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Well that was friendly.  Without much in the way of an offensive showing, the Yankees just willed their way past the Rays in another sweet come-from-behind victory.  The Rays led 3-1 into the bottom of the 8th.  But then the Yanks – through a collection of singles, walks, a hard-hit ball bobbled by the Rays’ third baseman, and then a slow-moving chopper up the middle that Matsui beat out to avoid an inning-ending double play, which allowed the go-ahead run to score – took the lead in improbable fashion.  The 3-run 8^th led to one-two-three 9^th from Rivera, which – coupled with a timely loss by the BoSox (thank you Rangers) – lifted the Yankees back into 1^st place. 

While there are still issues that need to be worked out, all indications are that this is a different Yankees team from the last few years.  This marks the Yanks’ 20^th comeback win of the season – and it’s only June.  This team has not only heart, but a determination to win – a refusal to lose – that has been lacking for too long. 

And it’s not as if there haven’t been setbacks.  The Yanks have been without Chien-Ming Wang.  They were humiliated twice by Cleveland.  They have yet to win a game against the BoSox, starting the season series 0-5.  And they have had at least two 5-game losing streaks.  Yet despite all this, the Yanks are now 18-6 in their last 24 games.  They are in first place.  And they are winning games which they would have lost quietly this time last year.  Today’s victory was a case in point. 

It’s not clear to me why the chemistry is different this year.  Whether it’s the addition of Sabathia and Burnett; or the maturing of Joba, Cano, and Melky; or Teixeira and A-Rod becoming a premier one-two punch; or the team and Girardi getting more comfortable with each other; or that crazy mofo Swisher enlivening the bench with his zany behavior. 

Whatever it is, stay with this team.  The pieces are falling into place.    

The mindless bureaucracy that runs major league baseball offered another exhibition of incompetence this week.  Bud Selig’s minions issued a ruling so illogical as to boggle the mind.

I refer of course to the Burnett suspension.  AJ Burnett has been suspended for six games for throwing behind Nelson Cruz in Tuesday’s game.  Taken by itself, Burnett’s action could well merit a suspension.  But when placed in the context of the surrounding events, the suspension represents an appaling act of administrative bungling.

Flash back to Tuesday evening.  Vincente Padilla was on the mound for Texas.  Now Padilla is notorious for hitting batters.  This season, he is second in the majors in that statistic, trailing only Tim Wakefield, who hits batters because he throws a knuckle ball, a pitch that comes to the plate at 75 miles per hour and is almost impossible to control.  Padilla, on the other hand, throws a 90+ mph fastball and hits batters because he can’t control his emotions.

In the first inning, Padilla hit Mark Teixeira, an act that did not appear to be intentional.  But in the fourth inning, as the Yankees were in the process of scoring seven runs off the hapless Padilla, he plunked Teixeira again, this time in the backside.  Everyone in the ballpark could see that Padilla hit Teixeira intentionally, but the umpire chose to ignore this blatant act of violence.

When it became clear that the umpires would do nothing to protect the Yankees, Burnett took matters into his own hands.  He put a pitch behind the head of Nelson Cruz, one of the Rangers’ best hitters.  Unlike Padilla, Burnett did not hit the batter.  He just sent a message.

Thursday the suits who run baseball issued their ruling.  Padilla, who hit Teixeira twice and could have caused serious injury, was fined.  Burnett, who hit no one, received a six game suspension.  Go figure.

I do not write to defend Burnett.  If baseball wants to send its own message to pitchers not to retaliate, that’s fine.  But there is no justice in suspending the pitcher who throws behind the batter while turning a blind eye to a head hunter like Padilla.  When a pitcher clearly throws at a batter, he should receive the primary suspension.  Getting hit with a pitch can cause serious injury, and some pitchers do it as a matter of course.  I vividly remember a game several years ago between the Yankees and Red Sox.  The two were battling for first place.  Pedro Martinez hit Soriano on the wrist, putting him out of the game.  The next batter was Jeter.  Martinez hit him on the wrist too, putting him out of the game as well.  With the top of the Yankee batting order and middle of the infield gone, three guesses who won that game.  Yet nothing was done to the immortal Pedro.

If baseball really wants to stop head hunting, it must start suspending the pitchers who do it.  Baseball suspended the wrong man here.  But then again, what can we expect from a sport operated by Bud Selig, the world’s most ineffectual executive.  If there’s a decision to be made, we can always count on Bud and his underlings to foul it up.  It is a testimonial to the universal appeal of baseball that it can survive this kind of leadership.

