Yankee Alfredo Aceves for three games for “conduct dertrimental to the team”. Apparently, he didn’t like the idea that Andrew Bailey was going to save a game instead of him.

Saturday August 25th, 2012

John Burns:  On August 13^th the New York Yankees made a move that went well under the radar. New York signed veteran pitcher Derek Lowe to a contract. The signing is looking like a very nice pick up for the Yankees as of right now. Lowe has 2.45 ERA in only 7.1 innings out of the bullpen. With all the injuries the Yankees have suffered through this season, the signing becomes a great insurance policy for New York. The sinker ball pitcher is a proven big time performer when it comes to October. The 39-year-old pitcher was dominant in the 2004 fall classic with Boston. Lowe posted 1.86 ERA and was 3-0  during that playoff run and was key part of the Red Sox winning the World Series.

With the Yankees well on their way to the playoffs, Derek Lowe could prove to be a key pickup. The veteran will be pitching out of the bullpen for the Bronx Bombers. But when it comes playoff time, he could receive a legitimate shot at becoming the Yankees number 3 starter. With Andy Pettitte injured and unlikely to return at this point, the Yankees are looking at Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes as the possible third starter in this year’s playoffs. Number one would obviously be C.C. Sabathia, Number two Hiroki Kuroda, and again number three is a toss-up. But if I’m New York, I look at Lowe and Garcia. Both are veteran pitchers and were key parts to their respective teams winning World Series championships. Both Lowe and Garcia pitched seven shutout innings in the biggest stage in baseball: the World Series. Phil Hughes, another possibility, has struggled mightily in the postseason during his career with a 5.40 ERA in 30 innings pitched.

When it comes down to it, Derek Lowe will be a bigger part of the Yankees playoff success than people thought. With Joba Chamberlain struggling, Derek Lowe could take his spot on the playoff roster. Having great depth in the bullpen in October is key to winning a World Series. Yes Lowe has only pitched 7 innings for the Yankees this season, but New York can use him in many key situations out of the pen. He can pitch long relief, the 7^th, and he can even be a key setup man in certain situations. The signing of Derek Lowe might not seem like much now. But come October, whether he ends up starting or relieving, Derek Lowe could be key piece to bringing championship number 28 to New York.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

John Burns- MLB reports Intern: I am a highschool junior, play 1st base and catcher. I am a diehard Phillies fan. I was born in Philadelphia but now live in Virginia. I come from a huge baseball family and just love the game. My cousin was drafted by the New York Mets in the 2008 MLB draft. My favorite players are Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, and Ryan Howard. I tweet all the time and you can follow me on twitter (@JohnBurns_MLB)***

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Disappointing…

I am not quite sure what was reaction was when I heard that San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera had been suspended for 50 games due to substance abuse.  As a former Yankee, I watched his career as it went through Atlanta and Kansas City before his arrival in the City by the Bay.  The year in Atlanta was forgettable, but Melky rebounded in Kansas City and continued his renaissance in San Francisco.  The highlight of the year for him was capped with the MVP Award for the All-Star Game.

When Melky was a Yankee, he was often in the mix for game-winning hits and the recipient of one of A.J. Burnett’s pies.  It was tough to see him go to Atlanta in the ill-fated trade for Javier Vazquez but I had hoped that he would have a chance to thrive outside of Yankee Stadium and the platoon situation he found himself in.  Even with his recent success, I still feel that Brett Gardner, when healthy, is a better fit for the Yankees.  Nevertheless, I was glad to see that Melky had found major league success as a regular.

Well, until the day it was announced that he had been suspended.  I lost most if not all respect that day.  Melky’s quick acceptance of his suspension only rubbed salt in the wound, and now there’s a report that he staged a bogus website in a botched attempt to mask his guilt.  I can gladly say that I am glad that Melky is not a Yankee today.  I would not want him on my team and if I was the Giants’ GM Brian Sabean, I’d cut my losses and move on.  The last thing the Giants need is a player with the aura of substance abuse, particularly on the heels of former Giants outfielder Barry Bonds.  Character should be the first criteria when determining if a player is a good fit for any organization.  Yes, athletic ability and talent rank very highly but it means nothing if the player is one of poor character.

