One More Time - A New York Yankees Dynasty

[Mr. Franchise]

Around the league

4/8/2010-

Toronto Blue Jays placed Marc Rzepczynski on 60-Day disabled list. Torn Hamstring.

Toronto Blue Jays call up SP Brett Cecil from AAA Las Vegas.

Cincinnati Reds placed Edison Voulquez on 60-Day disabled list. Suspension.

Cincinnati Reds call up SP Micah Owings from AAA Louisville.

[Mr. Franchise]

Pettitte is the stopper to the Yanks 3 game slide

Nick Swisher saves 2-runs with an unbelievable wall-scaling catch

Tampa, FL- The Yankees have finally won a game this season as they put the load on veteran left-hander Andy Pettitte, and he delivered. Pettitte threw a lot of pitches throughout the game, walking 4 batters, but showed his veteran grit by inducing a few double play balls, and also getting a little help from the defense. (pictured) Andy finished with 5 innings pitched as his pitch count got up there. The bullpen then came in, and it looked like it was gonna be more of the usual, as Chan Ho Park served up a homer to the first batter he saw, Carl Crawford. But Park settled down and induced a double play of his own and finished with 2 innings pitched. David Robertson closed the game out with 2 solid innings pitched. Robertson has been the most consistent reliever for the Yankees. Look for him to get a bigger role.

The offense certainly showed up as the Yanks were finally able to punch some balls through some holes. Mark Teixeira doesn't seem to be struggling as much as he did last April, as he smacked a 2-run homer in that monstrous 6th inning. That was followed up by a few walks and some extra base hits by the likes of Swisher, Johnson, Cano, and Granderson. The Yankees were able to knock out rookie Wade Davis early and capitalized from there.

The Yankees have elected not to skip over Phil Hughes and will start him tomorrow.

Game notes:

• Top prospect Desmond Jennings made his debut against the Yankees, going 2-4
• Brett Gardner was able to swipe his first 2 bags of the season

MLB Scoreboard - New York Yankees (1-2) at Tampa Bay Rays (2-2)

April 9, 2010	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York Yankees	0	0	0	6	2	0	0	0	0	8	13	0
Tampa Bay Rays	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	15	0
WIN: Andy Pettitte (1-0) LOSS: Wade Davis (0-1)

New York Yankees

Hitters	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Jeter, SS	5	0	1	0	0	1	.368
Johnson, DH	4	1	2	0	1	2	.307
Teixeira, 1B	5	2	2	2	0	0	.277
Rodriguez, 3B	3	1	0	0	2	2	.187
Cano, 2B	4	2	3	1	0	0	.437
Posada, C	3	1	1	1	0	1	.187
Granderson, CF	3	0	1	1	0	0	.214
Swisher, RF	4	1	1	2	0	0	.428
Gardner, LF	4	0	2	1	0	2	.214
Totals	35	8	13	8	3	8
BATTING: 2B: N. Johnson, R. Cano, C. Granderson 3B: N. Swisher HR: M. Teixeira HBP: A. Rodriguez SF: J. Posada, C. Granderson GIDP: J. Posada
BASERUNNING: SB: B. Gardner 2 Picked Off: D. Jeter

New York Yankees

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
A. Pettitte (W, 1-0)	5.0	8	2	2	4	3	3.60
C. Park (H, 1)	2.0	5	1	1	0	0	8.10
D. Robertson	2.0	2	0	0	0	1	2.70
Totals	9.0	15	3	3	4	4

Tampa Bay Rays

Hitters	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Crawford, LF	4	1	2	1	1	0	.352
Bartlett, SS	5	0	2	0	0	0	.277
Longoria, 3B	4	1	2	0	1	1	.500
Pena, 1B	4	0	1	0	1	1	.230
Zobrist, 2B	5	0	3	1	0	1	.533
Kapler, RF	5	1	3	1	0	1	.466
Aybar, DH	5	0	0	0	0	0	.111
Shoppach, C	3	0	0	0	1	0	.333
Jennings, CF	4	0	2	0	0	0	.272
Totals	39	3	15	3	4	4
BATTING: 2B: J. Bartlett HR: C. Crawford, G. Kapler GIDP: E. Longoria, C. Pena, W. Aybar

Tampa Bay Rays

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
W. Davis (L, 0-1)	3.1	7	6	6	2	2	16.20
L. Cormier	0.2	1	1	1	1	1	13.50
D. Wheeler	2.0	3	1	1	0	1	4.15
C. Bradford	3.0	2	0	0	0	4	0.00
Totals	9.0	13	8	8	3	8

OperationSports.com

Derek Jeter makes a diving stop to rob a hit from Willy Aybar

[Mr. Franchise]

Top prospect Stephen Strasburg struggles in first AA start

Strasburg wen 5 innings with 3 earned runs in his AA debut, striking out 4.

Stephen Strasburg, the #1 overall pick for the Nationals last year, struggled a bit in his AA debut. Strasburg went 5 innings with 3 earned runs, but the startling part of the stat line was the 7 hits, and 4 walks. Far too many men getting on base for a pitcher of this caliber. He did strikeout 4 batters.

