Inside Pitch

It's awards time: Pick the AL Cy Young

Andrew Bailey of the A's and Chris Coghlan of the Marlins were named American and National League rookies of the year, respectively, today by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Hmmm. If I had a vote, I had Detroit's Rick Porcello ahead of Bailey in the AL and the duo of Philly's J.A. Happ and Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen ahead of Coghlan in the NL.

Voting for all awards was done prior to the postseason. Writers generally vote for one category. This year, I was a voter for American League Manager of the Year and it's requested we not reveal our ballots until the award is announced (it will be on Wednesday). So I'll fill you in then.

In the meantime, be sure to keep watch here for polls on the upcoming awards. On Tuesday at 2, the AL Cy Young Award will be announced and that will be interesting.

If I were voting, my ballot would look like this: Zack Greinke (left), CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera. I'm contradicting myself a little because I would pick Happ over McCutchen on the basis he helped his team,  so I should probably vote for one of the Yankees over a Royal.

 But Greinke's numbers were truly spectacular (MLB-best 2.16 ERA, 242 strikeouts as part of a 16-8 season) and I'm not as concerned about his won-loss record. There are cases to be made for guys like Sabathia, Rivera, Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Scott Feldman and Roy Halladay but I go for Greinke. How about you?

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

(Photo: Associated Press)

poll by twiigs.com

Yankees Posada goes overboard in brawl

The Yankees and Blue Jays got into one of those classic baseball brawls last night, in the eighth inning of a 10-4 game. Jorge Posada got all macho after a pitch from Jesse Carlson went behind him earlier in the frame, and gave the Toronto pitcher a juvenile elbow on his way to the dugout after scoring a run. And at that point, it was on.

You can check out the video here.

Newsday's Ken Davidoff said it was pure foolishness. (The same could be said for his paper's new black-background Web site, which is brutal on the eyes.)

Mark Feinsand of the Daily News wants to know what Posada was thinking. And Daily News columnist John Harper said the Yankees are lucky no one got hurt. Couldn't agree with all of their thoughts more. Posada is 35 years old and has been around 14 years. His actions made no sense whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Toronto Star columnist Richard Griffin said it was a bonding moment for the Jays. Toronto hitters kept getting pegged when I covered the teams' series earlier this month in Rogers Centre and Carlson finally had his hitters' back.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Plan your MLB trips -- 2010 schedules out!

MLB gave teams the go-ahead to release their 2010 schedules Tuesday and most of them took advantage of an earlier-than-normal marketing opportunity to do just that. The minors do it (the Bisons' 2010 schedule has been out for a while), so this is a good move.

The Yankees and Red Sox will open the season at Fenway Park on April 5 -- but I wonder if that becomes the Sunday night, April 4 ESPN opener. The Yankees also end the season in Fenway Oct. 1-3 -- but don't play there at all in June, July, August and September!

Other highlights: The Twins take it outdoors to open Target Field on April 12 against the Red Sox, the Mets come to Cleveland for an interleague series June 22-24, the Blue Jays have a blockbuster nine-game block June 18-27 against the Giants, Cardinals and Phillies and the Yankees play Joe Torre's Dodgers in Chavez Ravine from June 25-27 (will it be a World Series rematch?). The Yankees will also be in Toronto in the final week, Sept. 27-29, before heading to Fenway.

The 2010 rotation for interleague is AL East vs NL West, NL East vs. AL Central, NL Central vs. AL West.  You can start thumbing through the day-by-day schedule here. You can also go to the links below for team-specific slates of the clubs near Buffalo. Each link takes you to April and you can then choose the month you want at the top of the page.

Yankees   Red Sox    Blue Jays    Indians   Pirates  Mets  Tigers   Phillies    Reds

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Around the horn led off by Jeter

As Daily News beat writer Mark Feinsand aptly put it today, it's 2,721 down and one more to go for Derek Jeter to become the Yankees' all-time hit leader. Jeter's three hits in Wednesday's 4-2 win over Tampa Bay pulled him even with Lou Gehrig and he can get the record to himself Friday against Baltimore.

---Post columnist Mike Vaccaro, the pride of St. Bonaventure, sets the scene as the moment unfolded.

---It was a big moment for longtime mates Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte.

---MLB.com has reaction from around the majors.

---You can listen to the calls from the YES Network and John Sterling on Yankees radio.

