Tomorrow would have probably been a better time to do this post because that will be the one-month mark since the Padres traded Chase Headley to the Yankees, but who knows if I'll get hit by a bus or something tonight, so I can't wait one minute more.

Now that you have some mid-'90s melodic hardcore playing in another tab, here are the numbers to back up the headline. Since the trade, Yangervis Solarte has-- actually, you know what, it'd be better for all of us if I just made a little table about it.

Wow. As you can see, Solarte has out-done Headley in every category except doubling, and that's only because Solarte keeps going 'til he's at third. Oh, and he's under club control for mad years, and that Rafael DePaula dude came along for the ride, too. This one's looking fresher by the day.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from August 20th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L 2-11 vs. Syracuse Chiefs

CF Jose Pirela 1-3, RBI
2B Rob Refsnyder 0-4, K
RF Zoilo Almonte 0-4, K
1B Kyle Roller 0-4
DH Corban Joseph 1-3, HR, RBI, K - 4th homer of the season
LF Taylor Dugas 0-1, 2 BB, K

Bryan Mitchell 4.2 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, WP
Pat Venditte 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, K, WP
Tyler Webb 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 1 BB, K - 2.76 ERA w/ SWB
Branden Pinder 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, K

Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 2-8 vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats

CF Jake Cave 0-3, BB, K
1B Greg Bird 0-4, 3 K
C Francisco Arcia 2-4, double, K
DH Dante Bichette Jr. 1-4, K
RF Mason Williams 2-4, double, triple, RBI
3B Dan Fiorito 3-4, RBI, SB
SS Ali Castillo 2-4, CS

Daniel Camarena 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, pickoff
Francisco Rondon 2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

High-A Tampa Yankees:W 11-1 vs. Brevard County Manatees

CF Mark Payton 4-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB, CS - 2nd homer w/ Tampa
3B Eric Jagielo 3-5, RBI, 2 K
RF Aaron Judge 3-5, 2 doubles, HR, 3 RBI - 8th homer w/ Tampa
2B Jose Rosario 2-4, double, BB, K
1B Mike Ford 2-5, RBI

Caleb Smith 5 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Philip Walby 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, K
Alex Smith 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 2-7 vs. Greenville Drive

SS Tyler Wade 1-5
RF Yeicok Calderon 1-2, 2 BB, K
CF Brandon Thomas 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 K
2B Gosuke Katoh 0-4, 2 K

Andy Beresford 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, K
Giovanny Gallegos 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Evan Rutckyj 2 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 WP

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:W 14-4 vs. Brooklyn Cyclones

C Luis Torrens 2-3, double, 3 RBI, BB
3B Ty McFarland 3-4, double, 3 RBI
CF Austin Aune 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB
SS Vince Conde 2-3, RBI, 2 BB, K
RF Nathan Mikolas 2-4, BB

Sean Carley 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Jordan Cote 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ERSam Agnew-Wieland 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R/0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

GCL Yankees 1:W 6-1 vs. GCL Astros

2B Tyler Palmer 1-3, double, 2 BB, 3 SB
RF Alexander Palma 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K - 3rd homer of the season
1B Dalton Smith 1-5, HR, RBI, 2 K - 3rd homer of the season
3B Drew Bridges 2-3, BB
CF Leonardo Molina 1-4, K

Derek Callahan 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, hit batsman
Matt Marsh 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, pickoff
Christopher Cabrera 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Dayton Dawe 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

GCL Yankees 2:W 2-1 vs. GCL Blue Jays

CF Jose Augusto Figueroa 1-4
2B Jake Anderson 1-3, BB, K, SB
3B Allen Valerio 1-2, 2 BB, K

Cale Coshow 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Preston Claiborne 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Jonathan Padilla 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
David Rodriguez 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Scott Feldman KO's season-high 7 in Astros second straight come-from-behind win

So glad I ended up having to scrap my "Michael Pineda Pitches Perfecto Against 'Stros" story. Pineda faced the minimum through three innings of work and seemed so unhittable in the early going that Jose Altuve– American League hits leader, Jose Altuve – laid down a sacrifice bunt in the top of the fourth to move Robbie Grossman from first to second after Bob reached on a single to right field. Grossman then came around to score on a Dexter Fowler double, and that was the only run the Astros would plate while Pineda was still on the mound.

