Yankees Beat A's With Record Three Grand Slams and Posada Playing Second Base

Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson each belted a grand slam as the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Oakland A's, 22-9, at Yankee Stadium today.

The three bases-loaded home-runs are a MLB record for most grand slams by a single team in one game.

Phil Hughes started the game and was hit hard early.  He went 2 2/3 innings and gave up six runs.

After a rain delay of almost an hour-and-a-half, the Yankees were looking up a 7-1 A's lead.  After four innings, the home team then scored 20 runs to rally for the victory.

Cano hit the first grand slam off A's starter Rich Harden, in the fifth, to knock the deficit down to one and Russell Martin followed up with his slam in the sixth to put the Yankees in the lead.  Granderson put the game in the record books with his home-run in the eighth.

The wild and lengthy game ended with the appearance of Jorge Posada grabbing a mitt and playing second base in the top of the ninth inning.  It was garbage time, with a big Yankees lead, and there was no chance of blowing the game because A.J. Burnett was no where near the mound.

Posada, the former-catcher, appeared rusty.  In the game's final at bat, he fielded a routine grounder and almost, single-handedly, made it look difficult.  It seemed like he was gunning out a base-stealer at second from behind the plate, after he drilled the ball into the dirt in front of the first baseman.

Nick Swisher, playing first, scooped up the ball and rolled over the base for the out as the hitter jumped over him.

Posada and Swisher had a good laugh afterwards.  Posada, who played second base in the minors, volunteered to take the position in the top of the ninth and the Yankees leading by 12 runs.

"I wanted to give Russell [Martin] a break and grabbed a glove and said put me in," said Posada.  "It's been a while since I've been in the middle of the infield."

Martin had two home-runs and the catcher recorded a career-high six RBI's in the game. 

Too bad Hughes couldn't have reaped the rewards of this historic slugfest.  He had won his last two outings but it took 78 pitches to get eight outs in this game.

Derek Jeter got his 3,056 hit to pass Rickey Henderson as No. 21 on the all-time hits list.  He is now batting .299.

The game lasted four-hours and 31 minutes.

Yankees Fans: Where Have You Gone Russell Martin?

Russell Martin, in his first year as New York Yankees catcher, started the season at a blistering pace and made Yankee fans forget about not seeing Yankee stalwart Jorge Posada crouching behind the plate a lot easier to fathom.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher had four home-runs and 13 RBI's by his thirteenth game in pinstripes and he became more than a just a transitional bridge between the Posada Era to the Yankees future catching star, Jesus Montero.

One problem, since May 24, Martin doesn't have an extra-base hit and is batting .136 (8-for-59) in his last 17 games?

What the hell happened?

Surprisingly,  Martin is still the leading vote-getter for the American League's starting catcher's spot--probably based on his early-season offensive explosion-- for this year's All-Star Game.  Martin currently has a 400,000 vote lead over the Texas Rangers Alex Avila who is slowly creeping up to the Yankee for the starting position.  Avila is batting .304 with 10 home-runs in his second season.

A two-time National league All-Star with the Dodgers, Martin was released by the team after slumping in 2009 and having a serious hip injury in 2010.

The 28 year-old backstop was signed to a one-year, $4 million deal with the Yankees.  It immediately looked like the Yankees GM Brian Cashman salvaged an Antiques Roadshow-type find mixed in with his box of off-season garage-sale buys.  Martin looked like the early favorite for the comeback player of the year.

Along with Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia, the deal made Cashman look brilliant by landing Martin and his potential at a risky, but relatively bargain basement price.  It also kept the catcher from going to the Boston Red Sox.

By the beginning of May,  Martin had pounded nine home-runs, had 26 RBI's, stole six bases and had a slugging percentage hovering around .600.  Martin's early success helped take the pain out of the Yankees Cliff Lee fiasco.

Only today, the native Canadian is still stuck with nine homers and knocked in only four runs since.  Martin's slugging percentage has dipped to a pedestrian .398.

Give credit where it is due.  Martin has been solid behind the plate and, with the Yankees M*A*S*H unit full of starters and relievers, Martin is more Hawkeye than Frank Burns.  Yankees players say Martin's sense of humor and team work make him a popular and welcome figure in the locker room as well.

Two weeks ago, a back problem took Martin out of the line-up for a couple of days, but he resisted going on the 15-day DL.  It is quite possible he is still feeling the ill-effects of that injury and came back too soon.   Martin said he "felt pain when swinging."

