Results tagged “arod”

• Angels 7 Yankees 6: The Yankees overcame a miserable start by A.J. Burnett only to have their bullpen give the game away. New York put the first two runners on in the first, but failed to score while the Angels jumped all over A.J. Burnett for four runs in their half of the inning. And that’s exactly where things remained until the seventh. With two outs, Mark Teixeira delivered a bases-loaded double to clear the bases and put the Yankees on the board. A-Rod was intentionally walked and Hideki Matsui followed with a single to tie the game. Robinson Cano followed with a triple to put New York up 6-4.

• Angels 5 Yankees 4 (11 innings): Joe Girardi made some strange moves in this game, but his last move, removing David Robertson and putting Alfredo Aceves in is what ultimately lost the Yankees the game as they fell to the Angels. Aceves came in with two outs in the 11th and gave up two-straight hits, the second the game-winner, as the Angels clawed back into this series.

     

The Yankees are headed to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2004—when they lost to the Red Sox—and now they are signing the praises of Alex Rodriguez. Manager Joe Girardi said, "Without Alex, we're probably not in this situation right now. We're probably still playing. He had a monster series, monster hits."

     

• Yankees 4 Minnesota 1: Carl Pavano tried his best to make Yankees’ fans miserable, but the Yankees got revenge in the end. A-Rod and Posada homered in the seventh to put the Yankees up 2-1 and the bullpen took it from there. Mariano got the final four outs for the save meaning the Yankees won a playoff series for the first time in five years. The ALCS with the Angels begins Friday in the Bronx.

Our long nightmare is over, thanks to his dramatic two-run home run in the ninth on Friday, we can finally say that A-Rod is a “real Yankee”. And kudos to Mark Teixeira, who won the game with a home run and therefore is immediately promoted to “real Yankee” in his first Yankee postseason.

The first playoff game at the new stadium was a happy affair as the Yankees defeated the Twins 7-2 on Wednesday night. C.C. Sabathia pitched well, striking out eight and allowing only two runs, one earned, over 6-2/3 innings. Sabathia only struggled in the third when he ran into trouble with two outs. With runners on second and third, Sabathia allowed a single to score a run and then Jorge Posada simply didn’t catch a Sabathia pitch allowing a second run and putting the Twins up 2-0.

    

• Giants 27 Kansas City 16: The Chiefs fumbled away the kickoff to New York and things didn’t get much better from there. New York built up a 27-3 lead and then took it easy in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand. Steve Smith continued his dominant season with 11 catches for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Last night, Madonna made another visit to the Late Show With David Letterman. After making a grand entrance on the shoulders of Rangers players (who read the Top Ten list) and parrying questions about her marriage while cracking jokes about the Bush administration, she also deflected her relationship with A-Rod skillfully: The Material Girl pointed out that Letterman nearly got arrested for his last comments about A-Rod, referring to the comedian's remarks about Sarah Palin's daughter. And then Letterman took Madonna to have her allegedly first slice of NYC pizza.

• Yankees 9 Boston 5: New York crept even closer to the AL East, lowering their magic number to three and winning for the seventh time in their last eight games against Boston. Joba Chamberlain put a lot of fears to rest by pitching six solid innings and looking like he did two months ago. Alex Rodriguez had a huge night at the plate, going 3-for-3 with 4 RBI’s and swiping three bases. It was part of an offensive onslaught against Jon Lester that only ended when Lester had to leave the game after taking a liner off his knee. Thankfully, x-rays were negative, but Lester will be reexamined tomorrow.

What's up with the Yankees and text messaging? We always hear of A-Rod texting: checking in with manager Joe Girardi, flirting with Madonna, and even LOLing with Pete Rose. But apparently his infield neighbor and new all-time record holder for most hits in club history, Derek Jeter, loves getting down with some T9 as well. After Jeter broke the big record Friday night, reporters naturally checked in with his old manager, Joe Torre. When asked if he had phoned to congratulate his former rookie phenom, Torre said, "I didn't call him...I texted him. That's his favorite thing. I've got to get into that young stuff." Much like all of Jeter's other longtime acquaintances, Torre went on to shower him with praise in abundance. He said, "He's a special kid. The person he is, to me, means a great deal. That's really something to be proud of, the respect he has for the game and his teammates. He's a leader but not that 'rah, rah.'...He doesn't have the power I know that George (Steinbrenner) likes to refer to as a Yankee. ... Just the tenacity, the determination. He's not afraid to win."

