Joe McCarthy's Yankees of the 1930s and '40s were known for their sharp defense. With terrific Hall of Fame defenders like second baseman Joe Gordon, shortstop Phil Rizzuto, and graceful center fielder Joe DiMaggio, this excellence was hardly a surprise. The fact that they had a Hall of Fame catcher behind in the plate in Bill Dickey, who led the league with an incredible 59% caught stealing rate, only made them better. These players helped lead the American League in fielding percentage in '42, and they almost broke the major league record for double plays in a season. That year, they turned 190 twin-killings, six short of the 196 they turned in the previous season. Their double play talents were on display when the Yankees took on the lowly Philadelphia Athletics on August 14, 1942.

Longtime owner/manager Connie Mack's Philadelphia teams were just awful in those days, and the Yankees led them by 32 games entering the day's action. The distance between the eventual AL champions and the cellar-dwellers was evident, as the Yankees blew them out 11-2. They lit up Philadelphia's starter, Phil Marchildon, for seven runs on nine hits in five innings, then tacked on four more runs against reliever Bob Harris. They sent five doubles to the outer regions of Shibe Park, and right fielder Tommy Henrich added a two-run homer to center field in the four-run fifth inning. However impressive the hitting was, the story of the day was not what the Yankees did on offense, but rather their defensive feats. They set a major league record by turning seven double plays against the Athletics. To put it in perspective, over half of the Philadelphia outs came on seven pitches.

Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez was the benefactor of all the double plays, and the California southpaw needed all the help he could get at this point late his career. This victory would be his last of his 189 major league wins. The Yankees used several different kinds of double plays to set the record. Ace defenders Rizzuto and Gordon helped turn three of the double plays mostly on their own, with Rizzuto starting it twice on a flip to Gordon, and Gordon starting it once on a flip to Rizzuto. Third baseman Red Rolfe turned one as well, going around the horn for the twin killing. Dickey got a "strike 'em out, throw 'em out" double play, sending a perfect strike to Rizzuto to gun down the runner. They even got a weird double play, as first baseman Buddy Hasset got an out at first on a grounder, then threw to Dickey at home to force a rundown that ended on a tag by Rolfe (a rare 3-2-5 double play). They broke the record of six set originally by the '25 Cincinnati Reds when reliever Johnny "Fireman" Murphy started a 1-6-3 double play himself. Since the Yankees' terrific defensive day, their record of seven double plays has been tied three times, but only once in nine innings (Astros vs. Giants on May 4, 1969). No AL team has matched the record.

The Yankees turned a record seven double plays in a game 70 years ago today.

Box score. Game recap 1. Game recap 2.

I was greatly amused by this line in Joel Sherman's New York Post column for today:

...Remember, the only Yankee signed longer than Sabathia (set through 2016 with a 2017 option) is Alex Rodriguez, and the organization already is horrified what A-Rod will look like for the remainder of his contract.

Reading that, I thought, "Well, who the hell asked them to sign that deal?" Rodriguez signed his current contract in December of 2007. He was coming off of an MVP season, but he was also heading into his age-32 season. He had opted out of his contract three years early, which was a gift to the Yankees, a chance for them to avoid paying for his age-32-34 seasons. These turned out to be good, but with declining production each year. Of course, the danger that wasn't that Rodriguez would suddenly lose all value, but that the Yankees would violate Branch Rickey's dictum that it's better to ditch a player a year too early than a year too late--by more than a year and at great expense.

In giving in to the demands of Rodriguez and his agent, Scott Boras, the Yankees put themselves in a position where they were almost inevitably going to break Rickey's law. The math on a ten-year deal was pretty simple to do. The contract was front-loaded, with Rodriguez getting his biggest payments in the first half of the deal, but he will still be receiving a minimum of $20 million a year until his age-41 season. Rodriguez's fall, whenever it was to come, was from a very high perch, so perhaps it would be measured, but it was still going to happen.

Arguably, that is exactly what has happened. Rodriguez did well up until 35, but now the termites have gotten to him, as they get to most ballplayers by this point. A-Rod might have a rebound in him, but he also hasn't played 140 games in six years (for whatever reason), so the combination of fragility and declining offense means the Yankees are going to need an Eric Chavez equivalent for the next five years.

If the Yankees are "horrified" by that possibility... What did they think was going to happen?

This idea comes courtesy of a tweet from Adam Foster of ProjectProspect.com:

@AdamWFoster

MiLB ground ball rates continue to be a widely overlooked part of pitching prospect evaluation.

‏@AdamWFoster

Low GB% can be an indicator of pitchers who take advantage of MiLBers by overpowering them with high FBs, which rarely works in the bigs.

This makes quite a bit of sense, and could explain why so many highly regarded pitching prospects are struggling in 2012. Let's take a look at some numbers after the jump to drive this point home...

We'll examine three pitching prospects, (Julio Teheran, Shelby Miller, and Dellin Betances) who are struggling mightily this year after having moments of brilliance in the lower minors in the past.

Julio Teheran - Braves

Shelby Miller - Cardinals

Dellin Betances - Yankees

Other than the fluky MLB total for Teheran this year, there appears to be some legs to the use of minor league ground ball rates as a progress indicator. Teheran and Betances are very similar, in the sense that both have a tendency to keep the ball up in the zone, and higher level hitters have punished them mightily. Miller has been far too reliant on his fastball this year, so much so that the Cardinals have him on a strict "no shake" rule, and are calling pitches for him.

A perfect example of strong minor league ground ball rates translating to major league success is Ivan Nova, who we're all very familiar with. A 2012 prospect example would be Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, who has seen his groundball tendencies carry over from the upper minors, and have been a driving force behind his early major league success.