It makes you realize that extending Derek Jeter's stay on the 15-day DL might not be such a bad thing after all.

New York Yankees Off-Season Acquisitions Get Passing Grades...So Far

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman didn't land the the two big studs he had hoped for in the off-season and had to settle for a mish-mosh of cast-offs, over-priced players and more old guys.  One-third through the 2011 season and it's time to grade Cashman's big winter pick-ups.

The Yankees missed out on landing the class valedictorians Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford and ended up settling for the Sweathogs.  The Yankees still have a slim lead in the AL East and can attribute some of their success to a couple players in this unlikely group.

The Yankees lost Andy Pettitte and the starting rotation still got older.  Contributing to that math is the addition of 38 year-old Bartolo Colon and 35 year-old Freddy Garcia.

Both pitchers were picked up for bargain-basement minor-league contracts and looked like they were headed down to the farm until no young arms rose to the occasion in spring training and Phil Hughes later went down with "dead arm."



Colon, coming off a a season-and-a-half layoff has been sensational for the most part.  He is coming off a complete game shutout against the Oakland A's and has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career.  The hefty rightie has a 3-3 record with a 3.26 ERA and 62 KO's against only 15 walks.  Colon's remarkable recovery from arm troubles is being scrutinized by MLB because of the controversial stem-cell procedure he underwent last year.  That's one demerit. He still hits 96 mph on the radar gun and has become the Yankees #2 starter.  Gets extra credit for comeback of the early season.

Bartolo Colon:  Grade B-plus.

Garcia won the fifth spot in the rotation, but hasn't been as over powering as Colon.  He came over from the Chicago White Sox where he was 12-6 last year.  Garcia threatened to dump his contract if he went to the minors but has been a capable #5.  He didn't get his first start until the third week of the season, but has gone 4-4 with a respectable 3.34 ERA and 41 strikeouts.

Freddy Garcia:  Grade B-minus.   

Catcher Russell Martin was coveted by the Red Sox but chose the Yankees because he said they seemed to want him more in the Bronx.  The Yankees are glad he is in pinstripes.  The 28 year-old Martin has been hot and cold but has made fans forgetting about Jorge Posada being behind the plate a little easier.  The former Los Angeles Dodger All-Star has showed no signs of last year's bum hip and performed capably behind the plate and beside it.  He is only batting .242 but has hit 9 home-runs and knocked in 26 RBI's--typical Posada numbers when he was in his prime.  Martin also has stolen 6 bases.  Martin is also a nice catching bridge until the team can bring up Jesus Montero--if he's not traded.

Russell Martin:  Grade B. 

Andruw Jones has seen limited time in the outfield and at DH, but has shown he still possesses the power he wielded at the plate.  The 34 year-old slugger has less than 60 at-bats, and with Nick Swisher finally starting to show some pop in his bat, it looks like Jones will only be replacing Posada against lefties most of the time.  Jones has gotten his few hits in critical situations and has 4 HR's and 10 RBI's which makes his .230 average a push.

Andruw Jones:  Grade C. 

Utility infielder, Eric Chavez, has seen limited time and is more valuable to the Yankees as Alex Rodriguez's replacement when he tweaks a hammy or hits in the DH spot.  The 34 year-old veteran is batting .303 and has knocked in 6 RBI's.  He gets extra credit for understanding his place on the team.

Eric Chavez:  Grade C. 

Last but not least is the class clown Rafael Soriano.  The $35 million set-up man has been nothing but trouble since Cashman reluctantly signed him to a three-year contract.  Soriano has been disrupting the classroom ever since.

The moody pitcher is currently on the DL for 6-8 weeks but not after blowing crucial saves, avoiding the press and, when he does utter something, says such bon-mots like "I don't think the bullpen is the problem right now.  I think it's the hitters," after he self-destructed on the mound.

Until Soriano gets over his elbow and mouth issues, he gets detention for joining a long list of Yankee newbies unable to handle the New York media.

Rafael Soriano:  Grade Incomplete.

All-in-all, Cashman did a respectable job filling in the pieces with questionable and recovering players.  It's a passable class with a lot of repeat seniors.  More like the scrappy vocational guys in auto shop than the academics concentrating on their SAT's.  It remains to be seen how long Colon and Garcia hold out.

For the record, so far this year, Carl Crawford is spotting a C and Cliff Lee is looking at a soft C-plus for being the teacher's pet.

