Yankees Find Newest Hiro, But Can't Shake Birds

All season, Yankees starter HIROki Kuroda has served as the rotation's stopper (14-10, 3.26, over 200 IP). I argue that you could start him in Game 1 of the playoffs over CC.

And last night the real IcHIRO Suzuki stepped up. In a doubleheader vs Toronto that the Yanks needed to sweep, Suzuki did it all: 7-for-8 total at the plate, the super game-winning catch in Game 1 and a 4-hit, 4-steal nightcap, where he drove in the game-winning run to boot.

He didn't look like a guy on the gradual career decline, he looked like they guy who hit .350 four times in his career. In fact since his acquisition from Seattle on July 23, he's hit .317 in Pinstripes. It reminds Yankee fans (or at least this one) of the late-season, late-career surge of Tim Raines who hit 7 HR down the stretch in September 1996.

But there were plenty of heroes on Tuesday. Andy Pettitte (Raines' former teammate) returned from a DL and pitched 5 unblemished innings. David Phelps went deep in the Game 2 start, sparing the bullpen - except for Rafael Soriano who amazingly nailed down Saves #41 & #42. Oh yeah, and Derek Jeter got his 200th hit.

Meanwhile out west, the MLB's feel-good story Orioles did it again. Even Yankee fans appreciate what they're doing, we just wish they'd be battling for the Wild Card instead.

They battled King Felix Hernandez to an 8-inning stalemate, and took the game into the 11th when Adam Jones launched his 30th to break the tie and then they record the final out on a caught stealing.

It was a mind-bending 15th straight extra-inning win. This one only kept me awake until 1:23 AM ET as opposed the 18-inning marathon the night before. The incredible O's did what they had to do, taking their last 4 games on the west coast. And they are 39-20 in the last 2 months.

It's worth pointing out again that for the first time since 1995, there is a much greater significance in winning the division over the wild card.

Sublime in Seattle

This is not a reference to one of the late-great alternative music bands of all-time playing in one of the late-great alternative music cities of all time. But rather artistry of a different kind.

It was just a matter of time before Felix Hernandez did something he'd never done before - a perfect game against Tampa. It was also the 4th CG SHO for King Felix in 2012.

The 26-year old Venezuelan already has 96 career wins and is certainly on the fast track for baseball immortality, had he not written his name in permanent marker yesterday.

But I look at this achievement from a different angle, as a baseball wonk. After the game yesterday, Mariners' play-by-play man Dave Sims posted his scorecard online. I argue that there is no greater piece of memorabilia for a historic achievement than having this page in your Bob Carpenter's Scorebook:

I've known Dave Sims for over 20 years. He was a sports radio host in New York before he got started in play-by-play. I was his spotter and stat guy on the Big East Football game of the week in 1992 & 1993, when he was very new and inexperienced at this.

I was also very new and inexperienced at what I was doing, but it didn't stop me from teasing him about his obsessive-compulsive, color-coated charts. He carried around so many different pencils, pens, markers, and highlighters that I joked he knocked over an Office Depot on the way to the stadium.

But this is where it all pays off. The details are what makes this a work of art as well. The green highlights mark the strikeouts (he whiffed 8 of the last 12 Rays) and the circled red numbers indicating how many retired in a row (that's 27 by the way). And all the zeroes, of course.

Having this much information crammed into a small space is what makes a good play-by-play guy have all the stats and info at his fingertips. But as often is the case, it's the empty space you fill in during the game that paints the most telling picture.

A Mound Of Trouble

It's August 7th and the Yankees still hold the AL's best record, but they have been humbled badly twice in the last three days.

On Saturday, Seattle's Felix Hernandez dismantled the Yankee lineup effortlessly with a 2-hit shutout. He wore long sleeves on a 91-degree day and needed just 101 pitches.

Last night, Detroit's Justin Verlander did his thing. While King Felix just cruised, Verlander got the hammer out striking out 14 in 8 innings, allowing just 2 unearned runs. He even struck out Ichiro Suzuki 3 times, who hadn't whiffed in over 2 weeks.

Now there's no shame in losing to, or even being dominated by back-to-back Cy Young winners. Unless you're the Yankees and a 100-win season is where you meet the bar. Only getting to the World Series will exceed it. And being automatic outs for the league's best pitchers isn't the way to achieve that goal.

While CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda have been horses in the Yankee rotation, they have not pitched consistently enough to be counted on every single start.

And there were other disturbing signs last night. Yankee starter Ivan Nova looked very uncomfortable again. After going 16-4 last year, and starting 9-2 this year, Nova has lost 4 of 5 and is in serious need of repair or he may find himself back in the bullpen.

And three time zones away, the Angels' Jered Weaver shut out Oakland to go to 15-1. Just another guy who could personally blow up the Pinstripe chances in October.

I would use an expression to describe how out-of-sync the Yankee hitters look against these guys, but I've used up the profanity allotment for my lifetime.