AGRI Biz

The Yankees (98-56) beat down the Red Sox (91-62) 9-5 last night, led byáJoba ChamberlainÆs quality start andáAlex RodriguezÆs perfect night at the plate. The magic number is now down to three.á Quick æCap: A-Rod drove in Derek Jeter in the first inning on a single, and then cranked a two-run homer into the second deck in left in a four-run third inning that also sawáJon Lester leave the game. Melky ...

According to Jorge Arangure of ESPN, Cuban defector and left handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman has been declared a free agent by major league baseball and is now free to sign with any team in the bigs. Both the Yankees, Red Sox and others are expected to be interested in the fire balling 21-year-old. That seems to be just speculation so far, but it is not hard to see why. The Yankees ...

The series weÆve all been waiting for has finally arrived. With the playoff race not quite as tight as expected, the tension wonÆt be at its usual peak-height when the Red Sox and Yankees battle in the Bronx. However, itÆs still Red Sox and Yankees in September, and both teams have a chance to clinch a playoff seed. Head-to-Head: ItÆs been a long season. If you donÆt recall, ...

According to Peter Abraham of the Journal News, utility infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. underwent and MRI earlier today that determined that he has tendinitis in his left wrist, received a cortisone shot and will be day-to-day. The Yankees dodged a bullet after Hairston left WednesdayÆs game in the seventh inning after hearing a pop in his wrist. He initially injured the wrist earlier in the season while he was with the ...

Maybe the headline is a bit of hyperbole, but the Pittsburgh Pirates added their sixth Yankee pitcher over the past two years when they claimed right-handed pitcher Anthony Claggett off waivers today. Claggett was designated for assignment by the Yankees 10 days ago to make room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Freddy Guzman. Claggett was 7-7 with a 3.07 ERA in 39 appearances and 82 innings for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate ...

Ian Kennedy returned for the Yankees yesterday in the eighth inning versus the Angels. It was anything but an easy inning, as Kennedy loaded the bases with an hit batter and two walks. Kennedy also recorded a strikeout. The result was ultimately positive as he allowed no runs, recording the final out on a popup to Freddy Guzman. So, how did he look? Per Brooks Baseball, Kennedy’s four-seam fastball sat at an average ...

Now’s a good time to look at how various teams are lining up for the postseason—in fact I’m hoping to do just that in the next day or two—and consequently the front page of ESPN today has an article looking at every team’s postseason weaknesses, authored by “analyst” John Kruk.  You might know John for inexplicably being an All-Star baseball player in the early '90s despite having the athleticism of ...

When Mariano Rivera shut the door on the Yankees 6-5 win over the Angels last night they clinched at least a Wildcard victory and got back to the playoffs after missing them for the first time since 1994 last season. There was no champagne or celebration though as they have their sights set on the division championship and beyond. Via Peter Abraham: Not one bottle of champagne was popped. Joe Girardi gathered ...

The Yankees were beat last night by the bloody Angels, again. But Andy Pettitte proved he has moved past his left shoulder fatigue that caused him to miss his previous start. Joba Chamberlain’s awful last nine starts coupled with Chad Gaudin taking Sergio Mitre’s spot in the rotation made me even more worried about the Yankees’ rotation heading into the postseason. This is Pettitte’s 12th year in pinstripes, ...

Right-handed reliever Jonathan Albaladejo gave up a run last night. It was the first earned run he’s allowed since being called up in the beginning of the month. Over that span, he’s thrown 6.2 innings over six appearances with a 1-0 record, a 1.35 ERA, and a .588 OPS-against. Last night’s run ended a decent stretch, but it got me thinking Brian Bruney and Mark Melancon have been terrible. With David ...