Any team hoping to knock off the defending champion Yankees this
postseason is going to need all the help they can get. Unfortunately
for the Rays and Rangers, the Minnesota Twins were not in a helping
mood. For the second consecutive year, the Yankees swept the Twins in
the ALDS, outscoring them 17-7 in a lopsided three-game series. Yankees
starters CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes allowed just five
runs in 20 innings pitched, and shut down what had been baseball’s
sixth-most prolific offense during the regular season. A workload like
that would normally take a toll on a start rotation, but such will not
be the case with the Yankees’ three-headed monster.

By forcing a Game 5
in their ALDS matchup on Sunday, the Rays and Rangers assured the
Yankees that they won’t play again until Oct. 15. That means that
whoever survives to face the Yankees will feel the full force of their
rotation. Sabathia has been one of baseball’s most durable workhorses
for the better part of the past decade, and while the huge layoff he’ll
get between starts is a luxury, it’s probably not one he needs. But the
rest could be huge for Pettitte and Hughes — two starters at opposite
ends of the age spectrum who would face different problems if forced to
pitch on short rest. Nearing the end of his 16th season, Pettitte has
already logged over 3,000 innings in the majors, and has suffered
through various injuries over the past few seasons. He’s been great on
short rest throughout his career, but the Yankees would undoubtedly
prefer not to risk an injury to a member of their “core four.” Hughes,
meanwhile, has already pitched more innings this season (183 1/3) than
in the past two seasons combined, and the Yankees considered limiting
his innings down the stretch. He’s young and has a strong build, but
that’s no guarantee that Hughes would perform well on short rest.

Things will be different for the Rangers and Rays, though. Cliff Lee and
David Price are set to head off against each other in Game 5 on
Tuesday, meaning that regardless of who advances, neither team will have
its ace available until Game 2 of the ALCS at the very earliest, with
Game 3 being the most likely scenario. Maybe this will somehow turn out
to be an advantage for the Rays or Rangers. Perhaps this will result in
an ALCS Game 7 in which a well-rested Price or Lee gets to face off
against an overused Sabathia. But the way the Yankees have played so
far this post-season, it’s more likely that Lee and Price will only get
to be used once.

There’s something about October that gets Andy Pettitte‘s juices flowing.

The 38-year-old left-hander tossed seven innings of two-run, five-hit
ball on Thursday night, leading his Yankees to a 5-2 win and 2-0 lead
in the ALDS over the Minnesota Twins.

Pettitte started the 2010 season in All-Star form, but was placed on
the disabled list on July 18 with a strained groin. In his final three
regular season starts since returning to the rotation on Sept. 19, he
went just 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA. Quite simply, he looked banged up.

But Pettitte, a proud member of the Yankees’ Core Four, has been one
of the most reliable postseason pitchers in Yankees history since he
beat John Smoltz 1-0 in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series.

He knows there’s no room for injury excuses in October.

With his win on Thursday, Pettitte improved to 19-9 all time in the
postseason — 18 of those wins have come with New York (Pettitte went
1-1 in the 2005 playoffs with the Houston Astros).

At 38 years old, Pettitte looked like he might as well have been 24
against the Twins. He gave up just two extra base hits; he walked just
one batter; he threw just 88 pitches.

OK, those aren’t Roy Halladay numbers.(you might say)

But they’re solid, and that’s all the Yankees can ask from Pettitte,
who has given the organization everything he has in 11 different
Octobers.

If the Yankees want to have a shot at defending their World Series
title, they’ll need more consistent starts almost every night.

Based on history, Pettitte will likely come through any time he’s called upon.

Yankees Lead 2-0 Thanks to Sabathia and Pettitte. Mission 28 lives on.

So, the New York Yankees know that winning a World Series with a three-man rotation is possible, even if it’s not recommended.

In 2009, the Yanks went with three established starters — CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte
— in all three rounds of the postseason en route to their eventual
World Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Each pitcher threw
on short rest at least once along the way.

