Andy Pettitte absolutely delivered tonight during the Yanks’ 4-0 win over the Cincy Reds. Andy turned back the clock as he threw eight shutout innings and recorded his 241st career win. Andy’s cutter was sharp as he recorded eight strikeouts in his first five frames. Andy’s final line (8 IPs, 4 Hs, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 Ks) was easily the best performance by a Yankee SP this season. 

Side Note: I hate Interleague play, but Yankee fans need to see the Game’s best talent on display. Reds’ first baseman, Joey Votto, is one of the game’s best young talents. This is likely the only time we’ll see Votto in his prime at Yankee Stadium. Enjoy watching him play this weekend. 

The Yankees failed to sweep the Mariners, dropping the final game of this three-game set, 6-2. However, the story of this game was the return of Andrew Eugene Pettitte. After briefly retiring for a season, Pettitte took the ball and gave the Yanks 6 1/3 innings of four-run ball. Pettitte didn’t give up a hit through three innings, but gave up five hits in the sixth inning, including a two-run HR. Pettitte left in the seventh with the Yanks trailing, 4-1.

Overall, I really can’t be too upset with Andy’s return. Justin Smoak’s two-run homer in the fourth inning barely cleared the right field fence. Andy failed to cover first base on a grounder to Teix in the fifth, but was bailed out by Russell Martin, who nabbed the runner on a stolen base attempt. Casper Wells hit a home run off the right field foul pole in the sixth to increase the Mariner lead to three. Andy retired the first runner in the seventh before being lifted and receiving a standing ovation.

Andy’s fastball velocity was around 88-89 MPH while his slider and curve ball were consistently 81, 75 MPH, respectively. Pettitte gave up seven hits and walked three, but no one is expecting dominant outings from Pettitte. Andy gave the Yankees a chance to win this game and that’s all we can ask for. His next start will come on Friday against the Reds, so stayed tuned. 

When the Yankee bullpen is taxed, Joe Girardi knows that CC Sabathia has the ability to deliver lengthy, quality outings. In the rubber game of a three-game set against Tampa Bay, Big C just did that. Sabathia gave the Yanks eight innings of two run ball, striking out ten Rays, resulting in a 5-2 Yankee win. Sabathia threw 120 pitches and looked really dominant for the first time this season. Rafael Soriano closed it out, picking up his first save of the season. David Robertson wasn’t available as he threw the previous two nights. 

I didn’t write about David Roberston’s first blown save last night because in reality, it’s not a big deal. Robertson gave up his first earned run since last August (!!) and some growing pains are expected as he transitions to the ninth. I’m not here to make excuses for him, but Robertson threw 30 pitches the night before and will need time to get adjusted to the ninth inning. In addition, I tweeted a fun fact about one Yankee closer last night—

In 1997, Mariano Rivera blew two of his first four save opportunities as ‘The Man’

Despite initial struggles, Mariano hasn’t had that bad of a career (LOL). Lay off Roberston–he’ll be fine as the new Yankee closer. He has the best stuff in the bullpen and his strikeout rate is Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen-esqe. 

Overall, I’ll take two out of three against Tampa Bay every time. This weekend, the Mariners will come in for three games. The Yankees will get to see their old pal, Felix Hernandez tomorrow night as well. Jesus Montero will make his 2012 Bronx debut in a Seattle Mariner uniform. 

Two years ago, Andy Pettitte decided to hang it up and head home to Texas. Two years later, Andy is dusting off the #46 and rejoining the Yankee rotation. Andy will make his 2012 Yankee debut on Sunday afternoon at home against the Mariners. Given the plethora of pitching injuries, his return couldn’t be better timed. Honestly, we all aren’t expecting dominance and we never really have from Andy. He’ll walk a few guys, scatter a bunch of runners, and pick a few guys off. At the end of the day, he’ll deliver quality starts and keep the Yankees in the game. Can’t really ask for much more. The Stadium will rocking this weekend and all eyes will be glued on #46. 

The Yankees played home run derby today as they topped the Royals in the final game of this four-game set, 10-4. Robbie Cano delivered a much needed grand slam while A-Rod and Swisher also homered for the Bombers. While the offensive fireworks were nice, Phil Hughes was the story of this game.

Yankee fans have been very, very critical of Mr. Hughes this season. Coming into this game, Hughes dropped four of his first five decisions and carried an ERA over seven. But today, Hughes gave the Bombers 6 2/3 innings of hard work. He threw 116 pitches, issuing one walk while striking out seven. More importantly, Hughes’ velocity was sitting around 95 MPH for the entire game. Hughes’ absent velocity has been a cause for concern, but today’s outing is hopefully a sign of things to come.

I don’t get too caught up over wins and losses for pitchers, but strong, quality starts are encouraging. With his next three starts coming against the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Royals, look for Hughes to build off of this one and forget about his ugly April.

Mariano Rivera has silenced so many doubters and withstood the test of father time during his 16 year career with the New York Yankees. Rivera, quite arguably the most value Yankee since Mickey Mantle, has shattered all-time save marks during the regular and post-season while routine sporting a microscopic 0.73 ERA during the post-season. Rivera has routinely dominated baseball’s best hitters during October, but his newest challenge should be the biggest in his storied career…

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Entering this season, the Yankees had seven viable arms for only five rotation spots. After Michael Pineda’s injury, Freddy Garcia’s demotion, and the erratic pitching of Phil Hughes and Hiroki Kuroda, the Yankees have some serious questions. Outside of CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova, the Yankees don’t have any reliable options. Andy Pettitte is a week or so away from joining the rotation, but through 21 games, the Yankees’ pre-season strength has now become a concern. Entering Monday, the Yankees are 12-9 and current sit 1.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the East. Granted, the Orioles seem to start strong every season, but Yanks need some quality starts this week. David Phelps is set to join the rotation and will make his first start on Thursday.  

