Brian Cashman ‘Absolutely’ Wants Joe Girardi to Return as Yankees Manager
October 23, 2010
by Ed Price
Filed under: Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Championship Series, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Free Agency
ARLINGTON, Texas — This time, the Core Four may be broken up for good.
With the Yankees‘ season over, it is time for them to deal with four important expiring contracts, those of manager Joe Girardi, stalwart lefty Andy Pettitte, Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera and face-of-the-franchise shortstop Derek Jeter.
“Winter’s upon us,” general manager Brian Cashman said.
Jeter and Girardi are near-locks to return, with Cashman saying he “absolutely” wants the manager to return. And Rivera certainly seems capable of closing for another year.
“This is where they belong,” Cashman said.
Josh Hamilton Is ALCS MVP | Yanks ‘Absolutely’ Want Girardi Back
Game 6: Rangers 6, Yankees 1 | Box Score | Scouting Notes
But Pettitte sounds closer than ever to retiring, a decision he will grapple with for the fourth straight offseason.
“I wish I could tell you, I really do,” said Pettitte, 38. “I wish I knew. I’m just not sure.
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Yankees Flop in Every Facet of ALCS
October 23, 2010
by Ed Price
Filed under: Rangers, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Championship Series
ARLINGTON, Texas — Other than getting out-pitched, out-hit and out-managed, the Yankees had a fine American League Championship Series.
After his team was eliminated Friday, general manager Brian Cashman was asked if he was surprised …
“… that they whacked us like that?” he said, finishing the question. “Yeah, it’s surprising.
“Do I think we’re better than what we showed in this series? Absolutely.”
The Yankees have to be better than they were against the Rangers. The Yankees got outscored 38-19 in the series, just the fifth time in franchise history they were out-scored by a 2-1 margin in a postseason series.
“They hit better than us,” Derek Jeter said. “They pitched better than us. Overall, they played better than us. I don’t know what the stats are, but they beat us. That’s the best way to put it.”
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FanHouse TV: Playoff Pulse Friday
October 22, 2010
by FanHouse TV
Filed under: Giants, Phillies, Rangers, Yankees, MLB Playoffs
Heading into the 2010 MLB Playoffs, many experts were predicting a rematch of the 2009 World Series between the Yankees and the Phillies. After both teams won their Game 5′s, the rematch is still possible.
FanHouse TV’s Steve Phillips takes a look at how it happened, and what each team has to do to force a decisive Game 7 in Friday’s edition of the “Playoff Pulse”.
Click to Watch:
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Two Home Run Controversies in One Inning Between Yankees, Rangers
October 20, 2010
by John Hickey
Filed under: Rangers, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, MLB Umpires, American League Championship Series
NEW YORK — Call it Boundary Baseball — the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees both came out of the bottom of the second inning Tuesday believing they’d been jobbed on a home run call.
With one out and the game still scoreless, Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano lofted a pitch from Texas starter Tommy Hunter just barely over the right-field wall.
Texas right fielder Nelson Cruz jumped for the ball, and while he didn’t touch it, he seemed to argue that he’d been denied a chance to get the ball which was touched by fans just inches from his glove.
The bleacher bums were so close to the play that one made hand contact with Cruz’s glove briefly before the outfielder came back down to earth.
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Untouchable Cliff Lee Ratchets Up Yankees’ Sense of Urgency in ALCS
October 19, 2010
by John Hickey
Filed under: Rangers, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Championship Series
NEW YORK — There are still four potential games left in the American League Championship Series, but in the wake of the Texas Rangers‘ 8-0 win over New York Monday, it’s looking suspiciously like the Yankees are facing a series of three must-win games.
The Rangers‘ Cliff Lee, who beat the Yankees twice in the World Series last year while with the Phillies, threw eight shutout innings Monday, allowing just two hits. And he would pitch Game 7, something the Yankees simply don’t want to see.
To avoid that eventuality, New York needs to win the next three games.
Lee is so deep into the Yankee psyche right now that you’d expect “Deep in the Heart of Texas” to be played at game’s end instead of “New York, New York.” Any deeper and the “NY” on the Yankee caps would have to be replaced by “CL.”
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Yankees Didn’t Need Much Bubbly After Ousting Bumbling Twins
October 10, 2010
by Ed Price
Filed under: Twins, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Division Series
NEW YORK — Somehow, it felt like the Yankees shouldn’t have even popped the champagne late Saturday night.
Sure, they won their American League Division Series to advance to the Championship Series. But Yankees-Twins has replaced “Everybody Loves Raymond” as the most predictable show on TBS.
The Yankees won 6-1 Saturday to finish off the sweep, and once Robinson Cano led off the bottom of the second inning with a triple, the outcome never felt in doubt — even when Kerry Wood vainly tried to make it competitive in the eighth.
By the end of the fourth inning, it was 5-0, and it felt like 50-0. The Twins went down in 10 pitches or fewer in four of their seven innings against Phil Hughes and lost their ninth straight postseason game against the Yankees.
“We wanted to finish this today, because you don’t want to give the other team any hope,” Derek Jeter said.
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Derek Jeter Looks to October to Forget About Tough Season
October 6, 2010
by Ed Price
Filed under: Yankees, MLB Playoffs, American League Division Series
As Derek Jeter was heading toward the end of the least productive regular season of his career, a scout noted that “I’ve never seen him look this bad.”
So was that age, or a slump?
“It’s a slump,” the scout said.
Another scout was asked if Jeter, whose average fell from .334 in 2009 to .270 this year, could ever hit .300 again?
“He can,” the scout said.
Jeter, 36, can prove the scouts right, and the detractors wrong, with a big postseason. Some clutch hits wouldn’t surprise anyone, and they would all but wipe out any memory of the regular season.
Which was pretty much dreadful. Of the American League’s 69 players who qualified for the batting title, Jeter was 57th in slugging (.370) and 48th in OPS (.710). He made 515 outs, tying Juan Pierre for the most in the majors.
Frankie Piliere’s Scouting Reports: Twins | Yankees
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Yankees Capture 27th World Series Title
September 2, 2010
Filed under: Phillies, Yankees, MLB Playoffs, World Series
NEW YORK (AP) — Paint the town in pinstripes! Nearly a decade after their dynasty ended on a blooper in the desert, the New York Yankees are baseball’s best again.
Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record with six RBIs, Andy Pettitte won on short rest and New York beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 on Wednesday night, finally seizing that elusive 27th title – the most in all of sports.
It was the team’s first since winning three straight from 1998-2000.
Fletcher: Phillies Abdicate Throne | Moore: Yanks Quit Playing Games
Price: Uncertain Future for N.Y. Trio | Olson: Phillies Fade Into Night
Box Score | Matsui MVP | A-Rod Finally a Champ | Fans Rejoice in Victory