Posada Pulls Himself From Line-Up Before Crucial Yankees/Red Sox Game

In a move to shakeup the New York Yankees line-up, Manager Joe Girardi penciled  his slumping designated hitter, Jorge Posada, into the ninth spot of the batting order before tonight's game against their division rivals the Boston Red Sox.  Posada, the one-time starting catcher regulated to a DH position this season, apparently disagreed with the demotion and pulled himself from the line-up before Saturday's nationally-televised game.

According to Fox Sports, the proud Posada met with Girardi an hour before the game and came out saying he wouldn't play.  No one knows what was said in the meeting.

Before the two met,  Girardi explained why he was juggling the line-up and said, "It's been a struggle this year, we're trying to get things going."

During the past three losses, the Yankees have left 37 runners on base.

There was speculation that the 38 year-old Posada would not accept batting ninth and that there was even talk of retirement.  Chances are Posada, one of the Yankees original Core Four players, wouldn't walk away from the remainder of his $13 million contract.

This weekend's series against the Sox is an important barometer of where the Yankees are headed.  The team has lost three straight and dropped out of first place in the AL East.  They in the midst of a grueling schedule where they play 32 games in 33 days.  Discord in the clubhouse could make things worse.

Posada has been slumping badly.  He has an anemic batting average of .165 as the DH and hasn't hit a home run in weeks.  Fans have been calling for his head for the last month of play.

Russell Martin has been the Yankees starting catcher all season and hasn't let the team down.  The Yankees also have a streaking prospect, Jesus Montero, on their Triple-A  club in Scranton.  Montero is batting .325 and has 2 home-runs.  He looks ready to jump up to the bigs.

Whether or not Posada is in breach of contract with the Yankees is one thing, but acting like a spoiled brat is another issue.

The next month of the schedule will probably exhaust a lot of Yankees players.  If Posada decides not to play, it might be a blessing in disguise.  It would free up the DH spot and allow older players like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and even Martin the luxury of resting while having just DH duties.

Posada, as one of the respected veterans on the Yankees, should conduct himself in a more fitting manner.  He has no one to blame but himself for his poor showing so far this season.

Yankees Could Put Six Position Players on 2011 All-Star Team

Alex Rodriguez leads a team of nine New York Yankees All-Star hopefuls listed on the American League All-Star ballot released today.  The way things look right now,  six Yankees position players alone could be playing in the July 12 classic--maybe even seven.

A-Rod will be looking to be elected to his 14th All-Star game.  He is one of the league leaders in batting and RBI's with 17 and having one of his best starts ever.

Shortstop Derek Jeter, while showing signs of inconsistency this year, is always a perennial fan favorite and will be looking to make his fifth straight appearance and 12th all-time.  Even the one year Jeter wasn't there, other players said it didn't feel just right without The Captain.  Could it be his last?

The Yankees have been sending the ball over the fence at an unbelievable rate and all those home-runs could lead to All-Star turns for their sluggers.

Surprisingly, centerfielder Curtis Granderson is tied for the league lead in home-runs with seven and is looking to make his second All-Star slot.  His first and last was for the Detroit Tigers in 2009.

Another wonder has been catcher Russell Martin.  The off-season pick-up, with the rehabbed hip, is lighting up pitchers with a .328 average, six homers and 16 RBI's so far this season.  His OBP is one of the best in the league.  Martin was a two-time National League All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira round out the six Pinstripers who could be showing up at Chase Field in Phoenix for baseball's big showcase.

Cano, one of the best all-round players in the majors is batting .314 with 4 HR's and 14 RBI's.  It would be the second-baseman's third appearance.

Teixeira, battling his usual m.o., started the season fast then slumped badly.  Over the past week, the first-baseman has picked up steam and seems to be back on track.  He has six home-runs and 16 RBI's already this year.  His last All-star appearance was in 2009.

The Yankees could bring their own Home-Run Derby to the 82nd All-Star Game.  Five players--A-Rod, Cano, Teixeira, Martin and Granderson have 28 home-runs between them.  If you throw in Jorge Posada, who is on the ballot for the first time as a DH after five All-Star games as a catcher, you have a major-league leading line-up boasting 34 dingers between those six players.

Russell Martin's .600 Slugging Percentage Is Pretty Good So Far, Eh?

