Yankees Sign Jacoby Ellsbury to Monster Deal

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By Nick Ziegler 

December 4th, 2013

The New York Yankees have made their second big splash of an off-season that originally was thought to be one of trying to cut payroll, but has been the complete opposite so far. On Tuesday night they signed now former Red Sox Center Fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. After handing a five-year 85 million dollar contract to Catcher Brian McCann, the Yankees have now added a seven-year 153 million dollar contract for Ellsbury to their payroll.

This contract for the Yankees is going to be taking a lot of heat, and deservingly so. Although Jacoby Ellsbury is a very good player he does have trouble staying on the field. Another scary part of the contract for the Yankees is the seven years for a 30 year old player that relies most of his game on his legs, as he is coming off a 52 stolen base season. In his 2012 contract season, Ellsbury batted .298 with 172 hits, 92 runs scored, 31 doubles, eight triples, nine homeruns, 53 RBIs, and the aforementioned 52 stolen bases in 134 games. Power wise Ellsbury had one monster year in 2011, hitting 32 homeruns that season, but excluding that year he only has 33 career homeruns. It will be something to watch in 2014 if Ellsbury can find the short porch a few times.

Yankees Rally in 8th to Defeat Blue Jays

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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.

W2W4: New York Yankees vs San Diego Padres

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

W2W4: New York Yankees vs San Diego Padres Series Preview

August 2-4^th

After a split in Los Angeles against the Dodgers to start the New York Yankees eight-game road-trip, the Yankees will now be in San Diego to start a three-game series against the Padres. The Yankees are now (56-51), which is 8.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East, and this looks to be a winnable series on paper against the Padres, who are just (50-59).

- Pitching Match-Ups

In Game 1 of the series it will be the struggling C.C. Sabathia (9-9, 4.65), who has lost three of his last four starts, and has given up seven runs in each of his last two starts, facing Andrew Cashner (7-5, 3.88). In Game 2 Ivan Nova (4-4, 3.41) will be on the mound facing Tyson Ross (2-4, 2.90), who has won his last two starts, only allowing one run in 14 innings. In Game 3 the Yankees will be facing a familiar face in Ian Kennedy (3-8, 5.23), who will making his debut with the Padres against his former teammate Phil Hughes (4-9, 4.58).

Sabathia Blows Lead for Yankees in Baltimore

northjersey.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

June 28^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Baltimore Orioles

Final Score: Yankees 3 Orioles 4

The New York Yankees were unable to start their series against the division rival Baltimore Orioles on a good note losing 4-3. The loss moves the Yankees to (42-37) on the season, and are now 5.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in the AL East.

The offense for the Yankees got to T.J McFarland early to chase him out of the game after just going 2.2 innings. McFarland gave up three runs on seven hits, and one walk before his early exit. Robinson Cano got the Yankees on the board in the first inning with an RBI base hit that scored Brett Gardner, who was on base after a lead off double. The Yankees would knock McFarland out of the game before finishing the third inning, as Vernon Wells had a RBI base hit which scored Jayson Nix, and then Chris Stewart had a RBI base hit that scored Robinson Cano. The third inning however would be the last time the Yankees scored on Friday night.

Yankees Get Come From Behind Victory Against Rays

nytimes.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

June 22^nd, 2013

Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Rays 5 Yankees 7

The New York Yankees were able to win their second straight game against the Tampa Bay Rays, this time in come from behind fashion to ensure at worst a split in the four-game series. The win moves the Yankees to (41-33), which is three games behind the Red Sox for first place.

C.C. Sabathia's woes against the Rays continued on Saturday afternoon, but with a lot of run support, Sabathia was able to notch his eighth victory of the season. Evan Longoria got the Rays on the board in the second inning off of Sabathia, which was Longoria's 17^th of the season, and third of the series. The big hit off Sabathia came in the sixth inning, as rookie Wil Meyers hit a Grand Slam off of Sabathia, which made it a 5-3 game, and was Meyers' first home run since being called up. Sabathia finished going seven innings allowing five runs on six hits, and two walks.