Elsewhere in the bigs on a busy, busy Wednesday:

---The Cardinals keep rolling as Adam Wainwright put up his MLB-leading 18th win and Albert Pujols belted home runs No. 46 and 47 in a win at Milwaukee. Pujols had 47 homers in just 490 at-bats and looks like a lock for his first 50-homer season. The Cardinals are 31-9 in their last 40 games and have taken over the lead in the overall NL race. That's significant because it would mean the Phillies and Dodgers (assuming they hold on in the NL West) would meet in the division series and not in a rematch of last year's NLCS.

---The Rockies did it again on Seth Smith's two-out, two-run single in the ninth that squirted through Brandon Phillips to beat the Reds, 4-3. The Rockies, who have won six straight, lead the Giants by four games in the wildcard race and are just 2 1/2 behind the Dodgers.

---Brad Lidge may be losing his closer's job to fellow Phillie Ryan Madsen. Tough situation for manager Charlie Manuel three weeks before the playoffs start, especially given what Lidge gave the Phillies last season.

---Jose Reyes is upset people think he's been dogging it while trying to get back from injury to the Mets' lineup. I'm sure the Amazin' medical staff in Flushing has been doing a great job with Reyes. Yeesh.

---Roy Halladay was frustrated by the Blue Jays' loss to the Twins but it's close to hockey season in Toronto and no one cares. The announced crowd of 11,159 was the smallest ever in Rogers Centre and a look at some video shows its might have been half of that.

---The Indians completed a brutal 22-hour stretch with a 10-0 loss to the Rangers. Old friend Fausto Carmona (3-10 two years after a 19-win season) couldn't get out of the first inning. Some ominous quotes about Carmona in the linked story from Tribe pitching coach Carl Willis. He might never be like he was in 2007 again? Hmmm. By the way, who the heck is Scott Feldman and how did he get to 16-4?

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

AP Photo: Jeter acknowledges the crowd after No. 2,721

Jeter's day is done

TORONTO -- In an ugly, ugly game in Rogers Centre, the Yankees are in a 14-5 hole in the bottom of the sixth and have started to run up the white flag by taking out Derek Jeter and replacing him at shortstop with Ramiro Pena.

Jeter was 3 for 3 (all singles) with a walk, pushing his career hit total to 2,718. That means he'll enter Monday's day-night doubleheader against Tampa Bay in Yankee Stadium just three shy of Lou Gehrig's franchise record and four shy of breaking it. With the Yankees embarking on a 10-game homestand, Jeter will get to break the mark at home, which is how it probably should be.

With an 8 1/2-game lead in the AL East and the twinbill coming, the Yankees let starter Sergio Mitre rot during an eight-run Toronto fifth and he left his stench everywhere. Mitre's final line: 4 1/3 IP, 11 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Forget about him as any kind of option for the rotation come October.

The Yankees have made a season-high four errors in the game and committed several other defensive gaffes. And the Jays' sixth just ended in nearly disastrous fashion as Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera collided in left-center corraling the third out, a Vernon Wells  fly ball.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Yankee doodles: Saturday edition

TORONTO -- Watching Joba Chamberlain throw Friday night gave you one feeling, and listening to the postgame analysis made me wonder if I watched the same game when I wrote today's story. I was thoroughly unimpressed with Chamberlain's nibble-away, three-inning stint despite Joe Girardi's positives spin and so was most of the Yankees press corps.

"Joba's a bust," roared the headline in this morning's New York Post. Said Mark Feinsand in today's Daily News: "Apparently, there's nothing in the Joba Rules about pitching well."

Ouch.

Especially because of days off, the Yankees might get through a division series with just using CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte. If Sergio Mitre pitches well here Sunday while coming off a strong outing, there might actually start to be some doubt about Joba in the No. 4 hole come ALCS time. Joe Girardi wouldn't address the issue last night when he could have simply quelled all that speculation outright.

Today's game starts at 1 on YES and Pettitte (left) makes his first start since Monday's near perfect game in Baltimore. This is one of the best stretches of Pettitte's career -- 4-0, 2.35 in the last seven starts and 3-0, 1.38 in the last four. The cutter is really moving and Pettitte has 29 strikeouts in 26 innings over those four games. A plus in the Yanks' favor today: Pettitte is a remarkable 80-42 in his career pitching the game after a Yankee loss.

Girardi was asked this morning if the Baltimore outing was Pettitte's best and said it challenged the lefty's performance in the 1-0 win over Atlanta in Game Five of the 1996 World Series.

