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Well, for those who didn't catch the end of tonight's game against the Royals because they thought the game was in the bag up 4-1 in the ninth, you missed a nail biter at the end. 

With two runners on and two outs, Girardi decided to take out C.C. Sabathia in the ninth and went with David Robertson who allowed a double that scored two, and surrendered an infield hit to former Yankee Wilson Betemit.  Luckily, Robertson struck out Jason Kendall on a 2-2 count to end the game. 

After last night's dramatic victory over the Texas Rangers the Yankees have won two straight after going into Wednesday's game trying to end a losing streak. 

So where are the Yankees now?

Well, for the Yankees their next ten games are against bad teams.  They have three more against the Royals and then they take on Detroit and Seattle at home.  Detroit has had more rookies play more games any other team in baseball and the Mariners are in turmoil.  It's not a stretch to say the Yankees can go 8-2 in their next 10 games. 

The Bombers also have a chance to put space in between themselves and the Rays and Red Sox. 

The Rays take on the juggernaut they call the Buck Showalter Orioles this weekend, and they then face the Rangers and A's. 

The Red Sox take on the Rangers starting tomorrow and face the Angels and the spoilers, Toronto Blue Jays.  The Blue Jays salvaged the last game of the series against the Sox with a 6-5 victory tonight, and will be playing the spoiler roll until the Playoffs begin. 

Why was Wednesday's victory against the Rangers so big for the Yankees?  Well, they would've dropped three in a row and lost to a good team that they might see in October. 

The Yankees though showed the heart of a champion and demonstrated that they can still scratch and crawl to a comeback victory, a personality trait that the Dynasty teams of the 90's showed.  The Rangers' 6-1 lead looked insurmountable with Clif Lee on the hill, but they fought until the very end, and came up with the biggest victory of the season. 

So the Yankees have a chance to pull away in the AL East.  Going 8-2 in the next 10 will be perfect.  But 10-0 is okay too. 

Vote at nydiehard.wordpress.com/ if you think James Dolan is the worst owner in sports...

Don't jump for joy yet Knicks fans.  Yes, Isiah has declined the Knicks offer to be a consultant but that doesn't mean James Dolan will do everything in his power to bring Thomas back as the General manager the second Thomas says he doesn't want to coach college ball anymore.

The worst executive in sports history is still great friends with Dolan and for some weird reason he thinks Thomas is a good basketball mind.  Hey Dolan, Isiah was a great basketball player, yeah even top 50, but he's terrible at running a team.

When the Knicks got word that Thomas declined the offer because it would not be good for the NBA and  the NCAA to have a coach also consulting a pro team, Dolan still had great things to say about his best friend.  Thomas can do no wrong in Dolan's eyes.

The question on everybody's mind is why does Dolan hold Isiah at such high regard?  Dolan will never say it.  When was the last time you saw him give an interview on TV or in the newspaper?  Exactly...

Although Zeeke won't be with the Knicks in the near future, I'm sure he will eventually get his old job back and screw up the Knicks once again, while making other teams better.

While with the Knicks, they never won a playoff game, attendance dropped, and the Knicks lost two lottery picks because Thomas thought it was smart to trade for an overweight center with a heart condition.

On the bright side for other NBA teams, he helped out a lot.  Let's take four teams:  Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Portland Trailblazers and Chicago Bulls.

The Suns found a taker for Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway.  What happened next?  The suns had enough money to get Steve Nash who went on to win two MVP's with the Suns.

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Alex Rodriguez knocked number 600 out of the ball park to monument park.  It might be fitting because we can now debate if he'll ever be admired and celebrated along with Ruth, Mantle, Berra and other Yankees greats when his career is long over.  Will steroids doom what was thought of to be a lock?  Will Alex Rodriguez ever be considered a Yankee great? 

To me, the answer is yes, even though I wasn't going crazy over his campaign for 600.  The reason I say this is that by the time he retires and has lived through his five years out of baseball when he can get selected into the baseball hall of fame, I think A-Rod will most likely be voted in, if not the first time, then the next. 

