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Weekly wrap-up: Yankees offense squanders chance to make up ground in playoff race

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While Mark Teixeira's bat came around this week, everyone else's did not, and the Yankees missed a golden opportunity to gain ground in the playoff race.

Record this week: 2-3 (0-2 against the Orioles, 2-1 against the Rays)

The Yankees lost two rough games to the Orioles this week before salvaging a series win against the Rays and snapping a five game losing streak in the process.  New York could've made a major playoff push this week, but their lack of offense doomed them in Baltimore and almost cost them a couple more games in Tampa.  New York now sits seven games back in the division and three and a half back of the second Wild Card.  While that seems like a lot, we all need to remember that there are still 40 games left.  The Yankees aren't out of anything just yet, but someone on their team needs to figure out to hit, and fast.

Quick hits:

Jacoby Ellsbury's wretched road trip - After being named Position Player of the Week last week, Ellsbury had a miserable time of it in Baltimore and Tampa Bay, notching just one base hit in 20 at bats.  At least he got an RBI with that hit (a one-run single in Sunday's win), but still, Ellsbury could not get anything going over the past five games.  While he's not going to bring the power most hitters in the three-hole would, the Yankees simply have little to no chance of sneaking into the playoffs if their big prize of the offseason can't at least get on base.

Bullpen depth eroding in August - The bullpen has been one of the Yankees biggest strengths all year long, mainly due to the tremendous performances of David Robertson (1.99 FIP, 13.99 K/9) and Dellin Betances (1.88 FIP, 13.38 K/9).  However, for a good bit of the season, Adam Warren and Shawn Kelley contributed to making the Yankee pen one of the best in the majors.  While Robertson and Betances have continued to be excellent, Warren and Kelley have faded of late, especially Warren.  Warren has posted a 5.46 ERA and a 4.06 FIP since the beginning of June, and has a 5.63 FIP in August.  Kelley's been better, if inconsistent.  After a rough return in June from the DL, Kelley managed a 1.59 FIP in July, but he's run into trouble again this month, as his 4.54 FIP and 11.12 ERA in August will attest to.  The only good thing about this problem is it may be easily addressed, as the Yankees have Tyler Webb in Triple-A and Jacob Lindgren, the Strikeout Factory, in Double-A, and both seemed poised to be called up in September.

Position Player of the Week: Mark Teixeira

Tex has struggled over the past month and a half - he hit just .203 in July with a 94 wRC+, and the .375 slugging percentage that accompanied those is certainly not what anyone wants from one of the guys in the heart of their order.  While he continued to struggle to start August (and dealt with another injury, this time to his thumb), Teixeira finally picked it up this week, hitting .316 over the past five games and even belting a home run in the series finale against the Rays.  While his power has been pretty much absent since June, he at least found a way to do some damage against the O's and Rays.  Since everyone else was pretty miserable with the bat this week, Tex gets the nod here.

Pitcher of the week: Michael Pineda

Shane Greene pitched a better game on Saturday - snapping the Yankees losing streak and striking out a career high ten batters in six innings - but Pineda's outing against the Orioles means more to the Yankees' postseason chances.  If the Yankees are going to make a run, they'll need Pineda to replace one of their fill-in starters in the rotation, and his five inning, one run performance on Wednesday should give everyone hope that he can be just as devastating as he was early in the year.  Pineda should be a big boost to the rotation, and after such an electrifying start, it's great to see him finally back on the mound.

Poll
Who is your Yankee of the week?

  111 votes |Results


Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 8/19/14

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NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Despite being used as a designated hitter more often, Derek Jeter is still the team's primary shortstop.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch:Chase Headley has warmed up to the idea of playing for the Yankees and being in New York.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: A look at the rest of the season for the Yankees.

Baseball Prospectus | Tucker Blair: Scouting reports on Jacob Lindgren and Mason Williams show how different things are for them.

Just A Bit Outside | Rob Neyer: What did Derek Jeter's injury-plagued 2013 season do to his career and baseball history?

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Which free-agents-to-be should the Yankees re-sign and which should the Yankees let go?

LoHud | Chad Jennings:Bryan Mitchell, Manny Banuelos, and Zoilo Almonte are some of the potential call ups the Yankees could make in September.

Newsday | Jim Baumbach: With September call ups just around the corner, Pat Venditte continues to hope that he gets a chance in the majors.

Fangraphs | Mike Petriello: The Yankees might be better off simply letting Brian McCann go through waivers, but it's highly unlikely anyone would want him.

NJ.com | Brian Amaral: A farm in South Brunswick made made a Derek Jeter corn maze.

Yahoo! Sports | Jeff Passan: The Yankees have the hardest rest of season schedule out of any of the other playoff contenders in the league.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Joe Girardi is a big fan of Mo`Ne Davis of the Little League World Series.


Baby Bomber Recap 8/18/14: Manny Banuelos walks six; Rob Refsnyder stays hot

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Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from August 18th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W 2-0 vs. Pawtucket Red Sox

CF Jose Pirela 1-3, 2 BB
LF Taylor Dugas 1-5, RBI, K
2B Rob Refsnyder 2-3, RBI, BB - batting .357 over his last 10 games
1B Kyle Roller 2-5, double, K
RF Zelous Wheeler 1-2, 2 BB
DH Scott Sizemore 0-4, K
3B Rob Segedin 0-4 - batting .143 w/ SWB
C Francisco Arcia 1-4
SS Carmen Angelini 0-3, BB, 3 K

Manny Banuelos 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 3 K - 30 of 68 pitches for strikes
Chris Leroux 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Nick Rumbelow 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K - 1.04 ERA w/ SWB

Double-A Trenton Thunder: Off

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 0-8 vs. Brevard County Manatees