Pettitte Gets Milestone Win Number 250

yankees.lhblogs.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

June 8^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Seattle Mariners Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 3 Mariners 1

The New York Yankees were able to bounce back on Saturday afternoon after what had to be an extremely disappointing loss to Jeremy Bonderman on Friday. The offense wasn’t great in this one, but Andy Pettitte gave an exceptional start in his milestone victory. The win moves the Yankees (36-26), and are just 1.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

The offense for the Yankees wasted no time getting Pettitte an early lead, as they were able to get a two-out rally going off Joe Saunders. Mark Teixeira had a double, and then Robinson Cano knocked him in with a base-hit for 40^th RBI of the season. The offense would go quiet for a while before Jayson Nix was able to break a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with a base-hit the scored Ichiro Suzuki. Nix would also add an insurance run for the Yankees in the seventh inning, as after a double by Brett Gardner Joe Saunders was pulled for Danny Farquhar, and Nix promptly knocked in Gardner with a single. Overall it was a pretty good start from Joe Saunders, as he finished going 6.1 innings allowing three runs on seven hits, and two walks, but with no run support he picked up his sixth loss of the year.

Hughes Gets Rocked as Yankees Lose Badly

nytimes.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

May 15th, 2013

Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Mariners 12 Yankees 2

The New York Yankees after a nice come from behind win against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night were blow out of the Bronx on Thursday by a sub-par offense club. The Yankees are now (25-15) on the season, and still have a two-game lead in the AL East.

Yankees Starting Pitcher had the worst start of his career on Wednesday night, and picked up his third loss of the season, while seeing his ERA balloon to 5.88. Hughes only got two outs in the first inning, as he allowed seven runs on six hits, and two walks before getting pulled. This is Hughes’ second straight bad start, as he is showing that consistency is a very big issue.

Brett Marshall made his first appearance this season for the Yankees, and got rocked like Hughes did. Marshall went 5.2 innings allowing five runs on nine hits, and five walks. Marshall was eventually pulled after 108 pitches for Alberto Gonzalez, who came in and got the final out in the ninth inning.

Yankees Bounce Back in Second Game of Doubleheader

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

May 13th, 2013

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians Game 2 Recap

Final Score: Yankees 7 Indians 0

In the old school traditional doubleheader after about a 20 minute break in between games, the Yankees were able to bounce back from being shutout in Game 1. In Game 2 the Yankees got their revenge from being shutout, by shutting out the Indians to split the doubleheader, and move to (24-14) on the season.

Vidal Nuno made his first career start in Game 2, and was sensational for the Yankees. Nuno picked up his first career win, by going five innings, while allowing three hits, three walks, and mostly importantly zero runs.

Adam Warren was very good as well pitching the final four innings for the Yankees after Nuno was taken out. Warren went four innings allowing only two hits, zero runs, and was able to strikeout four batters. Warren also was able to earn his first save of the season with the unconventional four inning save.

Yankees Take Rubber Game in Colorado

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

May 9th, 2013

New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 3 Rockies 1

The New York Yankees were able to finish up their series in Colorado on a high-note by taking the rubber game of the three game series. The win moves the Yankees into first place in the AL East with a (20-13) record, which is a few percentage points ahead of the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.

C.C Sabathia got the start for the Yankees, but due to a lengthy rain delay of two hours Sabathia’s start was cut short. He ended up going four innings allowing only one run on one hit, and a walk. Sabathia did look good in his four innings of work, but the velocity is still a big question, as his fastball only topped out at 91 MPH.

Wells Carries Yankees Past Rockies

northjersey.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

May 8th, 2013

New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 3 Rockies 2

The New York Yankees were able to snap their two game losing streak on Wednesday night in Colorado against the Rockies a day after being shutout. The offense wasn’t great, but with enough good pitching the Yankees got the win and move to (19-13) on the season.

David Phelps got the start for the Yankees, and with Ivan Nova on the disabled list, Phelps has a chance to prove that he should be the fifth starter in the rotation. Phelps came out with a strong out against a good Rockies lineup in the no decision. He went six innings allowing just two runs on three hits, and one walk. The only mistake for Phelps came in the second inning, when he allowed a two-run homerun to Todd Helton.

