Morning Brew, NY House Blend

Not a lot of panic in New York. Not nearly as much as followed the last Boston sweep. But still, we thought you might like a few headlines and snippets after a weekend that put the Sox 4 up in late June. Enjoy.

NY Post - CC Ya Later. (Nice twist of the Michael Kay call. I can't help but find that signature damn annoying. Otherwise, Michael Kay is pretty good. Still, with Ken Singleton on the color commentary, I don't wish the YES network on any of you.) "It took a $161 million arm to bark for the spotlight to dim on Alex Rodriguez's return from a two-game starting hiatus. With all eyes on Rodriguez to see how his fatigued body would respond to the first start since Thursday, Yankees ace CC Sabathia left the mound in the second inning with what was diagnosed by Dr. Dan Kanell as biceps tendinitis."

NY Post - Yankees Protest Lineup Snafu. (I mean, sure you've gotta get every game you can, but still, I enjoyed the smell of desperation in this.) "With pitcher Leo Nunez in the leadoff spot after Alejandro De Aza hit for Renyel Pinto in the seventh, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez doubled-switched left fielder and leadoff man Chris Coghlan out of the game. But with Coghlan in left as Nunez warmed up, Girardi told plate umpire Tim Timmons that Nunez couldn't be hitting first if Coghlan was in the game. And Girardi told Timmons not to warn the Marlins. After Nunez's first pitch, Girardi went back to Timmons, who gathered the umpires to discuss a situation Timmons told Girardi he never had seen before...It likely will fall into the laps of Joe Garagiola, senior VP of baseball operations, or Ed Burns, VP of baseball operations.
According to Girardi, if the protest is upheld, the game would be resumed with the Marlins leading 6-3 at the start of the eighth inning." (Pretty interesting. Wonder if the Yankees will come back within a base hit again.)

NY Daily News, A-Rod to Sit out One Day a Week. "Joe Girardi plans to rest A-Rod once a week for the next month, a plan Rodriguez said was devised by Dr. Marc Phillipon, the Colorado surgeon who operated on his hip in March. 'That sounds like a good plan,' A-Rod said Sunday. 'From what I understand, that comes from Vail (Colo.) and Dr. Philippon. We'll follow his instructions and regroup in a month. The idea is that I'll get stronger each month.'" (I understand doctor's orders and everything, but isn't your franchise player supposed to at least pretend like he doesn't want a day off every week, like it's tearing him up inside?)

NY Daily News, The Manager doth Protest too Much. "There's an old saying that every day you go to the ballpark, you might see something you’ve never seen before. That was certainly the case Sunday night. I saw CC Sabathia leave a game in the second inning, and while that has actually happened twice before, the last time was 2004, so I had personally never seen it...I saw two separate fights in the stands during the eighth inning, and while I’ve certainly seen my share of those, one of them involved two women who were fighting like Wendi Richter and the Fabulous Moolah. These two women weren’t having a stereotypical slap fight - they were throwing haymakers, essentially shifting all eyes in the ballpark in their direction. I had definitely never seen that before. But the most interesting thing that I had never seen before actually took place at the same time as the aforementioned fight. It was Joe Girardi halting the game in the top of the eighth to protest something to the umpires, apparently believing that the Marlins had taken part in some type of illegal substitution."

NY Times, Humble Josh Johnson Humbles the Yanks. (This one's from yesterday, but I thought the angle was pompous enough to include anyway.) The Florida Marlins’ Josh Johnson is 25 years old, young enough to still be awed to share a field with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter. At least, after the game he was awed. During it he was thrilled to strike out Jeter with a 96-mile-an-hour fastball. Johnson punctuated the moment with a rare fist pump. 'Striking out Derek Jeter, I’ll remember that for the rest of my life, I’m sure,' Johnson said. 'One of the best players in the game, one of the best players of all-time, I think. One of the most respected players, too. That’s when I got a little emotional, when I struck him out.'" (Yup, a story about how the Yankees are so great it humbles young ballplayers to beat them up. Well done, New York Times.)

Yankees Rotation Set, Joba Questions Remain

Just as the Sox shored up their starting rotation sending Clay Buchholz down to Pawtucket this week, the Yankees made a similarly expected move with Phil Hughes. It wasn't much of a spring competition, but any doubts about where Joba will start the season now appear to be answered. The Yankees opening 5 will be, in order of appearance, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettite, and Joba Chamberlain.