Matt Harvey - Mets

This is good news for Manny Banuelos, who has traditionally displayed strong groundball rates during his minor league career (50% in '11, 43% in '12), and also Jose Campos (51% in '11, 45% in '12). Get well soon, boys.

This could also explain the immediate success of David Phelps this season (40% at AAA in '11, 43% with Yankees in '12). While Nova and Phelps were never stud prospects, both have shown the necessary skills needed to successfully navigate major league lineups.

Take what you will from this. I thought it was interesting, and something that may possibly shed light on how future Yankees pitching prospects eventually translate to the major leagues.

Absolutely everything was working for Hiroki Kuroda tonight, and for six innings, he didn't allow one of the better offenses in baseball to get a hit against him. His no-hit bid would end with an Elvis Andrus infield single to shortstop in the seventh, but it doesn't diminish how dominating Kuroda was in the complete game effort.

Kuroda allowed two walks, the most in his last eight starts, but struck out five and gave up only one other hit on the night. With the Yankees leading 3-0 going to the ninth, it wasn't certain that Girardi would let Kuroda finish the game instead of going to Rafael Soriano in a save situation, but Soriano was kept in the pen by a clean inning to close things out.

It really cannot be overstated how important Kuroda has been to the Yankees this season. For all the worry over how an NL pitcher would adjust to life in the AL East and the short porch in Yankee Stadium, Kuroda has been everything you could have hoped for. With the ace of the staff on the shelf with an elbow injury, these outings from Kuroda become even more important as the Yankees chase an AL East title. He has lived up to and exceeded all expectations.

Matt Harrison kept the offense quiet until the seventh inning, but they finally broke through against the Texas bullpen when Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira hit back-to-back home runs off of Alexi Ogando for a three-run lead. Jeter extended his hitting streak to ten games with two singles and Casey McGehee continued to prove to be a valuable pick up with two singles of his own.

The Yankees will go for the series win against the AL West leaders tomorrow as Freddy Garcia opposes Scott Feldman at 7:05 p.m.

With the New York Yankees in the middle of a series with the Texas Rangers, which is a possible playoff preview, we have the postseason on the brain. Health permitting, the Yankees will pencil in CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte in the first three games of a playoff series. They'll need more than three starters, though (and who knows if Pettitte will be ready by then), which begs the question, who should be the fourth? The up-and-down Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova would be the most likely candidates, with Freddy Garcia being a long shot. And now we'll even throw Derek Lowe into the mix, as he's a playoff-tested veteran. So, at this point, who do you trust the most to start a game in the playoffs?

AAA Empire State Yankees: L 7-9 vs. Pawtucket Red Sox

Kevin Russo 2-5, RBI, BB, K

Corban Joseph 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB - seven game hitting streak

Eduardo Nunez 0-4, 2 RBI, K - batting .209 with ESY

Ronnier Mustelier 0-4, BB, K

Brandon Laird 1-4 - 13 for his last 42

Francisco Cervelli 1-4, K, HBP

Kosuke Fukudome 2-4, BB

John Maine 4 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, 2 K - 18 ER given up in last three starts (14 innings)

Kelvin Perez 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 5 K, E1 - hasn't given up a run since promotion

AA Trenton Thunder: L 2-7 vs. Reading Phillies

Abraham Almonte 0-3, BB, K

Jose Pirela 1-4

David Adams 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI - batting .322 with Trenton, eight game hitting streak, 16 for his last 39

Adonis Garcia 0-4

Luke Murton 0-3, BB, 2 K

Addison Maruszak 0-4, 2 K, E5 - 17th error of the season

JR Murphy 0-4, K

Mikey O'Brien 6 IP, 9 H, 5 R/4 ER, BB, 5 K - 6th loss of the season

Mark Montgomery 1 IP, 0 H,0 ER, 2 K - 11 pitches, 7 for strikes

High A Tampa Yankees: L 0-4 vs. Clearwater Threshers

Ramon Flores 0-3, BB, K

Slade Heathcott 1-4, 3 K - twelve game hitting streak, 18 for his last 41

Tyler Austin 2-4, 2B - 11 for his last 39, played some 1B in this game

Kyle Roller 0-1, K

Gary Sanchez 2-3, 2B, BB, K - eight game hitting streak, 15 for his last 38

Zach Wilson 1-4

Kelvin De Leon 1-3, E9 - entered game in place of Roller, batting .091 since promotion

Matt Tracy 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K, HBP - 17 ER in last five starts (28.1 innings)

Kramer Sneed 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 K, WP

Low A Charleston RiverDogs: L 2-5 vs. Asheville Tourists

Ali Castillo 1-4, HR, K - batting .326 this season, 13 for his last 31

Cito Culver 0-4, K - snapped twelve game hitting streak

Ben Gamel 2-4, 2B

Dante Bichette Jr. 1-4 - 9 for his last 33

Saxon Butler 2-4

Robert Refsnyder 1-3

Philip Wetherell 4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, BB, 3 WP - raised season ERA to 6.52, 22 ER in last 29 IP

Charlie Short 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 K

Short Season Staten Island Yankees: Off, All-Star Game

Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees: Game 1: (finish susp. game) L 8-9 (11 innings), Game 2: L 2-8 vs. GCL Pirates