Yankees Get Crushed by Astros

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 29th, 2013

Houston Astros vs. New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Astros 9 Yankees 1

The New York Yankees coming off a four game sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays may have over looked the Astros on Monday night, and paid dearly. The Astros beat up the Yankees pretty good in the Bronx, and with the loss the Yankees four game winning streak was snapped.

Yankees Starter Andy Pettitte got roughed up in this game, as he suffered his second straight loss, and is now (3-2) on the season with a 3.86 ERA. Pettitte lasted just 4.1 innings allowing seven runs on 10 hits with one walk. Pettitte just didn’t have it in this start, as it was the most runs he’s allowed in a game since 2008.

The Yankees did get a good first appearance from Vidal Nuno making his MLB debut in mop up duty. Nuno went the final three innings for the Yankees, and didn’t allow a run, with only four hits against him. For Nuno it was a pretty impressive debut in pinstripes.

Yankees Return Home and Defeat Blue Jays

nytimes.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 25th, 2013

Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Blue Jays 3 Yankees 5

The New York Yankees were able to bounce back from losing their series in Tampa Bay against the Rays, as they were able to return home to Yankees Stadium, and get a win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The win moves the Yankees to (12-9) on the season, which puts them in third place in the AL East.

Yankees Starter Hiroki Kuroda had a very difficult time in the first two innings of the game allowing three runs, but Kuroda was able to settle in and give the Yankees a quality start and earn his third win of the season. Kuroda finished the game going six innings allowing three runs on six hits, and one walk. The damage came early against Kuroda, as he allowed a two-run homerun in the first inning to Edwin Encarnacion, and then a solo-homerun to Brett Lawrie in the second inning. In Kuroda’s final four innings however he didn’t allow a hit to the Blue Jays.

Yankees Unable to Sweep Blue Jays in Toronto

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 21st, 2013

New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 4 Blue Jays 8

The New York Yankees were unable to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, but they took two out of three games against them. The Yankees have been rolling despite the loss on Sunday, as they have won two out of three games in their last three series, and that has gotten them a record of (10-7) after the bad first week.

Yankees Starter Ivan Nova’s tough beginning to the season didn’t get any easier in Toronto, as he once again didn’t pitch well, but on the bright side for Nova he didn’t get a loss just a no-decision. Nova went only five innings allowing four runs on seven hits, and four walks. Pitch count was once again a problem for Nova, as he threw a whopping 32 pitches in the first inning, and after that it was clear he wasn’t going to make it very deep into the game.

Nova wasn’t the only Yankees pitcher who struggled in this one, as David Phelps had a rough appearance out of the bullpen. Phelps went the final three innings for the Yankees, but allowed three runs on three hits, and two walks. Phelps ERA is at 6.23 so far this season, which is about three points higher than he finished last year. For Phelps the big mistake came in the seventh inning, when Blue Jays Catcher J.P Arencibia hit a two-run homerun for his seventh homerun already this season.

The Yankees offense was started by backup Catcher Chris Stewart, who for being a defensive Catcher is hitting the ball very well to start the season. Stewart hit a solo homerun in the third inning, which was his first homerun since July 28th of last season. He finished the game going two for three at the plate, and is now hitting .353 on the season.

The top of the order for the Yankees was great in this game, but despite the top three hitters all having multi-hit games they only combined for one run scored. Brett Gardner, Robinson Cano, and Vernon Wells all had two hits, but only Cano was able to touch home plate. Wells capped off a great series in Toronto going seven for 15 at the plate, and got a ton of boos from his former home crowd.

The main reason for the Yankees top of the order not scoring in this game was that Travis Hafner really struggled with runners in scoring position. Hafner went zero for three at the plate with RISP, and the Yankees in as a whole went 1 for 12, which just won’t get the job done.

Next up for the Yankees will be a trip down to Tampa Bay to play the Rays, as C.C Sabathia (3-1, 2.57 ERA) will be facing Matt Moore (3-0, 1.00 ERA) in what should be a good pitchers duel.

Yankees Beat Blue Jays in Extra Innings

nydailynews.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 20th, 2013

New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 5 Blue Jays 3

The New York Yankees were able to pick up their second straight win in Toronto against the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon despite blowing a lead late in the game, which caused the Yankees to have to get the win extra innings.