Scott Feldman got into trouble early, allowing two baserunners in each of the first two frames but managed to wiggle out of both situations, stranding all four Yankees on the basepaths. Stephen Drew hit a solo shot in the fourth, and Ichiro scored on a perfectly laid Jacoby Ellsbury safety-squeeze, but a perfect third and a perfect sixth helped keep his pitch count down, and Feldman pitched into the 7th inning, striking out a season-high 7 Yankees and securing the W.

The Astros weren't able to get much going off of Pineda, but as soon as the Yankees bullpen entered the picture, they Gas-House Gorilla conga lined around the basepaths to the tune of five straight singles in the seventh, which, combined with a leadoff walk, plated four runs before the inning ended with back-to-back Chris Carter and Fowler strike outs.

It was all the offense the Astros would need as the Yankees were unable to capitalize on their opportunities late in the game, despite having baserunners in each of the last three innings. For the game, the Yankees left 10 men on base, which, between you and me, is no way to win a ballgame.

With tonight's win, the Astros have already secured victory in the season series; tomorrow the Astros will go for the sweep at Yankee Stadium and try to finish the year 5-1 against the Bronx Bombers.

The Yankees try to salvage a game against the Astros this afternoon. So....it has come to this

Comment of the Game

MinigunMadness wins the COTG because yeah, this is bizarre & hilarious.

Best GIF of the Recap

NoMahbles easily wins the Best GIF of the Recap with this gem. Not much more needs to be said about the rest of the season.

Honorable Mod Mention

Technically the HMM goes to Andrew for embedding my tweet, but I get some credit for tweeting it and for finding Quills.

Best Comments of the Day

Mel Parnell makes a great case for Roy White deserving a plaque in Monument Park.

Sarcasm like semser's is needed in this dark times.

Fun Questions

• What kind of contract offer would you give Brandon McCarthy, if any?
• Least favorite chore?

Beltran gets another cortisone shot to deal with his ongoing elbow pain.

In a season already plagued by injuries, Carlos Beltran's elbow is acting up again. He first experienced pain back in May, when he was diagnosed with a bone spur in his right elbow. The Yankees had him avoid any kind of throwing until very recently, when he returned to right field. Although the timing off this flare up might lead you to believe otherwise, Joe Girardi has said that Beltran's elbow pain has nothing to do with him playing right field, and that his elbow had been bothering him occasionally during swings. Usually he would feel it, then the pain would go away. This time, he felt it during Tuesday's game, and the pain was still there Wednesday morning.

Beltran ended up having a cortisone shot in his elbow yesterday, which is his third of the season. He said the pain wasn't as bad as when he initially went on the DL, but that it was the worst that it's been since. It could be that the cortisone is wearing off. The doctor isn't planning on running any tests on it, but Beltran acknowledged that he would need to have surgery, and that he's just trying to finish out the season first. He's hoping to swing a bat tomorrow and be back in the lineup on Friday.

If that doesn't happen, and Beltran needs to miss some time, or have season-ending surgery, then the right field plan would be either Martin Prado or Ichiro Suzuki. The other player might DH. They could also call up Zoilo Almonte who has played some right field, and is having a pretty good season down in Triple-A (.280/.326/.467 with 17 home runs). It's hard to say whether the Yankees are still in the running for Cuban free agent Rusney Castillo at this point, since they apparently don't want another player who is similar to Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury, but he's an outfield option that still exists. On the plus side, if Beltran has the surgery during the offseason, there should be plenty of time for him to heal and be ready for spring training.

The Yankees have finally pulled the plug on this whole eight-man bullpen thing as well as the Chase Whitley experience and have optioned the struggling righty to Triple-A. He was once a useful piece in the Yankees rotation, but seeing as how he has limited experience as a starter and is already well past his limits, it's clear that Whitley is too fatigued to offer anything anymore. In his place, the Yankees have brought up Zelous Wheeler, who will be DHing tonight.