The New York Yankees have to be pleasantly surprised with their collection of garage-sale pick-ups this off-season and rising to the top of the scrap-heap is catcher Russell Martin.  The Dodgers cast-off, who was coming off two disappointing and frustrating seasons in Los Angeles, has a .600 slugging percentage this season; which ranks seventh in the AL.

Martin, who has caught every game this season except one, is taking over nicely for the veteran Jorge Posada.  The Yankee backstop's new-found positive attitude is showing too.  He blamed his poor performances in 2009-10 on being unfocused.  According to his new Yankees teammates, that is all in the past.

The young righthander's chemistry with his new battery-mates is blossoming as well.  He even painted his fingernails orange to make it easier for the pitchers to pick up his signals.

Starter A.J. Burnett--the recipient of three wins with Martin--joked that his new catcher might have just wanted his nails orange, but got serious when asked how the catcher is calling for more change-ups over fastballs in a game.

"He believes in it, and I'm starting to, more and more," said the 3-0 starter.

 Yankees GM Brian Cashman took a chance on Martin.  The Canadian native came up with the Dodgers in 2006 and had three solid years in a row before slumping in 2009 and breaking a hip in 2010.  He is a two-time all-star and has a Gold Glove award  on his mantle.  Last season looks like a faded ghost of the real Martin.  He hit only five home-runs in 97 games last year.

Now the new Yankee is hitting .289 with four home runs and 11 RBI's in 13 games.  If anyone believes a catcher, built like a fullback, can't steal bases, especially after watching Posada chug around the base paths, should know Martin already has a couple of stolen bases too.  

Martin chose the Yankees over the Boston Red Sox because he said the Yankees wanted him more.  He signed a one-year deal for $4 Million.  Now the insecurity of his last two seasons has been put far behind.

 "I want to prove to myself I can do it," said Martin.  "I'm 28 years-old.  I don't really feel old.  I don't really feel beat up.  I've healed from my injuries.  I feel back in shape and I' enjoying playing baseball."

Martin's transition from Dodger blue to Yankee pinstripes had to be made easier by associating with Dodgers and former Yankee idols--hitting coach Don Mattingly and manager Joe Torre.  Martin was under the tutelage of the two Yankee legends for the past few seasons and it's a sure bet Yankee tradition was not unspoken in the  L.A. dugout.

Cashman's flea-market pick-up of Dodger's reject Martin, so far, looks like an "Antiques Roadhouse" type bonanza.  One man's trash...

Besides his offensive resurgence and contributions, Martin has ingratiated himself to the veteran World Series-winning Yankee players with his sense of humor and humility.

The six-year veteran Martin actually went up to Posada, whom he is replacing, and asked the veteran catcher--with 16 years under his belt-- for advice at the beginning of the season.  Not a bad company move by Martin--even for a pro with a couple of All-Star appearances himself.

"On this team, they think about winning, whatever it takes," he said.  "It's just a good environment to be in."

Martin may be considered to be one of the first-place Yankees' consolation prizes after the losses of Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford; but has already proven to be healthy and back to All-Star form.  He said his injuries were blown out of proportion and claims he's had only one surgery to "cleanup" a knee and his broken hip has healed on it's own.

"You guys can't always believe what you read in the paper," he joked.

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A.J. Burnett Is Ready To Keep Perfect April Record Intact

You have to look pretty hard to find highlights of A.J. Burnett's career as a New York Yankee, but the amazing fact is that the much-maligned right-hander is 7-0 in pinstripes during the month of April.  The lanky starter is 2-0 this year and off to another to another quick start.

Tonight Burnett tries to extend his undefeated April record as a Yankee against the Baltimore Orioles to 8-0.

Burnett, who entered this season as the teeth-gnawing piece of the Yankees rotation, has now been replaced by Phil Hughes as the big question mark.  Maybe, by turning the manager's glare from Burnett to Hughes, will help Burnett regain the confidence he lost a season-and-a-half ago?

Hughes has replaced the 34 year-old Burnett as the team's biggest concern with his 0-1 record and sky-high 16.50 ERA as Hughes, the No. 3 starter, continues to search for his fastball.

Burnett, the shaving-cream-pie-throwing, mystery-on-the-mound has looked good so far.  He is coming off a economical 6-inning, 5-hit win against the Minnesota Twins--while battling a nasty cold-- and has 11 strikeouts to go with his 4.09 ERA for the season.

