New York Yankees

By Vince Mercandetti That's why he hit rock bottom with the steroid allegations, with the clubhouses' dirty laundry in the Torre book and with the divorce he went through at the end of 2008. The Yankees hit rock bottom at the end of that season, just like Alex Rodriguez.

By Vince Mercandetti Hideki Matsui did everything you ever wanted out of a hitter. He manufactured runs, he was fundamental, he was powerful, he was clutch. It's only fitting that the game the Yankees bring the World Series back to the Bronx, Matsui had perhaps one of his best games ever, delivering a World Serie...

By Vince Mercandetti I was sitting in a family room with a bunch of friends who were Yankees' family. I had Steve and Bri (two of the people I was at the ALCS clincher with), Andy and Kim (two more Yankees fans) and my girlfriend, Rhiannon, who is now a Red Sox AND Yankees fan (she was wearing my Yankees' sweatshirt!)....

By Vince Mercandetti This was a magical World Series which saw Alex Rodriguez come alive, it saw Johnny Damon, Andy Pettitte and Hideki Matsui perhaps go out on top in the Bronx, and it came the same time guys like Jeter, Posada and Rivera regained their success. You couldn't ask for better opponents, a better st...

By Vince Mercandetti At the end of 2004 if you told a Red Sox fan that within five years the Yankees would be on the verge of a World Series and Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon would be the top two candidates for MVP, would their head explode? I set the over-under of simultaneous heart attacks at three.

By Vince Mercandetti For good measure, Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui, two struggling hitters into the World Series, both homered along with a Jorge Posada double to give the Yankees their eight runs. Even a second Jason Werth long ball and a garbage time shot from Carlos Ruiz couldn’t get the Phillies close en...

By Vince Mercandetti Now we have a 1-1 series on our hands and Andy Pettitte against Cole Hamels in Philadelphia. If the Yankees can take the opener in Philly it sends two messages. If anybody is going to win in Philly in a seven game series, it's going to be the Yankees.

By Vince Mercandetti I’ve lost in Yankee Stadium as a Dodger and won in Yankee Stadium as a Dodger. It can be done, but you don’t want to be in a position where you have to win there. They just believe they are always going to win, the players believe it, the fans believe it. They brain wash you. They put all those great mom...

By Vince Mercandetti Given that I think the Yankees having home field advantage is, indeed, an advantage and I've convinced myself the series will be tied 2-2, I have to believe this one is coming home to New York. Have the Yankees ever lost three World Series match ups in a row? I was trying to figure that out recen...

By Vince Mercandetti Immediately following the final out, in a moping mood my friend Steve, his girlfriend Bri and myself all searched approximately six different websites in search of at least three tickets for a reasonable price. We settled on Ticket Palace and Grandstand seats for $104. I knew with the Metr...

By Vince Mercandetti This was a double-edged sword. If the Yankees won, I would be 6-0 in my viewing place (I watched Game One of the ALDS at home), would not be going to Game Six and I knew where I'd be watching every game of the World Series too (same chair and everything at a friend's house).

By Vince Mercandetti New York swept them. This was a series where critics expected the Angels to win for all the reasons they ignored about the Yankees. The writing was on the wall in this series the second the Red Sox dropped their dominance card on a Vlad single.

By Vince Mercandetti Sabathia wasn't the only hero when he lowered his ALCS ERA to 1.13 and notched his second win in four games; Alex Rodriguez bashed his third home run in as many games and fifth of the postseason, falling one short of Bernie Williams' team postseason record. With three more hits, A-Rod is now hi...

By Vince Mercandetti It's now indisputable the Yankees' are in the driver's seat for the series. Any team's goal on the road is to split and come back for three games at home. The Angels no longer have that advantage. Their pitching match ups aren't overly favoring either. If New York can keep focus and return the fav...

By Vince Mercandetti It was just one game, and the Yankees have only won 25% of the games they will have to win to advance to the World Series, but it was pretty telling what took place in the Bronx in the series opener. New York had a game plan. It was not to allow a lot of Angels base runners and to work John Lackey to the p...