News of the totally irrelevant…

Speaking of substance abuse, it’s ironic that another former Yankee is again in the news.  There were reports that Roger Clemens has signed with an independent team.  Seriously?  A 50-year-old pitcher trying to make a comeback?  The only guy who could make Jamie Moyer look like a teenager?  I don’t care if Clemens was acquitted in June.  He is one guy that I never want to see wear pinstripes again or ever set foot on Yankee Stadium soil.

I have been supportive of current Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte.  There was something very honest about Pettitte’s admission of substance abuse a few years back.  Maybe he has all of us fooled.  Maybe not.  I tend to believe the latter.  On the other hand, I don’t believe anything Roger Clemens has to say.  Nor do I believe Alex Rodriguez for that matter.  I tolerate Rodriguez because he is on the Yankees but I am not a fan of his.

I’d like to put Melky in the category of guys that should be forgiven, but he just strikes me as another Clemens or A-Rod at this point.  It is incredible that a guy, at this point in time, would risk millions by doing something that is so closely watched.  He was on the fast track for failure.  I doubt we’ve seen the last of Melky but I hope that he learns something from the time off.

I was a Yankee for two months…

I know that the Ichiro in Pinstripes Era is very short-lived and will be expiring at the end of the season, but it was a joy to see him hit two home runs off Josh Beckett in the weekend series against the Red Sox.  Although the Yankees only took two of three from the Sox, this is not the same Red Sox squad of years passed.  Although Bobby Valentine has gotten a vote of confidence from the Front Office, I don’t see how he makes it past just one season in Boston.  It is no secret the Sox covet Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell so if there’s a way to pry him from Canada, I am sure that he will be immediately named the next manager of the Sox.

How did I go from Ichiro to John Farrell?  I am not quite sure about that one myself…

Where did all these former Dodgers come from?…

It’s only a brief sample, but I really wouldn’t mind seeing Derek Lowe return as the long man in the pen next season.  I’ve always admired Lowe’s competitiveness and determination.  It’s still a bit weird watching him in pinstripes, but he is a welcome addition.  There’s no doubt that I want to see the return of pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.  He’s been even better than I had anticipated.  I always wondered why Dodger fans were so endeared to him as I had viewed him as a middle of the road starter.  But, wow, I was wrong!  I totally get why he meant so much to Dodger fans.  The team would be lost without Kuroda, particularly after the DL stints of most notably CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte.

It’s hard to believe that September is right around the corner.  I guess we will soon be inundated with magic numbers.  There is only one number I am concerned about…#28.  Let’s go, Yankees!

–Scott

The latest failed bullshit came out on Saturday night. Late Saturday night. Like I was driving home at 1AM and the radio announcer “broke the news” that Kelly Shoppach was the problem in the Red Sox locker room. That he supposedly had used Adrian Gonzalez’s cell phone to text Red Sox ownership that led to the meeting at the end of July.

Shoppach has denied the story and I don’t blame him. The likelihood that he actually sent that text has the percentage chances of slim and none. This is clearly the Red Sox front office, specifically Uncle Larry, smearing another player that’s left, and using him as a scapegoat. Don’t believe me?

Nomar Garciapara: He was a prima-donna that had tape in front of his locker. He wasn’t a good teammate. He was secluded from the rest of the team.

Derek Lowe: He wasn’t brought back after the Sox won the World Series in 2004 because he was a drunk. They made sure to slander the shit out of Derek Lowe making sure everyone heard about his late night bar antics.

Orlando Cabrera: Also not brought back after the 2004 season. Why? Apparently he had a thing for underage girls. Like more than one. See you later.

More recently we saw it with Terry Francona where the team smeared him as a pill popping cheater. Meanwhile John Lackey is divorcing his wife that’s battling cancer and they try and sweep it under the rug. A team that’s so worried about its public image seems to be an absolute failure at keeping a clean image.

So back to this Shoppach thing. It’s absolute and total made up bullshit. To think that the fans are so naive that they’d just believe a story like this is absolutely insulting.

Fans, I implore you. Stop going to the games (I know it’s tough when you can buy $5 game day box seats). Stop watching them on NESN. Stop buying merchandise. Stop feeding the monster. Send the message to ownership that you’re not a rube. You see through the bullshit and until there’s real change, like firing Lucchino or sell the team, you’re not on board. Go Pirates.