Yankee fans shouldn't get too excited.  Last year Burnett started the season with a 4-0 record and then spiraled out of control the rest of the season.  He finished with a inconsistent 10-15 record and a bloated 5.26 ERA.  He was about as predictable as a Charlie Sheen show--unless you call it bad.

So far, as a Yankee, Burnett has blossomed in April.  He has a 3.91 ERA in 12 starts to go with his unblemished record, but those April showers seem to bring May sours.

If you take away the seven April wins, Burnett's record as a Yankee is a dismal 18-24, but the tattooed hurler says things feel a little different this year.

Burnett says new pitching coach Larry Rothschild altered his delivery during spring training and, more importantly, he has found a battery soul-mate with new catcher Russell Martin.

It was no secret that Burnett and catcher Jorge Posada clashed over the last two seasons and now that Posada has been assigned to a DH position, their days together are limited to high-fives in the dugout.

During his win against the Twins, Burnett showed he can once again wiggle out of trouble and after wards, he sounded like he prefers throwing to Russell.

"I shook [Martin] off today and he put the same sign back down," said Burnett.  "He's got me believing."

The Yankees have to encouraged by Burnett's first two outings--lord knows they have very little else to be happy about--but tonight he will be facing a division-leading Orioles team.

"I've said it before, it's absolutely about  consistency and doing my work in between (starts) with Larry and keeping it rolling," said Burnett.  "Not thinking about it, just go out and pitch."

Red Sox Guarantee Cliff Lee Will Become A Yankee

If anything can light a fire under Brian Cashman, it's the Boston Red Sox.  The New York Yankee GM has upped the Cliff Lee ante in his game of Texas Hold 'em with his Texas Rangers opponent by offering the prized pitcher a seven-year deal worth $161 million.   Cashman's flop sweat is dripping onto the poker chips.

The Red Sox just snapped up outfielder Carl Crawford--the Yankees Plan B if they lost Lee--after signing first baseman Adrian Gonzalez last week.  Both players--in the prime of their careers--have each agreed to  seven-year deals worth nearly $300 million.  Everything looks good up in the land of white clam chowder.

While the Boston GM Theo Epstein awoke from his two-year off-season slumber with a roar, Cashman is now faced with one face-saving option for this off-season--signing Cliff Lee.

Cashman's two-year deal with Mariano Rivera and his four-year contract with Derek Jeter were almost no-brainers--if you discount Jeter's contentious negotiations--they weren't going anywhere else.  Both signings of past-their-prime players were important, but the deals haven't upgraded the team.  Now with veteran pitcher Andy Pettitte seriously talking retirement and the Core Four looking like it might be whittled down to the "Key Three," Cashman has to go all in for Lee.

The Texas Rangers won't go away quietly, but their bark is louder than their bank account.  The team filed for bankruptcy and the Lee numbers would take up between 25-30% of their entire payroll.  The ace up Cashman's sleeve is the seventh year.  The Rangers originally offered the lefthander a four or five deal and got real quiet after the Yankees threw a sixth year on the table.  Seven could be too rich for their blood.  Sure the new Texas regime has two major investors who are Texas oil barons and could pump out a few extra barrels to land Lee, but it seems unlikely they will go for the extra year. 

Cashman isn't bluffing, even if he knows the sixth and seventh years could be throw-ins for the 32 year-old Lee.  He recognizes the limitations of pitchers approaching the big Four-Oh.  The GM also knows getting the lefty is an immediate antidote to the plague of a predominately left-hitting Red Sox line-up.  The sight of Lee signing a Yankee contract could possibly entice Pettitte to give it another shot at a championship too.  A starting line-up of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes makes the Yankee Universe salivate.  Sorry Kristen Lee, that's not fan's spit raining down from the mezzanine it is their drool.

As Cashman makes mild overtures at catcher Russell Martin, if only to keep him available and away from the Sox, and has Zach Greinke simmering on the stove--just in case Lee fails to sign--he realizes everything boils down to Lee.

The newly signed Gonzalez donned his new Red Sox jersey and proclaimed he was "ready to beat the Yanks," but it is Epstein who has made the loudest noise at the Winter Meetings.

The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry goes beyond the diamond and into the front office.  Cashman has made the biggest off-season strides between the teams for the past two years and now the Boston GM has turned the tables.

It has now become a matter of pride to Cashman and the Yankees.  If he can land Lee, and only Lee,  the Yankees have beaten the Red Sox once again. Nothing else will do.