By Vince Mercandetti New York did commit 86 errors, which only ranks them seventh in the AL. But then again, the Angels committed 85. That's a .986 fielding percentage for LA, and .985 for New York. The Angels just finished playing the worst team at shutting down the running game. Boston allowed 151 base runners to ste...

By Vince Mercandetti What will be interesting is how Girardi uses the bullpen in this series. Alfredo Aceves was rarely used in the first round because Yankees’ starters all pitched 6+ innings. Dave Robertson was rarely used and showed some rust but ultimately endured it to pitch out of a jam. Joba Chamberlain lo...

By Vince Mercandetti The Sox are always capable of competing, but they are no longer the marquee franchise in baseball. After a two year hiatus, the Yankees have the better team and the corpse of the Red Sox can roll over all it wants while the Yankees play on in October. And it will be against LA, a team equally as hot...

By Vince Mercandetti It was Dejavu all over again for Joe Nathan and company when Minnesota struck first in the best pitcher’s duel of the postseason, featuring hated ex Yankee, Carl Pavano, and underrated postseason monster, Andy Pettitte. Pettitte was on the short end of the stick, 1-0 when Alex Rodriguez a...

By Vince Mercandetti 4. The Walk-off. If A-Rod's game-tying long ball was moment 1 of the postseason, Tex's walk-off was moment  was 1A. In game one Sabathia, A-Rod and Jeter were the single most important players in the game. In game two it was Burnett, Tex and A-Rod. It wasn't so much expecting Teixeira to hit a walk...

By Vince Mercandetti The Yankees, officially, have the "It" factor this year and it was the last piece New York fans were hoping would carry over from the regular season. Getting into the World Series will not be easy, even if the Yankees finish off the Twins in any of the next three games, they will have to get past...

By Vince Mercandetti Did you expect anything else from Derek Jeter but a lead-off single? Minus playing insanely hurt in the second half of the 2001 World Series and again in the 2007 ALDS, Jeter never fails to set the table, even in the playoffs... Jeter on the run, Tex hits it hard but the Yankees get their runner to...

By Vince Mercandetti Meanwhile, Andy Pettitte can now concentrate on the most important game of the series on the road where he has fared better and he will get two extra days of rest. Whether it's 2-0, 0-2, or 1-1, game three in a short series if the most essential outcome and Pettitte will bring a .230 BAA and 3.71 ro...

By Vince Mercandetti To be fair, of the last seven playoff teams to eliminate New York from the postseason, five of them have advanced to the World Series (two were in the World Series already) and four of them won it all. A few other things of note: I will be rooting for the winner of the Yankees series to advance to t...

By Jeff Louderback Tonight, Matsuzaka gets his final regular season tune-up. After spending much of the year on the disabled list, Dice-K has a 1.96 ERA in three September starts. His last outing, when he held the Yankees to one run and six hits over seven innings, was his most encouraging. Not only is Matsuzaka s...

By Vince Mercandetti If the Angels win the World Series this year they would present a compelling case. It would mean two World Series titles (2002 and 2009), six playoff appearances (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and a 7-4 overall record in 11 playoff series. The Halos would have three ALCS appearances...

By Vince Mercandetti Boston Sucks" - I both like and hate this phrase. I like it because as a friend from Massachusetts has repeatedly pointed out, "Yankees Suck" insults the Yankees but "Boston Sucks" insults the entire city. That's like an atomic bomb of insults. That's it's one redeeming quality, however, yo...

By Vince Mercandetti It's amazing how much tougher this team looks when Pettitte and Burnett pitch well. It's amazing how sorry the Royals look when they have Kyle Farnsworth pitch a game out of the bullpen. I like that Kyle was upset to leave New York, but at the time the trade was a good one for the Yankees and he cau...

By Vince Mercandetti The candidates include: Sergio Mitre, Damaso Marte, Chad Gaudin and Brian Bruney. With built in days off and the versatility of Alfredo Aceves, I think Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre's value disappears, even if the Yankees elect to go with Joba Chamberlain as a fourth starter in a shorter se...