I am watching Andy Pettitte give up four runs, seven hits, and six walks over five innings, and I am depressed.  Not because the Yankees are losing (well, that’s depressing too), but because we are witnessing the end of a great career.  Indeed, we are seeing the final act of what was likely the greatest rookie class in Yankee history.

Flash back to 1995.  Four rookies came up during the course of the year.  The first was Andy Pettitte, who made the team out of Spring Training.  The other three made their appearances during the course of the season.  Their names were Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera.  They would form the nucleus of the last of the great dynasties, the Yankees of 1996-2001.

At age 23, Andy went 12-9 in 26 starts and finished third in the Rookie of the Year balloting.  With his help the Yankees won the Division and took the Mariners five games before succumbing.  The following year he won 21 games, and along with David Cone formed the one-two punch that carried the Yankees to the pennant.

Andy became a fixture as the number two starter in the Yankee rotation.  He gave us nine years and 149 wins, years that included six trips to the World Series and four championships.  Inexplicably, Steinbrenner chose to let him go after 2003, and he spent three years in Houston before coming home in 2007.  To date, Andy has 220 wins, six more than the much ballyhooed (and overrated) Curt Schilling.  Along with Jeter, Posada, and Rivera, Andy represents the last vestige of the remarkable 1998 team, arguably the greatest team in baseball history.

But now Andy is old.  After tonight’s loss he is 5-2, but he has been a shadow of his old self, struggling through each game, pitching mostly on guts.  Aging is a painful process for all of us, but it is especially bittersweet when watching a consummate pro like Andy Pettitte slowly decline.  It will be worse when it happens to Derek and Mo.

But Andy is still with us, and for however short a time, we can still enjoy watching a truly classy guy give us his best.  Maybe things will break right, and he will have one last chance to pitch in the World Series.  He deserves it.

Balls!  That’s right, balls.  And lots of them.  I thought about naming this blurb “Yankees Walk All Over Indians.”  But that wouldn’t have been fair to our Cleveland colleague; nor would it have been accurate.  And it’s more fun to use a gratuitous Catch-22 reference for a title.  (Yossarian Lives.) 

Yes, while the Yankees played well, the truth is, the Yanks-Tribe game was tied 1-1 into the top of the seventh inning, before the Cleveland pitching staff lost all sight of the plate, walked the bases loaded, and gave up 4 runs.  Followed by even more walks.  Walks, which have a tendency to resemble turnovers in an NFL game when the walks get out of hand, absolutely killed Cleveland’s spirit, even though the game technically remained close until the end.  All told, the Indians’ pitchers gave up an astounding 11 walks – most of them late in the game - making the Yanks’ ultimate victory a foregone conclusion. 

Joba “the Hut” Chamberlain, meanwhile, retired the first 11 Indians, and pitched eight strong innings for the longest outing of his career.  I had hoped that this year they would take Joba’s training wheels off.  Perhaps tonite was a sign that this is happening.  Then again, considering how awful the bullpen has been, maybe letting Joba pitch the 8^th had less to do with expanding Joba’s horizons than it did with avoiding another ride down Heart Attack Lane. 

The other disturbing aspect of tonite’s game was the inordinate number of birds that were present who, oblivious to the ball game going on around them, held a convention in the outfield, gathering by the dozens for much of the game.  At varying times, the centerfielder looked positively surrounded.  Apparently, the locusts and other insects were there as well.  But they did not affect Joba like they did in the 2007 ALDS. 

Mariano came on for a 1-2-3 ninth inning, capping off a 5-2 victory and a 5 and 2 road trip for the Yanks.  And, according to the YES Network, it was the 18th straight errorless game for the Yanks, setting a new major league record.  With 10 challenging games ahead (3 with Texas, 4 with Tampa Bay, and 3 at Fenway), the Yanks have a lot of chemistry and momentum working in their favor. 

I had a friend text me again. He asked what I thought about the following trade:

He would give up Alex Rodriguez/3b; Kyle Lohse/sp; Stephen Drew/ss and receive Ian Kinsler/2b; Joba Chamberlain/sp>rp; and Mark Derosa/if.

I told him there were a few contingencies:

1) Is it a keeper league? If so, go for it because I’d definitely keep Kinsler + Joba over Arod + Drew. Kinsler’s younger and cheaper than Arod (even in fantasy depending on how your keeper league might work).

2) Is his middle infielders killing him?

3) Does he have a solid 3b/corner infield to back up for A-rod’s absence (hoping Derosa isn’t it)

4) Finally, I told him to attempt to wait it out and see if Joba will become a reliever since the Yankees have Wang back and the young Philip Hughes. My opinion is that he will becuase he was much more dominant there and Wang’s stuff is meant to start and Hughes is a stud.