The question will remain if the Yankees want to honor somebody who may become the home run king but was helped by the juice. 

With his contract not expiring until 2017, his steroid confession will be nearly a decade old and the A-Rod might have more rings to add to his one from 2009.  Maybe the organization, writers, and fans will have soften up to him by then. 

What will get A-Rod into monument park -where his ball landed- will be the rings more then the home run records and he's in a good position to collect more championships on a great team. 

Of course, there will be others beyond the center field wall before A-Rod.  Jeter, Rivera, Posada, and Bernie Williams should all go in first, which they will.  The man on the outside looking in may be Andy Pettitte since he spent some time in Houston and also played around with HGH while he was injured. 

So will the Yankees honor a juicer?  It's tricky.  But like I said it'll be easier with more wins and rings.  And to me the more important number today is 67 -the number of wins the Yankees now have on the season- not 600, because the Yankees are now in a right race that will only heat up over the next few weeks.   

Things are getting annoying. 

Sorry YES but can we tell Michael Kay to finally tone it down.  I know he has an obligation to tell the audience that Alex Rodriguez is one home run away from 600, but haven't we had enough? 

Let's break it down. 

We get informed that A-Rod is in the hole.  Then the camera goes to A-Rod in the on deck circle blowing bubble gum.  Wait, then he starts walking towards the batters box and we need the camera to show the ball boy give the umpire A-Rod's special baseballs, which bring no luck and are powered to pop up or make A-Rod strike out. 

Then we hear about his home run chase. 

Sorry but this is getting nauseating. 

Here's a solution:

Stop talking about his chase for 600 and then maybe, just maybe he will channel his inner-most Nick Swisher and knock the ball out of the park.  Then the party will commence.  Kay will get the chance to explode out of the broadcast booth like he's been waiting for, and then we can all gush about how A-Rod made it from home run number one off of Tom Gordon to 600? 

But we won't mention the steroids because it takes away from the holiness of the moment.  Please.

Are any Yankees fans really going crazy over this?

In the ninth inning of Monday's loss to the Blue Jays, A-Rod came up with two outs and guess what?  No home run. 

Another day of camera's following his every move.  Another day of getting The History of A-Rod only the way Michael Kay can do it.  Another day of nothing. 

This home run chase is getting even more annoying now that the Yankees are tied with the Rays.  So, for tomorrows game, I'm pleading.  Don't talk about it.  The game is more important then this one man, who by the way juiced when he didn't have to.  The Yankees are in a pennant race and that is what's important.  A-Rod can walk all four times at bat and if the Yankees win, then we'll be happy. 

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Another A.J. Burnett blow up, and another big night for Nick Swisher. 

The Yanks lost 8-6 on Monday to the Blue Jays after A.J. Burnett decided it was the best night for him to fall apart again, maybe hoping all Yankees fans would tear their hair out asking: Do we really have to watch this guy for another three years?

It looks that way and it's something that the Yankees are just going to have to live with. 

We will never understand why Burnett has to go through this at least twice a month, and even worse, a game in which the Yankees needed a win to hold off the Rays. 

Now the Yankees and Rays are tied.  It wasn't a good night for the Yankees especially since they had the opportunity to beat a bad team while the Rays are playing against the American Leagues hottest team, the Minnesota Twins.  They lost, Rays won, that simple and the Yankees need to turn things around. 

On the bright side Nick Swisher is hitting on all cylinders and has been as important to the Yankees as Robinson Cano has.  Swisher hit two home runs Monday night, two impressive shots.  The first fell into the watered down monument park, and the other was crushed into the second deck in right field. 

Speaking of home runs.  A-Rod and this 600 thing is getting ridiculous.  I'm starting to wonder how annoyed the umpires are getting, having to change balls everytime A-Rod gets up to bat so he can pop-out or strikeout.  Maybe A-Rod is waiting for the most dramatic moment, when the ball will eventually be marked 600 because it's taking him so long to hit it, and then he'll finally bash it out of the park. 

