[VIDEO] Derek Jeter Slides into 8th Place on All-Time Hits List

With a leadoff single to right field in the third inning of his New York Yankees 6-4 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto on Sunday, Derek Jeter tied Hall of Famer Paul Molitor for eighth place on the all-time hits list. One inning later, he singled a grounder the same direction, again off starter Drew Hutchison, to have sole possession with 3,320 career hits.

In what he has deemed his 20th and final season in the game, the veteran short stop needs only 99 more hits before he passes Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski.

It seems Jeter has yet to shake the dust of the offseason after being limited to just 17 games in 2013 due to injury. He sat out of Friday's contest, went 0-for-2 on Saturday, and 2-for-5 on Sunday before entering Monday's game batting just .250 with one hit and one RBI, though he has walked four times.

Top Ten Things Babes Love Baseball is Thankful for in 2011

We're thankful for so many things. Baseball, beer, and shoes being the three most important, obviously. Oh, and family of course... but there are so many baseball-related things to be grateful for that we felt the need to compile a list and share it with all of you. No, Joe Mauer is not one of them. He's disappointed us to no end this season and really, we'd rather not talk about it. Wouldn't want him to land on the DL with hurt feelings.

10. A nice hot stove. Although Marea's favorite NFL team sucks ass this season, Sooze's is doing quite well. The best actually. But there have been other MLB offseasons in which football has not gotten us through the winter. Not even close. And it's because of the NFL's blatant disregard for happiness that we are incredibly thankful for MLB Network. Best. Channel. Ever.

9. The Dugout: The Official Chatroom of Major League Baseball. If you haven't read one of these little gems, you are totally missing out. In fact, we're disgusted with you. Just click the link.

8. Players like C.J. Wilson. Without guys like him to make fun of, this blog would be boring as hell and we probably would've given up a long time ago. Thanks, buddy.

7. The Youtubes. Thank you to all you nerds out there who tirelessly post videos of protected content that you know MLB will be taking down in just a matter of time. We enjoy them while we can.

CC Sabathia Gets Ridiculous $30 Million, One-Year Contract Extension from Yankees

Rather than test the free agent waters, CC Sabathia has decided to stick around the Big Apple.

And why wouldn't he, if the richest club in the big leagues is going to give him an extra $30 million to do so?

The husky 31-year-old lefty was awarded an extra year to his existing contract with the New York Yankees, totaling $122 million over the next five seasons. He had until midnight to opt out of his current agreement, which had a meager $92 million remaining over the next four years. That's $23 million annually, including a hotel suite on trips, a no-trade provision and the right to buy tickets... and likely all the buffet action his unhealthy little heart desires.

Since agreeing to a $161 million, seven-year deal with New York prior to the 2009 season, the ace has gone 59-23 with a 3.18 ERA during the regular season. He has this to say about his hefty extension:

"My son loves it here. All my kids love it here. My wife loves it here, obviously, and I do, too. I love pitching for the Yankee fans and everything, so it was the easy choice. It was just more time. That’s all it was. It was never a question about money or anything like that, I just want to end my career here. I want to make sure I end my career as a Yankee and, hopefully, I’ve done that."

[New York Daily News]

CC Sabathia Struggles in Game 3 Loss to Tigers, Yankees on Brink of Elimination

CC Sabathia was all over the place Monday night in his New York Yankees' 5-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers, who now hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series.

The chubby left-hander, who could barely lob the ball to Russell Martin on an intentional walk, matched a postseason-worst with six walks. He literally could not find the strike zone... and he feels pretty bad about it:

"I put us in a bad spot... the next time I get the ball, I'll try to go out and try to help us win."

Too bad he might not get the chance until next season.

But it wasn't all CC's fault. Rafael Soriano, the $161 million man who was tagged with the loss, surrendered the go-ahead home run to Delmon Young in the seventh inning. Two innings later, Jose Valverde had Tigers fans sweating for the second straight game with the Yankees rallying in the ninth, but Derek Jeter failed miserably, striking out with two runners on for the final out.

Justin Verlander was pretty solid for Detroit, giving up four runs on six hits with three walks, but fanning a career postseason-best 11 batters. Hitting an incredible 101-mph on the gun into the eighth inning, the right-hander gained run support through second baseman Ramon Santiago, who went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Meanwhile, Jhonny Peralta nailed an RBI double to tie it up in the sixth just before Sabathia's exit.

Now on the brink of elimination Tuesday night, the Yankees will look to A.J. Burnett, who sucked quite a bit this season, to shift the series back to New York and force a Game 5. Rick Porcello, a career 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA against the Bronx Bombers, will pitch Game 4 for Detroit at 8:30pm ET on TBS.

[Detroit Free Press]

Justin Verlander vs. CC Sabathia: Welcome to the 2011 Postseason

Update: The game was suspended due to torrential downpours in the second inning. Play will resume Saturday night at 8:37pm ET.

It's starting to get cold up in here here. The leaves are falling, the flowers are dying, and birds are literally getting the hell out of Dodge.