CF Mark Payton 1-3, BB, K, E8 - fielding error, 1st with Tampa
SS Cito Culver 1-3, BB, K
3B Eric Jagielo 1-4, K, E5 - fielding error, 16th of the season
DH Aaron Judge 2-4, K - batting .269 w/ Tampa
C Trent Garrison 1-4
LF Ericson Leonora 0-4, 2 K
2B Angelo Gumbs 0-3, K
RF Danny Oh 1-3
1B Reymond Nunez 0-3, K

Miguel Sulbaran 3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, hit batsman - 4 GO/2 AO
Jose Pena 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Ramon Benjamin 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R/0 ER, 1 BB, K
Danny Oh 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: Off

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees: Off

GCL Yankees 1:L 0-12 vs. GCL Braves

GCL Yankees 1 was unable to push a run across despite eight hits, as they fell 12-0 to the Braves. DH Tyler Palmer led the way with three hits on the day. Bryan Cuevas singled twice and Ramon Flores doubled in another rehab assignment game for the outfielder. Preston Claiborne on a rehab assignment got the start. He allowed five runs in two innings before giving way to fellow rehabber, Caleb Cotham. Cotham silenced the Braves for two innings before Austin DeCarr gave up four more runs in 1.1 innings of work Andre Del Bosque was responsible for the remaining three runs during his inning, which included three wild pitches.

GCL Yankees 2:W 4-3 vs. GCL Pirates

GCL Yankees 2 made four errors, but prevailed in extra innings to beat the GCL Pirates. Junior Valera, Graham Ramos, Jake Hernandez, Allen Valerio, Chris Gittens, and Jesus Aparicio were responsible for the hits. Nestor Cortes struck out seven batters in his five innings of work. Abel Mora was credited with the save.

What should the Yankees do about shortstop next season?

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For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Yankees will be looking for a shortstop to start on Opening Day. Who takes the Captain's place?

Ever since Derek Jeter won the starting shortstop job in the spring training of 1996, the position that might be hardest to fill in Major League Baseball has been easy enough to set on the Yankee roster. Now with the Captain running off into retirement, who should Brian Cashman and the front office bring in to fill Jeter's cleats?

Stephen Drew

When the Yankees traded two months of Kelly Johnson for two months of Stephen Drew as a second baseman, the common theory was that this was also an audition for the 2015 shortstop job. It was widely rumored that the Yankees were interested in bringing in Drew on a two-year deal this offseason where he could play third base for a year and then slide over to his natural position, and it seemed like Cashman might have got his man after all during the trade deadline.

If this has been an audition though, so far Drew hasn't exactly put himself at the top of the callback sheet.  Yes, small sample size and all, but through his first 14 games with the Yankees, he's carried on his mediocre 2014 season with a triple slash line .167/.200/.250, and Baseball Reference has him pegged as a below replacement player (-0.1 WAR) in his time with the Bombers. Drew has historically been an above-average player, posting a 109 wRC+ as recently as 2013, which would be very positive production from a shortstop.

Unless he mounts a significant revival in the remaining weeks of the year, though, the only positive from his lost 2014 will likely be that he should come relatively cheap, which means re-signing Drew would not necessarily stop the Yankees continuing to look at options at short. He could compete for a starting role at second base with Martin Prado and anyone else the Yankees bring in there, while also providing solid infield depth everywhere else. Drew is probably a better than we've seen him be in 2014, but at some point missing spring training and the start of the year due to a contract dispute stops being an excuse to having a disaster of a year. The prospect of bringing him back for 2015 as the unquestioned starting shortstop isn't quite as appealing as it would have been this offseason, but it could easily end up being the option Cashman takes.

Free Agency

Shortstop is not the easiest position to fill in free agency, with the relatively few particularly good players at the position often locked up long before they hit the market. As it happens, the 2014-2015 offseason might actually have a couple of interesting names available at the position. The list includes Hanley Ramirez, J.J. Hardy, Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera, John McDonald, and Omar Quintanilla.

The name that jumps out from above is Ramirez. Hitters at the position don't get much better than Hanley, with his very solid 2014 slash line .277/.367/.455 actually representing below average production for his career. His 137 wRC+ is well in line with career norms. Over the best part of the last decade, Ramirez has reliably been a well above-average hitter and a well below-average fielder when healthy; he's about as known a quantity as there is at the position. The team that signs him, almost certainly the Dodgers but assuming he hits the market, may well have to move him to third base sooner rather than later to hide his appalling glove. Certainly there will be a need to adjust for the likelihood of Ramirez missing extended time due to injury throughout his next contract, especially as it will take him well into his late-thirties. Still, the appeal here is clear, a middle-of-the-order bat at a position that for most teams is an offensive black hole.

Then there's J.J. Hardy. A first look at his statistics on the year and the home run numbers (or lack thereof) appears to be an obvious red flag. Having hit 25 home runs last year and 77 in his first three years with the Orioles, Hardy has hit just six dingers so far this year. The lack of power hasn't dragged down his overall production too much, however. His 96 wRC+ indicates a player who is just below-average with the bat, something he makes up for with his solid defense at short. He'll come cheaper than Hanley, and it's more likely that he'll hit the market given that the Orioles aren't the Dodgers and have the option of moving Manny Machado back to short. Hardy is also far more likely to actually stick at shortstop for the duration of his next contract, and there is always the possibility that his power outage is a one-year slump. It might be well worth finding out.

Promote From Within

The Yankees don't have any realistic options here, not for 2015 anyway. Cito Culver has fallen off the radar for the most part, held back by his lack of hitting. Abiatal Avelino and Jorge Mateo are turning heads further down in the minors, but both are multiple promotions away from making it into the big leagues. Tyler Wade is another name to pay attention to, and with luck one of these kids works their way up to the majors, or at least becomes a valuable trade asset. We may not see any of them in the Bronx until 2017 though, at the earliest.