By Vince Mercandetti We were told to be scared of the Red Sox because they were healthy, pitching well and red hot. Up until a series in Los Angeles, the Yankees had "cooled off" and the division was all of a sudden said to be up for grabs. Whoops. Though the division was wrapped up in even the most optimistic Sox fan's e...

By Jeff Louderback Ho-hum. The Yankees clinched the American League East title and completed a three-game weekend sweep this afternoon with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the Red Sox. Though Andy Pettitte struggled early, and the Sox claimed a 2-0 lead, it is not surprising that the Yankees rallied an...

By Jeff Louderback In what hopefully will be a preview of the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox and Yankees renew their rivalry with a three-game series this weekend at Yankee Stadium. As usual, drama is likely to unfold. With a sweep, the Yankees could clinch the American League East title. Bos...

By Vince Mercandetti Which of these players will make it break the Yankees in 2009? I've narrowed it down to four, not including obvious names like Alex Rodriguez, Robbie Cano with runners in scoring position or which Nick Swisher will show up. These are the most important players to watch down the stretch in te...

By Vince Mercandetti Will the Yankees clinch in Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox? There would be no better ideal situation for Yankees' fans than to watch Boston officially concede the division to their arch-rivals in front of their arch-rivals home fans. It's not out of the realm of possibility either.

By Vince Mercandetti The hardest thing to do, the thing that hadn't been done since 2004, finally happened. The Yankees took a series from the Angels on the road. Equally as impressive, the Yankees tied the season series against their toughest competition, going 5-5 in 2009.

By Jeff Louderback A night after they coughed up a six-run lead against one of the worst teams in baseball, the Red Sox were shut down by likely American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke on Tuesday. As a result, Boston's chances to catch the Yankees in the American League East standings suffered a majo...

By Vince Mercandetti A healthy Damaso Marte and Phil Coke should guide the left side while a healthy and rested Alfredo Aceves, Dave Robertson, Mariano Rivera and Phil Hughes will lead righty relievers. Where names like Bruney and Chamberlain factor in is yet to be decided, but I'll take the best reliever of th...

By Vince Mercandetti Consider this: Even now with the Yankees losing two out of three in Seattle while Boston swept the useless Orioles, they would still have to finish their year 13-1 if the Yankees go 7-5 (mind you they finish the year with six games against Kansas City and Tampa) just to tie the division, whic...

By Jeff Louderback Now it is time for the Red Sox to show they can consisently win series on the road. Boston is a major league best 52-22 at home, but the team is 34-37 away from Fenway Park. That record should improve with three games at Baltimore and four at Kansas City before a three-game set at Yankee Stadium. If...

By Vince Mercandetti Jorge Posada has been fined and will receive a three game suspension for his role in the brawl which broke out in the Bronx yesterday. Others were fined and Shelley Duncan will be suspended, but those logistics don't really matter. This issue is with Posada and with the team in general.

By Vince Mercandetti Welcome to the Yankees, Francisco Cervelli. Cervelli has been one of the many homegrown Yankees to step up in the wake of injury and adversity this season, and with a September callup the backup catcher delivered yet another big moment in the Bronx in 2009. After Hideki Matsui tied the game w...

By Jeff Louderback Speaking on the playoff race, Texas lost to Oakland, 6-1. The Red Sox now have a 5.5-game lead over the Rangers in the wild card race. With the Yankees' 10-4 setback against Toronto, Boston climbed within 6.5 games in the American League East and five games behind New York in the loss column. The S...

By Vince Mercandetti Last night was the first time since Boston was swept out of Yankee Stadium where there seemed to be a playoff atmosphere in the Bronx. With the Angels in town for the last time during the regular season, New York felt it had something to prove after being swept by Los Angeles two months ago. The r...

By Jeff Louderback Major League Baseball released the 2010 schedule today. The Red Sox will open the season at Fenway Park with a three-game series on April 5, 7 and 8 against the Yankees. Boston will end the year with three games at Yankee Stadium, four in Chicago and a season-ending three-game set against the...

By Vince Mercandetti Reason 14 - Derek Jeter passes Lou Gehrig for most all-time hits: Reason 12 - Damon and Teixeira will strike twice: Already on the list: Posada, Teixeira, Cano, A-Rod, Matsui, Damon and Swisher. Possibly joining this month: Derek Jeter.