With 141 games to go, the Yankees will find a happy medium with their rotation and the Yankee offense will help offset any poor starts. The Yankees are currently third in baseball with 112 runs scored and the offense will continue to be this team’s strength. We all know that championship aspirations live and die in the post-season and those post-season runs start and end with starting pitching. The Yankee rotation will take form as the season goes, but so far, this team’s strength is now an apparent weakness. 

We learned tonight that Michael Pineda will have surgery on his right shoulder and will miss the entire 2012 season. Pineda suffered an anterior labral tear and will undergo surgery next week. Luckily for the Yanks, neither Pineda’s rotator cuff nor capsule was comprised.  

Brian Cashman spent a copious amount of time with the media explaining the injury. Cashman’s vehemently stated that Pineda’s physical and injury history checked out before dealing slugger Jesus Montero to the Mariners. Seattle GM, Jack Zduriencik stated that he was ‘shocked’ to learn about Pineda’s injury. 

On the surface, I don’t believe Seattle traded the Yanks damaged goods. It’s been well-documented that despite an overall poor showing in the second half of last season, Pineda’s average fastball velocity never dipped below 94.2 MPH. However, Pineda was struggling to break 92 MPH this spring and now we know why. It doesn’t help either that Pineda showed up to camp twenty pounds overweight, causing an obvious setback in his development. 

It’s difficult to find a silver lining in this situation. If anything, Jose Campos, the second player the Yankees acquired in the deal, is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in Single A Charleston. The 19-year-old is obviously years away from making the big team, but we’ve heard he has a lot of upside. As for Pineda, we can only hope he has a successful surgery and regains the All-Star talent he showed last season. 

For now, most of the naysayers will knock Cashman for giving up his prized prospect for the next ‘Mark Prior’. If anything, Cashman and the Yankees should have done their homework on Pineda’s workout habits. Showing up to camp overweight is never excusable and Pineda likely comprised his mechanics in order to generate more velocity. Now, the Yanks must move forward with their starting rotation and hope Andy Pettitte is ready to go. Speaking of Pettitte, he tossed six innings of three run ball tonight for the Trenton Thunder. Pettitte’s return will hopefully make Yankee fans forget about the failed Michael Pineda Year 1 experiment. 

As John Sterling normally says, ‘Well, you just can’t predict baseball, Suzyn’–and today proved why. In addition to Phil Humber tossing the 21st perfect game in the Major League history, the Yankees overcame a 9-0 deficit by tallying 15 unanswered runs as they embarassed the Red Sox, 15-9. The Yanks did their damage in the seventh and eighth innings, scoring seven runs in each frame. Teix hit two homers, including one nice opposite field shot from the left side. Nick Swisher crushed a grand slam in the eighth to give the Yanks a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Ex-Yank, Alfredo Aceves served up the Swisheroo bomb and failed to record an out in his brief appearance. 

After the game, the Red Sox brain trust had a ‘closed door’ meeting to discuss what the hell happened. However, it’s pretty easy to see that the Red Sox relievers just can’t get anyone out. The Sox back end of the pen is filled with mediocre options while the rotation hasn’t been much better. Overall, Sox GM Ben Cherington failed to add quality depth in the off-season–and his team is paying big time. With Papelbon now pitching for the Phillies, the Sox don’t have an answer for the ninth inning. 

As a Yankee fan, I can’t stop laughing about this weekend’s events. First, the Red Sox have their little ceremony with all of their ex-players (and Tito Franconer who that fans obviously want back). Kevin Millar brings up Karim Garcia’s brawl–and the Yanks respond in typical Yankee fashion–hanging up two Ws. The Red Sox ship is quickly filling up with water and it hasn’t even left the Boston Harbor yet. With no captain on board, this ship isn’t going anywhere–and that’s totally fine with me. 

Big C will get to toss the pill tomorrow night on the national stage against Dan Bard (the man who should be closing). First pitch, 8:05 PM.

Love it or hate it, Joe Girardi’s Binder of Fun is here to stay. Luckily for the Bombers, the BoF was good on this night.

With the game tied at four in bottom of the ninth. two runners on-base and two out, Binder Joe elected to intentionally walk Nick Markakis (effectively loading the bases) to get to Adam Jones. Rafael Soriano, who is dealing with a chipped finger nail (boo hoo), was a bit erratic, but that didn’t slow down the BoF. Girardi liked the righty-on-righty match-up of Soriano vs. Jones–and Soriano recorded a game saving strikeout. 

On the surface, this move was very, very unorthodox and a combination of things could have ended the game. Namely, a passed ball, any hit, a walk, balk, error, etc. could have ended in. I didn’t like the move at the time, but hey, it worked out and Girardi is going to live and die by the BoF. 

Nick Swisher delivered with a mammoth two run, home run in the Top of 10, propelling the Yanks to a sweep of the Birds. Swisher’s hit made Girardi’s decision look brilliant and gave the Yankees a lot of momentum as they head home to take on the Angels. 

The BoF wasn’t good to Joe in his first game against the Rays (Carlos Pena says hello), but heading home with a 3-3 record isn’t the worst thing in the world. 

Going forward, Yankee fans are going to have a love-hate relationship with the BoF. Baseball is a game that is completely predicated by statistics and Girardi has made it clear that he will live (and die) by those numbers.