Therefore, I told him the only player straight up I’d trade A-rod for is Pujols and maybe Hanley. Unless he believes Joba will remain a starter and so long as it’s not a keeper league, I suggested him not to do it. 1+ Months out of baseball, and A-rod is still on pace for 45+ homers.

The Yankees are motoring. They are half a game out of first place, and have been tearing through their opposition.  (I’ll ignore for now the fact that they have yet to show they can beat Boston or Tampa Bay.)

So all Yankee fans should be happy, right?  Well, almost.  But our joy must be tempered, because this Yankee team has a major flaw – the bullpen.  The Yankee pen is in disarray.

At season’s start, it appeared otherwise.  Based upon 2008, the bullpen looked to be a major strength.  Alas, it has not been so.  At this point chaos reigns, and the seventh and eighth inings bring terror to the hearts of all Yankee fans.

The original bullpen looked strong.  Led by the greatest closer in the history of baseball, Mariano Rivera, the pen included Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, and Jose Veras, all of whom sparkled in 2008.  Backing them up were three good looking youngsters with major league experience:  Phil Coke, Edgar Ramirez, and Jonathan Yabadaba (or whatever his name is).

Two months into the season, Bruney and Marte have disappeared into the vast abyss known as the Disabled List, while Ramirez and Yabadaba (or whatever his incomprehensible name is) have been exiled to the minors.  Only Coke and Veras remain behind Rivera, and Veras has been just awful.  Coke has been good when not called upon to pitch more than an inning, but all too often the Yankees’ mastermind, Joe Girardi, has left him in too long.  Mark Melancon, the supposed successor to Mo, was up briefly, but tanked and was sent back to Scranton.

The remaining bullpen now includes two long relievers, Alfredo Aceves and Brett Tomko; a starting pitcher who can’t crack the rotation, Chien Ming Wang; and an unproven kid, Dave Robertson.  Tomko is a retread who has done nothing.  Wang is a sinker ball pitcher, which is not what you want in the late innings, where strikeouts are essential.  Aceves has been effective in long relief but is unproven late in the game.  And Robertson has not shown the velocity necessary to be more than an inning eater.

So when the seventh inning rolls around, the Yankees are a thrill a minute.  The wrong kind of thrill.  Absent a return by Bruney, the emergence of Aceves as a late inning guy, or the belated arrival of Mark Melancon, there appears to be no easy solution for the Yankees’ bullpen woes.

Look for a mid season trade.  Without some help, the Yankees can’t match up against the Red Sox bullpen in the postseason.

The Baltimore Orioles. A good offensive fantasy baseball team. But that’s about it, unfortunately. They’re a Pitching Staff and a Bullpen away from a playoff spot – and 3 top MLB teams as well (Red Sox, Yankees, Rays -probably respectively). You have to absolutely love their lineup (i’ll include Matt Wieters of course over Gregg Zaun):

1-Brian Roberts/2b: According to ESPN Player Rater (http://games.espn.go.com/flb/playerrater?) he’s the 3rd best 2b as of now. Probably more like the 5th or 6th best, but still top notch in r;sb;295+avg

2-Adam Jones/cf: ranked 10th overall by ESPN Player Rater. Enough said. HR/SB + R/RBI + 315+Avg?!

3-Nick Markakis/rf: top 45, but Avg should raise and make him top 25

4-Aubrey Huff/1b: i’ll take him and his rbi on the O’s for one more year

5-Melvin Mora/3b: should put up acceptable #5 hitter stats in this lineup

6-Matt Wieters/c: I’m sure you already heard the Evan Longoria at 3b comparisons

7-Luke Scott/dh: 3 hr and 7 rbi in his last 2 games back from shoulder injury

8-Nolan Reimold/lf: top 6 prospect for the O’s (3 hr the past 3 games; 5hr in 53 ab’s)

9-Cesar Izturis/ss: Bleh. Sorry.

Their rotation consists of (for the most part): Jeremy Guthrie; Koji Uehera; Rich Hill; and then a sundry of guys. Their pitching prospects (that rate from B to B-) are David Hernandez; Troy Patton; Chris Tilman; Brian Matusz; Jake Arrieta; Brandon Erbe; and Zach Britton.

So the question is, what should/can they do? Honestly the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays should be great for years to come with their payroll availability, players, and rotations (minus payroll for the Rays of course). This year (although only 6 games outs), they probably don’t have a chance. Not without a solid rotation or bullpen. They have the third worst ERA in all of baseball.