At long last, lineup: Gardner LF Jeter 6 Ellsbury 8 Teixeira 3 Prado 4 Headley 5 Cervelli 2 Suzuki 9 wheeler dh McCarthy p

— wallace matthews (@ESPNNYYankees) August 21, 2014

Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Mark Teixeira remain in their usual spots in the lineup. With Carlos Beltran out of the lineup after having to get another cortisone shot on his elbow, Martin Prado is now hitting fifth and gets another start at second base. Chase Headley is at third base while Francisco Cervelli gives Brian McCann a day off behind the plate. Ichiro Suzuki is in right field again with Wheeler rounding out the lineup, making for one ugly 8-9 hitter combination.

It has also been reported that Masahiro Tanaka will be cleared to pitch live batting practice on Saturday in his quest to return to the majors before the end of the season. If all goes well in a few days, the Yankees can then start to discuss the possibility of a few rehab games before he can be activated from the disabled list. While the team is approaching a point that they have nothing to play for anymore, the front office likely wants to see that Tanaka is healthy before the end of the season so they have a better understanding of what they need in the offseason.

The beard steps on the New York stage, looking to sweep the Yankees.

Houston Astros (54-73) at New York Yankees (63-61), 12:05 p.m. (CST)

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

Pitching matchup

LHP Dallas Keuchel (10-8, 3.11 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) vs. RHP Brandon McCarthy (7-12, 4.24 ERA, 1.35 WHIP)

Preview

The statement was made in comments of yesterday's preview that the Astros shouldn't be called spoilers because they are a better team than the Yankees. The season record shows that, but the simple fact that Yankees are in the playoff hunt and the Astros are not. That makes the Astros spoilers. It doesn't make the last two games any less fun. The Astros are single-handedly sending the New York media into defcon 5 mode with the idea that Derek Jeter won't make it to the playoffs in his final season.

Unfornitionaly for Yankees fans, the Astros saved their best pitcher for last - Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel is less saved and more it's his scheduled start, but you get the point. Keuchel has been far and away the best pitcher of the Astros staff this season. The second half of his season has been a bit of a roller coaster, three straight starts without a quality start then three starts that were lights out. Keuchel has been on a downturn again in his last two starts, giving eight runs over his last 13 innings. He held Boston to three runs over seven innings in his last start.

Keuchel was not at the top the rotation to start the season and missed the Yankees the first go around. This will be his first time faces New York. Former Padre Chase Headly is 2-for-3 against Keuchel.

Twitter-friendly Brandon McCarthy takes the mound for the Yankees after starting the season with the Diamondbacks. The change of scenery has been good for him, as he is 4-2 with the Yankees compared to 3-10 in the desert. McCarthy faced the Astros on June 11, giving up five earned runs over six innings.

Chris Carter is 2-for-3 with two home runs in his career against McCarthy.

ALS sucks. Splash and donate to make it go away forever.

Over the past month or so, a sensation has gone viral over the ol' Internet, as thousands of people across the country are pouring ice water on their heads and donating to ALS research through a movement called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. (Click the link for more about where this movement came from and the moving story of former Boston College baseball star Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with this disease.) Donations to ALS research are subsequently way up from where they were in 2013, and every little bit helps to combat this awful disease, so you should join in on the fun and donate to the cause as well!

Numerous people associated with the Yankees have done the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, honoring greats who have lost their lives to ALS, including Hall of Famers Catfish Hunter and, of course, Lou Gehrig. Check out the videos of Yankees who have participated!

Derek Jeter

Mariano Rivera

Andy Pettitte

Jorge Posada

Masahiro Tanaka

Alex Rodriguez

Joe Torre

Don Mattingly

Reggie Jackson

CC Sabathia

Willie Randolph

Shawn Kelley

Curtis Granderson

Nick Swisher

Ken Singleton

Michael Kay

John Flaherty

Thanks @kathleen_R0ssi for the nomination, I nominate @PhRoss3 , Sean Flaherty, and Kyle Flaherty! https://t.co/zgPAjHTaTc

— John Flaherty (@flash17yes) August 18, 2014

Lindsay Berra (and Yogi's statue)

