Yankees baseball blog

Yankees drop second straight, trounced by Tigers at home

Maybe, Phil Hughes said, the time off will be enough to get his body healthy and also clear his mind of "all the negative stuff" that has sprouted from his poor start. Whatever the case, in what has rapidly become a theme for this Yankee season, Hughes is headed to the disabled list, which temporarily answers the question of whether he has pitched well enough to stay in the rotation.

But on the same night that Hughes' status was settled - for now, anyway - the Yanks' rotation stalwart failed them. Andy Pettitte gave up homers to ex-Yankee Marcus Thames and Placido Polanco and blew a two-run lead in the Yankees' 6-2 loss to Detroit in front of 49,513 at the Stadium. Polanco later added a second homer off Kyle Farnsworth, prompting boos from the fans who stuck around. Continue

Game 4 loss ends Yankees' season

The Yankees machine was assembled eight months ago with this stage and opportunity in mind, from the very minute Legends Field welcomed its first guest of the spring. More than ever, with a title drought running up against seven seasons, the Yankees gathered intent on playing deep into October, stumbling out of the gate but developing into baseball's best team leading into the playoffs.

Yet, against a hungry Indians club, the Yankees finally ran out of steam, outplayed in a four-game American League Division Series that will surely bring edits to the mission plan. The Yankees' season concluded on Monday with a 6-4 loss in ALDS Game 4. Continue

Yanks lose 6-4, division series 3-1

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Damon helps Yankees force Game 4

Backs against the wall and a manager under the gun, Johnny Damon and the Yankees came out swinging in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Sunday night, not ready to call it a season just yet.

Damon connected for a game-changing three-run homer and rookies Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain bailed out an injured Roger Clemens on Sunday, forcing Monday's ALDS Game 4 with an 8-4 victory over the Indians. "We know we have to come out and play well," Damon said. "There's a lot on the line. We're playing for our manager that we love. We're playing for fans that we love. So we'd like to prolong the season as long as we can." Continue

Yanks lose in 11, in 0-2 ALDS hole

Travis Hafner's bases-loaded single off Luis Vizcaino lifted the Indians to a 2-1 victory over the Yankees in 11 innings on Friday, giving Cleveland a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series.

The winning hit came after Mariano Rivera weaved through two innings, hoping to stall the Tribe. Instead, the Yankees can do little but prepare for Game 3 on Sunday in New York, their backs against the wall in a 2-0 hole and looking to Roger Clemens for a bail out of what would be their third consecutive ALDS exit.

As if facing Fausto Carmona in the middle of an electric nine-inning performance wasn't enough, the Yankees followed starter Andy Pettitte's gritty effort with an undoing that began with the help of -- of all things -- swarms of gnats. Continue

Wang falters as Yanks drop Game 1

Fighting from behind has been a familiar situation for the Yankees this year. If they want to keep their postseason alive, they'll need to get right back in that mode. Chien-Ming Wang had little to work with, and the brightest stars of the Yankees lineup went dark as New York slogged through an underwhelming 12-3 defeat to the Indians, dropping Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday.

Managing just four hits in all -- and none off the bats of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada or Hideki Matsui -- the Yankees lost for the first time to Cleveland this season, adding unwanted emphasis to every inning ahead in the best-of-five ALDS. Continue

Yankees close season with win

On the 162nd day, there was rest. After an emotionally draining season, the Yankees took a more relaxed approach Sunday as the team's stars took their final bow in a 10-4 victory against the Orioles. "The guys have played a lot of innings -- a lot of stressful innings -- in the second half of the year," third baseman Alex Rodriguez said. "It's good to get your mind and body rested."

It was the team's final game before Thursday's playoff opener against Cleveland. Rodriguez received the loudest ovation from the Yankees fans in Baltimore when he was removed from the game in the fourth inning, but inside the dugout the biggest cheers went to Bobby Abreu, who picked up his 100th RBI of the season in the fourth inning. Continue

Big inning propels Yanks to win

The Yankees didn't play a baseball game on Saturday night so much as they put on a show. The team put on a display of offensive fireworks for the near-sellout crowd as it defeated the Orioles, 11-10, in a game that had no playoff implications.

Winning took a backseat to offense, and though it was a close game, the team never felt the pressure to put it away. "Late in the game, you sit there and realize it's a two-run game out of nowhere, but it was missing that feel," first baseman Shelley Duncan said. "But it made it a little easier for everybody. It was good for us." Continue

Yanks knocked out of East running

The Yankees have plenty of decisions to make as their first-round pairing with the Indians approaches next week. Fortunately for them, Mariano Rivera's place on the postseason roster is not one of the concerns.

The Yankees barely flinched when Rivera blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Friday, surrendering a bases-clearing triple to Jay Payton to tie the game before the Orioles pulled out a 10-9 victory in 10 innings at Camden Yards. The loss, combined with a Red Sox victory, ensured that the Yankees will settle for the American League Wild Card, snapping their string of nine consecutive division titles. Continue

Yanks take Rays set, close gap in East

For all the hoopla of the night before, Thursday's series finale at Tropicana Field was a bit anticlimactic. Neither Derek Jeter nor Alex Rodriguez were in the lineup. Bobby Abreu, Jorge Posada, Doug Mientkiewicz and Melky Cabrera were likewise absent. The message from this was clear: With a division title possible but no longer likely, New York was going to rest its big names for what it hopes will be a long postseason journey.

"It's kind of a testament to the type of team we are," said starter Phil Hughes. "I think when you go up against a guy who's had a really good year and he's a good pitcher, just the fact that we didn't roll over [was a positive], because it would've been really easy to do the night after we clinched a playoff spot." Continue