I think they have some pieces other teams should be interested in that are more than expendable: Felix Pie/of, Ty Wigginton/if, and Gregg Zaun/c. This first tier probably won’t yield many good players in return. The next tier consists of Aubrey Huff/1b, Jeremy Guthrie/sp and maybe Melvin Mora/3b. They have 7 pitching prospects that are generally rated b- or better.

Aubrey Huff + Jeremy Guthrie to maybe the Mets could work out. The Mets should be looking for a 1b/of replacement for Carlos Delgado and an additional SP that can be more consistent than Oliver Perez, Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, and Jon Niese. I think Huff + Guthrie can net the Orioles a group of Tim Redding (a MLB starter); Jon Niese(sp) or Brad Holt (sp); Reese Havens or Wilmer Flores (ss); Joe Kunz(rp); and Jefrey Marte(3b) or Ike Davis(1b). This deal provides them a young sp for Guthrie plus a needed relief arm along with someone who can at least pitch for them now (Redding). In addition, it provides the Orioles with a 3b and ss for when Mora and Izturis are done/not worth it. As a Mets fan, I think it’s a bit much, but I’m attempting to be realistic. I’d rather the Mets go for Nick Johnson/Nationals for cheap and keep Daniel Murphy in LF. Honestly, I just want the Mets to get another Ace and forget about everything else – especially if the Phillies end up landing another SP.

Unless the Orioles want to trade Wieters+ to Boston, since they would love the Catcher, for Clay Buchholz + Michael Bowden – if the Red Sox or Orioles would even do that, obviously, Wieters should be untouchable. A deal like this, however, may make them a contender this year or next. The Red Sox rotation is probably deep enough: Beckett; Lester; Dicek; Penny; Smoltz; Wakefield; Masterson to maintain pace. A rotation of Guthrie; Ueherea; Buchholz; Bowden; Hill + Prospects looks pretty good.

So in my fantasy land, if I was the Orioles GM, I would perform the following trades:

In about 2-3 years, the team could then potentially compete for the AL East or at least the Wild Card. Else, at least the Orioles should enjoy watching their only 4 current bright spots for years to come (Roberts; Jones; Markakis; Wieters) with hopeful pitching prospects.

I am about to nitpick.  The Yankees have won ten out of twelve, finishing a highly successful homestand within reach of first place.  No Yankee fan should be complaining.

But complain I will.  My sons tell me I am obsessed with Joe Girardi’s inadequacies, and that I should give it a rest, but I can’t help myself.  Today’s loss to the Phillies featured yet another example of Girardi’s incessant need to overmanage.

In order to appreciate what happened today, we must flashback to yesterday’s come from behind victory.  It was the ninth inning.  The Yankees were down by two, but Damon singled, and after Teixeira went out, Arod tied the game with a dramatic home run.

That brought up Cano.  Cano singled, and promptly stole second on Brad Lidge.  I emphasize that Cano stole on Lidge.  Chris Coste made a perfect throw to second, but Cano had gotten such a great jump on Lidge that Coste had no chance.  Melky followed with a single, and the Yanks went home happy.

Fast forward to the ninth inning of today’s game.  With the Yanks one run down, again Cano singled, but this time Girardi decided to show he was in control of the game.  He just had to make one more move, so he sent Ramiero Pena in to run for Cano.  Pena promptly stole second.  This time Carlos Ruiz was behind the plate, and Ruiz is a better catcher than Coste, but once again, it was the jump Pena got on Lidge that made the difference, the same jump Cano got the day before.  Melky then stroked his customary clutch hit, tying the game.

All this was well and good, but now Cano was out of the game, and the light hitting Pena was batting fifth behind Arod.  In the tenth inning, Jeter and Damon singled, and Teixeira hit into a double play, putting Jeter at third with two out and Arod up, to be followed not by Cano, but by Pena.  Well, that was a no brainer for Charlie Manuel.  He ordered Arod walked intentionally.  Pena then popped up, and the Phils went on to win the game in the 11th.

We will never know if Cano could have stolen that base in the ninth, or whether he would have brought in Jeter in the tenth, but he has good speed, and is a veteran currently batting over .300.  Pena is a weak hitting rookie.  Cano certainly would have had a better chance of winning the game in the tenth, but Girardi’s move in the ninth inning eliminated that possibility.

You can argue that Pena is faster than Cano, and that without Pena’s stolen base, the Yanks would have lost in nine.  But Cano is not exactly Jose Molina on the basepaths, and he had stolen successfully off Lidge the day before.  Maybe Joe Torre would have made the same move, but I doubt it.  Torre believed in letting his guys play; Girardi always has to make his managerial moves the key to the game.  In doing so, he once again made one move too many.