Back tomorrow with a Pats recap. Oh, I can’t wait for some football tonight.

The lefthander improved his career record against the Yankee to 9-4 with a 3.81 ERA, including 7-2 with a 3.80 ERA at the Stadium. Overall, it has been a dreadful year for Lester, who is 7-10 with a 5.03 ERA overall.

The Yankees found out that sometimes the home run is not enough, especially if there is only one of them and no one was on base. Curtis Granderson accounted for the Yankees’ lone run Saturday with his 32nd home run. It was the sixth home run by the Yankees in the two games against Boston. All have been with the bases empty.

Granderson was the only Yankees hitter to be perfect against Lester with a double and a walk to go with his dinger. Granderson’ homer was his 11th this season off left-handed pitching and 27th since the start of 2011, the most in the major leagues over that span.

Nick Swisher, who has had a monstrous homestand, had three hits, two off Lester, who also struck him out once. Swish is batting .417 with one double, four home runs and 11 RBI on the homestand. He is hitting .324 with five doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI in August and .333 with two doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI in 11 games since moving into the 2-hole in the batting order 10 days ago. Swisher has crushed Boston pitching this season to the tune of .485 in 33 at-bats.

But a season-long problem bugged the Yankees Saturday. They were hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position. They had the leadoff batter on base in three innings against Lester but failed to capitalize. Deter Jeter, serving as the designated hitter for the second straight game, was 0-for-3 with a walk as his 13-game hitting streak was snuffed.

Also for the second straight game, first baseman Mark Teixeira was out of the lineup because of left wrist inflammation. He is not likely to start Sunday night in the final game of the homestand.

A positive note despite the losing decision was the start by David Phelps, who has pitched quite well since the Yankees recalled him from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre July 18. He is 2-1 with a 2.01 ERA in nine appearances totaling 22 1/3 innings since that date. Taking the place of disabled CC Sabathia in the rotation for the second turn, Phelps gave up three runs and seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. In five spot start for the Yankees this season, the righthander is 1-2 with a 2.92 ERA in 24 2/3 innings.

“He mixed his pitches very well,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “Even the home run was a ball off the plate. We like what he has done. He’s a valuable guy because he can do many things well.”

The home run to which Girardi referred was a two-run shot to left field by Adrian Gonzalez in the first inning. The opposite-field blow proved all the offense Boston would need. The Red Sox got a run off Phelps in the fifth after two were out on a single by new Yankee killer Pedro Ciriaco and a double by Nick Punto. Ciriaco was 4-for-4 with a stolen base and is 15-for-29 (.517) with three doubles, one triple and seven RBI against the Yankees this year.

Sabathia has been telling writers that he intends to make his next start when he is eligible to come off the DL Friday at Cleveland, but the ever-cautious Girardi is not ready to make that assignment in pen just yet and has told Phelps to be ready to start if need be.

Phelps’ versatility has been a positive key for the Yankees. It remains to be seen where he will fit in when Sabathia and eventually Andy Pettitte return to active duty. Phelps has been effective as a long man, but that bullpen is crowded now that Derek Lowe is here. Girardi’s use of Lowe to get one out in the ninth inning may be an indication he would like to use him the way he once did Cory Wade as a right-handed compliment to Boone Logan.

With Joba Chamberlain struggling in his comeback from Tommy John surgery and an injured ankle, Phelps may find a permanent spot on the staff the rest of the way.

– ESPN New York writes about what stats to watch for from David Phelps who will make his second start in CC’s place in the rotation. They were also nice enough to write about Jon Lester (who along with Josh Beckett is having a terrible year).

– Yesterday Derek Jeter passed Babe Ruth on the all-time Home Runs list with 250. Yes, really. You know, the players that call them selves non-home run hitters (Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter), they sure do hit a lot of home runs.

– Derek Lowe admits that it’s different to face the Red Sox this weekend since he associates the Red Sox with the 2004 Championship team (the one he was on). As a matter of fact, the only player still there from the Champion team was David Ortiz. That’s a long time a go.