The Yankees spent heavily on the international free agent crop, bringing in multiple shortstop prospects. The biggest name here is Dermis Garcia, and hopefully his is a name we hear more about over the next few seasons. Again though, don't expect to see him replace Jeter next year. It seems likely that the 2015 starting New York Yankees shortstop is already on a major league roster.

Derek Jeter/Alex Rodriguez

Yes, Derek Jeter has already announced his retirement, and yes, his eventual statue in Monument Park will have more range than him in the field next season and possibly more pop with the bat as well. Wouldn't it be fun to get him to come out of retirement though, just to see how people react? Would the various teams ask for their gifts back? Would fans in away grounds boo instead of cheer? Would Michael Jordan and Nike produce a less flattering version of #RE2PECT?

Otherwise, maybe it's time to move Alex Rodriguez back to his natural position. After all, he only moved to third base to make room for the Captain in the first place; now that the Captain is leaving us it's time to move the Centaur back. The idea of replacing #2 with #13 will probably make so many people so indignant that we'd still be sifting through angry ESPN clips and newspaper editorials long after A-Rod has broken down and gone back to the disabled list. That would probably make spring training more interesting next season.

Which option would you like to see the team take?

Poll
Who do you want the Yankees to start at shortstop in 2015?

  693 votes |Results

PSA Comments of the Day 8/19/14: Hearts on Fire

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The Yankees begin a three game series against the Houston Astros. Winning all three of them would be ideal.

Comment of the Game

Nope

Best GIF of the Recap

Nothing here as well.

Honorable Mod Mention

Andrew made a GIF of Mark Teixeira, the host of Foul Territory with Mark Teixeira, yelling "Dear Barbera" out loud. There is no more honorable cause than that.

Best Comments of the Day

LTL pretty much documenting more evidence that Brandon McCarthy needs to be re-signed by the Yankees simply for the tweets alone.

A very nice exchange between Blanky & ShaunRunDMC here. Speaking from the heart is always welcome. Sometimes. Okay, never do it again!

Fun Questions

  • How much do you think Derek Jeter not being on the team in 2015 will affect attendance?
  • Pillows: Hard or soft?
Song of the Day

Hearts on Fire by John Cafferty

We could really use a Yankees training montage video right now, as they attempt to make the playoffs in the remaining weeks. As always, link us your Song of the Day!

The Yankees are back home in the Bronx to face the Astros. Chris Capuano faces off against Brett Oberholtzer. I don't know about anyone else, but I plan to root, root, and root again for the home team.

Let's Go Yankees

Yankees face challenge down the stretch, and the time is now to capitalize on weak competition

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The Yankees' schedule is about to get a lot tougher.

The Yankees are desperately clinging to playoff hopes these days, and while they recently passed the slumping Blue Jays in the Wild Card race, they are still three games back of the tied Tigers and Mariners for the second playoff spot. If the team does its job over the course of the next week though, the race could grow plenty more interesting. Tonight, the Yankees begin a six-game homestand tonight with the Astros and White Sox, a pair of under-.500 teams that the Yankees cannot really afford to blow opportunities against anymore.

The constantly rebuilding Astros are a slightly better team than the 111-loss laughingstock that dropped 15 in a row to end the season, but they are still on pace for about 95 losses. Likewise, the White Sox improved from the group that lost 99 games last year, and in addition to boasting two of better players in baseball in southpaw Chris Sale and rookie slugger Jose Abreu, they actually aren't terribly far under .500 (seven games). Still, it's an under-.500 team, and their performances leave a lot to be desired. The Yankees have to win these series and sweep them if at all possible, lest they want an even more arduous road to the playoffs ahead of them.

After these two series, the Yankees will face the AL Central-leading Royals (Dear Barbara, it's weird to write that) in a makeup game in Kansas City next Monday, and then they play three in Detroit and three in Toronto to close out August, a stretch of 13 games in 13 days. Both Detroit and Toronto are right in the thick of the Wild Card race and are unlikely to be pushovers. The Yankees begin September with an off-day, then begin a nine-game homestand against the Red Sox, Royals, and Rays. Last place Boston is another team the Yankees have play well against, as it's very possible that they will be the last under-.500 team the Yankees will face in September until they close out the month against that very same Red Sox team. The Rays completed their impressive surge back to .500 on Friday, and while they fell back under when they lost the recent series in Tampa to the Yankees, they have been playing very well since the middle of June, even without David Price in August.

To further complicate matters, that three-game series on September 9-11 begins an exhausting stretch of 21 games in 20 days to end the season. The Yankees' final off-day is Monday, September 8th. That's it, barring any rainouts. If the Yankees are still in the playoff hunt by the end of September and that 21-game period, they are going to be wiped out. (Thanks, schedule makers.) The 21 games include the aforementioned three at home against Tampa, a September 12th doubleheader in Baltimore followed by two more games against the O's, three in Tampa, eight at home against the Blue Jays and Orioles, and the season-ending three-game series at Fenway Park.

Those eight against Toronto and Baltimore in particular figure to be pivotal to the Yankees' playoff hopes, as the Blue Jays will in all likelihood still be in the hunt, and O's will probably be wrapping up their AL East division title. (They currently hold a 7.5 game lead over the second-place Yankees--that's not vanishing unless Baltimore implodes.) As for the last series, the Yankees can only hope it goes as well as the sweep of Boston that pushed them into the playoffs in 2012 at the end of the season. Although it would make for an extremely kind Farewell Tour present for Derek Jeter, the Red Sox definitely won't be rolling over for the weary Yankees, either.

There are 40 games left in the regular season. It probably feels like there is still ample time for the Yankees to make up playoff ground, but the Yankees cannot let this opportunity to gain ground against the Astros and White Sox slip away. The remaining schedule is not going to feature nearly as inferior opponents aside from the Red Sox. They simply have to take care of business and prepare for the challenging schedule ahead.

Ready to cry for Derek Jeter's final Yankees game?

