Tough break for tough Teixeira, Yankees

Losing the toughest guy in pinstripes to a season-ending injury is a devastating blow the New York Yankees will probably not recover from.

I could tell immediately from Mark Teixeira's reaction that there would be no more baseball for him this season. Tex is the toughest guy in a Yankees uniform, playing the last month of the season with a broken toe and an injured finger. When he didn't even try to get up last night, it was obvious that the injury was bad. And the pained look on his face said it all.

The Yankees first baseman didn't even wait for the MRI to tell reporters that he was done in the playoffs. For a guy as tough as Tex, the realization that his banged-up body wouldn't cooperate with him any longer must have been crushing.

Even with his lack of hits, Teixeira is still a dangerous hitter and a key cog in the Yankees lineup. And with the Yankees pitchers already struggling, his superior defense will be sorely missed. It would too much to expect Lance Berkman or someone else on the bench to step up to fill the void created by Teixeira’s absence.

Losing Teixeira may be the body blow that puts the Yankees away for good this postseason.

Andy Pettitte puts Twinkies on the brink

Just the other day, CC Sabathia was mystified about why people were worried about Andy Pettitte. Last night, Pettitte showed why CC couldn't have been more right.

Taking the mound last night for the New York Yankees, Pettitte added to his postseason legend with a strong performance that put the Minnesota Twins on the brink of elimination. He dispelled any concerns about his injuries or age and showed why he is the winningest pitcher in postseason history.

The Twins had a chance to get Pettitte early when he was struggling with his command as they put the leadoff hitter on in the first two innings and loaded the bases with one out in the 2nd inning. But Andy did what he always does when he's in trouble, inducing a customary groundball double-play in the 1st inning (with a fantastic defensive assist from Derek Jeter), making big pitches to escape the jam in the 2nd inning and dominating the Twins the rest of his game.

"One run is not going to kill me," Pettitte said of his composure in getting out of that jam.

But it sure killed the Twins. You could see the defeat on the faces of the players and their fans long before the game was over. Pettitte did that to the Twins, the way he has done it to so many other teams in the postseason, and he showed the rest of baseball what the Yankees have in store for them if they advance in the playoffs.

CC stepped up to the mike the other day to defend his "godfather," citing Pettitte's postseason excellence as a reason not to worry about the Yankee starters that would come after him. He has a lot of company in the Andy Pettitte confidence camp.

"That's just typical Andy," Lance Berkman said. "He was in control pretty much the whole night. He's the best big-game pitcher I think I've ever been around."

Typical Andy, indeed!

Yankees lose control of destiny with ugly loss

Even though the New York Yankees gave AJ Burnett four runs early, it wasn't enough to get a win and keep the Yankees firmly in control of their destiny.

Burnett's numbers were fine last night, but he made the kind of boneheaded play that will definitely keep him out of the postseason rotation for the division series and perhaps off the postseason roster. He let a run score because he was incredulous about a safe call at first base, reminiscent of the infamous David Cone play in Atlanta when the then-Mets pitcher allowed two runs to score because he was arguing a call. It's this loss of composure that makes Burnett untrustworthy for a team that will have a tough time in the playoffs regardless of its opponent.

But the erratic righty wasn't alone in blowing the nightcap, with errors by Lance Berkman and Francisco Cervelli contributing to the Red Sox scoring. Plus, the Yankees offense was terrible with runners on base in both games of the doubleheader, not exactly inspiring for postseason play. You knew the Yankees were in deep trouble when Ivan Nova kept coming out to start innings, even though he was struggling badly. But I can't blame Joe Girardi for that one because he used all his best guys to make sure the Yankees won the first game after Andy Pettitte lasted only four innings.

So the Yankees hopes for an American League East title rest on Dustin Moseley's shoulders and the Kansas City Royals gearing up for one more game as a spoiler against the Tampa Bay Rays. Can't say I like the Yankees chances today, but stranger things have happened in baseball.

No Hall should be no-brainer for Clemens

Roger Clemens might end up in prison for allegedly lying to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. But there's one place he absolutely shouldn't end up: the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Clemens was indicted by a grand jury for perjury for allegedly falsely denying he used PEDs. The indictment is interesting reading. It goes out of its way to point out that Clemens were under no legal obligation to testify in front of Congress, that he was not subpoenaed and that he could have invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. But he showed up and firmly stated that he did not use steroids or human growth hormone. It speaks to his arrogance that Clemens thought he could lie to Congress and get away with it.