– Tommy John who was a former Yankee ripped Joba Chamberlain and the Yankees on the radio earlier this week by saying that the Yankees “screwed Joba over.”

]]> http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/08/17/lowe-on-facing-red-sox-in-pinstripes-not-trying-to-stick-it-to-anyone/ Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:51:06 +0000 Matthew Geagan http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/08/17/lowe-on-facing-red-sox-in-pinstripes-not-trying-to-stick-it-to-anyone/ BOSTON (CBS) -  While the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry has had little luster this season, and their weekend series in the Bronx is even less enthralling, there is one story line that bears watching.

Well, at least paying attention to. Or not ignoring as much as the series itself.

Yankees reliever Derek Lowe will see his former team for the first time in his new pinstriped uniform this weekend. Lowe signed with New York four days ago, and is getting more and more accustomed to the Yankee-way by the day.

“It’s getting more and more comfortable every day. I think the first time you walk in here can be a little intimidating,” Lowe told WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s Jonny Miller on Friday. “I was fortunate to get in my first game here and pitch, so that kind of broke the ice and now we have the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry again.”

Lowe pitched four innings in relief for the Yankees in their 8-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday, earning his first save since the 2003 postseason. He said there were multiple teams that contacted him following his release from the Indians, but the Yankees made the biggest push.

“You have to go to the best situation,” the 39-year-old Lowe said. “In every situation I was going to pitch out of the bullpen, and these guys were the most proactive. That’s why I’m here.

“You hope experience of pitching in playoff games, big markets will help,” he said. “But my role is just to pitch when asked. I told Joe (Girardi) and Brian Cashman it doesn’t matter what my role is, I’ll be ready to pitch.”

Lowe said following his release he would have loved to make a return to Boston. But although that wasn’t how it worked out, he has nothing against the team he won the World Series with in 2004.

“I’ve already faced them this year,” he said. “I want to beat them just as much as Texas or Chicago coming up. I may not pitch at all. I’m not trying to stick it to anybody.”

Lowe didn’t have much to say about the current turmoil his former team is in.

“Only those guys really know what’s going on. I have a hard enough time keeping myself in check let along worry about other teams. You know way more than I do,” he said to Miller.

 I think I’ve hit on at least one fundamental misconception that these people have. All of them seem to think that the key step in drug discovery is target ID – once you’ve got a molecular target, you’re pretty much home free, and all that was done by NIH money, etc., etc. It seems that these people have a very odd idea about high-throughput screening: they seem to think that we screen our vast collections of molecules and out pops a drug.

Of course, out is what a drug does not pop, if you follow my meaning. What pops out are hits, some of which are not what they say on the label any more. And some of the remaining ones just don’t reproduce when you run the same experiment again. And even some of the ones that do reproduce are showing up as hits not because they’re affecting your target, but because they’re hosing up your assay by some other means. Once you’ve cleared all that underbrush out, you can start to talk about leads.

Those lead molecules are not created equal, either. Some of them are more potent than others, but the more potent ones might be much higher molecular weights (and thus not as ligand efficient). Or they might be compounds from another project and already known to hit a target that you don’t want to hit. Once you pick out the ones that you actually want to do some chemistry on, you may find, as you start to test new molecules in the series, that some of them have more tractable structure-activity relationships than others. There are singletons out there, or near-singletons: compounds that have some activity as they stand, but for which every change in structure represents a step down. The only way to find that out is to test analogs. You might have some more in your files, or you might be able to buy some from the catalogs. But in many cases, you’ll have to make them yourself, and a significant number of those compounds you make will be dead ends. You need to know which ones, though, so that’s valuable information.

That’s just the start of the problem as Derek goes on to point out.  This is usually where the drug designers get involved, sifting through the information that comes from the screens, clustering the compounds that show activity, doing searches on in-house and commercial databases, finding the common features of the hits to determine if there’s a reason why they’re active, and proposing modifications to those lead series (that the chemists will ignore).  You do this on enough projects and you become a very good pattern spotter without really trying.  But that was only a small part of my job.  Most of the projects I’ve been involved in go on for years.  It’s a very iterative process and sometimes, the project takes off on tangents  It’s like untying a giant knot with lots of little subknots that sometimes need to be solved first.