• Yankees 4 Tampa Bay 2: The Yankees swept the Rays in an eventful game in the Bronx. Things started with Joba Chamberlain struggling again in the first inning by giving up two runs, but Joba pitched a lot better after it appeared that Derek Jeter have him a bit of a pep talk. Jeter laid down a bunt to leadoff the game and beat it out for a hit. He had two more hits, tying him with Lou Gehrig, but the Yankees still trailed 2-0 in the eighth. But, A-Rod and Matsui got hits, Tampa made a huge error and Jorge Posada cleared the bases with a three-run pinch-hit blast. The Yankees chose to give Mariano the night off and the combination of Bruney and Coke finished things off in the ninth.
• Florida 6 Mets 3: Florida scored four in the first and never looked back. Daniel Murphy had a RBI double in the loss.
• US Open: Cinderella story Melanie Oudin fell in two sets to Caroline Wozniacki, seeded 9th, 6-2, 6-2. Others advancing to the semifinals were Yanina Wickmayer over Kateryna Bondarenko on the women's side, and Roger Federer over Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic over Fernando Verdasco.

The Curse of the Bambino has got nothing on steroids. The New York Times has revealed two more names that appear to be on the 2003 list of 104 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs—David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, both of the Boston Red Sox at the time. The list is the same one that dragged A-Rod's off-season through the mud this February when he was outed as testing positive. While names on it continue to trickle out, its legal status is being fought over in the courts. The Times says multiple lawyers connected to the litigation "spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by a court order." There is no word on what specific drugs were tested. When Ramirez tested positive for a banned substance in May, he defended it as a fluke stemming from a recent prescription. Ramirez and Ortiz were at the heart of a Boston lineup that led the team to its first World Series victory in over eighty years in 2004, and then another in 2007.

If you glanced at the Daily News' cover today, you might think the tabloid was saying a kiss between Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Hollywood starlet Kate Hudson will make you sick. Actually the "Sick" headline refers to a disturbing look at city hospitals, while A-Rod and K-Hud's canoodling has its own feature: According to sports writer Rich Shapiro, the pair "put on a very public display of affection for the first time, locking lips during the team's annual family picnic." And A-Rod's two daughters, Ella, 1, and Natasha, 4, were also present. Yankees manager Joe Girardi may give Rodriguez a day off, since he's "4-for-22 with no homers and three RBIs in his last six games, and he's whiffed six times in his last three games." Newsday points out it could be "preventive," since "A-Rod turns 34 Monday and had a big birthday bash planned for last night in the city, thrown by Hudson, with all his Yankees teammates invited." It's unclear what the overall Hudson effect on A-Rod's performance is; a few weeks ago, it seemed mixed.

• Yankees 6 Baltimore 4: Segio Mitre did just enough to earn his first win as a Yankee. New York fell behind 1-0, but quickly erased that deficit thanks to a RBI from Nick Swisher and two RBI’s from A-Rod. Robinson Cano added a two-run homer in a three-run fourth to make it 6-2 and it appeared that the Yankees would cruise to an easy win. But, Baltimore battled back against Mitre, scoring a run in the third and two more in the sixth to make it a two-run game. That’s where Aceves, Coke and finally Rivera took over and shut the door to preserve the win. With the victory, the Yankees moved into sole possession of first.
• Washington 4 Mets 0: Oliver Perez “only” walked six and the Mets couldn’t manage much against Washington's’s John Lannan. Lannan was brilliant, scattering seven hits to earn his first MLB shutout and the Mets fell another game behind the Phillies.

• Yankees 2 Detroit 1: Maybe some time off was all Joba Chamberlain needed. Whatever the reason the Yankees were thrilled to see their young pitcher dominate the Tigers on Sunday. Joba pitched 6-2/3 striking out eight and allowing only three hits. The two New York runs were provided by (what else?) solo homers from A-Rod and Mark Teixeira. Phil Hughes came in and pitched the eighth with Mariano closing the door in the ninth as the late-inning tandem performed spotlessly again. With a Boston loss, New York is now only one game behind the Red Sox.
• Atlanta 7 Mets 1: What can possibly happen next? Sunday night’s injury was Fernando Nieve hurting his quad while running to first. Nieve had to leave the game, Tim Redding came in and things fell apart from there. Add it all up and the Mets have dropped three-of-four coming out of the break and now head to Washington.
• Liberty 89 Atlanta 86: Shameka Christon scored 32 points, including the last five of the game as New York survived a late onslaught from The Dream.