In the past, I have blamed Girardi for loses resulting from his overmanaging.  I can’t do so in this case.  But his action removing Cano once again demonstrates his fundamental insecurity, an insecurity that leads to his incessant meddling.  If he fouls up enough games, the Yanks may once again miss out on the playoffs.

Melky Cabrera stroked yet another game winning hit for the Yankees this afternoon, as they came from behind with three in the ninth to upend the World Champion Phillies.  Watching Melky celebrate, I recalled his checkered rise, and how much his career resembles that of another Yankee center fielder.

To review, Melky was force fed into the Yankee lineup in 2006 at age 21 when two thirds of the outfield suffered serious injury.  Melky had been considered a strong prospect, but his arrival was premature.  Notwithstanding that impediment, he batted .280 with 7 home runs, 50 rbis, and 12 stolen bases, and fielded his position.  He followed that performance by batting .273 with 8 home runs, 73 rbis, and 13 stolen bases in 2007.  By all appearances, he was nothing more than a light hitting, good fielding center fielder with limited upside.

Then in 2008 he tanked, hitting .249 with 8 home runs (most of them in April), and 37 rbis.  This Spring, he was decisively beaten out for the starting center field position by Brett Gardner.  His Yankee career appeared to be over.

But when Gardner struggled, Melky got another chance.  Now he is batting .317, he already has 5 home runs, and he has been incredibly clutch.  Once again, he looks like the center fielder of the future.  Is it possible Melky could become more than a role player?  Could we have underestimated his upside?

Perhaps.  Melky’s career pattern reminds me of another Yankee center fielder.  No, not Mickey Mantle.  And not Joe DiMaggio.

In 1991, the Yankees brought up another light hitting, smooth fielding twenty two year old center fielder.  In 85 games he batted .238 with 3 home runs.  The next year in 62 games he batted .280 with only 5 home runs.  Then in 1993 he slumped to .268 with 12 home runs and 68 rbis in 139 games.  In 1994 at age 25, he batted .289, but again had only 12 home runs with 57 rbis.  In short, he too looked like a light hitting, smooth fielding center fielder with limited upside.

It didn’t turn out that way.  That young center fielder’s name was Bernie Williams.  Bernie went on to become a .300 hitter, win a batting title, slug 20-30 home runs a year, and bat clean up on arguably the greatest team in baseball history, the 1998 Yankees.  Although he never became a “super star”, Bernie was one of the truly outstanding players of his era and a foundation piece for the last Yankee dynasty.

The point is, Melky’s career path bears an uncanny resemblance to Bernie’s.  Does that mean Melky will become an all time Yankee great?  Hard to say.  But before we dismiss Melky as a role player, we should remember that Bernie did not become a true star until he was 27.  Melky has shown substantial growth in 2009.  He just might have a higher ceiling than any of us thought.

We have been silent this week, partly because we were busy watching son #2 graduate from law school, but mostly because the Yanks were winning nine in a row, and we did not want to disturb the karma.

That streak came to an end tonight, as the Phils drubbed the Yankees 7-3.  A few observations on the past ten days are in order.

First, taking two out of three from Toronto pretty much burst the Blue Jay’s bubble.  After losing the Halladay game (everybody lose to Halladay), the Yanks showed the Blue Jays to be a paper tiger.  The Red Sox finished the job this week with a sweep against the floundering boys from north of the border.

Second, the Yankees showed real grit in their four comeback wins against the Twins.  Since their collapse in the 2004 playoffs, coming from behind has not been their strong suit.  Their performance against the Twins was heartening.

But third, the sweep of Baltimore means little.  Your local nursery school has a better pitching staff than the Orioles.  Anyone who doubts that proposition need only remember that Jeremy Guthrie is their ace, and Adam Eaton is part of their starting rotation.  Any staff that includes Adam Eaton has to be awful.

So the Yankee streak is not quite as impressive as Michael Kay would have you believe.  The team’s inherent weakness was demonstrated tonight. The Yankees have yet to show they can hit good pitching.  This evening they were totally shut down by Brett Myers.  Now Myers is a nice pitcher when he’s on, but nobody has ever accused him of being the second coming of Grover Cleveland Alexander.  Or even Dick Ruthven.  Yet the Yankees couldn’t do a thing with him until the 8th inning, after he had thrown a hundred pitches.

The Yankee offense still contains too many old bats, and too often old bats are slow bats.  All too frequently, those old bats have looked overmatched against real pitchers – a commodity the Jays, Twins and Orioles lack.  Until the Yankees show they can hit the hard throwers who populate the top teams, they cannot be considered a true title threat.