The bottom line is that as valuable as the NIH contribution is, it’s usually the 1% inspiration that leads to the drug industry’s 99% perspiration.

Politicians should spend a little time interviewing the drug discovery people.  I don’t mean the executives or the lobbyists.  I mean the people who actually do the work.  It appears that there is a lot of mythology to dispel still.  And without a more complete concept of how drug discovery works, it’s difficult to craft policies to make pharma research work for patients, government and businesses.

If I might make a suggestion to Derek, visual aids might be useful.  Just dig a couple of slides from your latest pre-project team meeting and modify the names of the targets.  People will not really grasp what is involved until they see it.

Arizona Fall League director Steve Cobb said of the election, “Mark and Derek have been remarkably consistent professionals throughout their standout careers, and Ron has become one of the most respected managers in baseball.”

The Arizona Fall League, which was founded in 1992, formed its Hall of Fame in 2001 to honor the top major-league players and managers who honed their skills in the AFL. The selection committee, chaired by lone-time baseball executive Roland Hemond, based its appointments on individual achievement at the major-league level since participating in the Arizona Fall League.

Teixeira, who played for the Peoria Javelinas in 2002, is the fastest switch hitter to 300 career home runs and is also the first switch hitter to reach 30 home runs and 100 RBI in each of the past eight seasons (2004-11). Teixeira holds the major-league record of homering from each side of the plate in a game 13 times. Defensively, Tex is the AL career fielding percentage leader among first basemen with a minimum of 1,000 games. He is a two-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner and three-time Silver Slugger recipient.

Lowe, who pitched for the Sun Cities Solar Sox in 1993 and Peoria Javelinas in 1995, is one of three pitchers with more than 160 victories and 80 saves, along with Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz. Lowe is one of five Arizona Fall League pitchers to hurl a no-hitter, along with Jered Weaver, Clay Buchholz, Roy Halladay and Phil Humber. Lowe’s no-hitter in 2002 was the first at Fenway Park since 1965. He was the winning pitcher in all three clinching postseason games in 2004 when Boston went on to its first World Series championship since 1918.

Washington, who was a hitting coach for the Sun Cities Solar Sox in 1992 and the Tucson Javelinas in 1993, is the first manager in Rangers history to increase the team’s victory total in four consecutive seasons. He guided Texas to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and ’11 and is the only manager in the history of the Rangers/Senators franchise (1961-2011) to win a postseason series.

The Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame increased its membership to 31 with the elections of Teixeira, Lowe and Washington. Other AFL Hall of Famers connected now or formerly with the Yankees are Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano and bench coach Tony Pena.

Derek Lowe pitched four scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers on Monday in a performance that seemed to have little to do with reality.

Derek Lowe?

When last seen, Lowe had been dumped on the scrap heap by the Cleveland Indians. After getting off to an excellent start, Lowe appeared to be completely out of gas after June 1.

He had become a batting-practice pitcher, going 1-7 and having an earned run average of nearly 9.00. He had fallen completely into the abyss.

Lowe had been a solid Major League pitcher for the Red Sox and Dodgers, but there was no reason to think he was anything but a warm body when Brian Cashman signed him.

However, he had an old-school, four-inning performance to close the game in the Yankees’ 8-2 win over the Texas Rangers.

There’s no reason to be sold on Lowe yet, because he was so bad that he appeared to turn the most ordinary of hitters into ferocious threats every time he stepped on the mound. However, he deserves another shot, and there is at least hope that he can turn things around.

The biggest reason to feel good about Lowe is catcher Russell Martin’s assessment. Martin had caught Lowe when the two were teammates with the Dodgers, and he said that Lowe still had his “good stuff” against the Rangers and that he was impressed by all the swings and misses Lowe got from Rangers hitters.

Lowe gave up two hits and did not walk a batter in his four innings on the mound. Lowe said he was more deceptive in his debut with the Yankees than he had been with the Indians. While Martin said he was throwing hard, Lowe knows that he’s usually not going to have high strikeout totals. He needs to hide the ball from batters and outthink them.

That’s what he did against the AL West-leading Rangers, and that’s what he’s going to have to do if he is going to become an asset for the Yankees.