"He's really pitched some gems but [Monday] was a game he had everything working," Girardi said. "You could argue it was the best game he's ever pitched. He's definitely got a hop in his step. There's a lot of smiles on his face."

In other Yankees news:

---Girardi had a good report on Mariano Rivera's bullpen session and said his closer might pitch an inning Sunday.

---Derek Jeter is back in the lineup while Johnny Damon gets today off and Jorge Posada will take Sunday off in advance of Monday's day-night doubleheader against Tampa Bay.

---Outfielder Brett Gardner, who started his rehab from a fractured thumb Thursday in Coca-Cola Field against the Bisons, is playing again today for Scranton and Girardi would like to have him for the twinbill against the Rays "If he's ready to go, we'd love to have him," Girardi said. "Monday is going to be an awfully physical day."

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Photo: Associated Press

Jeter sits for Yankees; Mariano takes another day

TORONTO -- Yankees fans who made the trip up the QEW won't be too happy tonight when the lineups are announced and they find out Derek Jeter is getting the night off in the second game of a four-game series.  Manager Joe Girardi said he was going to give Jeter a day off anyway and the shortstop is dealing with a jammed finger on his right hand suffered diving for a ball Thursday night.

The day off basically ensures Jeter will not catch Lou Gehrig here this weekend on the franchise's all-time hit parade. He has 2,713, just eight behind the Iron Horse.

The injury is not serious and Jeter will probably play Saturday afternoon. Cracked manager Joe Girardi: "I didn't expect Derek to cut it off."

Don't look for Mariano Rivera here either, perhaps all weekend. His scheduled bullpen session was postponed a day and he'll throw before the game Saturday. That means he won't be in a game until Sunday at the earliest.

The Yankees are starting Joba Chamberlain tonight, for probably four innings or so, against Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. Interesting pregame comment from Toronto manager Cito Gaston, who said, "If they weren't seven games up [in the AL East], I bet they'd have somebody else going against Doc."

Hmmm. Unless something weird happens, I'm planning on more Joba Rules chat in Saturday's paper.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Tropical storm alert

It's still early to really forecast but Tropical Storm Danny could be impacting the East Coast this weekend and that could mean weather trouble for three key series -- the White Sox at the Yankees, the Blue Jays at the Red Sox and the Braves at the Phillies.

Keep an eye on the weather to see if the division races are affected. And I know you fantasy folks could get major impact from this too.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Ex-Jay Chacin to face Herd

Interesting matchup of former major league pitchers tonight in Coca-Cola Field as the Bisons wrap up their homestand against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. It's Kyle Snyder (who owns a World Series ring from the '07 Red Sox) against Gustavo Chacin, who set a rookie record for Toronto when he won 13 games for the Blue Jays in 2005.

Chacin went 25-15 for the Jays from 2004-07 but had shoulder surgery in '07 and knee surgery last year. The Phillies signed him as a free agent after the Nationals cut him near the end of spring training and he's finally regaining his stride with a 5-0 record and 3.67 ERA in his last eight starts. Snyder, meanwhile, has won his last three decisions and is coming off six strong innings Wednesday against Rochester.

On another note, the Bisons are a little short on the field with Andy Green called up to New York and a little short in the broadcast booth as well. Regular voice Ben Wagner has left the club for the next three days to tend to a family emergency in his native Indiana and secondary voice Joel Godett, a promising recent Syracuse University graduate who came on board in March, has left the organization to do play-by-play work for the University of South Florida.

Brad Bisbing, the team's director of public relations and a former on-air host at WGR Radio, will be teaming with Duke McGuire for tonight's game and the next two nights in Syracuse. Wagner is scheduled to return Thursday.

Here's tonight's lineup:

Argenis Reyes, 2b
Jesus Feliciano, cf
Nick Evans, 1b
Chip Ambres, rf
Rene Rivera, c
Jason Dubois, lf
Javier Castillo, 3b
Wilson Valdez, ss
Kyle Snyder, p

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Jays let Rios go on waiver claim

So you thought the trade deadline was over and it would be tough for players to change addresses? Wrong. The Blue Jays let top outfielder Alex Rios go to the White Sox on waivers. For nothing. Well, nothing except the $60 million in salary they save.

Interesting move there. Sox have spent ton of money in last few days on Jake Peavy and now Rios, who is signed through 2014. Jays get some salary relief. Hope they use it and don't pocket it.

---Mike Harrington