Game 1-

Austin Aune 1-6, K

Ericson Leonora 2-6, HR, 3 RBI, K, SB - 5th HR of the season

Gregory Bird 2-3, BB, E3 - first error of the season

Yeicok Calderon 3-5, 2B, BB

Miguel Andujar 1-5, 2 K, E5 - 14th error of the season

Christopher Breen 1-3, 2 BB, K, CS

Rony Bautista 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

Yoely Bello 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R/2 ER, BB, 2 K

Kenedy Agramonte 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, BB

Game 2-

Mikeson Oliberto 1-4, 2B, K - batting .261 this season

Austin Aune 1-3, RBI, BB, K

Yeicok Colderon 1-4, 2 K - 11 for his last 35

Gregory Bird 0-4

Nathan Mikolas 1-3

Ericson Leonora 0-3, RBI, K, SB

Pedro Feliciano 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, K - 2 ground outs, 0 fly outs

Geovanny Gallegos 3 IP, 7 H, 6 R/5 ER, HBP - first earned runs given up of the season (10 games)

Rookie Davis 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K

Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the San Francisco Giants are scheduled to make their first trip to the new Yankee Stadium in September of 2013, marking the first time since 2002 they've squared off in New York, and just the second time since the Giants moved to San Francisco.

Make the jump for more info.

The tentative schedule has the Giants staying in New York for a whole week next September to take on both the Yankees and Mets. Obviously with the scehdule change interleague play won't be relegated to just May and June but all year round. The NL West will take on the the AL East in 2013 interleague play

Back in 2002 the Black and Orange lost two out of three at the old Yankee Stadium. You may remember Barry Bonds hitting an upper deck shot off Ted Lilly that series.

The complete schedule should be released sometime next month.

For more in depth discussion and analysis of the San Francisco Giants, head to McCovey Chronicles.

Former New York Yankee outfielder Melky Cabrera was suspended Wednesday by Major League Baseball for 50 games after testing positive for testosterone. And before their game against the Texas Rangers, many of Cabrera's former teammates, including Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez, were asked to react to the news.

"I’m surprised, it goes with out saying. I feel bad. I feel bad to even be sitting here talking about it," Jeter mentioned to reporters.

"He was fun to be around. I enjoyed playing with him, I enjoyed watching him get better throughout the years. Yeah, it’s too bad," Jeter said.

Cano's reaction was a bit more supportive for the current outfielder for San Francisco Giants:

"He was having a great year. He’s my friend, I’m going to be there for him. (It’s) a sad day. I was 100 percent surprised," Cano revealed.

Rodriguez, no stranger to the PED controversy, said he thinks that Cabrera will rebound from this.

"I’m sure he’s sad and confused. I think he’s a young man and has a great opportunity — and challenge — to turn a negative into a positive, and you hope he does that," Rodriguez said.

A-Rod continued, "I’m a believer, I’m a friend. And at times like this, I would definitely not turn my back, and I’m 100 percent here to support him."

Freddy Garcia did not pitch a perfect game tonight. King Felix handled that earlier in the day. What Freddy Garcia did do was pretty much shut down the Rangers offense to lead the Bombers to a 3-2 win.

This series has seen some incredible pitching from the Yankees. Not just the starters either. The bullpen has gotten the job done like Big Daddy Kane. They work, baby. The Rangers offense, you know one of the most dangerous offenses in the Major Leagues, have been silenced for the past 3 games. They have not managed to score more than two runs against our staff. Very impressive job.

Freddy was no stranger to the fantastic pitching against Texas. His line tonight reads; 6.2 innings pitched, two earned runs and four hits while striking out six and walking only one batter. Those two earned runs were dingers smashed by dinger machine Josh Hamilton. Consider the line and his otherwise great performance and I think you'll find those homers acceptable tonight. I sure hope so anyway. The three way bullpen fighting team of Boone Logan, David Robertson, and Rafael Soriano would finish the Rangers off. After a questionable call for Soriano's 3rd out, I was even more happy that they won.

Scott Feldman, or Bizarro Kramer as I called him all game, pitched six innings and gave up seven hits and three earned runs while striking out seven and walking four. Feldman pitched a decent game tonight. Three runs with the Rangers offense is still in no way a safe lead. One of those earned runs was a bloop single by Swisher. Bloops killed us not too long ago so it's nice of the Yankees to return the favor. Speaking of killing it; Eric Chavez. He did not know how to get out tonight. Three hits, one RBI and one walk reads his line. Another RBI from Curtis Granderson would be all the runs the Yanks would need tonight behind their incredible pitching.

The Yankees have already won the series. Ivan Nova will be called upon to face Derek Holland for the potential sweep tomorrow, or rather, this afternoon. Accursed Rain Delay. Get well soon, Cano.

Mood Music list after the jump.

Boogie Nights by Heatwave

No Rain by Blind Melon

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - Rescue From Cloud City/Hyperspace by John Williams

G.I. Joe The Movie Intro by Hasbro

And thee Big Daddy Kane song I listed up above.

Final Score in Anaheim: Angels 8 Indians 4

On a night when Albert Pujols and Howie Kendrick were given the night off, the Angels added baserunners on lapse after lapse of the Indians defense and an underwhelming Fausto Carmona debut as Roberto Hernandez. Forget the Ecuadorian embassy in London, the former Carmona had forged his identity as a major league baseball player for his entire career and ended up in a Dominican prison on document fraud. Suspended by the MLB, he made his season debut against the Angels.

And then his hat drowned. The Faustian bargain had failed.

Ervin Santana pitched seven innings of one run ball. He gave up four hits and walked one but struck out four and was on cruise control with a ton of offensive support from his teammates.