If we want to keep looking for moral victories, Joba Chamberlain had another good performance out of the bullpen.  He was lighting up the gun and his slider was nasty.  His last two performances have been superb and maybe he's finally ready to turn things around. 

So for the Yankees, it was a disappointing night at the stadium.  But at least we have a pennant race to watch and enjoy and another Burnett meltdown to breakdown. 

Well this weekend was a roller coaster.  The Yankees and Rays showed why both teams are the best in the majors and the Rays have made things interesting by pulling into one game of the Yankees. 

What did we learn this weekend? 

1) Well for one, Robinson Cano isn't disappearing when the game is on the line.  The last couple of seasons have been stressful for the Yankees, watching Cano constantly having bad at-bats with runners in scoring position and with the chance to get a big hit late in games. 

Cano came up in the ninth inning with Rays Soriano (who we'll get to later) coming into a tie game.  Cano hit a monster shot off Soriano and Mariano came in to calmly close out the game.  It was huge for the Yankees and Cano.  The Yankees regained their two-game advantage until they lost Sunday, and it showed that Cano is really an MVP canidate that will have to step up when October comes around. 

2) Joe Girardi really wanted to play with his new toys.  Lance Berkman played in both games since joining the club, and played first base on Sunday (which hopefully never happens again) and Austin Kearns was put into the outfield which gave Brett Gardner the day off. 

Berkman struggled offensively, which is understandable since he hasn't played in a pennant race in what feels like in forever, and must of been nervous since he is now a Yankee.  We did learn quickly though, that Berkman is no Teixeira-and may not even be a Giambi- at first base.  He couldn't pick a ball out of the dirt, and looked lost going after a bloop base hit that brought in a run.  Look for Berkman to DH when he's in the lineup. 

3) More about Girardi.  He is going to be under intense pressure to get all these veterans on the club at-bats, and one that may cause some problems is how he'll handle getting Posada in the lineup.  Posada had DH'd when Cervelli has started at catcher but will now be on the bench now that Berkman looks to be the full-time DH.  Girardi is going to have to find ways to get him more at-bats because Posada can still hit even though his defense isn't what it used to be. 

Girardi will have to keep everybody happy, and I rather have Posada as the DH, more then Berkman. 

4) A-Rod is really struggling now.  When he first started going after 600 A-Rod was still having good at-bats and getting on base.  He was even getting hits with RISP and was bringing runners home.  Now, he's getting under every pitch and fouling everything off.  He's had more pop-ups in the past week then I've seen from him all season. 

A-Rod was handling 600 well in the beginning of his journey, but it's now hurting the offense.  He needs to get it over with quickly because the offense needs to start clicking again. 

5) For the Rays, they are feisty and are not scared of anybody, not even the big bad Yankees.  They seemed really annoyed getting asked questions about the players the Yankees have acquired.  They even made it sound like the Yankees got Pujols and Roy Halladay.  I guess they're just tired of the Yankees always making moves. 

Nevertheless, the Rays keep pitchers and defenses on their toes and Joe Maddon is not scared to take any chances.  They even bunted with a runner on third and with two strikes. 

What has really changed things for them is Rafael Soriano.  He has a 1.90 ERA on the season and has only given up three home runs all season long.  He's not overpowering, but he throws strikes, and only has nine walks in 42 innings pitched this year.  Soriano solidifies their bullpen, something that has been their weakness in past years. 

The Rays are here to stay and they'll make things interesting in September. 

Check out my look at the New York Giants defensive line going into training camp at:

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In baseball things can change in a blink of an eye.  And with the Yankees holding on to a two-game lead in the division that can all change if they struggle in Tampa. 

Their is no reason to think the Yankees are in trouble going into their series with the Rays, starting tonight at the dump also-known-as Tropicana Field. 