Jennifer Steinbrenner

***

I was going to write this post anyway since Shaun suggested it, but by coincidence, my sister took the challenge yesterday and nominated me to do it, too. So here I am:

I took the #ALSIceBucketChallenge and donated. I nominate @ImNotAHRHitter, @justinbopp, and @dcone36 to join me! https://t.co/vyGNKbxLez

— Andrew Mearns (@MearnsPSA) August 21, 2014

In addition to that silliness, I donated to the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research, as mentioned in the video. Furthermore, as you can see, I also nominated Greg Kirkland, Justin Bopp, and David Cone to do the challenge, so hopefully more ALS donations will flow in and we'll have even more videos to post soon!

(Also, per Tanya, watch this one if you dare.)

Both pitchers go the distance, but the Astros' bats were already in Cleveland.

The most interesting fact about Thursday's game was the game time. The Yankees and Astros completed Thursday matinee game in two hours and seven minutes, the shortest game of the 2014. Brandon McCarthy and Dallas Keuchel can be blamed or thanked for this result. Both pitchers threw a quick, effective complete game on Thursday.

Unfortunately for the Astros, Houston's bats went missing in the series finale with the Yankees. The only runs of the game came in the second inning as the Yankees put up a three spot. Mark Teixeira lead off the inning with a single. Martin Pardo and Chase Headley followed with back-to-back doubles to put two runs on the board. Francisco Cervelli and Ichiro Suzuki scored Headley with ground ball to third base and a sac fly. That was it for the runs.

Dexter Fowler was the catalyst for the Astros' attempt to generate offense. Fowler, in the fourth, doubled to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Marc Krauss strained Fowler and Robbie Grossman with a ground out to end the inning. Fowler reached on a fielder's choice in the seventh and moved to third on a Krauss ground-rule double. But, he was once again strained by a Jon Singleton strikeout and Carlos Corporan fly out.

McCarthy would strike out eight and scatter four hits over nine innings of scoreless baseball. Keuchel kept the Yankees in check outside of the second and pitched his fifth complete game of the season. Both pitchers didn't issue a walk in the game and only 203 pitches were thrown. If a pitchers duel is your thing then Thursday was your kind of game. If an Astros win is your thing then Thursday was not your kind of game.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: It has been decided that when David Phelps returns from the disabled list he will rejoin the team out of the bullpen.

It's About the Money | Katie Sharp: After returning to his cutter and limiting home runs allowed, Brandon McCarthy has transformed himself into an effective pitcher again.

Baseball Prospectus | Jeff Moore: Aaron Judge was the top hitter of Wednesday night as he continues to show he's a more complete hitter than everyone expected.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Francisco Cervelli got Brandon McCarthy through Thursday's start on his way to a complete game shutout.

Pinstriped Prospects | Jed Weisberger: Dante Bichette Jr. talks about how he figured things out this season and found success.

Baseball Prospectus | Tucker Blair: Scouting reports on Gary Sanchez, Mason Williams, Tyler Austin, and Jacob Lindgren.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: Joe Girardi is not interested in changing the lineup to try and get the offense going.

It's About the Moeny | Williams Tasker: If the 1994 strike didn't happen, the careers of Don Mattingly, Buck Showalter, and Derek Jeter could have been much different.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from August 21st.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L 1-5 vs. Buffalo Bisons

LF Jose Pirela 0-3, BB, SB
2B Rob Refsnyder 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K
RF Zoilo Almonte 0-4, 2 K
DH Kyle Roller 0-4, 2 K
1B Austin Romine 1-4, double, K
C John Ryan Murphy 1-3, BB, K, E2, passed ball - throwing error, 2nd of the season
SS Carmen Angelini 1-4, HR, RBI, K - 4th homer of the season

Nik Turley 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R/1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, WP - 58 of 101 pitches for strikes
Nick Rumbelow 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, WP
Edgmer Escalona 1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB

Double-A Trenton Thunder:W 3-0 vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats

CF Mason Williams 2-4, CS
C Gary Sanchez 0-3, BB
1B Greg Bird 2-4, 2 doubles - batting .250 w/ Trenton
RF Tyler Austin 0-3, BB, 2 K
DH Rob Segedin 3-4, triple, RBI, K
3B Dante Bichette Jr. 2-4, RBI
SS Ali Castillo 2-3, RBI, SB