Kendrys Morales had three hits including a ouble that almost drove in Torii Hunter. A bad call from the 3B ump ruled him out but the play will be remembered more for the spike of Torii's cleat smacking Homeplate umpire Greg Gibson's face just after Torii's hand had touched the plate on a headfirst slide ahead of a phantom stretch tag by Carlos Santana. Gibson left the game, got stitches and should be fine.

Chris Iannetta caught the game and kept a quick temp for Santana, framing strike one as often as any start of the season for Ervin. Iannetta and Mike Trout each had a solo homerun in the game.

Jason Isringhausen should really be considered a mop and never used in anything even approximating a high leverage situation. The Rangers have lost three straight to the Yankees. Demoralizing to say the least. They have one more tomorrow afternoon. Don't get cocky scoring five runs in an inning the opponent makes three errors. Don't get charitable, though, either. Props to Kevin Jepsen on a 1-2-3 ninth inning to light this baby up.

Game Threads Roll Call: TheKingfish, nwstud31, cupie, aces666high, SLOfan, LanaBanana, Angelsfan015, opiejeanne, red floyd, ladybug, waters96, angelsfan7, ryanfea, sunsforlife34, angelslogic, Rev Halofan, migfig, slimshaney13, pereubu77, Oxygen48, b0rd3rline, DragBikeRacer, gyoung08, joeyz34, Halowitz, 2pintsofbooze, mustang6944, dan73962, Big Easy Halofan, LodiHaloFan, The Big J, aaronkc7, matthiasstephan, Unclearnie, SactoFan, firebird81, Vernon Wells Cash Deposit, TheGodofRuns, Halostradamus, howiestheman, Figgi4life, smithy610, tanana40, AngelsHIMYMfan, Hoppity Hooper, eyespy, GTFO Fernando, Quinlan's Goofy Swing, Jack Frostt, 5thStarter, michael23333, Tom Servo 93, MH252525, OC Awhole1, LA allday, WSChmps, Dono Romantico, Halos 4 Life, avinaj80, homercles, Seraphan, Quad Fin Rider, supermarcio, Angelsrthebest101, halosfan4ever, weaver_is_my_daddy, Little Lebowski, Stirrups, river-z, tcberry, bc56274, Morales8, eldaneish, JohnBonhamRocks, Angels84, Hockey Duckie, Zaius, AlanFalcon, jsmeat92, Chone's Chonies
Total Users: 80 • Total Posts: 1,419 • Total Threads: 2

AAA Empire State Yankees: Game 1: W 5-1, Game 2: L 2-5 (4.5 innings, rain) vs. Pawtucket Red Sox

Game 1-

Chris Dickerson 0-3, K

Corban Joseph 1-3, RBI - extended hitting streak to eight games

Eduardo Nunez 0-3, K

Brandon Laird 0-3

Francisco Cervelli 1-2, HBP

Melky Mesa 1-3, 2B, RBI

Kosuke Fukudome 1-2, 2 RBI, BB, K - batting .256 with ESY

Ramon Ortiz 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, BB, 6 K - 11th win of the season

Game 2-

Kevin Russo 1-2, BB - batting .300 this season

Corban Joseph 0-3, K - hitting streak over

Chris Dickerson 1-2, 2B - 15 for his last 36

Ronnier Mustelier 0-1, RBI

Austin Romine 0-2

Melky Mesa 1-2, K - batting .182 in 16 games since promotion

Darnell McDonald 0-2, K, E9 - first error in AAA

Manny Delcarmen 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R/4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, WP - 34 of 58 pitches for strikes

Juan Cedeno 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER

AA Trenton Thunder: W 6-5 vs. Reading Phillies

Jose Pirela 2-5, K - 5 for his last 41

Adonis Garcia 0-5, 2 K

David Adams 1-5, 3 K - nine game hitting streak

Zoilo Almonte 3-4, 2B, SB - 14 for his last 41, highlight reel video courtesy of Josh Norris

Luke Murton 0-4, 4 K

JR Murphy 1-4, HR, K - 4th HR with Trenton

Walter Ibarra 2-4, RBI, K

Shaeffer Hall 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R/3 ER, 3 K - 54 of 86 pitches for strikes, 9th win of the season

Graham Stoneburner 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K - first scoreless outing since August 1st (7 IP)

High A Tampa Yankees: L 0-9 vs. Clearwater Threshers

Ramon Flores 1-4, 2B - 6 for his last 39

Slade Heathcott 0-4, 2 K - snapped twelve game hitting streak

Tyler Austin 2-4, K - batting .309 since his promotion

Gary Sanchez 0-4, 3 K, PB - snapped eight game hitting streak

Zach Wilson 1-4

Kelvin De Leon 1-4, 2 K

Kelvin Duran 2-4, 2 K

Zachary Nuding 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HBP - nine ground outs, 2 fly outs

Aaron Dott 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K

Low A Charleston RiverDogs: L 0-6 vs. Asheville Tourists

Ali Castillo 0-3, BB

Cito Culver 0-4

Ben Gamel 1-4 - Charleston's only hit of the game, 8 for his last 40

Dante Bichette Jr. 0-3, K - I

Saxon Butler 0-3, K - Sense

Robert Refsnyder 0-3, K - A

Francisco Arcia 0-3, K - Pattern

Corey Black 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, WP, 2 HBP - second game with Charleston

Rigoberto Arrebato 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K

Short Season Staten Island Yankees: L 2-6 vs. Vermont Lake Monsters

Taylor Dugas 1-4, 2 K - 12 for his last 40

Claudio Custodio 0-4, 2 K, E6 - 19th error of the season

Peter O'Brien 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 K, PB - batting .186 this season

