To this point, the 2012 MLB season has been a year of ups and downs for the Yankees. After emerging as one of baseball's best over the summer, New York has seen a 10-game division lead evaporate over recent months, creating suspense in the standings and chaos in the city that never sleeps. Such struggles may have sparked midseason changes during the George Steinbrenner era; however, a patient approach from Hank and Hal appears to be the current stance in the Bronx. Failure to make or advance in the playoffs will certainly ...
The Yankees have always relied heavily on the powerful left arm of Andy Pettitte and starting tomorrow afternoon, they'll call on one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history to help lead them back to the promised land once again.Following a nearly three-month hiatus, Andy Pettitte will make his long-awaited 10th start of the season Wednesday in the first-leg of a doubleheader at 1:05pm against Toronto, hoping to recapture the form he had earlier in this season. Truth be told, Pettitte was off to one of the most dominant seasons of ...
Carsten Charles Sabathia has been the most dependable pitcher for the New York Yankees since 2009. He has won 19 or more games every year since dawning the pinstripes, and helped lead the Bombers to their 27th World Championship in 2009. So why would Joe Girardi even consider starting Hiroki Kuroda in a Wild Card Playoff? The stats don’t make Kuroda look better than Sabathia. In fact, their earned run averages for the year are only .37 apart. Kuroda is 14-10 this season with a 3.26 ERA, while Sabathia is 13-6 ...
NOTE: Updated to reflect Tuesday night postponement.At age 40, lefthander Andy Pettitte surely never thought he’d be looked to as the guy to save the New York Yankees’ 2012 season. After all, we’re talking about a guy who didn’t pitch at all in 2011, a guy who retired and thought he’d had enough. But Pettitte came back this season and, outside of a shaky first start, looked solid while posting a 3-3 record with a 3.22 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in his first nine starts. Then there was that fateful ...
Andy Pettitte seems to have at least some interest in hanging around Major League Baseball next season. He told Brian Heyman of the Journal News that because of his injury problems this season, he is more likely to want to try again next year. I can probably say that when I came back, I thought there was no chance that I was coming back (next season), that this was a one-year deal. But getting hurt and only having (about) 60 innings right now when you were hoping to have a ...
The New York Yankees are fighting for a playoff berth, but they won't just be in the playoffs this season—they'll be advancing deep into the playoffs. The first reason to believe in a deep push into October is Derek Jeter. The shortstop has been playing phenomenal baseball, and he's been defying father time. The Yankees' captain is hitting a whopping .323—good enough for third in the American League. It's also worth mentioning that Jeter has 15 homers up to this point, just one shy of his 2010 and 2011 seasons combined. It's ...
More and more, it's looking like the New York Yankees may have righted their ship as they cling to a lead over the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. This past weekend, they secured their 20th consecutive winning season, the second-longest stretch above .500 in their vaunted history, and the playoffs are now within sight in a season full of ups and downs. But for the past 40 years, no one outside of the Steinbrenner Family has seen more of the ups and downs in ...
The New York Yankees' tumultuous 2012 campaign is beginning to come down to the wire.After heading into the All-Star break with the best record in baseball and a seven-game lead in the AL East, the Bombers are currently in a dogfight to maintain control of their one-game lead in the division. The mass hysteria that ensued as the Baltimore Orioles rapidly caught up to an aging Yankees squad in the standings was deafening.However, there are still several reason why the Yankees are in a prime position to win the AL ...
The New York Yankees are currently holding onto first place in the AL East for dear life. With a few more clutch games like the previous two, they should be able to make it to the playoffs.But that's where the real test begins. The Yankees have enough to get into the playoffs, but the question is: Do they have enough to succeed there?Right now, the answer is no. Everyone knows their pitching is suspect. It has been for some years now. People thought this year would be different when it ...
Heading into Sunday afternoon's game with the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees knew they had to win.It was the crucial and deciding game of the three-game set at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees knew they needed to beat their division rivals. They needed to win to hold onto their very small division lead over the Baltimore Orioles—a lead that is just one game.And on Sunday, the Yankees did just that, knocking off the pesky Rays for a 6-4 victory to take the series.Russell Martin continues to have a ...