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Are the lights at Yankee Stadium getting dark at an unusual time?  Before OCTOBER?  The streak of making the postseason 13 straight years is in serious jeopardy.  Entering play on September 5th, the Yankees are 7 1/2 games out in the Wild Card race with only 22 games left. 

The Yankees have been playing well as of late.  This current crucial 10 game roadtrip, currently with a 3-1 record, is a MUST win situation.  The only problem is that “The Nation” also keeps winning dimming the chances of a 14th straight post season in the Bronx.  It may be too little to late. 

I point at the starting pitching. What a surprise right?  The Yankee’s pitching staff has been very inconsistent all season long.  Where would they be if Santana, or even Sabathia, was in the rotation?  One can only wonder!  All we can do is sit back and watch to see if the Bombers have yet another trick up their sleeves - and some magic left in the “House that Ruth Built!

The Yankees have lost five of seven on this road trip, including being swept by the Angels.  So what else is new, the Angels have OWNED the Yanks for a while now.  It’s on to Minnesota for a big 3 game series with the Twins.  The Yankees need to win this series if they want to stay in contention in the WC race because face it, it seems as though the Rays will win the division.  YES, you heard me correctly. 

The Bombers need to figure out what is goin on in the bullpen, this will be crucial if they want to make the playoffs and have a chance to go deep into October and claim #27.

So the trade deadline ended at 4pm eastern, and the Yankees got Ivan Rodriguez from the TIgers for Kyle Farnsworth, and got Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates last week.  Ok, here’s how the team is set up for the next month until the September call-ups.  Pudge Rodriguez behind the plate, with Posada out for the rest of the year after shoulder surgery, Jose Molina once again relegated to back-up duty, and Nady spelling Damon or Cabrera in the outfield, while also able to play right field if Girardi wants to give Abreu a day off.  This means that Damon could DH with Giambi at 1st, like game one of this weekend’s series against the Halos.  I’m certainly not thrilled about the acquisition of Richie Sexson, but he was relatively inexpensive and therefore not a huge risk.  He may even challenge Joba for the team lead in strikeouts.  And yes, we’ll miss Farnsworth, but Jose Veras has pitched well in the 8th and Marte is a solid lefty that was needed in the bullpen.  Not only with those moves, but with the Red Sox trading Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers and replacing him with Jason Bay, and the Rays doing NOTHING to upgrade their team, I see the Yanks winning the division with the Rays getting the wild card and the defending champion Boston Red Sox MISSING THE PLAYOFFS.  Oh, and Ian Kennedy is rehabbing in Tampa, and Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano are at AAA Trenton!  And Wang could be back by September!  So they didn’t get a starting pitcher.  There could  be 4 on the way, and the offense is doing just fine.  There is still there time to get number 27!

In a game that could be associated with pinball because of its back and forth action, Johnny Damon capped off a perfect day with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning scoring Wilson Betemit giving the Yanks yet another come-from-behind victory 12-11. The Yankees are once again at 500, 31-31. Johnny Damon was six for six scoring one, knocking home four and swiping his 10th bag of the year.

The Yankees are starting to put together some big wins but they are still dwelling in the cellar of the AL East. While this was a great win for the Bombers they can’t keep giving up all these runs. Consistency has been an issue for the Yankees so far this season, but if the last two wins are a sign of what is to come then they can’t start to make a push for the playoffs as we enter the middle portion of the season. Joba will take the hill tomorrow afternoon and look to improve on his 1-2 record as he looks for his first win as a starter.

One day after the Yankees cap a dramatic comeback against the Toronto Blue Jays with a pinch-hit walk-off homerun by Jason Giambi, the Yankees can only muster one run against the Kansas City Royals. Jason Giambi won Thursday’s game against Toronto 9-8 with a two-run homer, becoming the first player in club history to turn a deficit into a victory by connecting for a pinch-hit homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth

Darrell Rasner pitched into the eighth inning, which is the longest outing of his career. He scattered 9 hits over those eight innings, that outing went for naught because he was outduled by Kyle Davies, who gave up only one run in six and two-thirds innings. The last time Davies pitched at the Stadium he served up the historic 500th HR to A-Rod.

The Yankees only lose for the second time in their last nine home games. The Yankees are once again below 500 at 30-31, and they blow a chance at gaining ground on the first place Red Sox who were blasted by the Seattle Mariner at Fenway Park 8-0. Andy Pettitte will try and get the Yanks back to 500 and back to their winning ways as they play an afternoon affair against the Royals.

Joba Chamberlain never envisioned his first career ML start to end the way it did.  He through 62 pitches, walked four, gave up 2 runs and even had a balk for good measure.  Believe it or not this was in only 2.1 innings on June 3, 2008 against the Toronto Blue Jays.  He needed 38 pitches to get out of the first inning alone. 

 Is Joba ready for the starting rotation?  Is this the only option the Yankees have?  If you take Joba out of the set up role, who do you replace him with?  Kyle Farnsworth blew it in Minnesota on Monday night, Edwar Ramirez didn’t fair so well for himself on Tuesday night.  Do the Yankees need to make a mmove sooner versus later to acquire another arm for the bullpen, or is he just waiting in the wings down on the farm? 