Ravel Santana 0-4, K

Matt Duran 1-3, BB, E3 - 17th error of the season

Exicardo Cayones 1-4, 3 K

Jose Rosario 1-3, SB, E4 - 12th error of the season

Gabriel Encinas 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 WP - three ground outs, 4 fly outs

Dietrich Enns 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, K

Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees: W 6-4 vs. GCL Braves

Jake Anderson 0-4, BB, 2 K

Mikeson Oliberto 1-4, BB

Yeicok Calderon 3-5, 2B, RBI, K - 13 for his last 36, hits in 8 of his last 10 games

Gregory Bird 2-3, 3B, RBI

Austin Jones 1-3, RBI, BB

David Remedios 1-3, RBI, K, HBP - batting .333 in 16 games

Francisco Rosario 2-3, 2B

Cory Arbiso 0.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, K - first game with GCY

Daniel Camarena 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K

Brady Lail 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, K, pickoff - hasn't allowed any ER in 10 IP with GCY

Well, Wednesday was certainly a big day in baseball, wasn't it? First, we hear that Giants All Star outfielder Melky Cabrera was suspended 50 games for PED use, as he tested positive for testosterone. According to ESPN's Buster Olney, this news was floating around the baseball insiders for several weeks, so apparently the appeal process took that long. The loss of Cabrera certainly hurts the Giants lineup and possibly their chances to make the playoffs (one would hope).

Replacing Melky in the Giants lineup will be Gregor Blanco, assuming the Giants don't attempt to claim an outfielder on waivers. Blanco had 2 hits in 4 at bats yesterday and should only be owned in NL -only leagues where you start 5 outfielders.

The Melky owner in the UBA NL-only keeper league has to be thanking MLB for making that announcement yesterday and not today, as the league trading deadline was 10pm last night. The announcement allowed him to trade a very cheap Aroldis Chapman for a boatload, including Pablo Sandoval, Aaron Hill, Mat Latos, Mike Minor, Trevor Cahill, Travis Snider and Jimmy Rollins. if MLB announced this news today, he would have had to replace Melky with someone from the waiver pool, which is full of 4th and 5th outfielders.

The other big news yesterday was the perfect game thrown by Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. Hernandez, still one of the best pitchers in the game, needed 113 pitches to finish off the Rays 27 up and 27 down. Felix struck out 12 Rays to move his record to 11-5 with a 2.60 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and an elite 174-44 strikeout to walk ratio in 180 innings this season. He has given up 2 runs or less in 8 of his last 10 starts, and has given up 1 run or less in 14 of his 25 starts this season.

Pirates second baseman Neil Walker had to leave Wednesday night's game vs the Dodgers with a dislocated pinkie on his right hand. He will see a hand specialist today and could require time on the DL. For those of you in NL-only leagues, Josh Harrison will probably get the majority of starts at second base should Walker require a DL stint. Walker is having another solid season at the plate, as he is slashing .290-.353-.452 with 14 HRs, 60 runs and 67 RBI this season. To put his season in perspective, his .290 batting average ranks 7th among fantasy second baseman, and his 14 HRs and 67 RBI both rank 2nd among all second baggers.

More Roto Roundup after the jump:

Dodgers outfielder Shane Victorino has provided a solid bat at the top of their lineup since coming over to LA at the beginning of this month. He went 3-5 with 2 runs scored in the Dodgers 9-3 win over the struggling Pirates. Victorino is now hitting .266-.326-.405 with 10 HRs, 57 runs, 46 RBI and 27 stolen bases this season, and he has already stated that he would love to sign with the Dodgers in the offseason. With the team looking to become the Yankees of the West Coast, it would not surprise me to see the Dodgers go after Zack Greinke and Victorino in the offseason. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me to see them sign Josh Hamilton, instead of Victorino.

Tigers starter Max Scherzer had one of his better outings of the season yesterday, shutting out the Twins for 7 innings, giving up just 4 hits, walking 2 and striking out 10. He is now 12-6 with a 4.41 ERA, 139 WHIP, and a 178-50 strikeout to walk ratio in 140.2 innings pitched. If you can afford the occasional blow up start from Scherzer, and the mid-4 ERA, he has excellent value in leagues where strikeouts are a category.

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro was on my list of 10 players to target in 2012, and he has had a very productive season, even with rumors that he was available around the trade deadline. There has been numerous instances where he has not hustled on plays and even making bad decisions in the field, and with a new front office, the Cubs may look to continue to build their farm system in the offseason and look to deal him. Castro went 3-4 with a double, HR, 2 runs and 2 RBI yesterday, raising his triple slash line to .276-.307-.422 with 12 HRs, 57 runs, 58 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 29 attempts.

At this point in the season, you have to buy into the season that Braves starter Paul Maholm is having. Maybe he just needed to get out of Pittsburgh to reach his potential, but Maholm is having a very good season on the bump. He limited the Padres to one run on 5 hits, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts to win his 11th game of the season. He is now 11-7 with a 3.39 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a career high 2.61 K/BB rate. Maholm also owns an elite level ground ball rate of 51.3%, and all he needs is to increase his K/9 rate to above 7.00 to reach the Holy Trinity amongst starting pitchers.

The Blue Jays called up outfield prospect Anthony Gose when Jose Bautista landed on the DL with his wrist injury. Since his call up, Gose has struggled to hit above the Mendoza line, as he is hitting just .191-257-.238 with 7 runs, 7 stolen bases in 9 attempts, and a horrible 29-7 strikeout to walk ratio in just 68 at bats. His 38.2% K rate will more than likely send him back to AAA Las Vegas when Jose Bautista returns from the DL.