Yankees 9 Mets 1: The final score may not have been close, but the Mets threw the game away by committing three errors in the second inning. The first one, a wild throw by David Wright is somewhat understandable, he had picked the ball up barehanded and was off-balance as he threw it. That put Melky Cabrera on second and he scored when Ramiro Pena blooped a double down the rightfield line. Pena then scored when C.C. Sabathia hit a single up the middle to make it 2-0 Yankees.

It took Alex Rodriguez some 13-plus seasons to have the scheduling gods grant his first ever regular game season to be played in his hometown of Miami against the Marlins. How did Joe Girardi celebrate the homecoming? By giving A-Rod the first two games of the series off due to "fatigue." But is A-Rod exhausted from leftover effects of off-season hip surgery—or being linked to Hollywood starlets? The Post says that Rodriguez was able to get enough leverage out of his recovering hips to make a night of it with new romantic band-aid Kate Hudson in South Beach until 2:30 in the morning after spending Friday night's game on the bench. Despite sitting out, A-Rod had 100 tickets put aside for friends and family to watch the Yankees win without their slumping third baseman, who is hitless in his last 15 at-bats and hitting .212 for the season. The doctor who performed A-Rod's hip surgery said that he was happy to see him rest and wished the slugger had already sat more, instead of playing all of his first 38 games back, with only three as DH.

Yankees 9 Mets 8: In all the years of the Subway Series, there has never been an ending like this one. For almost four hours, the Yankees and Mets battled back and forth, trading runs and the lead over and over again. Like they have done all season, the Yankees used home runs to get on the scoreboard with Robinson Cano starting things off in the second inning to put the Yankees up 1-0. But, Joba Chamberlain could not find the plate on Friday and the Mets took advantage of his wildness to take a 2-1 lead. Mark Teixeira went deep to put the Yankees up 3-2 but the Mets jumped all over Brett Tomko in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead.

• Yankees 8 Texas 6: Chien-Ming Wang had his best start of the season. Then again, considering the disasters his first three starts were, that isn’t saying much. Wang allowed five runs over 4-2/3 innings, which sadly lowered his ERA, but that wasn’t the real story. What was the story was a great comeback from New York. Down 5-1, the Yankees rallied thanks to a bases-clearing double from Mark Teixeira and they won the game thanks to a two-run home run from Melky Cabrera. Rivera came in for the save and New York has now won seven of it’s last eight series.
• Pittsburgh 11 Mets 6: Usually scoring six runs is enough to win, but not when your starting pitcher can’t keep you in the game. Mike Pelfrey was awful, allowing nine runs- eight earned, and the lowly Pirates swept the Mets. To make matters much worse, Jose Reyes has a tear in his hamstring and J.J. Putz will probably need elbow surgery. Depending on the result of tonight’s Phillies game in San Diego, New York will be either three or four games back in the NL East.
• Washington 2 Red Bulls 0: Another loss as the season drags on for New York. They played a tough match and trailed only by a goal until the final minute when a penalty kick gave D.C. the final edge.

Derek Jeter may be the face of the Yankees. Almost every other player is more popular, but the fact remains that Alex Rodriguez is the engine that drives the team.

• Yankees 9 Baltimore 1: A pitchers’ duel was transformed by a seven-run seventh inning from the Yankees giving the Yankees their seventh win in a row. Baltimore jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but A-Rod put the Yankees back on top with his fourth homer in as many days, a two-run shot to deep left. That’s where things stayed until the seventh. The Yankees blew things open thanks to a big error and a big double from Derek Jeter. Mark Teixeira added a home run of his own and the rout was complete. C.C. Sabathia went seven innings, striking out seven for the win- his first at home as a Yankee.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: The Number 7"

For months they waited and waited. They read the stories, they watched the awkward press conference, and they cursed the fact that A-Rod will be a Yankee for nine more years. Yet, when Alex finally took the field Friday night and deposited the first pitch he saw this season into the seats, Yankee fans cheered. Sure, a lot of it was simply relief. The team hadn’t had a lead in a game for almost a week and was on a five-game losing streak, but it was also the natural reaction of a Yankee fan, like every other sports fan—you root for your team.