By Vince Mercandetti Reason 15 - The Yankees will win over 100 games: In 2002, the Yankees, A's and Braves all failed to even reach the World Series. The 2003 Yankees were the last to win a World Series game with 100 or more wins. The 1998 Yankees were the last to win a title.

By Vince Mercandetti We've covered the 2009 New York Yankees. Ultimately the only way they will not win the World Series is if another team executes better in the postseason. That may sound simplistic and obvious, but the truth of the matter is the Yankees are the pound for pound most talented team in Major League...

By Vince Mercandetti When the ALCS rolls around, the Yankees will still have a formidable three, if it's against the Red Sox probably flip-flopping Burnett and Pettitte so the former would pitch at home and the latter on the road and in a game seven, and then Joba would have to pitch game four at Fenway where he se...

By Vince Mercandetti For starters, the Yankees have had the division wrapped up since they left Fenway Park having taken two of three from the Red Sox in a series where Boston needed a sweep. Unlike in 2007, 2006 and even 2005, the Yankees aren't running for their collective lives trying to get a playoff birth. The...

By Naftali Levenbrown Last night, the Yankees showed again that they can win any type of game they get into. For the 13th time this season, the Yankees came through with a walk-off win. Swisher was the hero this time hitting a Yankee Stadium Home Run in the bottom of the ninth that just cleared the wall. WB Mason is real...

By Vince Mercandetti PK: Bob Lemon, after taking over the Yanks when Billy Martin resigned. His calm demeanor helped the Yanks to relax after the agitated half season under Martin's reign, and this is just what the team needed to come back against Boston.

By Vince Mercandetti 1. In 65 games at home this year, the Yankees have 373 runs scored. Boston is first by 10 runs over Texas for most runs scored at home with 388. In 68 games played on the road, the Yankees have 390 runs scored, the most in the league and nine more than the Angels who are currently second. So in three gam...

By Vince Mercandetti So because the Yankees have had better luck with their variables, they are a better team than the Boston Red Sox. The only real variable left to me, is who will play better in October? I think both teams have the tools to make deep runs but the Yankees have a little less variables because they ha...

By Vince Mercandetti The only thing I can deduce from the Yankees who played the Rangers and the Yankees who are playing the White Sox is New York preferred a closer wild card race. After dropping two out of three against Texas, a series where, for the most part, the team failed to collect big hits, played sub par de...

By Vince Mercandetti This is the reason the Yankees will win a playoff series, something Joe Torre couldn't do in the three years before he left and Joe Girardi couldn't even crack a shot at last season. The Yankees have a perfect first round rotation. Think about it: CC Sabathia is arguably the best pitcher in the...

By Jeff Louderback With Tampa Bay's victory over Texas, Boston grabbed a two-game lead in the wild card standings. A win tonight over the Yankees will pull the Sox within 5.5 games in the American League East race and keep their hopes for a division title alive.

By Jeff Louderback That the Sox lost tonight is no surprise. Penny does not instill confidence. Though in the standings this is just one loss - albeit one embarrassing loss - unfortunately for Boston, tonight's defeat puts a damper on the team's chances to catch the Yankees in the American League East race. New...

By Jeff Louderback Regardless of how the 2009 season ends for the Red Sox, there is no doubt that the Hot Stove League will be active for Boston. Think the winter after the 2006 season was busy for Theo Epstein? It will pale in comparison to the upcoming off-season. I am obsessed with the Red Sox farm system, the cu...

By Vince Mercandetti If it had the same pieces in April and May that it has now it could be on pace for 110 wins, as it is it's on pace for over 101, something unapproached since the 2003 Yankees. And yes, they still play poorly against the Angels and have a losing record against the Red Sox (on a side note, how crazy is i...

By Vince Mercandetti Teams do their best against Yankees pitching durning  pitches 51-75 where they are hitting .286 with a .368 OBP. The Royals are hitting .188 but the Mariners are at .294. Mark Teixeira(1), Derek Jeter(6), Robinson Cano (4) and Melky Cabrera(3)/Brett Gardner(1) have combined for 15 errors,...