The best podcasts sound like conversations among friends, but friends who know what they're talking about. With the Editor-in-Chief of Baseball Prospectus, the great Marc Normandin aboard, and yours truly, what could go wrong?

Answer: nothing at all! Marc, Ben and I bring their expertise to bear. We discuss the Red Sox chemistry and clubhouse issues. Are they real? Are they important? What should the Red Sox do about them?

Then we discuss the Yankees pitching, specifically C.C. Sabathia. We follow it all up by looking at Stephen Strasburg and the limits the Nationals appear ready to place on him this season despite being in first place. All in all, it's an informative and fun 62nd OTM Podcast (with occasional keyboard banging (and snorting))!

You can subscribe to and/or download the podcast at iTunes and/or listen and/or download at our hosting site, Podomatic. Email us with media inquires and marriage proposals at OTMPodcast@gmail.com. Many thanks to Ben Lindbergh for his time and insight. Thanks also to Kahoots, the official band of the OTM Podcast, and, of course, thanks to you for listening.

It's been a rocky return for Joba Chamberlain, the proud owner of a 9.45 ERA and 8.04 FIP in his first seven appearances. Dayan Viciedo and Gordan Beckham came into tonight's game with a .314 and .272 wOBA, respectively. Neither could boast a .300 on base percentage, but both got a run scoring hit off of Chamberlain. Here are the two sequences, with Viciedo's RBI single on the left and Beckham's solo home run on the right:

Both damage pitches happened on 94 MPH fastballs on the very corner of the strike zone to hitters who have been having terrible seasons.

I really don't think Joba has pitched that poorly, things just haven't worked out for him. Sometimes baseball is just bullshit and you realize that your opponents are really good and that things aren't always going to work out. Those were both pitchers' pitches and both of them were squared up and driven and were a big part of the White Sox winning this game.

Partially due to the aforementioned Chamberlain let downs -- not to mention a Freddy Garcia fifth inning disaster -- we got to see the remedial part of the bullpen quickly push the game out of reach. Remember when Derek Lowe pitched four innings in which the Rangers did not score a single run?

Six runs were scored and Derek Jeter had four hits, placing him seventh in four hit games against the White Sox decided by less than five runs. With one more such game, he will tie the legendary Wankie Tugger.

The Yankees will play baseball again at 8:10 PM tomorrow, so consider tuning in for that if you are a fan of baseball.

Babe Ruth was unlike any player Major League Baseball had ever seen before. He introduced power to a game that predominantly starred pitching, bunting, and baserunning. During the process, he became the game's leading home run hitter very early in his career, passing the 19th century New York Giants star Roger Connor with his 139th career homer at age 26 on July 18, 1921. This accelerated pace made the all-time home run standings look ridiculous as Ruth became the first player to ever hit 200, 300, 400, and 500 home runs. Even as the game around him was evolving as well and more power hitters starred in the league, Ruth was head and shoulders above his contemporaries.

By 1931, ten years had passed since Ruth set the all-time home run record, and he was still going strong, although it was the last season in which Ruth led the American League in home runs. He hit 46 homers to win the home run crown for the sixth consecutive season and his 12th crown in 14 years. In the process, the Bambino passed another milestone with his 600th career home run. He had 598 career homers entering a mid-August series at Sportsman's Park against the lowly St. Louis Browns. On August 20th, Ruth drew closer with a ninth-inning grand slam against Wally Hebert, his 34th homer of '31. The very next day, beleaguered Browns starter George Blaeholder pitched for the Browns. The righthander allowed five homers to Ruth in his career, and one of these clouts would occur that day.

The Yankees had a 1-0 lead entering the third inning, when Blaeholder put two runners on for the ever-dangerous "Sultan of Swat." Ruth crushed a poorly-placed pitch high in the air, soaring far from home plate. By the time the ball came down, it had flown over the bleacher roof and crashed down onto a car parked on Grand Boulevard for a tape-measure home run. It was fitting that Ruth's 600th homer would be such a monstrous shot. The three-run Ruth homer was followed, of course, by a solo blast from first baseman Lou Gehrig, the 34th of his season and one behind Ruth for the AL lead. The Yankees took a 6-0 lead, and the game ended in an 11-7 victory that only became close because starter Hank Johnson gave up several late runs. Ruth was actually ejected by third base umpire Roy Van Graflan in the seventh inning for barking about a St. Louis homer that he felt hit the left field bleacher wall rather than going into the stands. This incident was likely the only time in major league history when a player was ejected from a game in which he celebrated such an accomplishment, but it was nothing new for the rowdy Ruth.

Afterwards, Ruth wanted to find the young fan who tracked down the 600th home run ball outside the park, announcing to the press "I'd give a $10 bill and a new ball to get that one back." Sure enough, he made that exact exchange with a kid named Tony Gallico. It was truly a different era. At the end of the day, here was how the all-time home run standings looked:

1. Babe Ruth, 600
2. Rogers Hornsby, 293
3. Cy Williams, 251
4. Lou Gehrig, 221
5. Hack Wilson, 205

Even doubling the runner-up Hornsby's total would not have been enough to match the Babe.

Box score. Game recap 1. Game recap 2.

It's hard to call Josh Beckett's most recent outing against the Yankees a success. Four earned runs in six innings, two Ichiro Suzukis, a 4-1 loss...It's forgettable at best. Just ask Josh Beckett, who remarked on what he felt was improved stuff producing the "same [expletive] results."

It's the sort of stuff we expect out of Josh Beckett these days, but not Jon Lester. At least not anymore. Lester, after all, seems to have finally come around, finding his rhythm on the mound after months of frustration. Lester's struggles peaked, in fact, right before this positive streak. He looked as bad as Beckett did in his two previous outings. Beckett gave up 14 runs in 10 innings, Lester 17 in 8.