 I believe the Yankees give Joba a few more starts and then they make the decision.  They cannot continue to plummet in the AL East.  Entering play on Wednesday they are two games below .500, last in the division and seven games behind the Rays.  Something needs to be done NOW or the Yankees streak of 13consecutive years in the playoffs will end.  What do you think needs to be done?

The Yankees had a 9 game homestand where I feel that they needed to win at least 6. Did they do that? NO. But they did manage to get swept by the Tiger, then they swept the Mariners and then they lost 2 of 3 to the Cleveland Indians. This trend has to stop if the Yankees want to make it to the post season. I know the pitching is starting to come around but they have to continue to be consistent. I am not so much worried about the offense because when A-ROD and Jorge Posada are back then the offense will be complete. I think our key is pitching because as long as the offense does their part then the pitching staff will have to do the same because we are falling into another deep hole in the AL East. I know it is still early but we can’t have a repeat of last year or we will not make it deep into the playoffs.

The Yankees began a road trip in Detroit splitting the 1st 2 games and the 3rd was rained out. The Yankees need to have a good showing in Tampa against the RED HOT Rays who are coming off a sweep against the Angels. We need to win this series before we head home and open up interleague play against the cross-town Mets.

Okay, so its 3 weeks into the season, and your Yanks are only at .500.  It could be worse, and it certainly could be alot better.  They have two more series on the road, in Chicago against the White Sox for a three-game set and in Cleveland for four.  There is reason to be optimistic!!!  The Bombers were 12-4 against these teams last year, including 7-3 on the road (6-0 vs. the Tribe overall).  Mike Mussina has 2 starts, and Kennedy and Hughes have 1 apiece before this road trip is up.  Let’s hope they can make George’s boy Hank bite his tongue a little when they put some solid starts and wins in the left-hand column.  By the way, Joba belongs in the bullpen…don’t forget that Mariano Rivera is 38 (39 after the season), and making $15 million this season.  Joba Chamberlain, on the other hand, is only 22 and making $390,000 in 2008.  Sounds like a bargain!  A young power pitcher that can continue to make his mark for the winningest team ever, and then have the closer’s job when it becomes available, and then you pay him the big bucks?  Keep him in the pen and save that arm.  As it is, Darrell Rasner is 3-0 with an ERA at 0.72 for AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre.  Use the farm system, but don’t freak out, it is still only April. 

Chien-Ming Wang was on his game last night as the greatest rivalry in all sports resumed in the ballpark of the World Champion Red Sox, but the Yankees continued to show them who their “daddy” is.

Wang only allowed 2 hits including a fifth inning HR to improve to 3-0 on this early season. I feel that Wang has something to prove after not winning the CY Young award and failing the Yankees in the playoffs. This is the best start that he could have had, showing that he is most definitely their ace. Wang got help with a Giambi HR and an RBI double by Jose Molina. The offense is getting started again after they laid an egg in Kansas City losing 2 of 3 to the Royals.

Mike Mussina will take the hill this afternoon and will oppose Josh Beckett. This will be a big game for the Moose as he looks for his 2nd The Red Sox enter this game in last place in the AL East. I know it’s early, but the Sox are in the place they should be and if the Yanks win today and Baltimore loses, the Yanks will be all alone in 1st place. The Yankees are pretty much off to the same start as last year, but they really have something to prove this season as they are in search for Championship #27 in their last season in the “House that Ruth Built.” consecutive good start.

Yanks take it to the Sox and show them that even if they bury a Red Sox shirt under the visitors clubhouse, they still own them and they will NEVER have a drought like the Sox had before they won the World Series in 2004. GO YANKS!

Even though the Yankees had to wait an extra day to get the season started, and were outscored 9-8, manager Joe Girardi has to be happy with a 2-1 start. The offense hasn’t kicked into gear yet but A-Rod has gone yard for the first time this season, and the bullpen showed what they are capable of in these three games.

The Yanks had to come from behind in their book end wins in the opening series of the season but this is quite possibly the most potent line-up in all of baseball, except maybe for the Detroit Tigers and that is why this team is NEVER out of a game until the 27th out is recorded. This line-up has weapons from 1-9 and even on the bench, so they keep everyone guessing and on the edge of our seats for 9 innings.

The only concern I have at this point is Mike Mussina. He doesn’t seem sharp anymore and he is not fooling hitters the way he has in the past. He gave up all the runs in the middle game of the series, and if I am Girardi I would move him down in the rotation once Pettitte comes back from the DL. All in all it was a good series, and the Yanks are showing signs of coming alive and beginning the season better than last year.

Up next for the Bombers was a weekend series with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays….I mean Rays. Do you really think changing their name is going to help? Not this year but watch out for this team with young pitching and hitting this team may start to come to life in the next few seasons. If they can get some relief help and some starters for the back end of the rotation they can contend.

Ok, so I thought the Yankees would probably take 3 of 4. Boy was I wrong. They split with the Tampa Bay Rays, being outscored 19-7 in the first two games. They were embarrassed to say the least. I know it is still April but these are the games you should win, especially at home. Starting pitching was an issue in both of the losses and then final 2 games the starting pitching was a big reason why this team took the last 2 games outscoring the Rays 8-2. In the finally the Yankees had several season highs with 6 runs and 11 hits. The offense is showing signs of life but we have a long way to go. The question remains, can the Yankees score 1000 runs. Let us know what you think and stay connected with the Yankees right here and tell all your family and friends about Yankeescast.com!