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After all the great moments and memories, we are witnessing Derek Jeter's final season. So it is obvious that when the final moment does arrive soon, we all may be reaching for a tissue to wipe our tears.

Even if you're a diehard Yankee fan, the Derek Jeter farewell tour may be getting a little bit tiring, just as tiring as the double plays Jeter seems to be grounding into all the time, which are as frustrating as the up-and-down season that this team has been having. But you know what? Despite all that, deep down in your soul, you know that those tear ducts are preparing for Jeter's final appearance.

I don't care who you are; a teenage girl, a grown woman, a young annoying boy that reminds me I have made the right decision in not wanting kids, or a tough middle-aged man who is strongly convinced he's in the Sons of Anarchy, come Jeter's final appearance, you are going to cry--no! You are going to sob like a 12-year-old girl who just saw Harry Styles wink at her from a distance. The fact remains: you are watching a legend in his final games.

Now I know there will be those people who will not rank Jeter among the greats like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, or Joe DiMaggio, but that does not take away 20 seasons of big hits, classic moments, flips, dives, World Series championships, or the shrine that I have made inside my closet that will never be spoken of again. If you're a fan of the Yankees and if you're a fan of baseball, then you are a fan of Derek Jeter. (Just ask Grant Brisbee.) And if you're a fan of Jeter, you realize that every passing day means one day closer to the inevitable, which will bring you closer and closer to that box of tissues that you without a doubt will blow your nose into.

Where were you when Andy Pettitte and Jeter himself went out to the mound to take the ball from Mariano Rivera's hand for the final time? Were you in a bar drinking your sorrows away? Were you at home biting your couch pillow as tiny tears rolled down your face? Were you in the bleachers with your face buried in a stranger's chest as you consoled each other? Well, you are going to remember where you are when Jeter takes his final at-bat, and when Jeter steps out of the dugout to wave goodbye for one final time. You are going to remember where you are and who you're with when you begin to hyperventilate.

So while the season has been rough, and while you're still telling everyone that Jeter shouldn't be batting second, just remember that you have a mere month and a half guaranteed of this left, a month and a half to see the greatest Yankee shortstop of all-time, a month and a half to see the Captain step up to the plate, raise his right hand up to the umpire before taking his hacks, and a month and a half left to stock up on Kleenex.

Yankees lineup vs. Astros: Are the Yankees still in on Rusney Castillo?

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The Yankees begin a very important stretch as they play both the Astros and the White Sox this week. Today, Chris Capuano, on his birthday, will take the ball to get things started for the Yankees.

Tonight's lineup looks pretty standard: Brett Gardner leads off, Derek Jeter is back at shortstop again, and Jacoby Ellsbury hits third. Mark Teixeira hits cleanup and Carlos Beltran returns to DH duty after some time in the outfield. Martin Prado moves up to hit sixth as the second baseman, while Brian McCann and Chase Headley move down in the order against the lefty. Ichiro Suzuki also gets to hang around in the outfield.

The Rusney Castillo sweepstakes has taken a very confusing turn. The Yankees were considered to be one of the top contenders for the 27-year-old, but now things might have changed. Pete Caldera is reporting that the Yankees have backed out of any and all pursuit of Castillo, however, Jon Heyman is still saying that they remain in play. It's hard to say who exactly is right, so it will be just a matter of time before we see who finally ends up signing him.

In comical baseball news, the hit that tied Derek Jeter with Honus Wagner has been ruled as an error. It doesn't mean much, since he's gotten other hits since then, but it does make Bud Norris the pitcher who gave up the record-tying hit. That's baseball!

And there is good news for David Phelps fans out there:

Phelps would essentially serve as a September call up and could take over for Chris Capuano, if things go south for the lefty before then. Who would you rather go with?


Game 126 Preview: Houston Astros at New York Yankees

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The Astros head to New York for an Opening Day rematch with the Yankees.

Houston Astros (52-73) at New York Yankees (63-59), 6:05 p.m. (CST)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Yankees SBNation BlogPinstripe Alley

Pitching matchup

LHP Brett Oberholtzer (4-8, 3.87 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) vs. LHP Chris Capuano (1-3, 4.13 ERA, 1.38 WHIP)

Preview

After four games with the Red Sox, the Astros head south to New York to face the other half of America's oversaturated rivalry. Houston took two of three in their opening series of 2014 with the Yankees. Since then that series both teams have gravitated to their nature spots over the past few season. The Astros have grown with a young crop of prospects, and the Yankees' high-priced vessel keeps cruising along with the captain at the helm.

After an offseason of high-prices accusations like Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran, the Yankees have turned to smaller scale accusations at the trade deadline (and waiver wire). In hope of getting Derek Jeter to the playoffs one more time. Picking up former Red Sox Stephen Drew, Brandon McCarthyJeff Francis, and tonight's starter Chris Capuano. These aren't moves to shake up the world but help raise replacement level of the team from quadruple-A players to major league quality.  Not to mention the fact the Yankees got solid third baseman Chase Headley for some peanuts and a bag of balls. But will it be enough with CC Sabathia, Tanaka, and Ivan Nova out of the rotation with injuries?

The Yankees sit second in the American League East, eight and half games behind the Orioles. New York just dropped two games against the O's setting the season series at 3-8 - leaving only the Wild Card as the only reasonable playoff option. The Yankees are only three games back of the second spot in the American League Wild Card - lumped together with six teams that are separated by six games. The Yankees are coming off a winning series against direct wild card competition, taking two of three against the Rays.

As previously noted the Yankees send out Chris Capuano for the start today. The longtime Brewer started with the Red Sox this season, taking a pitstop in Colorado, and finally ending up in New York. He is making his fifth start this season for the Yankees, he has managed to pitch through the sixth inning in all four previous starts. Capuano's last start came in Baltimore, he gave up four runs over six innings on six hits in a losing effort. Coming into this season, Capuano had an alarming trend of right-handers batting .300 against him. This season the split has flipped in this small sample size, as left-handers are batting .317 against him.

