Yankees Playoff Hopes Dwindle with Loss Against Blue Jays

nytimes.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

September 19^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 2 Blue Jays 6

The New York Yankees season may have very well ended in the the great white North against the Toronto Blue Jays, as they loss the series to the last place Blue Jays. The loss moves the Yankees to (80-73) on the season, which is 3.5 games behind the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays for the final two Wild Card spots.

Yankees Starter Hiroki Kuroda was in trouble all night long, but despite clearly not being on his game again he manged to keep the Yankees close. In the third inning the Blue Jays would finally get to Kuroda, as Jose Reyes hit a RBI double to score Anthony Gose, and then Reyes would score on a RBI ground out by Brett Lawrie. Gose would touch home plate again in the sixth inning, as he hit a solo-home run, which was his second of the season. Kuroda would finish going six innings allowing three runs on eight hits, and four walks, while striking out seven batters.

W2W4: Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets

Nflrush.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

September 22^nd, 2013

W2W4: Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets

The New York Jets will be playing their division opponent the Buffalo Bills for the first time this season, with both teams coming into the game with a (1-1) record, and both have lost to the New England Patriots in close games for each team.

- Rookie Quarterbacks

This game will probably come down to the battle of rookie Quarterbacks, as E.J. Manuel will be facing off against Geno Smith. Even though it is only two games through the season so far, Manuel has the edge over Smith so far, as in his two games Manuel has been pretty good throwing for 446 yards on 68% passing, to go along with three touchdowns passes. Smith has fared as well as Manuel, as in Smith's two games hes thrown for 470 yards on 53% passing, with one touchdown and four interceptions. Protecting the ball has been done much better so far by Manuel compared to Smith, as Manuel has just two turnovers, and Smith has five so far.

Yankees Rally in 8th to Defeat Blue Jays

nydailynews.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

September 18^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 4 Blue Jays 3

The New York Yankees were able to snap their four-game losing streak on Wednesday in Toronto with a victory over the Blue Jays. The win moves the Yankees to (80-72), which keeps their Wild Card hopes alive, as they are now 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers for the final Wild Card spot.

Phil Hughes got the start for the Yankees in this crucial game, and like last time Joe Girardi did a Hughes/David Huff combo to get through this game. Hughes went three scoreless innings before giving up a 451ft two-run home run to Colby Rasmus. Hughes went 3.1 innings allowing two runs on four hits, and was pulled for Huff in the fourth inning.

The first batter Huff would face was Ryan Goins, and he promptly hit his first home run of the season. Huff would settle down after that however, as he finished going 3.2 innings allowing just the home run to Goins, and he earned his third win of the season.

Yankees Lose 4th Straight Game

postcresent.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

September 17^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 0 Blue Jays 2

The New York Yankees lost their fourth straight game on Tuesday night, this time at the hands of the last place Toronto Blue Jays. The loss moves the Yankees to (79-72) on the season, which is 3.5 games behind the two Wild Card spots.

Andy Pettitte came through with a yet another good start for the Yankees, but with zero run support, he picked up his 10^th loss of the season. Pettitte would make only one mistake in this game, that coming in the fourth inning, as Colby Rasmus hit a solo-home run, which broke the scoreless game up, and was his 21^st home run of the season. Pettitte would finish going 6.2 innings allowing just the one run on six hits and two walks.

Geno Struggles Against Patriots

By Ryan McDonald(@RonnieMac90)

The Jets fell to 1-1 on the season after a 13-10 lost to the Patriots in Foxborough Thursday night. It was a mistake filled night for both teams but the Patriots made less.

It was a missed opportunity for the Jets, as Tom Brady looked anything but his normal self. Brady missed numerous throws early on, overthrowing a touchdown pass to Edelman. Combined with the rookie receivers the Patriots had out there which resulted in numerous drops and miscommunications, it was anything but the normal passing attack we've come to expect from the Patriots. However, even with all of the Patriots offensive problems, the Jets couldn't capitalize.

The young rookie Geno Smith looked like a rookie, throwing for 3 interceptions, all in the fourth quarter. One interception was the result of a bad decision by Geno to throw into coverage while the Jets were in field goal range. The other two interceptions were the result of poorly thrown balls late in the fourth quarter. It's definitely a setback for Geno, but there are other factors that largely contributed to the Jets loss.

There were some positives for the Jets in this game. Mainly, they were able to find their running game. Against Tampa Bay in week 1, the Jets were not able to run the ball at all. That changed against the Pats as Chris Ivory rushed 12 times for 52 yards and Bilal Powell rushed 13 times for 48 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, the Jets went away from the running game in the 2nd half. Even though the Jets were only down a field goal, offensive coordinator Marty Morthinweg decided to go with more a pass heavy attack. It didn't work and Marty wasn't able to provide help for his rookie quarterback in playcalling.

It was an ugly game, and ended ugly with a scuffle breaking out after Geno's last interception. Two Jets offensive linemen, Willie Colon and D'Brickishaw Ferguson were ejected and fined heavily by the NFL for their actions during the scuffle. Luckily, they will not be suspended.

Next up for the New York Jets are the Buffalo Bills at MetLife. Both teams are 1-1 with one loss in the division.

Denver Broncos vs New York Giants Week 2 Recap/Grades

Frank Franklin II/Associate Press

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

The third edition of the Manning Bowl this weekend did not exactly live up to the hype that surrounded it pre-game; unless you are a Denver Broncos fan. The Broncos ended up taking control in the second half of the game as big brother Peyton was able to hand little brother Eli his third loss in the head-to-head series. Eli’s New York Giants struggled to get anything going on offense and the defense just could not contain Peyton and the Broncos offense all game. I will break down the performances of each team by grading them out; each team performed on opposite sides of the spectrum and the grades will show that as the Broncos had the upper hand across the board.

Yankees Get Swept in Boston

washingtonpost.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

September 15^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 2 Red Sox 9

The New York Yankees suffered a very bad sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball, as they got blown out in the final game of the season against Boston. The loss moves the Yankees to (79-71) on the season, and are now three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the final Wild Card spot.

Red Sox Starter Clay Buchholz having his best season of his career, kept that going against the Yankees on Sunday night, as he earned his 11^th win of the season. The Yankees only got one run off of Buchholz, as in the first inning a error by Buchholz allowed Granderson to Third Base, and then he was knocked in with an RBI ground out by Rodriguez. Buchholz finished going six innings allowing just the one unearned run on two hits and four walks.