Strasburg will likely stay in AA until he can mature a bit, which may delay his expected June Major League debut. If he can't get it together by June, he will mostly stay down in the minors the whole year, although it is not likely he will struggle that long.

After the game Strasburg commented on his performance, saying. "I felt like I was making some good pitches, but there's no doubt that the talent level was a step up. I'm just gonna take this one step at a time, and hopefully I can get called up soon."

The Senators finished the game, losing 3-2 to the Altoona Curve.

[Buckeye]

Following

[Mr. Franchise]

Phil Hughes struggles in first start

J.P. Howell finishes his scoreless 9th; Howell currently has an ERA of 0.00

Tampa, FL- Many people were unsure how Phil Hughes would react in his return to the rotation. After his dominate playoff run from the bullpen, many suggested he stay in the bullpen. But Joe Girardi was confidant that Hughes was ready. Well it looked like he wasn't quite ready yet as Hughes was touched up for for 6 runs in his debut. Hughes looked like he had good stuff in the first inning, but after a few tough calls with 2 strikes, and a line drive that JUST landed fair right on the foul line, the score was 3-0. Hughes cruised through the next couple of innings, weaving in and out of trouble, before he hit the 5th. It was then when he had 2 out, 2 men on, just 1 pitch away from getting out of it, that Ben Zobrist crushed a 2-1 change-up to deep center. Hughes was promptly hooked from the game.

On the other hand, Tampa's 5th starter, Jeff Niemann went 8.0 strong innings, fooling the Yankee batters all night long. He kept pumping strikes, not letting the Yankees get on base, which worked in favor of him as his only mistakes were 2 homers by Teixeria and Cano. If the Yankees could've gotten on base, the story might've been different.

The Yankees will send CC Sabathia (0-1 7.94) out tomorrow for the rubber game of the season. The Rays will counter with James Shields (0-1 27.00)

Game notes:

• Nick Johnson is 2nd in the league, behind Carlos Pena (7), with 6 walks

MLB Scoreboard - New York Yankees (1-4) at Tampa Bay Rays (3-2)

April 10, 2010	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York Yankees	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	3	7	0
Tampa Bay Rays	3	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	X	7	12	0
WIN: Jeff Niemann (1-0) LOSS: Phil Hughes (0-1)

New York Yankees

Hitters	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Jeter, SS	4	0	0	0	0	1	.304
Johnson, DH	3	0	0	0	1	2	.250
Teixeira, 1B	4	1	2	1	0	1	.318
Rodriguez, 3B	3	1	0	0	1	0	.157
Cano, 2B	4	1	3	2	0	0	.500
Posada, C	4	0	1	0	0	0	.200
Granderson, CF	4	0	0	0	0	1	.166
Swisher, RF	3	0	0	0	1	1	.352
Gardner, LF	3	0	1	0	0	1	.235
Totals	32	3	7	3	3	7
BATTING: 2B: R. Cano HR: M. Teixeria, R. Cano GIDP: J. Posada

New York Yankees

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
P. Huges (L, 0-1)	4.2	8	6	6	2	3	11.57
S. Mitre	3.1	4	1	1	1	2	2.70
Totals	8.0	12	7	7	3	5

Tampa Bay Rays

Hitters	AB	R	H	BI	BB	SO	AVG
Crawford, LF	5	0	0	0	0	3	.272
Bartlett, SS	4	2	3	0	0	0	.363
Longoria, 3B	3	2	2	0	1	0	.523
Pena, 1B	3	1	1	0	1	0	.250
Zobrist, 2B	4	1	2	5	0	1	.526
Rodriguez, DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Joyce, RF	3	0	1	0	1	0	.400
Navarro, C	4	1	2	1	0	0	.500
Jennings, CF	4	0	1	0	0	0	.266
Totals	34	7	12	6	3	5
BATTING: 2B: B. Zobrist HR: B. Zobrist, D. Navarro GIDP: C. Pena

Tampa Bay Rays

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
J. Niemann (W, 1-0)	8.0	6	3	3	3	6	3.37
J. Howell	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0.00
Totals	9.0	7	3	3	3	7

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[Mr. Franchise]

Around the league

4/10/2010-

San Diego Padres placed Yorvit Torrealba on 60-Day disabled list. Torn Calf.

San Diego Padres call up C Dusty Ryan from AAA Portland.

Texas Rangers placed Endy Chavez on 60-Day disabled list. Fractured foot.

Texas Rangers call up OF David Murphy from AAA Oklahoma City.

New York Mets placed David Wright on 60-Day disabled list. Torn finger ligament.

New York Mets call up 3B Mike Hessman from AAA Buffalo.

[Mr. Franchise]

Yanks drop another tough game

Yankee fans can look forward to seeing stud prospect Desmond Jennings for years to come

MLB Scoreboard - New York Yankees (1-5) at Tampa Bay Rays (4-2)

April 11, 2010	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	6	1
Tampa Bay Rays	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	X	3	9	0
WIN: James Shields (1-1) LOSS: CC Sabathia (0-2) SAVE: Rafael Soriano (2)

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[Mr. Franchise]

Around the league

4/12/2010-

Washington Nationals placed Scott Olson on 60-Day disabled list. Torn rotator cuff.

Washington Nationals call up SP Jordan Zimmerman from AAA Syracuse.