On Tuesday, Joe Girardi announced his team will be employing the same strategy for the 2010 ALDS series against the Twins, only this time Phil Hughes will be taking the place of Burnett.

The three-man rotation can obviously work, but it most likely it might not work this year for the Yankees.

The logic is, of course, getting Sabathia the ball as much as
possible, because he has the most proven and durable arm on the staff.
Bottom line, he’s a horse.

But Sabathia is human, and humans get tired. And in 2010, Sabathia is being called upon even more than in 2009.

Last year, Burnett and Pettitte were solid all season long, and both
looked like bona fide No. 2 starters heading into the postseason.

This year, the Yankees’ rotation, save Sabathia and his 21 wins, has been anything but a sure thing.

Burnett’s unprecedented struggles have been well documented, as he
lost a career-high 15 games and his ERA skyrocketed from 4.04 in 2009 to
5.26 in 2010.

Pettitte was as strong as he’s ever been in his career during the
first half of the season, but a groin strain on July 18 forced the
38-year-old to go on the disabled list for two months. Since his return
on Sept. 19, Pettite has posted a 6.57 ERA in three starts, two of
which he didn’t pitch past the fourth inning.

Then there’s Hughes. The 24-year-old had a sensational season,
winning 18 games and holding opposing hitters to a .244 batting average
while pitching in the AL East, but there’s one major concern — he’s
never started a playoff game.

While the Yankees have pitching problems on the surface, those
problems are exemplified even more when their starters are forced to
throw on short rest.

Luckily for New York, the only guy who would have to pitch on three
days of rest in the ALDS against the Twins would be Sabathia, who starts
Game 1 on Wednesday and would pitch a potential Game 4 on Sunday.
Pettitte will start Game 2 on Thursday and would pitch a potential Game 5
the following Tuesday.

But if the Yankees move on to the ALCS, a three-man rotation would
entail each starter to pitch on short rest in a seven-game series, with
Sabathia being forced to pitch on short rest twice. The same effect
would apply to the World Series, as well.

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CC Sabathia on short rest is a better bet than A.J. Burnett.

According to ESPN.com, Joe Girardi has decided such, and will announce on Tuesday that his rotation for the Yankees’ divisional matchup against the Minnesota Twins will include only Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes.

Sabathia will pitch games one and four (on short rest), while
Pettitte will get games two and five — both on normal rest given days
off — and Hughes will take the ball for game three.

Burnett was 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA during the regular season, despite his $82 million contract.

The Twins will likely go with a traditional four-man rotation in the series.

It may not be for the most fortunate of reasons for many baseball fans, but Robinson Cano is the American League’s Most Valuable Player. Yes,Yankees fans are exicted.

Of course, that statement can’t be made without referencing the injury to Josh Hamilton
— the injury that kept the outfielder and his .361 average on the
bench from Sept. 4-Oct. 1. Though Hamilton returned this past weekend
and went 3-for-11 with a homer and three RBIs, it was too little, too
late. The surefire MVP had missed too much time, thus opening the door
for Cano to steal the spotlight in September.

To Cano’s credit, he took advantage of the opportunity. He maintained
a batting average that hovered around the .320 mark and drove in 19
runs in his final 29 games of the season, and he capped it off with an
MVP-worthy performance Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, when his home
run, two doubles and two RBIs proved to be instrumental in the Yankees’
6-5 win.

As baseball-reference.com noted this weekend, Cano recorded 200 hits and 25 home runs for the second straight season. As a second baseman, that’s historic, as only Rogers Hornsby
did that more than once. That means that Cano, at age 26 and 27, has
put together two of the finest seasons ever by someone at his position.

All that said, Cano’s numbers aren’t as gaudy as those of a typical
MVP. His .915 OPS is significantly lower than Hamilton’s 1.044 and Jose Bautista‘s .995. However, there is precedent, as there is history that supports Cano and works against Bautista.

First, the support. In 2008, another second baseman from the AL East put together a very impressive year. Dustin Pedroia batted
.326, hit 54 doubles and led the league in hits (213) and runs (118).
His power numbers were a bit lacking though, as he had just 17 homers,
83 RBIs and an .869 OPS.

