NFL Head Coaches on the Hot Seat

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By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

One of the best times of the year is upon us as NFL training camps opened up around the league meaning that football is getting closer and closer to starting. This is the time when everyone thinks they have a chance to contend in the upcoming season and things are as laid back as they will ever be during the NFL calendar. The laid back vibes cannot be enjoyed by everyone though. Every year there are some coaches whose seats are hotter than others and this season is no different. Here are some coaches whose seats are heating up as the season approaches.

W2W4: Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 9-11^th, 2013

W2W4: Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees

The New York Yankees will be heading back home to start a weekend series against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night, licking their wounds a bit from being swept in Chicago by the White Sox. Entering the series, the Yankees are (57-56) on the season, and a losing series against the Tigers would move the Yankees to either .500 or below

- Pitching Match-Ups

Opening the Series on Friday night for the Yankees will be one of their better Pitchers of late in Ivan Nova (5-4, 3.08), and he will be facing a Pitcher who has also been throwing the ball well lately in Rick Porcello (8-6, 4.28). In Game 2 the Yankees will have the tough task of facing Anibal Sanchez (9-7, 2.58), and he will be facing the struggling Phil Hughes (4-10, 4.87). Game 3 on paper also looks to be a tough one for the Yankees, as Andy Pettitte (7-9, 4.71) will be facing former Cy Young and MVP, Justin Verlander (12-8, 3.62).

- Cheer or Boo

Yankees Third Baseman Alex Rodriguez will be making his home debut, and the big question is how will Yankees fans react to him being back in pinstripes. Rodriguez had a pretty good series in Chicago, as he went three for 11 with two walks. He didn’t look to rusty, but to think that Rodriguez is going to be the power hitter that he once was seems very unlikely at this point.

- Snap the Streak

The Tigers are the hottest team in baseball right now coming into the Bronx riding a 12-game winning streak. Most impressively for the Tigers was their most recent series in Cleveland against the Indians, as Detroit swept them on the road, which helped them extend their division lead.

- Not Looking Good

As it's is always for the Yankees their goal is to make the playoffs, but this year they are just one game over .500, and after being swept by a bad team in Chicago, the Yankees need to start winning or their playoff hopes will be over soon. The division seems impossible for the Yankees to get, as they are now 11 games back of the Boston Red Sox. The two Wild Card spots in the AL are still very much within grasp for the Yankees, as they are just seven games back, but with a lot of teams in front of them.

Yankees Fall To 0-2 With Alex Rodriguez

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A rough road trip for the Yankees continues as they fall to the White Sox 3-2 last night in Chicago. Another solid start by the ace of this team Hiroki Kuroda was wasted as the Yankee lineup failed to give him run support. Kuroda went 7.0 innings allowing three runs on nine hits and struck out four. He now falls to 10-7 on the season mainly due to poor run support. But in some cases he has been the Yankees ace since the struggles of C.C. Sabathia and the rest of the Starting Pitchers on the team.

The Yankees only managed seven hits through nine innings, one of those hits coming from Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod is two for six since returning to the Yankees batting .333 on the season. I expect more from a player who is being linked to PEDs use. It might take Alex a few more games before getting back into the swing of things after going through a second hip surgery and missing four months of action. Last night Joe Girardi had Rodriguez as the Designated Hitter after playing Third Base in his first game. At the plate A-Rod followed up his one for four debut by going one for two with a single, walk and reaching base after being hit by a pitch.

Down 3-1, Yankees tried to rally back in the 9th. With one out, Ichiro Suzuki singled to left and reached Second Base on a fielder's indifference. Austin Romine struck out looking for the second out of the inning. Ichiro then scored on a single to right from Brett Gardner, but White Sox Closer Addison Reed got the save by striking out Alfonso Soriano. A-Rod was on deck when Soriano struck out swinging to end the game with the tying run on first. Sadly this is the Yankees 13th loss in the last 19 games.

Chris Sale was dealing last night going 7.1 Innings and giving up five hits, one run, and struck out six Yankee hitters. The only run he allowed was a passed ball by Josh Phegley, which allowed Soriano to score.

Hoping that Alex Rodriguez can provide a spark and help this Yankee team start winning games to make a playoff run is looking hopeless at this point. They are relying on a player who is coming off hip surgery and has a long suspension hanging over him after MLB and Bud Selig released the suspensions on Monday. With a little less than two months left and being 10.5 games behind Boston, its hard to think the Yankees have enough games to make up that kind of ground. Also they are currently 6 games behind the Wild card leaders Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers. Playing for a Wild Card berth seems to be more realistic for the Yankees, but they will need to start winning games now and start scoring runs.