Not bad, but that doesn't mean the questions aren't still swirling around Joba, who had his first encouraging start of the spring only yesterday. Joba went 5 and 1/3, throwing 87 pitches, 53 for strikes.

More important, though, was the increased velocity. Yesterday, he was generally in the 90-96 range, working his way up as the innings went on, but losing his accuracy before getting bounced in the fifth. This is a significant improvement over the majority of the spring, when he has generously been clocked in the high 80's, only occasionally breaking 90. But, scouts watching the game still had their questions about arm strength. Granted it's March, but word was he got noticeably tired after 65-70 pitches. The Yankees are reportedly going to limit him to 140 innings over the season.

The rest of the staff has looked strong throughout the spring. Wang hasn't been his usual efficient self in each start, but there doesn't seem to be too much concern. Pettitte has had his usual outings and will likely be a very strong 4th starter. All in all, the Yankees are optimistic about their rotation, even if some within the organization are still questioning whether Joba belongs in the rotation, rather than the pen. That move might still not be foreclosed, as Hughes had some encouraging spots this spring and looks like he could fill in as a good option in the 5th position.

The question remains, though: with Joba's velocity and arm stregth in question, Wang battling back to form, and injuries still a concern for AJ Burnett (nevermind the aging Pettitte, how does this rotation stack up against the Rays and Sox? Every sports writer in NY seems to have accepted the company line that the Yankees have the premier rotation in the league, but so far I'm just not seeing it. Time will tell.

Further note---Melky has lost his spot in center. That guy just can't buy a break.

It's Hard to Shea Goodbye

Right off the bat I'm sorry Mets fans, I couldn't resist. The 2008 Major League Baseball regular season is over...almost.

Where else to start on the final day of the regular season then in New York. The Mets were eliminated from post season contention by the Florida Marlins on the last day of the season for the second straight year. The Mets bullpen did give up the lead, however you can't pin today's loss on them, the line up didn't give the bullpen an opportunity to blow the lead scoring only 2 runs in a 4-2 loss.

With the Mets loss, yes that's right, the Milwaukee Brewers are heading to the playoffs for the first time since 1982 as the Wild Card champs, they lost the World Series in 7 games to the St Louis Cardinals that year. For a little perspective, I wasn't even born yet the last time the Brew Crew played baseball in October, this has to be exciting for Milwaukee.

CC Sabathia, pitching on 3 days rest again, threw 9 incredible innings as the Brew Crew won 3-1. Ryan Braun hit a 2 run home run in the bottom of the 8th putting the Brewers in the playoffs. They had to wait a few minutes to celebrate as the Mets game finished up, however the champagne flowed and the fans cheered. When asked if he'd pitch on 3 days rest again in game 2 Sabathia answered, "No doubt".

The National League playoff picture is set in stone, the NL east champion Phillies will take on the Brewers, and the Cubs will take on the NL west champion Dodgers. In the American League we know the Red Sox will travel to Anaheim to take on the Angels. The Tampa Bay Rays still don't know who their opponent will be as the White Sox remain a half game behind the Twins. The White Sox will play the Detroit Tigers tomorrow, if they win they will play the Twins in a one game playoff on Tuesday to decide the AL Central champion.

ITM will cover all of the playoff series in October, however our main focus will be the Red Sox. Today the Angels announced their playoff rotation and as expected they will throw John Lackey in game 1, Ervin Santana in game 2, and surprise 17 game winner Joe Saunders in game 3. The Sox will throw Beckett in game 1 against Lackey, however it remains to be seen if Lester or Matsuzaka will start in game 2. Terry Francona and Theo Epstien will probably announced their playoff roster tomorrow, ITM will have full coverage.

Notes from Sunday.

Looks like Dustin Pedroia won't win the AL batting title. Dusty finished game 1 of the double header at .326 and is not in the starting line up for game 2 and Joe Mauer is currently at .330, however if Pedroia gets in the game tonight and Mauer and the twins have to play a 1 game with playoff the White Sox...who knows.

JD Drew was 0-2 in game 1 of the Sox/Yanks double header today before coming out, but he did look good in right field and the Sox expect him to play against the Angels in round 1 of the playoffs.

Check back tomorrow and Tuesday for updates about all the division series as well as predictions for the postseason.