Facing a chorus of boos from Baltimore fans, some welcoming him back by holding up Styrofoam needles, Alex Rodriguez sent the first pitch he saw this season over the left field fence at Camden Yards. A-Rod said, "It was a dream. It's been two months, which is a long time. I've been watching a lot of baseball, being very frustrated. I feel like I'm back with my family now where I belong." He admitted that the 98 mph fastball from Jeremy Guthrie was a pitch that he would have struggled with last season before undergoing hip surgery that delayed his 2009 start by five weeks. The three-run homer ended up being all CC Sabathia needed, pitching a complete game shutout in what was easily his best outing as a Yankee. With the Yankees struggling and his onslaught of bad press throughout the off-season, A-Rod enjoyed the fresh start, saying, “I played baseball and forgot everything else. In ’08, I got away from that a little bit. I have no one to blame but myself."

• Mets 7 Philadelphia 5: Things got a bit dicey, but the Mets got the sweep in an abbreviated series. Beltran, Wright and Reyes all homered and Pelfrey pitched seven solid. They are over .500 and on a four-game winning streak. The Mets are only a ½ game back of the division lead and with Pittsburgh in this weekend, they have an excellent chance to move into first.

[Updated 5:45 p.m.]Manny Ramirez is going to be suspended for fifty games by Major League Baseball after getting caught using a banned substance. The LA Times broke the story, saying that the suspension will begin immediately, keeping Ramirez out until July 3 and costing him $7.7 million, roughly 31% of his $25-million salary.

Today is the release of the unauthorized biography on Alex Rodriguez that has seemingly pushed the superstar into the villain column of American athletes by revealing that A-Rod had once tested positive for steroids. Other than A-Rod's initial snap reaction that author Selena Roberts was "stalking him" (which he later retracted and apologized to her for), much of the attention around the book has landed solely on Rodriguez and the numerous allegations against him leaked before the book's publishing. That is, until yesterday when Yankee Manager Joe Girardi said he didn't understand "why anyone would write a book like this."

The new accusations against A-Rod in the upcoming biography on him—that he used steroids while on the Yankees and tipped off pitches to opposing players—are now being looked into by Major League Baseball. Officials had already met with A-Rod to ask questions soon after his initial admissions of using illegal steroids while with Texas Rangers. A sports law expert told the Times, “The last thing (Commissioner Bud Selig) wants is for someone else, like the federal government or Congress, to try and intercede and take this matter out of his hands.”

With "juicy" details being spilled from the new biography of Alex Rodriguez by Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts, publisher Harper Collins has decided to move the book's release up from May 12 to this coming Monday—hey, it's #1 on Amazon for sports books. Today the Daily News offers these bits: He "was an insecure prima donna who made a clubhouse attendant load his toothbrush with toothpaste after every game in his three seasons with the Texas Rangers" and "During a series in Texas, Roberts writes, A-Rod went to a sex club while his wife, Cynthia, pregnant with their first child, was at home in New York." Newsday says, "The book also accuses Rodriguez of tipping pitches to opponents during blowouts and that he expected those players to reciprocate when he needed a hit and it would not affect the outcome of games." Newsday adds that the book's allegations meant that Joe Girardi's pre-game press conference was mostly about A-Rod, though there was a swine flu question.

Over the last six months, we've learned that Alex Rodriguez has been given the nicknames A-Roid, A-Fraud and A-SWF. Now we're told of nickname for the slugger back in 2005..."Bitch Tits." According to the upcoming biography that first broke the news he had tested positive for steroids, A-Rod was called that by fellow Yankees who noticed some extra cuppage on the third baseman, a sign to some that he was using HGH. A-Rod has denied using steroids during his tenure with the Yankees, but the book talks to players and management who say that many in the organization suspected that he was and it quotes one major leaguer who accuses him of using HGH with former Yankee Kevin Brown in 2004. Other new revelations in the book include allegations that A-Rod used steroids as early as high school, tipped off pitches to friends on opposing teams and, most heinous of all, only tips 15% when he eats at Hooters.