Lowe has a lot to prove to himself.

“I had to get back to hiding the ball a little better,” Lowe said. “I’m not going to do jumping jacks because you pitch one good game, because you’re in this for the long haul.”

Having an experienced pitcher who has been through the pressure cooker and succeeded in the past could be a real find for Joe Girardi. If Lowe can pick up from where he left off, his versatility could prove to be invaluable down the stretch and into the postseason. He could become the long man, take up valuable innings in the middle of the game and become one of those bullpen parts that is so valuable to nearly every championship team.

Considering all the pitching woes that the Yankees have had this season, Lowe’s first performance brought some much-needed good news.

*   *   *

Credit the Yankees for taking a moment of silence to honor Red Sox great Johnny Pesky, who died yesterday at the age of 90. It’s one thing to honor your own, but when you take the time to honor one of the nicest individuals from your biggest rival it’s a classy move.

“He was always so nice to me throughout the years. Every time I’d see him, he would come over and say, ‘I hope you get four hits today — and the guy behind you hits into four double plays.’ I’ve always enjoyed having the opportunity to talk to him,” Yankees captain Derek Jeter said.

One of the first experiences I had as a reporter involved Pesky. I was covering the Red Sox for a Boston radio station in 1979 and I was hanging around the batting cage as slugger Jim Rice was taking his cuts.

Rice lined a shot off the top bar of the cage that protected batting practice pitcher Walt Hriniak. The ball arched back over the batting cage and I retreated like a center fielder, extending my left arm and catching it gracefully.

Pesky observed the maneuver and said, “Sign that boy up.”

He was smiling and joking, but it made me feel great.

That’s the kind of effect that Pesky had on most people, and I was glad to have the chance to meet him and talk to him.

Yankees fans, could Derek Lowe be a valuable asset for the pitching staff down the stretch? Sound off with your thoughts and comments below…

If you told me after two innings last night that David Phelps and Derek Lowe would be the only Yankees to pitch in the series opener against the Rangers, I would’ve predicted a final score of the “11-5 Texas” variety. Instead, the inexperienced Phelps and seemingly-over-the-hill Lowe held the best lineup in baseball t0 two runs, none in the last seven innings of an 8-2 Yankee laugher. Lowe in particular was spectacular in only his second regular-season relief appearance in five years, firing four innings of two-hit, no-run ball to earn his first save in more than a decade.** As painful as it was to flash back to Lowe’s most important Yankee Stadium appearance — his win for Boston in Game 7 of the 2004 Never Happened Series — it was worth it to witness the best long relief performance by a Yankee pitcher in recent memory.

**How ridiculous is it that Lowe can come in to protect a 5-2 lead in the sixth, see that lead stretch by one in the sixth and two in the seventh, finish the game with a six-run cushion and somehow earn a save?? If this is a test case for why we should overhaul the ‘save’ designation, nothing is.

Lowe’s performance called to mind Ramiro Mendoza in the late 90s, a wily, breaking stuff-and-sinkerball pitcher who when asked can pitch 3-4 innings in the middle of a game and rest a tired bullpen. Mendoza’s long-relief zenith was the 1998 season, when he averaged about 3 1/3 innings in 41 appearances despite starting only 14 games. That year, he went 10-2 with 3.25/1.24 splits and was a critical part of the greatest team in baseball history (that’s right, I said it). Lowe doesn’t need ’98 Mendoza numbers to be of value to the Yankees — if he can take care of the middle innings from time to time and make a spot start here and there if need be, he can be a tremendous asset. For what it’s worth, this was just the third relief stint for Lowe in his last 258 regular appearances (a fact I noted yesterday), and last night’s performance could be an aberration. But for one night of Crucible Week, Lowe sealed the deal in a statement-delivering come-from-behind victory.

De facto Yankee ace Hiroki Kuroda takes the hill tonight opposing Texas’s Matt Harrison, who at 13-6 this season has become a reliable No. 2 starter for the two-time defending AL champs. It’s safe to say that Lowe will not be pitching — hopefully for the Yankees, the only pinstripe-wearing hurlers to take the mound are Kuroda and Rafael Soriano. Back tomorrow with more Crucible Week action.