Unlike Beckett, however, Lester finally had a game which let him leave the mound and head to the dugout with a smile, regaining some confidence, and ultimately getting back on track. It came on July 28, when he allowed four earned runs including two homers over the course of six innings against the New York Yankees.

Now, Lester's night was not quite as bad as Beckett's. Where Lester struck out six and walked two, Beckett walked three in his outing. Beckett also surrendered seven hits where Lester had allowed four. Still, the results were the same, and the homers perhaps even more baffling than Beckett's--Lester's came against Chris Stewart and Jayson Nix.

This is not to say that Josh Beckett is about to take off looking like 2007 and 2011 Beckett all over again, but it's a funny sort of coincidence. And it might also make us reconsider some of the criticisms we levy against members of this team. It's one of this year's most repeated attacks against Beckett that he simply doesn't care anymore. But where Jon Lester exited his outing smiling in the dugout, feeling good about his six innings with four earned runs, Josh Beckett was typically upset and angry. There are plenty of reasons for fans to hate Josh Beckett, but a lack of caring is probably not the most reasonable. And, who knows, maybe like Lester, he'll be able to take this outing and make something of it.

You may now proceed to hate on Beckett and demand his immediate departure in the comments.

AAA Empire State Yankees: W 7-5 vs. Buffalo Bisons

Chris Dickerson 0-4, RBI, BB, K

Corban Joseph 0-5, 2 K

Eduardo Nunez 3-4, 2 RBI, BB, K, 3 SB - 8 for his last 42

Brandon Laird 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, K

Austin Romine 1-4, RBI, BB, K, PB - 8 for his last 33

Melky Mesa 3-4, HR - fifth HR since being promoted

Ramon Ortiz 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R/2 ER, 3 K - 12th win of the season, 3.13 ERA on the year

Ryota Igarashi 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K, WP - ninth save

AA Trenton Thunder: L 2-6 vs. Altoona Curve

Adonis Garcia 2-4, 2B, RBI, SB

David Adams 1-4, K - 11 for his last 38

Zoilo Almonte 0-4, K

Addison Maruszak 1-3, HR, 2 E6 - two HRs in last three games

JR Murphy 0-3, K

Shaeffer Hall 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, BB, 6 K, WP - 59 of 80 pitches for strikes

Graham Stoneburner 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, K

Josh Romanski 0.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, BB - ERA at 5.79 this season

Ryan Flannery 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER - activated from the DL before the game

High A Tampa Yankees: Off

Low A Charleston RiverDogs: L 2-9 vs. West Virginia Power

Ben Gamel 2-4, 3B - .298 average in 98 games this season

Ali Castillo 1-4, RBI

Dante Bichette Jr. 0-4, 3 K

Casey Stevenson 1-4

Reymond Nunez 1-4, K

Robert Refsnyder 0-4 - 7 for his last 32

Corey Black 3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, BB, 5 K, E1 - 10 ER in 13.2 IP since promotion

Melvin Mercedes 1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, K

Short Season Staten Island Yankees: W 8-7 vs. Tri-City ValleyCats (11 innings)

Taylor Dugas 1-4, 2 BB, SB - has at least one hit in 8 of his last 10 games

Claudio Custodio 1-6, 2 K, 2 E6 - 21st and 22nd errors of the season

Matt Snyder 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, E3 - batting .299 this season

Peter O'Brien 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB - five home runs in his last 10 games

Ravel Santana 1-6, K

Exicardo Cayones 1-3, BB, K, SB

Jose Rosario 2-4, 2 RBI, BB, E4 - 13th error of the season

Gabriel Encinas 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 6 K, WP, HBP

Dietrich Enns 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER - 2.38 ERA with SI

Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees: L 3-6 vs. GCL Phillies

Mikeson Oliberto 2-4, 2B, K, 2 SB - 13 for his last 41

Austin Aune 0-1, RBI, 2 BB, K, E6 - 14 errors in 35 games

Ericson Leonora 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, K, SB - sixth HR of the season

Yeicok Calderon 0-4, K

Miguel Andujar 1-4, CS - batting .236 with GCY

Christopher Breen 0-4, K

Jerison Lopez 0-3, K

Zachary Arneson 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K

Rookie Davis 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R/2 ER, BB, 2 K, HBP

Brady Lail 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K

After Tanya broke the news here of Michael Pineda's DUI arrest yesterday, many of the esteemed readers of our community crashed the comments section, ripping the big righty to shreds for his blatant error in judgment. Deservedly so, too, as getting behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated is an incredibly stupid decision.

This news, on the heels of his poor performance during the spring and eventual shoulder surgery, got me thinking: Could Michael Pineda become as hated a figure in Yankees history as "American Idle" Carl Pavano was a few years ago (and presumably still is)?

More after the jump...

The first strike against Pineda was that he was acquired from the Seattle Mariners for home grown catching prospect Jesus Montero, who was shaping into a big fan favorite following his fantastic debut last September. While Pineda himself had no control over who the Yankees sent the Mariners in that deal, he'll forever be linked to Montero in the eyes of Yankee fans, and that immediately put him behind the 8-ball before he even threw his first pitch.

Pineda was dealt a second blow in the eyes of the fan base when his spring velocity was nowhere near the upper-90s gas he was throwing during his outstanding rookie year with the Mariners. The fact that he came into camp 20 pounds heavier than he was the previous year raised questions about his commitment and preparation, and only continued tarnishing his image. Following the diagnosis of his torn labrum, and subsequent surgery, the "damaged goods" label has certainly done him no favors in the eyes of fans.