By Vince Mercandetti New York not only ended his career in all likelihood last night, but they also took two World Series rings away from him and handed him a loss in one of the greatest World Series duels of all time when Andy Pettitte outpitched him, 1-0 in Atlanta during the final Fulton County Stadium game to w...

By Angelo Roldan That might be enough to get Washburn in the Bronx since he would only be a 2-3 month rental. However Washburn is likely going to be a Type-A free agent, which means the Yankees would get a first round pick and a first round compensation pick if they offered him arbitration. Melky Cabrera or Bre...

By Vince Mercandetti Andy Pettitte can still consistently retire major league hitters and deliver quality starts. The Baltimore Orioles are extremely mad at whoever wrote this. Not to mention, Pettitte has a better ERA (4.62) this year than both Penny and Dice-K, it's within .31 of Wakefield (who notoriousl...

By Vince Mercandetti The AL East has become a Yo-yo. Today marks the exact reason you simply ignore what the Yankees look like in Los Angeles. New York is hands down the best road team in the AL East, but in LA they will look feeble, sloppy and ugly. If you watch the Yankees in any year for any extended amount of time, you...

By Angelo CF-Austin Jackson, 22 years old (AAA) Yankees, 5 Games: 6.35 ERA/5.2 IP/2 SO/5 BB Higashioka is one of several talented catchers in the Yankees farm system. He hasn't quite hit his stride yet, but I'm sure his numbers will look much better before the season's over.

By Angelo Joba Chamberlain- 28 years old ( A new contract will likely be established by this time) Second Basemen- Robinson Cano- 31 years old, ( a new contract will likely be established) Center field- Austin Jackson- 27 years old Designated Hitter- Alex Rodriguez- 38 years old, 5 years left

By Angelo This was a great pick for the Yankees in my opinion. It looks like the Yankees are trying to stack up on talented young positional players this year. It's about time! http://www.soxandpinstripes.com/sox_and_pinstripes/2009/06/the-international-free-agent-period-gary-sanchez.h...

By Vince Mercandetti Naftali (or as his friends call him, "Nuff"), is 27 years old. He grew up in North Jersey and still lives there now. He works full time managing real estate, but has been a Yankees' fan as long as he can remember, probably going back to somewhere around '93 or '94 (my exact time span as a fan as well...

By Jeff Louderback Fast forward to 2009. The Red Sox have won two World Series titles since 2004 and have reached the ALCS in four of the last six seasons. Thanks to Theo Epstein's blueprint of building a deep and talented farm system, and John Henry's willingness to open his wallet, Boston is a perennial World S...

By Vince Mercandetti Think about it before you make judgment; this isn't a desperation move, it's a logical one. The Red Sox didn't sign Brad Penny because they didn't have a suitable fifth starter, nor did they sign Saito because they didn't think they had a setup man. If you can criticize Brian Cashman for ANYTH...

By Vince Mercandetti Pettitte: By my calculations both teams should score a combined seven runs in this series. Seriously, check out Burnett and Joba, albeit Joba has only had one start in each ballpark. I'll be sure to monitor this as the season continues to see if the home run aura of the new stadium continues or...

By Vince Mercandetti This was a win the Yankees needed to prove how solid they are. It's weird they have a 4-4 record because we've seen two different teams at work, but in all honesty, the Yankees probably win six of these games with better pitching from Wang. Maybe seeing him live on Saturday will change his seaso...

By Vince Mercandetti Why in the world did the Yankees tab Pepsi to be their sponsor? These are the New York Yankees and yet Pepsi is the Mets of soda. Honestly, whoever is in charge should actually have to taste Pepsi before thinking it was a good idea to try to pretend New York should be showing favoritism towards t...

By Vince Mercandetti Lost in the shuffle of the offseason under the pile of new signings, position battles and A-Rod dramas was perhaps the most exciting part of 2009 for Yankees fans;their new stadium. I have my own impressions from watching the exhibition games against the Cubs over the weekend, but our budd...