Jaron Long 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K - 10 GO/5 AO
James Pazos 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

High-A Tampa Yankees:W 10-6 vs. Brevard County Manatees

CF Mark Payton 2-5, RBI, K - batting .281 w/ Tampa
3B Eric Jagielo 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K
RF Aaron Judge 2-3, 2 BB, K
DH Mike Ford 2-5, RBI, 2 K
1B Reymond Nunez 3-4, double, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K - 3rd and 4th homers of the season

Brett Gerritse 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
Caleb Cotham 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, WP
Ramon Benjamin 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, WP

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: W 12-0 vs. Greenville Drive

SS Abiatal Avelino 1-6, HR, RBI, 3 K - 2nd homer of the season
2B Tyler Wade 3-5, double, HR, RBI, BB, CS - 1st homer of the season
LF Michael O'Neill 1-4, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB
RF Yeicok Calderon 2-4, RBI
DH Gosuke Katoh 0-2, 3 BB, SB
C Kale Sumner 2-4, RBI, BB, K, passed ball
1B Bubba Jones 2-5, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, K

Justin Kamplain 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, E1, 2 pickoffs
Angel Rincon 3.2 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Stefan Lopez 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, WP

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:L 0-2 vs. Brooklyn Cyclones

CF Devyn Bolasky 2-4, double
DH Chris Breen 1-4, 2 K
1B Connor Spencer 1-4, K
C Luis Torrens 0-3, BB, K

Matt Borens 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Dillon McNamara 3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, K
Rony Bautista 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

GCL Yankees 1:W 4-2 vs. GCL Astros

RF Ramon Flores 2-4, double, HR, 2 RBI, K - 2nd rehab homer
DH Alexander Palma 3-4, double, RBI
3B Drew Bridges 2-3, 2 doubles, BB, K
LF Cesar Diaz 2-3, double

Luis Cedeno 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Manolo Reyes 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, K, WP
Jonny Drozd 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

GCL Yankees 2:L 2-8 vs. GCL Blue Jays

DH Junior Valera 1-3, double, RBI, K
2B Graham Ramos 1-3, BB
C Jesus Aparicio 1-2, 2 BB, K
LF Griffin Gordon 2-4, RBI, K

Elvin Perez 3.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Eduardo Rivera 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 WP
Carlos Diaz 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, hit batsman

There's a big emphasis on "If".

I hesitated to say this for many, many years, but I think I'm confident in saying this now: Francisco Cervelli is a pretty good catcher. I say "pretty good" because I still don't think that's he at all worth a starting catching position, but he's certainly good enough to be a backup for just about any team. I, of course, was unwilling to admit this because he has never been healthy enough to remain playing long enough to see his true talent, combined with his steroid suspension last season. To say that his career has been mired with injuries is an understatement. The list includes a wrist fracture from a home plate collision, a fractured foot from a foul ball, a concussion from a home plate collision, a hand fracture from a foul tip, and a hamstring strain. And even though most of those are freak accidents, they still happened. That type of beating makes a player more injury-prone in the future, even though he's not actively putting himself in danger.

Even with all of that, I think we have a decent idea of where his talent level lies. This season thus far Cervelli has filled in another 107 plate attempts into his career, which gives us now a more considerable sample from which to draw from. Over 703 plate appearances in his career, Cervelli has hit 99 wRC+ and has accumulated 3.2 fWAR. For a backup catcher, that's not half-bad. The problem is, though, that this performance is spread out over a number of years. How can this be regressed to create a true talent level? That really depends on the projection system. ZiPS has confidence in this career performance--he's projected to hit 96 wRC+. Steamer, on the other hand, probably factors in luck and injury into its projections more heavily; it projects that Cervelli will only hit 82 wRC+ for the rest of the season. Even if it is the latter, he still has considerable value as a backup catcher.