Like Cano this year, Pedroia would probably not have won the award in
’08 if not for an injury to the front-runner. In ’08, it was Carlos Quentin.
The White Sox’ slugger missed the final month of the season with a
broken wrist, after he had hit 36 home runs and drove in 100 runs in
just 130 games. Though his .288 average was significantly lower than
Hamilton’s .359 this year, the fact that Quentin finished fifth in MVP
voting in ’08 does not bode well for Hamilton’s chances this  year.

Then there is Bautista. The Blue Jays’ right fielder has essentially
come out of nowhere to finish the season with 54 home runs, and he
finished just two RBIs shy of the AL lead with 124.

Yet again, Red Sox history comes into play.

In 2006, David Ortiz also hit 54 home runs. He also
drove in 13 more runs than Bautista did this year. Ortiz’s OBP was
higher (.413 to Bautista’s .378), as was his OPS (1.049 to Bautista’s
.995). Ortiz, however, finished third in MVP voting, behind Justin Morneau (.321 average, 34 home runs, 130 RBIs) and Derek Jeter (.343 average, .417 OBP, 14 HRs, 97 RBIs). Ortiz had the gaudy home run total, but it wasn’t what the voters were looking for.

While Bautista and Hamilton may be out of it for those reasons, Miguel Cabrera
is certainly still a worthy candidate. He posted career highs in homers
(38) and RBIs (126), and he hit .328. With a chance to seal his MVP
fate in the season’s final month, however, Cabrera tapered off a bit,
hitting .256 in September and October. In fact, since the beginning of
August, when his average sat at .351, Cabrera hit a pedestrian .280.
With 12 homers in those 50 games, he could still swing for the fences –
but that was just about all he was doing. The talent around him (or
lack thereof) in the Tigers’ lineup didn’t help him, as he had 18
intentional walks in that span. Those aren’t his fault, but in a game
dictated by a strict set of numbers, they won’t help him.

This year, the voters would have had both power and average in
Hamilton, but a rib injury ended that quest. They still have the power
numbers in Bautista and Cabrera, but recent history has shown that a
better all-around season trumps the 50-plus homer numbers.

The fact that he plays for the most visible franchise in the game
doesn’t hurt, either — especially as Jeter’s struggles were widely
publicized. The fact that Cano carried the team — with a little help
from guys named Rodriguez and Teixeira — into the playoffs could be
just as important as the numbers. Fair or not, the unquantifiable
“stats” can go a long way in garnering votes.

It may not make sense to everyone — award voting rarely does — but come November, Cano will be AL MVP.

So October, we’ll meet again.
Felt like an eternity huh? Well it was worth the wait.

While many fans were getting impatient and doubting, true fans knew that the Yankees will clinch in any way or form.

CC Sabathia strapped the Yankees on his back and provided the deep
pitching performance they’ve been needing, helping lead his team to a
6-1 victory over the Blue Jays that clinched the club’s 15th playoff
berth in the last 16 years.

It took Mariano Rivera to do it, but the Yankees have beaten the Blue Jays and clinched a spot in the postseason.

Struggling Yanks (11-14 for month) fall to Jays, denied chance to clinch playoff berth

Toronto – On the brink of the playoffs, A.J. Burnett and the New York Yankees can’t seem to stop stumbling.

Vernon
Wells hit a three-run homer, John Buck added a solo shot and the
Toronto Blue Jays pounded Burnett, then held on for a 7-5 victory over
the Yankees on Monday night.

“He got hit hard tonight, there’s no doubt about it,” manager Joe Girardi said of Burnett.

Toronto
won its fifth straight, assured itself of at least a .500 finish and
temporarily denied the Yankees the chance to clinch a playoff berth.
Boston’s 6-1 road win over the Chicago White Sox ensured New York would
have to wait at least another day.

Mark Teixeira hit a three-run
homer and Curtis Granderson added a two-run drive for the Yankees, who
have lost five of six and are 11-14 in September.