The criminal case is far more important, but the indictment also again raises the question of whether Clemens should be allowed into the Hall of Fame. Prior to the steroids allegation, Clemens was seen as a lock and I'm sure there are writers who will try to separate the good years from his bad behavior and still vote for him. Heck, even some of his former teammates such as current New York Yankees player Lance Berkman firmly believe he should still be elected to the Hall.

But now that Clemens has been indicted, I hope that a majority of writers will see it as a no-brainer that they should not cast votes in his favor. I've long believed that entrance to the Hall should be the punishment for PED users in baseball, mostly because of the permanent pall they have cast over the game, but also because there is no other suitable punishment.

It's ironic that if Clemens goes to jail, and I think he should, it will be for perjury, not for using steroids. I think he should still be kept out of the Hall as punishment for his drug use, especially since there's no other punishment available. He's definitely not giving back any of those seven Cy Young awards, even if they are now tainted.

The government is ready to try to punish Clemens for his misdeeds. It’s time for the baseball community to do the same and keep him out of the Hall of Fame.

Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photo.

Cranky fans need to lay off of Mark Teixeira

It's hard to believe, but there are blogs out there written by some very cranky fans criticizing Mark Teixeira for staying home with his wife while she gave birth to their third child.

This is one of the nicer entries that I've read and I've got to say that I'm surprised at the level of animosity toward Tex for wanting to be present for his son's first few days. He obviously wanted to be there to support his wife and welcome his child into the world and I have absolutely no problem with that.

Personally, if I was married to a man and he missed the birth of our child to go play baseball, I'd probably be headed to divorce court. But if I was divorcing Tex I'd get half of his $20 million a year and that's not such a bad deal. That annual salary may be a big reason why these fans are so cranky.

Of course it was frustrating watching Lance Berkman flail at and pop up pitches as the stand-in for Tex last night. Of course I would rather have Tex batting in the third spot than Marcus Thames. But there is a potential upside for the New York Yankees in that a couple of days off for Tex might help keep him fresh during the dog days of August, which will be great as the Yanks head toward the playoffs.

Yes, Tex has an obligation to his baseball family, but his obligation to his actual family comes first. I think most, if not all, of his Yankees teammates understand that. If they don't have a problem with him taking a few days off, then neither should we.

Texas Rangers will be a good test for Yankees

After failing to put away the Boston Red Sox despite another solid effort from Phil Hughes, the New York Yankees face a potential playoff opponent in the Texas Rangers. It will be a good test for the Bronx Bombers.

Of course, the Yankees will have to go with their B lineup, with Mark Teixeira home with his wife who just gave birth to their third child (Congrats, Tex!) and Robinson Cano now battling the cold going around the Yankees clubhouse that Hughes has fought through two starts. And they will have to survive Lance Berkman playing first base and AJ Burnett starting the first game.

The Rangers are five games behind the Yankees for the best record in baseball, but they are up eight games in their division. Their centerfielder Josh Hamilton is leading the American League in batting average at .355 while Vladimir Guerrero (thought he was done, LA!) is #3 in the league in ribbies. And their trade for Cliff Lee was sheer brilliance, stealing him right from under the Yankees’ noses, solidifying their division title and giving them a potent weapon for the playoffs, especially the first round best-of-five division series. Talk about a tough opponent.

No longer the doormat of the American League West, the Rangers pose quite a test for the Yanks. Let's see if the Bombers can rise to the challenge.

Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photo.

Too soon for boos for Lance Berkman & Co

Fans of the New York Yankees are notoriously impatient, but the boos for Lance Berkman are premature.

Barely a week into his Yankees tenure, Berkman is hearing it from a small portion of the Yankee faithful. From a performance standpoint, it's somewhat understandable. Berkman has not played well since he put on the pinstripes. He is only 2 for 19 with one ribbie. Then, of course, was his disastrous play at first base when he filled in for Mark Teixeira and helped CC Sabathia bury the Yankees early against the rival Tampa Bay Rays last weekend. But Yankee fans should cut him some slack. Anyone can slump for a week. Plus, Berkman went from playing for a team with nothing to play for in Houston to the middle of a race for a division title with his first games coming against the team's toughest competition.

The fans will have a similarly short leash for Kerry Wood and Austin Kearns. Wood, coming off Cleveland's disabled list, has given up one run in 3 1/3 innings. He's somehow looked both impressive and shaky in the same performance, striking out one batter before walking or giving up a hit to the next guy. Kearns, who is supposed to challenge Curtis Granderson for playing time, has so far been a non-factor, going hitless in six at-bats.