The Yankees are good at developing catching, especially in regards to defensive catching. Defensively, Cervelli has been well above average, even if the sample may be limited. Over the span of his career, dWAR rates him as 1.5, and FanGraphs' Defensive Runs Saved has him at 9.3 runs. Either way, his defense is certainly suitable to fill in for the excellent defensive catcher in Brian McCann. In terms of pitch framing, Cervelli has also been more than just serviceable. According to Baseball Prospectus' catching data, Cervelli's receiving has produced 29.1 framing runs over his career; the rate of his production is 13.8 runs/7000 receptions. That's certainly not like the abilities of Brian McCann or Russell Martin, but it's much, much better than your average catcher. If we had a more accurate picture of him offensively, it'd be safe to say that he'd be an above-average backup.

This all doesn't mean that Cervelli has any trade value. At 28 years old and with his injury history, he offers virtually no upside and only two years of team control. That would be worth about a win or two, meaning the Yankees could maybe net a fringe-prospect at best. For their purposes, it'd be best to leave him in his current role.

I've always been down on Cervelli, and for good reason at the time. Up until last year, he had produced one excellent offensive month and had rarely been on the field consistently due to injuries. That one month in 2013 seemed even more like a mirage after his suspension; I wondered what his true talent level really was. I think it's safe to say that his offense is either average or slightly below average with defense and receiving that is above average. When most teams struggle to find a single decent catcher, the Yankees have a backup that doesn't look too shabby filling in on McCann's off days or during periods of injury. The Yankees may appear to have a logjam at the catching position, but logjams clear up pretty quickly. Cervelli should be a part of the Yankees' future, and rightfully so.

The Yankees begin a three game series against the White Sox tonight. Shane Greene gets the start. Your TV broadcasting choices tonight are Michael Kay or Hawk Harrelson. Mercy...with an exclamation point!

Comment of the Game

I think my favorite aspect of yesterday's COTG is that unless you go back and hover over LTL's spoiler box, you don't actually know why he won! Devious!

Best GIF of the Recap

Dancing Baby Groot from selftitled85 is the winner of the BGOTR. It's actually appropriate, considering I was watching this movie for a 2nd time yesterday, probably around the time this was posted.

Honorable Mod Mention

Yesterday, Andrew made a whole ALS Ice Bucket Challenge post, which included his participation & him donating. Can't imagine anything more honorable.

Best Comments of the Day

Elcruzter55 posted Tanaka's participation in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It is wonderful.

Finally, Travis Lincoln shows us all the happy bonds of matrimony.

Fun Questions

• What's your solution for second base next year?
• Are you also spending most of your time watching the Every Simpsons Ever marathon?

The Yankees haven't been playing well, but at least Brandon McCarthy made us happy today. We also discuss Rusney Castillo (who wasn't signed yet), and Matt F.'s trip to the Scranton game.

The Yankees are kind of a scary team to watch right now and not in a good way. That's what losing two out of three to the Astros does to a fanbase! However, we do have some bright spots to talk about, mainly Brandon McCarthy. Also tune in for us talking about Rusney Castillo (who has now reportedly signed with the Red Sox), Matt F. going to a RailRiders game with Greg and long time listener, and some of the worst streaks of poor Game Scores in Yankees history.

Podcast is a little shorter than usual this week because there wasn't too much news to talk about and we were having connection problems and at one point, Matt P. had to go and my mic wasn't working for some reason, so Matt F. was talking to no one. Thanks to some creative editing, you won't even notice! Show us what you've got, Internet!

Podcast link (Length: 38:25)

iTunes link

RSS feed

Two in a row would be fun.

Brandon McCarthy's complete game shutout of the Astros on Thursday afternoon helped the Yankees avoid a sweep at home just before the calendar flips to September. New York welcomes another fairly bad team into Yankee Stadium this weekend, kicking off a three-game set against the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees are currently four games out of the second wild card, trailing the Mariners and Tigers. If the team still has any hope of playing baseball in October, they are going to have to beat up on the teams that they should beat. The 59-68 White Sox would be a good place to start.

Yankees lineup: Gardner 7 Jeter 6 Ellsbury 8 Teixeira 3 Prado 4 McCann DH Headley 5 Cervelli 2 Wheeler 9 Greene RHP

— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) August 22, 2014

Brian McCann serves as the DH for tonight's game with Francisco Cervelli taking his place behind the plate. Zelous Wheeler gets the start in right field over Ichiro Suzuki with Martin Prado serving as the second baseman while Stephen Drew gets the night off.