By Vince Mercandetti The slightly less ERA means the Yankees will project basically around what they performed last season, even without Joba in the bullpen and with more reliance on Marte, Coke, Bruney and Albaladejo, whom I would take over Farnsworth, Hawkins and Ohlendorf. For reference, the Yankees we...

By Vince Mercandetti Let me preface this by saying I do believe A-Rod is going to have the operation done sooner rather than later. As in, before the season begins. I think Brian Cashman and the Yankees will publicly state A-Rod is not having anything done, then go out and trade for a third baseman before they seem t...

By Vince Mercandetti JH: I was very sad during the closing ceremonies at the old Stadium, but as I wrote in the New York Times, it was a building. My memories are in my head. No matter where the Yankees play, I’ll always have them. So I’m looking forward to the new place with great anticipation. I just hope people can afford a ticket. Very pricey. S&P: How do you feel about Brian Cashman? Joe Girardi (now)? S&P: How will the 2009 Yankees do? JH: They’ll win their 27th championship, of course. Didn’t you read my article in last Sunday’s New York Times? I had a tarot card reading and the women assured me the Yanks would get it done. :) She specifically credited Sabathia and Teixeira with playing important roles.    [read the full post]

By Vince Mercandetti I was sent a copy in the mail to review but decided a single entry would not do the book (which in case you hadn't had caught on is actually named, Confessions of a She-Fan: The Course of True Love with the New York Yankees) the sort of justice it deserves. It's simple, the premise is about how Jane was so fed up in the beginning of the 2007 Yankees' season, she wrote an essay to the New York Times expressing her divorce from the team, sighting mental cruelty as the main culprit. As I'm sure many of you recall, I had similar sentiments throughout the beginning of the first season of Sox and Pinstripes. And that's the point, any die-hard Yankees fan, which I'm sure most of you are, can relate to what is between the pages.   [read the full post]

By Vince Mercandetti I would almost guarantee the Yankees are going to go hard at the Sabathia, Burnett, Lowe and Sheets' of the world before resorting back to Pettitte, who makes an excellent back up plan. I'd be hard pressed to believe Pettitte plays anywhere else (LA) especially Boston, which has been reported some places. I think like he made the Yankees do last season while trying to decide if he wanted to retire or not, the Yankees will make him wait before making an offer. For Pettitte this could benefit him anyway, if the Yankees only walk away with one top of the line starter (i'd find it extremely hard to believe they don't get any, nevertheless only one), Pettitte might get the same salary he didn't deserve last year. To me, Wang is a number one starter, to som...   [read the full post]

By Vince Mercandetti 2-0, 13 IP, 8H, 2R, 4BB, 9K. Maybe it was a small sample size or there were other factors, but Manny Ramirez was a career killer of the Moose. A Moose hunter if you will. Both the Yankees and Red Sox did exactly what they had to do at Fenway to end the regular season. The Yankees took the series and tied...

By Vince Mercandetti Regression should be the 2008 team slogan. Only Mike Mussina and Johnny Damon exceeded expectations for a long period of time. Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Wilson Betemit, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Shelley Duncan-these are...

By Jeff Louderback Chances are, the Boston Red Sox will enter the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes in the off-season. They will be joined by the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees, among other teams willing to widely open their wallets. Teixeira's appeal is...

By Vince Mercandetti I wanted to start off thanking Red Sox fans of all people. As surprised as you may have been trying to console (whether through guilt, superstition, or fear) a Yankees fan when he realized his team would miss the playoffs... His numbers? 320, 20 HR, 83 RBI. April: .316 (.391 OBP) May: .300 (.343 OBP)

By Vince Mercandetti So when I say I can predict when Melky Cabrera will hit into a double play to end a scoring threat in a 0-0 tie last night, or that Alex Rodriguez will fail to drive in a run after the 7th inning (because it's the "other" in every other year), or Derek Jeter will drive a 2-1 pitch into the ground in f...

By Vince Mercandetti I'm completely aware about the offense too. It should not have been so inconsistent at times this year. There is no reason that extended absenses of two-time MVP winner (in the last three years), Alex Rodriguez, Captain and clutch-hitting Derek Jeter, leadoff hitting spark plug, Johnny D...