Next up for the Yankees they will look to avoid the sweep at the hand of the White Sox, as C.C. Sabathia (9-10, 4.78) will look to fix his problems of late against Hector Santiago (3-7, 3.28).

Pettitte Gets Rocked in Yankees Loss to White Sox

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 5^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Chicago White Sox

Final Score: Yankees 1 White Sox 8

The New York Yankees had yet another let down against a poor team, this time against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. The loss moves the Yankees to (57-54), which is 9.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East, and five games behind both Wild Card Spots.

Yankees Starter Andy Pettitte had a very bad start, which resulted in his ninth loss of the season, and the second straight awful start from a Yankees Pitcher. The White Sox wasted little time getting to Pettitte, as in the first inning they scored three runs started from an RBI single from Alex Rios that scored Alexi Ramirez for the first run of the game. Adam Dunn would hit a sac-fly a few batters later to score Jeff Keppinger for the second run of the inning, and the Gordon Beckham would hit a single to score Rios for the third run. In the second inning Rios would get to Pettitte again, as he picked up two more RBIs on a single, which scored Josh Phegley and Keppinger, making it a 5-0 White Sox lead. The third inning would be Pettitte's last, as another bad inning led to two more runs against him, as Ramirez singled home Beckham, and with the bases loaded Joe Girardi pulled Pettitte for Preston Claiborne, who walked in the seventh White Sox run of the game before getting the final out in the inning. Pettitte finished going just 2.2 innings allowing seven runs on 11 hits, and one walk in what was an awful start.

W2W4: New York Yankees vs Chicago White Sox

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

W2W4: New York Yankees vs Chicago White Sox

August 5-7^th

The New York Yankees will be heading into the Windy City after a disappointing series loss against the San Diego Padres, and one Monday night they will be looking to regroup and win their final series against the Chicago White Sox on their road-trip.

- Pitching Match-Ups

On Monday night in Game 1 of the three-game series it will be a match-up of two lefties, as Andy Pettitte (7-8, 4.28) will be facing Jose Quintana (5-3, 3.62). Game 2 will have both teams aces on the mound, as Hiroki Kuroda (10-6, 2.38) will be facing Chris Sale (6-11, 2.92) in what should be a great pitchers duel. In Game 3 the Yankees will be sending the struggling C.C. Sabathia (9-10, 4.78) to the mound, as if he is going to get back on track after three horrendous starts, the White Sox are the team to do that against, and his opposing Pitcher will be Hector Santiago (3-7, 3.28).

Yankees Lose Series in San Diego

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 4^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs San Diego Padres Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 3 Padres 6

The New York Yankees were unable to come up with a win on Sunday, losing the rubber game of a three-game series series in San Diego against the Padres. The loss moves the Yankees to (57-53), and are now 9.5 games behind the division leading Boston Red Sox.

Phil Hughes was absolutely awful on Sunday, as his poor performance put the Yankees in a early hole that was just to much for them to get out of, and it gave Hughes his 10^th loss of the season. The Padres wasted little time getting to Hughes, as in the second inning they got three runs on a sac-fly by Mark Kotsay, and then a two-out RBI single by Everth Cabrera scored Chris Denorfia and Nick Hundley. In the third inning Hughes gave up two more runs, as Denorfia hit a sac-fly to score Alexi Amarista, and then Kotsay singled home Chase Headley, which led to Joe Girardi pulling Hughes out of the game. Hughes went only 2.1 innings allowing five runs on six hits, and two walks.

Yankees Bounce Back Behind Strong Start From Nova

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 3^rd, 2013

New York Yankees vs San Diego Padres Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 3 Padres 0

The New York Yankees were able to bounce back in the second game of the series against the San Diego Padres on Saturday night, with a shutout victory. The win moves the Yankees to (57-52), but they were unable to gain any ground in the AL East, as they still sit 8.5 games behind the first place Boston Red Sox.

After getting a horrible start from C.C. Sabathia on Friday night, Ivan Nova was exceptional on Saturday night, and picked up his fifth win of the season. Nova went seven shutout innings allowing only four hits, one walk, and struckout eight batters. With the good start Nova sees his ERA drop to 3.08, as he is quite possibly pitching better than ever right now.