Capuano faces an Astros offense that is finding it's face, lead by Jose Altuve, Robbie Grossman, Dexter Fowler, and Chris Carter. Altuve and Fowler have previously faced Capuano - Altuve is 1-for-3 with a triple and Fowler is 5-for-17 with two walks. Chris Carter is the reining American League player of the week , batting .320 (8-25) with three home runs and eight runs batted-in. Robbie Grossman is batting .308 (12-39) with seven walks and two home runs.

Brett Oberholtzer is a native of Christiana, Delaware, which is two and half hours away from New York City. Oberholtzer hopes to continue his hot streak on the mound, coming into tonight's start he has six-straight quality starts. He has pitched through the seven inning in the three sight starts and allowed a total of just five earned runs. In his last ten starts he is 4-2 with a 2.84. I think you get the point, Oberholtzer has been pretty darn good since returning to the Astros rotation.

Oberholtzer did make his season debut against the Yankees, in game three of the Astros Opening Series of the 2014 season. He allowed three runs over 5.2 innings. The Yankees didn't hit him hard, but enough to pick up the 4-2 victory for New York. Derek Jeter was 1-for-2 with a walk against Obe, and Ichrio Suzuki also picked up a hit in the game. Brett Gardner was 1-for-3 with two strikeouts. Elisbury and Mark Teixeira were both 0-for-3.

Series Prediction

The Astros will take two of three from the Yankees. New York is a team fighting for it's playoff lives but the Astros have show in the past weeks they are a different team coming into it's own. The left-handed bats, Grossman, Jason Castro, and Jon Singleton, will have a field day with the short porch in the series.

Derek Jeter takes #IceBucketChallenge, challenges Michael Jordan

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Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was the latest to take the ice bucket challenge to raise money for ALS research.

These ice bucket challenges are getting a little played out, though the increased visibility has helped raise well over $20 million to date for ALS research. But when Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter takes part, it carries a little more weight.

After all, Jeter is the Yankees captain just like Lou Gehrig, who succumbed in 1941 to the awful disease that commonly bears his name.

Jeter had the ice water dumped on him by Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia, which makes one wonder if some other teammates were available other than the two disabled pitchers each making well over $20 million per season.

In addition, all that ice water was dumped smack dab in the middle of the Yankees clubhouse. Perhaps a room with better drainage and no carpet, like a bathroom shower area, might have been a better choice.

Jeter challenged Michael Jordan, swimsuit model Hannah Davis and Kevin Connolly aka "E" from "Entourage" to complete the ice bucket challenge next.

Yankees 4, Astros 7: Chris Carter's crushing homer off David Robertson causes sadness

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It wasn't a great night for the bullpen, as the Yankees dropped the opening game of a vital six-game homestand.

There was some hope that the Yankees could continue the good vibes from their series victory against the Rays over the weekend, but aspirations for a Yankees victory vanished into the night just like Chris Carter's towering home run in the ninth inning. It was quite the joyous occasion.

Veteran lefty Chris Capuano got the start for the Yankees tonight, and on his 36th birthday, it looked like he was going to turn in a pretty good pitching performance. He struck out six batters through the first four innings, all scoreless. He allowed a baserunner to reach in each of those innings, but none were able to advance. Meanwhile, Capuano's batterymate Brian McCann put the Yankees on top early with a booming two-run homer to deep right field in the bottom of the fourth inning against Astros starter Brett Oberholtzer (or Oberholster, according to YES announcer John Flaherty).

Capuano seemed to have a handle on the situation when he got the first two Astros batters out in the fifth, but a Gregorio Petit double to shallow left was followed by an RBI single from Robbie Grossman. Although Capuano then walked Jose Altuve, he ended the inning by fanning Carter for his seventh strikeout of the night.  The next inning offered no such relief. Dexter Fowler crushed a pitch for a leadoff triple in the sixth, and he came home to tie the game on a groundout by All-Star catcher Jason Castro. Two straight singles by Matt Dominguez and Jonathan Singleton ended Capuano's night after 103 pitches. Adam Warren entered for his first game in over a week, and after inducing a comebacker from Jake Marisnick, pinch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez lined a single to right field. The two runners came around to score to give the Astros a 4-2 lead. Warren has simply not looked good in quite some time, and that only makes the bullpen weaker at this crucial time.

However, the Yankees did not wait long to come back and tie it. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk, then moved to second on a balk by Oberholtzer. Mark Teixeira struck out, but Carlos Beltran worked a walk and the suddenly red-hot Martin Prado smashed a double down the left field line that fortunately did not bounce into the stands as it appeared it might, allowing both Ellsbury and Beltran to come around and score. The game was tied at four, and though reliever Tony Sipp stranded Prado, things were looking up for the Yankees.

Shawn Kelley and Dellin Betances pitched nearly flawless innings to give the offense a chance. Ellsbury tried to spark another rally in the eighth with his third hit of the night, an infield single toward second base. He stole second base during a Teixeira strikeout, and he moved to third when Castro's throw deflected off him and trickled into center field. Regrettably, Ellsbury couldn't score, as Beltran could only manage a grounder toward Gonzalez at shortstop, who threw home to retire Ellsbury, who was running on contact. Prado registered his third hit of the night afterwards, but McCann flew out to end the inning.

It all came apart for the Yankees in the ninth, as the normally reliable David Robertson simply did not have his best stuff on this night. With one out, he walked Grossman, who stole second, then lost Altuve on a walk as well. Home plate umpire Paul Emmel had an irritatingly inconsistent strike zone tonight, but Robertson wasn't hitting his spots. He then fell behind 3-0 on Carter, who had struck out four times already. Robertson tried to get a pitch over for a strike and Carter destroyed it. The slugger's 30th homer of the season landed deep in the left field bleachers, and the Astros took a commanding 7-4 lead. A Fowler single followed, and Joe Girardi decided to remove Robertson from the game. Robertson has been excellent all year, but the fans booed him because of course they did. Sigh. No off-days allowed ever.