Yankees Starter Hiroki Kuroda was fantastic for the second straight start, but the bullpen blew what should have been a win for Kuroda. Kuroda went 7.1 innings only allowing one run on three hits, one walk, and was able to strikeout seven batters. Kuroda didn’t allow a run until the eighth inning, as his good start to the season has given Kuroda a great (2.35 ERA) in April so far.

David Robertson came in the game in the eighth inning, but was unable to get the job done for the Yankees. Robertson entered the game with a two run lead, but he gave up that lead on two hits, and a walk. Robertson was forced to throw 31 pitches in his appearance, which would make it seem likely that he will not be available for Yankees on Sunday.

Mariano Rivera got to get his save opportunity a little later than the Yankees would have hoped, but he did get the job done. Rivera’s good start to the season continued, as he picked up his fifth save in five chances with ease in the 11th inning.

The Yankees offense was lead by former Blue Jay Vernon Wells, who has raked against his former team in the first two games of the series. On Saturday Wells got the Yankees on the board with a solo-homerun that hit the foul pole in Left Field. For Wells it was his fifth homerun of the season, and he finished the game going three for five with two runs scored. The last two games have been great for Wells, as he’s gone five for nine, with two homeruns, three RBIs, and four runs scored.

Kevin Youkilis got the Yankees a comfortable lead in the fifth inning with the bases loaded, as he was able to rip a line drive that seemed to go thru Blue Jays Third Baseman Brett Lawrie, and two runs scored. Youkilis didn’t come back into the game however, as apparently his back stiffened up on him, and he was replaced at First Base by Lyle Overbay.

The Yankees got a bit lucky to get the two go ahead runs, as Blue Jays Reliever Aaron Loup threw the ball into Left Field instead of taking the sure out at First Base after a sacrifice bunt by Ichiro.

The Yankees will be thinking sweep on Sunday against the Blue Jays, as Ivan Nova (1-1, 5.59 ERA) will be facing Josh Johnson (0-1, 6.91 ERA).

Yankees Have 4 Game Winning Streak Snapped by Orioles

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 13th, 2013

Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees

Final Score: Orioles 5 Yankees 3

The New York Yankees fell to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon, as the Yankees four game winning streak came to an end, and with the loss Sunday will be rubber game of the first series between these two teams.

Yankees Starter Phil Hughes got roughed up in his second start of the season, and for the second time couldn’t make it to the fifth inning, as he doesn’t look right due to missing a lot of spring training with the neck injury. Hughes went only three innings, while allowing five runs on nine hits, and two walks. Giving up homeruns was a problem for Hughes last year, and on Saturday it was one again, as he gave up three solo-homeruns to Ryan Flaherty, Nick Markakis, and Nolan Reimold.

Cano Powers Yankees Past Indians

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 8th, 2013

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 11 Indians 6

The New York Yankees were able to pick up their second straight win, as they took the series opener in Cleveland, and for the Yankees it is their first winning streak of the season, as their record is now (3-4).

Hiroki Kuroda had a very tough first inning, which led to Manager Joe Girardi to get the bullpen going in the first inning, but Kuroda was able to settle down and get out of the tough inning. After being forced to leave his first start due to getting hit in the hand by a line drive, Kuroda was able to pick up his first win of the season against Cleveland. He finished going 5.1 innings allowing three runs on five hits, and four walks, while striking out six batters.

Yankees Lose Second Straight to Red Sox

nypost.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 3rd, 2013 

Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Red Sox 7 Yankees 4

The New York Yankees were unable to avenge their Opening Day loss to the Red Sox, as the Bronx Bombers lost for the second straight game on Wednesday against their arch rivals.

Hiroki Kuroda’s first start of the season went almost as bad as one could imagine, as he only pitched 1.1 innings due to try to bare hand a line drive from Shane Victorino in the second inning, which forced him to leave the game. Kuroda’s final line was 1.1 innings pitched, as he gave up four hits, one walk, and two earned runs. There is no word yet on how bad Kuroda’s pitching hand it hurt, but taking a line drive off a bare hand can’t feel very good.