But it's way too early to label any of them bums. Give them time to make the adjustment to a tight pennant race and life in the New York fast lane. With some patience, they might wind up surprising us.

Thanks dwhartwig and UCinternational via Wikipedia for the photo.

Joe Girardi doing things his own way

Joe Girardi does things his own way, media be damned.

The New York Yankees manager can be quite prickly when being questioned about his baseball moves, but he has made it clear that the second guessing will not stop him from doing what he thinks is best for his team. Just in case we needed any more proof of that, he rested Alex Rodriguez and Brett Gardner (both of whom entered the game later) yesterday and put Mark Teixeira as the designated hitter, replaced at first base by inferior fielder Lance Berkman in the swing game of a key series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Granted, I probably wouldn't have rested both Gardner and ARod on the same day against the team's top rival, but I don't think Girardi was completely out of line. ARod definitely needed a mental break from the weight of his pursuit of 600 homers. The Tampa turf is unkind to all players and even a player as young as Gardner needs an occasional day off to ensure that he doesn't lose his greatest asset: his legs. And to be fair, all first baseman are inferior fielders compared to Tex, who has saved countless runs with his defense.

I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised at all the negative press Girardi's lineup decisions are generating, but I probably shouldn't be. The media will turn every little tidbit of information into a potentially huge story, will question every decision made no matter what the circumstances. Girardi's job is to simply answer the questions and ignore the newspapers in the morning. Even if he doesn't like the criticism, he's always going to do what he thinks is best for his team and no amount of questions is going to change that.

Yankees must quickly shake off series loss

At least the New York Yankees didn't get swept.

It could have been easy to forget that this was an important baseball series amid all the hoopla surrounding the Yankees trade acquisitions and the ongoing pursuit of Alex Rodriguez's 600th home run. But neither the Yankees nor the Tampa Bay Rays forgot. The Rays weren’t able to grab hold of first place, but they did prove just how formidable an opponent they are and will be for the rest of the season.

The Yankees won a thrilling game Saturday a day after they wasted a strong outing from Phil Hughes (before he got beat on one bad pitch). The Bronx Bombers lived up to their nickname in the middle game of the series, coming from behind several times with home runs and finally taking the lead when their Most Valuable Player Robinson Cano hit a monster shot in the 9th inning. I really liked their chances going into today's game with CC Sabathia on the mound. But the big lefty struggled for the second straight start and the offense disappeared against Rays starter James Shield. The Rays beat the Yankees at their own game, with great starting pitching and timely hitting. It was a disappointing series loss in what Cano himself described as a playoff-type atmosphere.

But the Yankees have to quickly move on. They are still in first place and now have qualified reinforcements in Lance Berkman, Kerry Wood and Austin Kearns. And the Bombers are coming back home for a long week of baseball, including four games against their archrival Boston Red Sox (remember them?). They are going to have to shake off whatever disappointment they have and get back to their winning ways.

Ghost of Steinbrenner lives on in trade deals

Somewhere, George Steinbrenner is looking on his team and loving what he's seeing.

Steinbrenner enjoyed making splashy deals almost as much as he enjoyed winning baseball games. He would have loved the frenzy of trade activity Brian Cashman engaged in during the last 36 hours. Beyond just making the deals, the Boss would have loved the big names coming to the New York Yankees: Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood. Both have their best days well behind them, but if they can help the Yankees win even one or two extra games, that could make all the difference in the world in the ultra-tight race with the Tampa Bay Rays.

I'm somewhat worried about Berkman's comments: he doesn't seem too happy about leaving the comfort of the team he spent his whole career with, even if the Houston Astros are scuffling in the National League Central. But it was his choice and he waved his no-trade clause, perhaps with an eye toward winning his first World Series championship.

And Wood is the pitcher's equivalent of Nick Johnson, a player who has consistently failed to live up to all the promise and hype because of numerous injuries. But the cost for these players doesn't appear to be too high, with the Yankees sending pitcher Mark Melancon and minor league infielder Jimmy Paredes to Houston for Berkman. And if they don't work out in New York, the Yankees can say goodbye at the end of the season.

Cashman is a man of his word, promising to look at options for his bullpen and bench. With Berkman, Wood and outfielder Austin Kearns, he has managed to plug all the holes on his team pretty quickly. These moves may not work out, but no one can accuse Cashman of not trying.

The Boss would be proud.

Thanks to dremiel and MissChatter/UCInternational via Wikipedia for the photos.