Rich Hill was shaky in concluding the inning, though he didn't allow any more runners to score. It didn't end up mattering as Chad Qualls pitched a perfect ninth to close out the Yankees and push them another game back in the Wild Card race. They now sit four games back of the Mariners and Tigers for the second Wild Card spot. They will try to regain focus and tie the series tomorrow night, as Scott Feldman faces Michael Pineda, who will be making his second start for the Yankees since returning from injury. So there's that to watch, at least!

Sigh.

Box score
Graph score

Astros Late Offense Beats Yankees 7-4

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Astros bullpen hangs on to lead until Chris Carter can provide the late inning fireworks.

The Astros find themselves right across the street from baseball's hallowed ground, facing the Yankees in the final series between these two teams this season.  These teams are quite a study in contrast.  The Astros have the youngest average age in the Major Leagues, while the Yankees are the oldest.  The Astros have a bunch of kids that have been brought up through the system, either from the draft or trades of veterans, while the Yankees are mostly guys who were really good somewhere else...and Derek Jeter.  This is evident in the pitching matchup in this series opener, Brett Oberholtzer against Chris Capuano.

Obie looked good through five.  The one blemish was a 2-out, 2-run homer by Brian McCann in the 4th inning to give New York a 2-0 lead.  (I blame this on the CSN announcers, as they spent quite a bit of time talking about how McCann had not lived up to his power reputation since coming to the Yankees.  I am superstitious like that.)  The Astros cut into the lead in the 5th with a double by Gregorio Petit (his second of the day), and an RBI single by Robbie Grossman to make it 2-1.  In the 6th, Dexter Fowler led off with a triple, and Jason Castro got him home with a groundout to second base to tie it up at 2.  Matt Dominguez and Jonathan Singleton each followed with a single.  Marwin Gonzalez pinch hit for Petit, and drove in 2 runs with a single to right (and an error on Ichiro) to take the 4-2 lead.

In the bottom of the 6th Obie started to lose it a bit.  After a single and a walk (sandwiched around a strikeout), he gave up a 2-RBI double to Martin Prado to tie the game at 4-4.  Tony Sipp came in and got out of the inning without giving up any more runs.

Yankees threatened in the bottom of the 8th, when Jacoby Ellsbury singled, stole second, and took third on the throwing error by Jason Castro.  Josh Fields got Carlos Beltran to hit a grounder to Gonzalez at short, who threw home to easily get Ellsbury.  Fields got them through the rest of the inning without giving up the lead.

The Astros broke it open in the top of the 9th.  Grossman and Altuve both drew 1-out walks.  Reigning AL player of the week Chris Carter (wearing his freshly earned Golden Sombrero) came to the plate.  He got the green light on a 3-0 count, and hit a bomb into the left field seats to retake the lead 7-4.

Chad Qualls worked the bottom of the 9th for his 14th save.

Fun Facts

Castro picked up his first stolen base of the season in the 9th inning.

Carter was not the only one with the K bug.  Dominguez had 3, and Singleton, Grossman & Castro had 2 each on the way to a 15 strikeout night for the team.

Carter first Astros player since 2007 to have 30 home runs in a season (Berkman, Lee).

Even on a bit of an off night, Oberholtzer ended up with 7 strikeouts and only 1 walk in his shortest outing since April.

Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 8/20/14

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ESPN New York | Wallace Matthews: The Yankees' best infield alignment may not include Derek Jeter at all.

LoHud | chad Jennings: The Yankees will have to decide if they want David Phelps to return out of the bullpen or in the rotation.

It's About the Money | Katie Sharp: The acquisition of Martin Prado, Chase Headley, and Stephen Drew has already improved the team by strengthening the infield.

Pinstripe Pundits | Derek Albin: There are serious questions about what Carlos Beltran can offer the Yankees throughout the life of his contract.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Every game is a must-win from here on out for the Yankees.

It's About the Money | Katie Sharp: It might be more important to keep Derek Jeter healthy for the fans than worry about any potential playoff run.

New York Post | Joel Sherman: The 2014 Yankees are a lot like the 1995 Yankees, but can they have the late-season success their predecessors had?

It's About the Money | Domenic Lanza: Playing a game of what if with the 1994 World Series.

MLB roundup: Carlos Gonzalez might miss start of spring training

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The Rockies' star outfielder underwent his third surgery of 2014 on Tuesday.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez could miss the start of spring training next year after undergoing knee surgery in Vail, Colo., on Tuesday.

"Everything went perfect," Gonzalez told Nick Groke of the Denver Post regarding the surgery. However, a lengthy recovery period lies ahead for the 28-year-old star. He'll spend upwards of five months resting and rehabbing the knee before the team can accurately assess when he'll be ready for baseball activity.

Gonzalez has now had three surgeries this season. After undergoing an appendectomy in January, he had what Rockies trainer Keith Dugger described a "fatty mass with tentacles" removed from his left index finger in July. Dugger had an equally detailed description for CarGo's latest operation:

"They ended up removing a whole bursa that was in there. There was a fat pad that was kind of beat up and tore up, they cleaned it out. And then the middle third of the patella tendon, where the actual diseased tissue was, they cut that out and sewed it back together."

With Gonzalez and fellow star Troy Tulowitzki again spending copious amounts of time on the disabled list, the Rockies were a National League-worst 49-75 entering Tuesday.

Carter homers again to beat Yankees

Houston Astros slugger Chris Carter continued his August home run barrage by hitting a three-run shot in the ninth inning to lift his team to a win over the Yankees. He accomplished a couple of interesting feats with the homer:

McCutchen accepts Ice Bucket Challenge

Andrew McCutchen returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, but, uh ... he also did this:

Tuesday scores

Nationals 8, Diamondbacks 1
Braves 11, Pirates 3
Astros 7, Yankees 4
Mariners 5, Phillies 2
Angels 4, Red Sox 3
Orioles 5, White Sox 1
Brewers 6, Blue Jays 1
Marlins 4, Rangers 3
Cubs 2, Giants 0 (5)
Indians 7, Twins 5
Tigers 8, Rays 6 (11)
Cardinals 5, Reds 4
Royals 7, Rockies 4
Athletics 6, Mets 2
Dodgers 8, Padres 6

Baby Bomber Recap 8/19/14: Luis Severino returns; Jose Pirela triples and homers

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Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from August 19th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W 6-5 vs. Syracuse Chiefs

CF Jose Pirela 3-5, triple, HR, 4 RBI, K - 9th homer of the season
2B Rob Refsnyder 1-4, 2 K
RF Zoilo Almonte 1-4, RBI, K
3B Scott Sizemore 1-4
DH Corban Joseph 1-4, double, K

Zach Nuding 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, WP - 59 of 93 pitches for strikes
Diego Moreno 2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, K
Jim Miller 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 1-2 vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats

RF Jake Cave 1-4
1B Greg Bird 0-4, 3 K
DH Tyler Austin 1-3, BB
3B Dante Bichette Jr. 1-3, BB
CF Mason Williams 0-4

Luis Severino 3 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K - 23 of 38 pitches for strikes
Jacob Lindgren 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Nick Goody 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, K
Danny Burawa 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 1-2 vs. Brevard County Manatees

CF Mark Payton 0-3, BB, K, SB
SS Cito Culver 0-4, 2 E6 - two fielding errors, 18th and 19th this season
DH Eric Jagielo 1-4, RBI, K
RF Aaron Judge 1-4
1B Mike Ford 0-3 - High-A debut

Brady Lail 6 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K - 9 GO/3 AO
Kyle Haynes 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Chris Smith 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R/0 ER, 0 BB, K

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:W 8-7 vs. Greenville Drive

DH Abiatal Avelino 2-6, double, 2 K
3B Miguel Andujar 3-5, double, HR, RBI - 10th homer of the season
1B Jackson Valera 3-5, RBI, E3 - fielding error, 6th of the season
RF Yeicok Calderon 2-4, double, 2 RBI, BB, K
2B Gosuke Katoh 1-1, RBI, 4 BB

Rookie Davis 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Conor Mullee 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, WP
Chad Taylor 2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, K
Eric Ruth 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, WP

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees: Off

GCL Yankees 1:L 5-10 vs. GCL Braves

SS Bryan Cuevas 1-4, triple, E6 - throwing error, 6th of the season
DH Alexander Palma 2-4, double, HR, 2 RBI - 2nd homer of the season
1B Dalton Smith 1-4, HR, 2 RBI - 2nd homer of the season
CF Leonardo Molina 1-4, double, K

Gean Batista 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, WP
Travis Hissong 2.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R/2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Hayden Sharp 1.1 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 3 BB

GCL Yankees 2:W 4-3 vs. GCL Pirates

RF Ramon Flores 2-3, HR, RBI, BB
DH Chris Gittens 2-4
1B RJ Johnson 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K - 2nd homer of the season
LF Jose Augusto Figueroa 3-4, double, RBI, K, SB

Melvin Morla 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 WP
Alex Polanco 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Mike Noteware 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, E1


Yankees lineup vs. Astros - Carlos Beltran to see a doctor after being scratched with elbow soreness

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Gotta beat the teams you're supposed to beat.

If the Yankees want to stay alive in the playoff hunt, they are going to have to beat teams like the Astros. They failed to do that last night, thanks to a huge Chris Carter home run. Can they bounce back tonight with Michael Pineda on the mound? The schedule ahead is not getting any easier, so these games are pretty much must-win. It may already be too late.

Derek Jeter is in the lineup as the DH instead of at shortstop in favor of Stephen Drew. That allows Martin Prado to move from the outfield to second base with Ichiro Suzuki getting the start in right field. Getting Jeter out of the field seems like a pretty good idea, but wait, there's more:

Promising.

This is the same elbow that caused Beltran to miss a chunk of time earlier this season, and will almost certainly result in offseason surgery. Joe Girardi hopes that it will only be a day or two before Carlos Beltran is able to return to the lineup, but that seems very optimistic at this point, particularly with him heading off to a doctor. There was always the risk that the surgery wouldn't be able to wait until the offseason and this may just be the final straw in that. Two more years. Two. more. years.

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $18,000 Fantasy Baseball league for tonight's MLB games. It's $2 to join and first prize is $2,000. Jump in now. Here's the FanDuel link.

Game 127 Preview: Houston Astros at New York Yankees

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The Astros look to play spoilers in the Bronx with Scott Feldman on the mound.

Houston Astros (53-73) at New York Yankees (63-60), 6:05 p.m. (CST)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Yankees SBNation BlogPinstripe Alley

Pitching matchup

RHP Scott Feldman (6-9, 4.45 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) vs. RHP Michael Pineda (2-2, 1.82 ERA, 0.89 WHIP)

Preview

Four strikeouts, and one game-winning home run - Chris Carter in a nutshell. The Astros will take his 130-plus strikeout for his 30 home runs. More importantly for this series, he crushed a the playoff hopes of the Yankees' playoff hopes ever so slightly last night.

Tonight the job of playoff spoiler falls on the shoulders of Scott Feldman, the Astros veteran leader in the rotation. Experience can be a key factor for success in the bright lights of Yankee stadium, Feldman has four career starts in 'The House That Jeter Built". He has a quality start in three of those four starts, and overall ERA of 4.15 in 21.2 innings pitched. With Baltimore last season, Feldman faced the Yankees twice in the heat of a playoff run in late August and September. In those two starts he held New York to four runs over 14.2 innings.