“Hopefully it
means we’re getting it out of our system,” Teixeira said of New York’s
September swoon. “We haven’t played good baseball. That’s starters,
that’s offense, defense, it’s everything. Let’s get this out of our
system and hopefully we do make the playoffs and have a chance to win a
World Series.”

Asked whether Burnett (10-15) could be counted on to pitch in the playoffs, Girardi refused to answer.

“I’m
not going to talk a whole lot about playoffs until we know we’re in,”
Girardi said. “You’ve got to get there first and we’re not there.”

Burnett said his struggles haven’t dented his appetite for postseason baseball.

“I expect to start in the postseason,” he said. “I just want the ball.”

The Blue Jays lead the major leagues with 243 home runs this season, one shy of the team record set in 2000.

Toronto
left-hander Marc Rzepczynski (3-4) allowed two runs and four hits in
five innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season.
He walked three and matched a career-high with nine strikeouts.

“I
felt like that was the best I’ve thrown the ball all year,” Rzepczynski
said. “I had slider, fastball, was getting ahead and able to expand
after that.”

Brian Tallet pitched 1 1-3 innings, Josh Roenicke and
Jesse Carlson each got one out, Scott Downs worked the eighth and Kevin
Gregg closed it out for his 36th save in 41 chances.

“That was a
big game for us,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. “No matter what
happens the rest of the way out, this team has done a great job this
year.”

Burnett, who has lost seven of his past 11 starts, allowed
seven runs and seven hits in 2 1-3 innings, his second-shortest start of
the year. The right-hander, who walked one and struck out one, is 0-3
with a 9.61 ERA in four starts against his former team this season.

“You can’t live in the middle of the plate and that’s what I did,” Burnett said. “I fell behind every hitter.

“Even
the outs I got were hard-hit balls,” added Burnett, the first Yankees
pitcher to lose 15 games in a season since Melido Perez went 13-16 in
1992.

Jose Bautista opened the scoring with an RBI groundout in
the first and Buck doubled the advantage with a leadoff homer to left in
the second, his career-high 19th, before the Blue Jays chased Burnett
with a five-run third.

Travis Snider walked to open the inning and
Yunel Escobar was hit, putting runners at first and second. Bautista
flied out, but Wells followed with a first-pitch drive to left for his
31st homer.

Lyle Overbay doubled and scored on Buck’s single to
center and Burnett was yanked after Adam Lind singled through the right
side.

Jonathan Albaladejo came on and gave up a sacrifice fly to Edwin Encarnacion, then got John McDonald to fly out.

Granderson
homered into the second deck in right off Rzepczynski in the fifth, his
24th of the season, and Teixeira chased Tallet with a one-out blast to
center in the seventh for his 33rd of the year.

Rzepczynski
recorded eight consecutive outs by strikeouts between the first and
fourth innings, a streak that started when Alex Rodriguez fanned to end
the first. Robinson Cano struck out to start the second and, after
singles by Marcus Thames and Austin Kearns, Rzepczynski struck out
Granderson and Francisco Cervelli.

Rzepczynski struck out the side
in the third, setting down Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher and Teixeira, then
fanned Rodriguez again to open the fourth.

“We’ve faced him a few
times this year and I’ve never seen him that good,” Teixeira said. “His
ball was moving everywhere. It’s like swinging at a ghost out there.
You didn’t know what it was going to do.”

The streak ended when Cano flied out to right. Thames then struck out to end the inning.

By striking out six straight batters, Rzepczynski matched Ted Lilly’s team record set Aug. 23, 2004, against Boston.

NOTES:
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said closer Mariano Rivera needs to vary
his rhythm and be quicker to the plate to avoid a repeat of Sunday’s
game against Boston, in which Rivera allowed four stolen bases in the
ninth inning. Rivera, who has blown saves in three of his past six
appearances, worked on his mechanics before the game with pitching coach
Dave Eiland. … Blue Jays 2B Aaron Hill, stuck in a 2-for-22 slump,
was held out of the starting lineup and replaced by McDonald.