Speaking of McCarthy, yesterday's hero, the impending free agent told Dan Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal that he'd like to re-sign with New York this offseason. The right-hander said that he feels like the Yankees are a great fit for him and there'd be no question in his mind about returning. His 1.90 ERA since coming over from the Diamondbacks has been a huge boost to a rotation that has seen injury after injury. With plenty of question marks concerning the rotation for next season, it seems like a no-brainer for the Yankees to do everything in their power to pencil McCarthy into their 2015 plans.

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.

Baltimore suffers a major blow to its World Series hopes, and Manny Machado looks like he'll miss the rest of 2014 with knee surgery.

The anxiety surrounding Orioles' All-Star third baseman Manny Machado's return from a sprained right knee he suffered on Aug. 11 has turned into a terrible case of deja vu for Baltimore. Machado's season will end early due knee surgery for the second consecutive year, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown, and confirmed by Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.

Last year's injury, which occurred when he badly twisted his left knee and dislocated it running out a grounder to first, initially appeared horrific only to end up simply terrible, allowing him to start his season in May.

It appears that this year's injury may be worse. While it remains unclear whether he's torn the ligament -- it was initially reported to be a sprain --  he's definitely lost for the rest of the year. Chris Davis will continue filling in for him at the hot corner, but the O's will miss the 22-year-old's Gold Glove defense as October approaches just as much as his bat.

Machado will also reportedly have a small abnormality in his right knee -- which also exists in his left knee -- fixed during surgery, per Brown.

A single by Martin Prado ended what could have been a very long and exhausting night. We'll take the wins how ever we can get them!

It was the start of another extremely important series for the Yankees as they faced off against the Chicago White Sox. Shane Greene was called upon to keep the Sox at bay while John Danks and his ballooning ERA dealt with the fearsome Yankees offense. It wasn't a pretty effort today from the Yankees, but beggars can't be choosers.

Things got off to a difficult start for Mr. Greene. He unwisely allowed both Alejandro De Aza and Carlos Sanchez to reach ahead of the mighty Jose Abreu. Surprisingly Abreu smacked a homer that barely made it over the outstretched glove of Brett Gardner in left field. Still, it counts as a homer just the same and the White Sox had themselves a 3-0 lead. It took until the bottom of the third for the Yankees to get it back with a dinger of their own. With Jacoby Ellsbury aboard Martin Prado continued his hot hitting by cranking a ball into the left field seats to cut the deficit to one run.

The Yankees managed to succeed in tying it up while still managing to fail miserably in the fifth. Gardner was hit by a pitch leading off the inning and was followed with a single by Derek Jeter. Jacoby Ellsbury then lined a double to deep right to chase home Gardner and knot things up at three. But the next three Yankees all failed to get the lead run home and we were left with a tie. After Greene exited upon allowing the first two hitters in the top of the sixth to reach Shawn Kelley struck out two in a row. But when De Aza singled it was up to Gardner to gun Conor Gillespie out at home to preserve the tie.

The tie continued on and on though the top of the ninth. In Yankee milestone news, David Robertson got strikeout number 500. And 501, if you're interested. The Yankees would pull it out in the bottom of the inning. Ichiro Suzuki led off with a single off of Daniel Webb and was bunted over to second by Gardner to the dismay of all sentient Yankee fans. Then the always dangerous intentional walk was issued to Ellsbury. Sure enough Webb lost the strike zone and walked Mark Teixeira. Prado came next and worked the count to 3-2 and knocked the game-winning single that ended the evening before another extra inning affair bored the lot of us. Hooray victory!

In regards to the starting pitching today, after what was a very difficult start Greene settled in okay. His pitch count got high because of his difficulties and number of strikeouts, but even an okay five inning performance has its place. He held things down after what must have been a first inning shellshock. Having to call the bullpen into action in the sixth isn't ideal, but Greene's moxie was nevertheless admirable. Three runs would often be an insurmountable lead for this team, so let us thank the lack of control from the Chicago staff for a much needed win.