Fast Forwarding back to the present, Feldman has been on a bit of a rollercoaster. He has given up three runs over less in seven of his last ten starts, but the other three he has given up six or more. The Red Sox blew up his pitch count and collected seven runs over 5.1 innings in his last start. Before that Feldman had given up just five earned runs over 22.1 innings in his three previous starts. Feldman got 2014 off on the right foot in his first start this season against the Yankees, he held the Bronx Bombers scoreless through 6.2 innings - outdueling CC Sabathia.

With this amount of history against the Yankees, there are few players with a positive history in ten-plus at-bats. Newest Yankees, Stephen Drew and Chase Headly have the best career records against tonight's Astros starter - Drew is 5-for-11 with three extra-base hits and Headly is 4-for-7 with a home run. Mark Teixeira has a home run among his seven hits in 20 at-bats against Feldman. Derek Jeter has less success, batting .273 (6-22) with two home runs in his career. Former member of the AL West, Ichiro Suzuki has 39 plate appearances against Feldman, and just 10 hits.

Michael Pineda started opposite Feldman, the prize of the trade made with Mariners back in 2012 for Jesus Montero. Pineda has been injured on and off again since joining the Yankees. This season he was caught with a foreign substance on his hands and hat, as a result was ejected from a game with the Red Sox and suspended ten games. During a simulated game to keep fresh while suspended, Pineda strained a back muscle. Pineda returned to the rotation on August 13, going five innings in Baltimore and allowing just one run.

Chris Carter is the only Astro with a previous at-bat against Pineda, he is 0-for-1 with a walk.

MLB Upholds Giants Appeal: Game To Resume Thursday

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For the first time since 1986, MLB has upheld a protest.

Gordon Wittenmyer broke the news:

I don't really know what to say about this except that it seems that common sense prevailed. From multiple accounts on Twitter, the Cubs didn't challenge the protest and in fact supported the Giants claims. You wonder if that would have been true if the game actually meant anything for the Cubs.  That undoubtedly was a big factor in the decision.

One has to wonder what kind of a precedent this sets for future games and what it means for that Yankees/Rangers game a few weeks ago. (Almost certainly nothing, since the time has long past for that to be changed. But the Rangers and other teams in the AL Wild Card chase can't be happy).

Anyway, the early word is that tomorrow's game will continue at 4:05. The Cubs will be leading 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth.

Play on.

Yankees 2, Astros 5: Bullpen, offense blow it again

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Weren't we supposed to beat the Astros?

After a tough loss last night, the Yankees looked to even their series against the Houston Astros, a team they desperately needed to beat in order to keep pace in the playoff race.  While they did have Michael Pineda bringing his best stuff tonight, the offense yet again couldn't get it going against Scott Feldman, and the bullpen once more let a good start go to waste.

Pineda couldn't be touched to start the game; he didn't allow a runner through the first three innings of play, and he looked just as good as he did to start the season.  But while he settled into a grove, the Yankees offense continued to sputter.  New York got two runners on in both the first and second innings, yet could not manage to sneak one across.

The Astros, however, didn't miss their first chance against Pineda.  In the top of the fourth, Houston got its first baserunner when Robbie Grossman singled to right.  Grossman moved to second on a Jose Altuve sacrifice bunt, and then scored when Dexter Fowler ripped a double to deep right.  However, the Yankees responded in the bottom of the inning - after Chase Headley singled and got thrown out trying to steal second, Stephen Drew pulled the next pitch he saw over the right-center field fence to tie the game at one.

The Yankees then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth after Ichiro singled, stole second, moved to third on a Derek Jeter groundout, and finally scored on a perfectly placed bunt down the third base line by Jacoby Ellsbury.  Third baseman Matt Dominguez, playing well behind the bag, had no shot at it, and Feldman couldn't get off the mound in time to get the speedy Ichiro.

Pineda lasted until the top of the seventh, when Joe Girardi pulled him after he walked the first batter he faced.  Pineda had also run up against his pitch limited which was apparently around 90 (Pineda threw 89 pitches), but the end of Pineda's night marked the end of the Yankees' night as well.  David Huff came in and struck Jonathan Singleton out, then gave up a single to Marwin Gonzalez.  Girardi pulled him in favor of Esmil Rogers at this point, and that's where everything went to hell.  Rogers came in and allowed four straight singles - by the time he finally got an out, the Astros were up 5-2, and what had once looked like a promising series, and game, had now just become a lesson in depression.

But of course, the Yankees had just enough chances towards the end of the game to make their eventual loss a little more painful.  Ellsbury came up with two on in the bottom of the seventh and the bottom of the ninth with two men on, and both times, he failed to capitalize.  In the seventh, he took a huge cut at a 2-2 breaking ball and whiffed completely.  In the ninth, he drilled it to right, where it fell heartbreakingly short.  And that was that.

Another night, another rough loss for the Yankees.  Tomorrow afternoon, they'll try to salvage what was supposed to be an easy series for them when they send Brandon McCarthy to take on Dallas Keuchel.

Box score

Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 8/21/14

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It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: Brian McCann has very drastic reverse platoon splits this year.

LoHud | Chad Jennings:Adam Warren feels his struggles are related to his mechanics, rather than fatigue.

CBS Sports | Jon Heyman: It looks like Jon Lester is more likely to sign with the Yankees than return to the Red Sox.

MiLB.com | Danny Wild: Yankees pitching prospect Brady Lail threw six no-hit innings on Tuesday.

Newsday | David Lennon: The Yankees might be forced to use Martin Prado at second base with Stephen Drew not hitting.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: Masahiro Tanaka says his elbow feels fine after throwing his splitter for the first time.

The Record | Bob Klapisch: The Yankees' hopes of making the playoffs are fading after every day.

Baseball America | J.J. Cooper: A look back at the players who were voted to have the best tools in baseball, including Dellin Betances.

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