They have Phil Hughes going tonight, followed by C.C. Sabathia on Saturday, and A.J. Burnett hopefully in the right state of mind to pitch a great game against the Yankees new rivals. 

Their pitching stacks up well going into the series and the Yankees are still playing great baseball.  They are 29 games over .500 and it's nothing they're doing (or not doing) that has Tampa Bay only two-games back.  The Rays are just playing that well right now. 

Last night's performance by Dustin Moesely was huge for the Yankees because they are in a much better situation going into the series still up two games.  Joe Girardi was smart by going with Moesely, rather then giving Sergio Mitre another crack at the starting gig.  A big move by Girardi and it paid off. 

From the looks of things this might be one of the best series' we will see all year because both teams are playing so well. 

The Rays have won six straight and eight out of their last 10, while the Yankes are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and they took two out of three from the Rays at Yankee stadium in mid-July. 

This is a good test for the Yankees after they got to beat up on some bad teams in the Royals and Indians the past week.  Of course, nobody can blame them for beating up on bad teams because that's how a good team gets to 100 wins on the season. 

For the Yankees they have played remarkably well on the road this season.  Their record on the road (31-20) is just as good as the Rays home record (30-20) so that won't be the reason why they lose. 

If the Yankees continue hitting the ball like they are, and if Hughes' pitches like he did in the first half, look for the Yankees to win the series.  Sabathia won't have another bad start, and who knows about Burnett-I'm not making any predictions about him. 

Has Curtis Granderson finally woken up from a long sleep since the Yankees acquired him from the Tigers?  I think so. 

It looks like Granderson is finally comfortable in the pinstripes.  What's funny though is his lack luster first half really went under the radar because the Yankees were playing so well.  If the Yankees were struggling I'm sure Yankees fans would've vented some of their frustration towards Granderson.  The boos would've been harsh, and the words wouldn't be kind like "The Grandyman can..." that comes out of John Sterling's mouth. 

The ball has been jumping off of his bat since a couple of weeks into July.  He's finally showing the power that the Yankees thought they were getting from a guy who had no problems hitting the ball out of the huge outfield in Detroit. 

It's surprising that a guy that is so low-key and who always has a smile on his face struggled so much coming to the Yankees.  I guess the transition to New York isn't as overrated as people think.  It does take a while to adjust, even for the nicest of guys. 

Well, Granderson now looks much more comfortable at the plate and he is playing the gap-to-gap baseball that fans thought they would be getting from the speedy centerfielder. 

The Yankees lineup is really coming along well now, with Texeira socking the ball, and A-Rod continuing to knock in runs even though he can't seem to hit number 600 (which I really could care less about since he juiced). 

It seems that every month another Yankee player starts to heat up to solidify their offense.  Hopefully for Granderson his hot streak continues and he becomes more consistant at the plate. 

And don't worry about Jeter.  His month is coming up...October. 

The Baltimore Orioles finally added some credibility to a team that has been a disaster for the last decade.  Former Yankees manager, Buck Showalter will leave the friendly confines of ESPN to sit in the dugout of Camden Yards.

It doesn't matter if you're a Yankees fan or not, Baltimore can be a good baseball town, with one of the most beautiful stadiums in baseball.

He immediately brings some credibility to the team and will spark a fire under the the Orioles.  Showalter is great at bringing teams up for the depths in which the Orioles find themselves today.  At 32-70, they are even worse then the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals. 

Their best player, Nick Markakis is having a dissapointing season.  Markakis seemed to be on the cusp of stardom but has been just a little better than a utility player this season, with only six home runs and 33 RBI's this season.  And their talented center fielder, Adam Jones is having a decent season but it's dumbfounding that a guy with all that athletic ability has only three steals on the season. 

And unfortunately for the Orioles, the heart of their team, Brian Roberts has only played in eight games this season. 