The Yankees and the Pale Hose match up again tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 PM. Scott Carroll and Hiroki Kuroda are your probables.

Box Score

ESPN New York | Mark Simon: A look at Derek Jeter's career against the White Sox.

The Trentonian | Nick Peruffo: Yankees prospects Dante Bichette and Ali Castillo remember their time in the Little League World Series.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchad: Martin Prado considers his walk-off hit against the White Sox to be one of the best moments of his career.

New York Times | Tyler Kepner: A look back into Joe Torre's career and how he ended up in the Bronx in the first place.

MiLB.com | Ashley Marshall: With Jaron Long's brush with perfection, he continues to prove his worth to the Yankees organization.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty:Brett Gardner believes that last night's victory was one of the best victories of the season, but was it?

New York Post | Joel Sherman: The Yankees have considered the idea of using a six-man rotation for the rest of the season and next.

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: It makes a lot of sense to bring David Phelps back from the disabled list as a reliever.

Newsday | David Lennon: Brian Cashman is frustrated over the weak Yankee offense and even calls it a disaster.

New York Post | Joel Sherman: As bad as the Yankee offense has been this season, it might only get worse next year.

After winning the first game of the series, the Yankees send Hiroki Kuroda to the mound in game two against the White Sox. Mercy.

Comment of the Game

Blanky emerges victorious as yesterday's COTG winner. Yeah, Nuno & Hughes against Abreu is a scary thought.

Best GIF of the Recap

We're gonna combine the BGOTR & the HMM today, since we have two winning GIFs, both from Mods. We will decide which mod gets which award with a race around the world. Tanya has agreed to foot the bill with her swee blogger coin.

Best Comments of the Day

It was YankeeRaven's birthday yesterday. He wished for a Yankee win, and he received his birthday victory.

Fun Questions

• Do you prefer to go to baseball games in the afternoon or the evening?
• What was/is for breakfast this morning?

Single by Yankees' second baseman wins it in the bottom of the ninth

Bullet point recap of last night's game:

*After back-to-back singles by Alejandro De Aza and Carlos Sanchez to lead off the game, Jose Abreu hit his 33rd homer off of Yankees starter Shane Greene.  The ball just barely cleared the fence and the glove of a leaping Brett Gardner.

*Martin Prado got two runs back for the Yankees in the bottom of the fourth.  With Jacoby Ellsbury aboard, Prado crushed a two-run homer to left on a grooved 86 mph fastball from John Danks.  Danks now leads the American League with 24 home runs allowed.

*Jacoby Ellsbury tied the score for the Yankees in the bottom of the fifth with a hard-hit line drive to right that went for a double.  The Yankees had a great chance to add more runs, but Avisail Garcia made a nice leaping catch on a deep drive by Brian McCann to end the threat.

*In the top of the sixth, a potential violation of Rule 7.13 came up again.  With Conor Gillaspie running home, Brett Gardner tried to gun him down from very shallow left field.  The throw caused Francisco Cervelli to move into Gillaspie's path to catch the ball.  Cervelli received the ball well before Gillaspie's arrival and Conor was called out. Robin Ventura challenged the play on plate-blocking grounds, but the ruling on the field held up.

*John Danks left the game in the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff walk to Chase Headley.  He threw 92 pitches. Ronald Belisario and Zach Putnam combined to cover the sixth, seventh and eighth innings without incident, allowing just two baserunners.

*Daniel Webb had a rough go of it in the bottom of the ninth. After giving up a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki, he retired Brett Gardner on a sacrifice bunt and Derek Jeter on a lazy line drive to center.  With Suzuki now on second base, Ventura called for the intentional walk of Jacoby Ellsbury to bring up Mark Teixeira.  Teixeira drew a walk, which loaded the bases for Martin Prado.  On a full count, Webb pretty much had to throw a fastball and Prado smacked it up the middle to win the game.  It was Prado's 15th career walk-off hit.

*Carlos Sanchez batted second in his first game in Gordon Beckham's place and did very well, going 3-for-4 with three singles.

Record: 59-69 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights