Well, the Yankees put together an extremely impressive rally, right up there with last week's six-run eighth inning to beat the Red Sox 8-7 in Boston. They scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning after trailing 4-0 midway through the 9th. All those runs were off Roy Halladay, though only one was earned, due to an error by second baseman Aaron Hill.
Mariano Rivera, Joba Chamberlain and Luis Vizcaino pitched four shutout innings to match the efforts of the Blue Jays' Casey Janssen, Jeremy Accardo, Brian Wolfe and Joe Kennedy. But Brian Bruney gave up a solo home run to Gregg Zaun in the top of the 14th, and the Yankees lost 5-4 to the Blue Jays.
They now stand 2 1/2 behind the Red Sox in the AL East and lead the Tigers by 4 1/2 games in the wild card.
The Yankees are on to plan C for tomorrow's starter. Roger Clemens had been scheduled to replace Ian Kennedy as a starter tomorrow, but he's been scratched due to a "tweaked" left hamstring. Tentatively, the Yankees hope Clemens can pitch Monday, but I wouldn't assume anything. Phil Hughes will start tomorrow, Mike Mussina Sunday and possibly Clemens Monday.
If any of you are free tomorrow night, the Peace, Unity and Hope concert will be putting on at Utopia's Paradise Theater at 187th St. and Grand Concourse in the Bronx. Based on Yankees special assistant to George Steinbrenner Ray Negron's bestseller "The Boy of Steel" is the short play "The Boy of Steel ... Drama in the Bronx", starring Darryl Strawberry. Then comes a concert featuring music star Jose Feliciano and ex-Yankee Bernie Williams. The show will benefit the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club.
Comments (12)
How serious is the Clemens injury?
I hate Brian Bruney.
Sully,
Times reported a 'tweak' to the hamstring and an abundance of caution as the team had lost about 4 pitchers to hamstring injuries earlier in the year.
Jim A.:
Only Bruney? Not Ramirez?
What did Harlan Chamberlain have to say to Roger Clemens when he spoke to him before the game yesterday?
"Take care of my boy," according to Tyler Kepner in his New York Times blog.
That's a focused parent, still on duty.
Pitching woes and relying on Mussina = The beginning of the end!!!!
Angry Blue Jay sweep!
(have you ever seen an angry Blue Jay?)
I know this sounds odd... but I wonder if the Yankees or the Sox could make a last week trade with someone.
I know you can't put someone on the post season roster, but you see sometimes post Sept. 1 deals made. The Red Sox picked up Mike Stanton for the last week of the 2005 season. Matt Stairs went to the Tigers for the last week last year.
I remember in 1987 when the Cardinals were all banged up, they picked up Doug DeCinces for the last week.
With both teams having banged up staffs... I think it would behoove them to see if a pitcher who has cleared waivers on a non contender and who is off for free agency can be snatched. If for no other reason than to be another arm to give the Kennedy/Clemens/Farnsworths a rest for you or the DiceK/Okajima/Gagne/Wakefield/Jeez, the whole team a blow
It's only money, Sully, and both teams are wealthy enough to rent some guy(s) to give their staff(s) an extra day off or two here at the weary end. But the howling about wretched excess from the have-nots (except those who pocketed the money) would be loud, don't you imagine?
Hey, the Pirates have had 15 years to develop a farm system.
The D'Rays have had one of the top 10 picks in the draft each of the last 8 years.
If you can't develop your own players then cry me a river.
I don't care about the Have Nots. I care about my team and my team needs another arm just to give these guys a rest.
Then again if the Sox win and the Tigers lose, they are in the post season no matter what...
When that happens, maybe they should treat the last week like spring training instead of being macho men going for the division blowing their arms out.
Just saying
Harlan Chamberlain is a good father ...
BTW, well it took 4 months but my Field of Dreams article was finally published on a site with 8 million hits per month!
Angry,
Injuries to pitchers, relying on Mussina, etc. -- isn't that the year? Isn't that what got us here?
Hey, I always say, dance with the one that brung ya, even if he's not the prettiest face at the dance!
It hasn't been an easy year, I think I feel my achilles tendinosis acting up, but you know what I think we're dancing pretty good.
It was a good comeback and the team has shown heart ... true grit. To lose in X tra innings ... to Joe Kennedy, is no shame ... It is the curse of Joe Kennedy!
That game never should have gotten to Bruney to begin with. After the 9th, the Yanks couldn't even buy a stinking hit?
Everytime these games go into extra innings, the Yanks seem to lose. Everyone wants to be the "hero" and hit that game winning homer, instead of just doing what they do and string 3 or 4 hits together to get that run.
Last night's game was a bad one to lose because they had a great comeback against a great pitcher.
You have to win those type of games.