What the Orioles have been missing over the years is good starting pitching and the two-time manager of the year has shown that he's great with developing young talent.  He should be able to help Markakis and Jones tap into their great talents and give them two players they can build around for years to come. 

It's sad for a town with such a great history in baseball to be this bad.  I went to Yankees Opening Day in Baltimore two years ago and my friends and I walked into a bar one night. 

The bartender was an old-timer so I asked him who is the big team in Baltimore these days?  Without thinking he said the Ravens.  It's sad for a team that used to pump blood into that city.  Maybe Showalter can change things.  And you know what, I think he will. 

The Phillies are a threat once again. 

With the acquisition of Roy Oswalt to make the greatest "Roy" pitching staff in the history of baseball, the Phillies are now poised to become a threat to the Yankees once again if the two teams meet in the world series for the second straight season.

Pitching for a terrible team with an embrassing offense, Oswalt had a 6-12 record with 3.42 era, which seems pretty weak since the MLB calendar has made this The Year of the Pitcher. 

But when you look deeper into his stats, Oswalt is having one of the best seasons of his career and can vastly improve the Phillies pitching staff, and make them very scary going into the playoffs. 

His WHIP is the best in his career since his rookie year in 2001, and his .229 batting average against is the best of his career.  The stat that really shows how he's changed as a pitcher is his ground outs to fly out ratio is the best of his career, telling us that he has become more of a pitcher then the guy who would just sling fastballs at batters. 

This is the second year in a row that the Phillies have traded for a big time pitcher in the middle of the season, but they could actually be better off now that Oswalt will be teamed with Roy Halladay to make an unbelievable one-two punch. 

The Braves -who just earlier in the month looked like they were running away with the division- can now hear the Philly Phanatic coming up the rear.  It must be a scary thought looking back to see that green monster of a mascot shaking his hands in the air, announcing to the Braves that they are in trouble. 

The Phillies are 8-2 in their last 10 games (with Cody Ransom in the lineup) and their offense has just started to act like the juggernaut that they were the last two seasons.  This is all without Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and the Flyin' Hawaiian was just put on the DL.  When all three come back to complete their opening day lineup the Phillies can roll through the NL. 

What does this mean for the Yankees?  Well, nothing really, unless the two teams meet in the Fall Classic.  The Yankees still have C.C. Sabathia who was clutch last post-season and Andy Pettitte will be well-rested after coming off the DL. 

If A.J. Burnett can pitch great in the playoffs like he did against the Indians then the Yankees will have their own strong one-two punch, but we all know Burnett is a loose cannon that can blow it any inning, of any game. 

Now things will get interesting.  Look for the Phillies to take first place in the NL East and don't be shocked if they win the NL all together.  I know I'm looking way into the future talking about the World Series, but that's why the Phillies made this move, to get back to the World Series. 

Shame on the Yankees for not going to Bob Sheppard's funeral yesterday in Long Island.  After listening to all of them pay homage to the "voice of God" and talk about how much it meant to them to hear their names announced at the stadium, it's unbelievable that nobody showed up yesterday. 

The Boss would've been furious. 

It doesn't take much for many of these players who live in the New York area.  Maybe some of them were still on their all-star break vacation but I'm not asking for everybody to show up. 

This was a man who treated everybody with respect and was a teacher of life.  I guess the players didn't think it was that important.  But it is. 

Even though the Yankees were still represented by members of the front office it would've been great to see some of the present and past players show up to pay tribute to the greatest PA announcer in the history of sports. 

It's an honor to hear your name come out of Sheppard's mouth.  He was clear and concise, but I guess it didn't matter for some of the players.

You couldn't take one day out of bathing in your millions of dollars to go to a funeral for a great human being?  Then maybe you do deserve the criticism, when people say athletes don't care about anybody but themselves. 

It really isn't much to ask, but I guess you rather sit on your comfy sofas with 60" TV's. 

One day, to celebrate the life of a great man should've been number one on your list.  Shame on you Yankees.  You should be embarrassed.