The most recent blow may be the most damaging of all, as his DUI arrest only adds more fuel to the already raging fire that Pineda doesn't take his preparation seriously, and now also raises questions about his character. While the young righty has been good with the media thus far in his young career, and has said all the right things in his time with the Yankees, overcoming this latest personal setback is going to be extremely difficult.

Carl Pavano was a nightmare during his time with the Yankees. He was constantly injured, selfish, and not a very likable teammate. He was a man who was forced to the disabled list with a bruised buttocks, and refused to accept a minor league assignment while rehabbing in order to clear a space on the 40 man roster for someone who could actually help the team on the field. Pavano was a bad guy during his time in New York, and deserved all the boos that were rained down upon him by fans.

While Pineda has made some mistakes with the Yankees, much of the negative attention he has received has been out of his control. I think he's gotten a bit of a raw deal from fans since he arrived, and that is unfair to him. Hopefully he learns a lesson from this arrest, and makes better choices moving forward. This won't stop me from cheering loudly for him when he finally does make his return to the Yankees, nor will it stop me from holding out hope that he'll be a rotation anchor for years to come.

I believe I'm in the minority, though.

Michael Pineda has a lot to prove to the Yankees organization, and it's loyal fans. While the boos may not come until he reaches the Yankee Stadium mound, the doubt and criticism surrounding him leading up to that moment will be equally as damaging to what is left of his pride.

I'm not sure how Michael Pineda's career will progress from this point forward, but I know the hole he's in just got a little bit deeper, and the mountain a bit higher to climb. Carl Pavano is infamous for being one of the biggest busts in Yankees history, and it would be a real shame if a promising player like Pineda suffered a similar fate.

New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher may seek a Jayson Werth-type contract when he reaches free agency following the season, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com:

To baseball fans, that is well-known to mean $126 million over seven years. In other words, it's a lot more money than most folks have guessed so far for Swish.

Second-hand or not, some Yankees people have heard that's the figure Swisher is thinking about and may at least shoot for, and one other source who's spoken to Swisher said that, indeed, Swisher has shown real interest in Werth's deal. It's believed the two sides have had no extension talks yet, as it is team policy to wait for free agency, except in rare cases.

Swisher has hit .271/.356/.482 with twenty-eight doubles and eighteen home runs over 388 at-bats this season for the Yankees. The 31-year-old owns a career OPS of .827 and has hit a combined .267/.366/.485 over four seasons in New York.

____________________________________________________________________

What type of contract will Swisher command this off-season?

____________________________________________________________________

This new feature will recall the longest home run hit by a Yankee during the previous week. This post will appear slightly delayed because I wanted to keep the week's worth of games limited to a normal week in the year (Sunday-Saturday). Thus, this first week will remember the longest home run hit between August 12th and August 18th, which was slugged by the scalding hot Eric Chavez against new Rangers starter Ryan Dempster.

Dempster pitched very well with the Cubs this year in hitter-friendly Wrigley Field, and he became the pitching prize of the trade deadline with a 2.25 ERA and a 178 ERA+ as of July 31st. He wanted to go to the Dodgers, but the two teams were unable to agree on terms. The Rangers, searching for pitching due to Neftali Feliz's season-ending surgery and midseason signing Roy Oswalt's poor performance, swooped in at the last moments of the deadline before 4:00 PM EST, and they acquired Dempster in exchange for prospects Christian Villanueva and Kyle Hendricks. Interestingly, Dempster returned to the team that originally drafted him in the third round of the 1995 MLB draft but dealt him a year later to the Marlins for John Burkett. The Angels slammed him for eight runs on nine hits in his first start, but he then threw 6.2 innings of six-hit ball at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, allowing zero earned runs (three unearned). No one was sure which Dempster would show up for his next start against the Yankees in the Bronx.

Powered by a Nick Swisher grand slam, the Yankees surged to a 5-2 lead before Chavez came to the plate, leading off the bottom of the sixth inning. Dempster had settled down since the five-run third inning, but Chavez was in the middle of a terrific hot streak entering game action on August 13th. He missed the previous three games in Toronto due to a bad back, but since July 30th had hit .452/.485/.903 with four homers in 33 plate appearances. Before this year, Chavez last hit more than four homers in a season in 2007. So what did Chavez do against Dempster?

Oof. To the jump for further visuals.

The Pitch

via www.brooksbaseball.net

Boy, that fifth pitch looks like it was begging to be crushed, and Chavez obliged. Splitters that stay up in the strike zone will go up in the air in a hurry if the hitter does what he should. Did it really look that flat though?

Oh yes. That pitch was right down the middle.

The Distance

According to Hit Tracker Online, the ball appeared to travel about 415 feet, but its true distance had it returned to field level was 441 feet. Chavez hit the pitch at a speed of 111 mph, the fifth-fastest a ball has left the bat for the Yankees this year (Alex Rodriguez's laser beam 118 mph shot in Atlanta is still the top speed by a margin of nearly five mph). Here's where it landed:

The beautiful MS Paint Baseball shows where the fans were reaching for it. Not many players have hit balls behind the bullpen in New Yankee Stadium's brief history. Thoughts, Mr. Dempster?

None? He might be wondering why a bar with the score is coming out of his head, but other than that, he does not seem surprised. Nonchalant. This blast was not the first long homer Dempster has given up, nor will it be the last.

Runner-up: Robinson Cano vs. J.A. Happ (Toronto Blue Jays) in Rogers Centre on August 12th- 436 feet.