That can mean only one thing: it's time for some playoff baseball.

And what better way to warm up on a Friday night than to watch the American League Division Series between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees? Exactly. There is no better way. Especially when you'll have Justin Verlander pitted against CC Sabathia, two of the premiere aces in the AL.

Verlander, who went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts during the regular season, is all but a lock for this season's Cy Young Award. Meanwhile, Sabathia is a career 15-12 with a 4.84 ERA against Detroit, after spending much of his career in the AL Central with the Cleveland Indians.

None of that really makes a difference at this point though. It's like a whole new season, a clean slate with everyone's numbers reset to zeros. The last time these two teams met in the postseason was back in 2006, when the Tigers ended up winning the AL pennant. Any predictions?

Haren Outduels Sabathia, Angels Creeping on Rangers

Dan Haren was the better pitcher Saturday night when his Los Angeles Angels stomped the New York Yankees by a score of 6-0 in Anaheim, bringing the Halos to within 1 1/2 games of the American League West-leading Texas Rangers.

Haren tossed an impressive four-hitter for his fifth career shutout, retiring 18 straight batters at one point. The three-time All-Star righty struck out seven and walked none for the 13th time in his 31 starts the season, marking the fifteenth time in his career he'd lasted nine whole innings.

The Boston Red Sox Own CC Sabathia

Yep, the Boston Red Sox are CC Sabathia's daddy. This season, at least.

The New York Yankees lefty, who leads the majors with 16 wins, fell to 0-4 with a miserable 7.20 ERA against Boston so far this year. Against every other team, he's 16-2 with a 2.11 ERA. Night and day. Here's what he had to say about the shitshow:

"It’s a good ballclub. They have a good lineup. Like today, they wear on you. I’ve faced all of those guys a lot. When I’m right, I can beat anybody."

CC Sabathia is a Big Fat Strikeout Machine

CC Sabathia, or Captain Cheeseburger as we so fondly call him, was an absolute beast on the hill Tuesday.

The New York Yankees left-hander struck out a career-high 14 Seattle Mariners in his team's 4-1 victory, providing the Mariners with their 17th straight loss and himself with his 15th win on the season.

Sabathia flirted with perfection, not allowing a base runner until Brendan Ryan singled with one out in the seventh inning. And he fanned seven guys in a row at one point... just filthy dirty. Then he got a little tired I guess, cause he walked the first three batters of the following inning before being lifted for David Robertson... who struck out four more Mariners.

CC Sabathia Enters the Field of Dreams

This new Pepsi Max commercial is pretty great when you consider all of the legendary Hall of Famers hanging out. Together. In Iowa.

Maybe now that guy from the toy store will finally be schooled to who Mike Schmidt and Von Hayes are...



By the way, we are oh-so close to 1,500 Facebook "likes" -- when we reach that milestone, we'll randomly give away a sweet prize, so click that like button and suggest us to your baseball-loving buddies!

Yankees Force Game 6 in Arlington

The Texas Rangers are still just one win away from reaching their very first World Series, but the New York Yankees aren't going away that easily.

After being outscored 25-5 by the Rangers and losing three straight games, the Yankees battled back in Game 5 for a 7-2 victory to force a Game 6 in Arlington Friday night.

And I'll tell you what: if Yankees fans aren't leaving the ballpark early, they're showing up three innings late. What gives? Those people missed 90 percent of the excitement when their Bronx Bombers put up three runs in the second before Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano jacked back-to-back homers in the third to build an early 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, CC Sabathia was getting hit all over the place, but managed to keep the damage to just two runs via Matt Treanor while allowing eleven hits and striking out seven over six innings.

Rangers One Win Away From World Series

Holy crap, we didn't see this one coming. In the franchise's 50th season, the Texas Rangers are just one win away from playing in their very first World Series.

A.J. Burnett did alright in his New York Yankees' Game 4 loss that has the Rangers leading the series 3-1. In fact, he says:

Believe it or not, it’s probably the best I’ve pitched in a long time. It’s one mistake. It was down and away. It just didn’t go where I wanted it to go. I knew he hit it out.

C.J. Wilson Enters the Twilight Zone

"They used to have this show called the Twilight Zone. That’s how I felt."
-- C.J. Wilson

CC Sabathia pretty much handed the Texas Rangers the ballgame Friday night. Unfortunately for everyone in Arlington, they didn't take it.

Josh Hamilton crushed a three-run shot in the bottom of the first before Michael Young added two more with a double to right-center field three innings later. However, a five-run shutout can never be considered a safe lead when you're playing a team who enjoyed big league-best 48 come-from-behind victories during the regular season.

Roy Halladay Wins No. 20 for the Phillies

The face of a winner.

That Roy Halladay acquisition is looking better and better for the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies.

The right-hander won his 20th game of the season Tuesday with a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves to give the Phillies a five-game division lead over Atlanta and reduce their magic number to six. Even more impressive is the fact that Halladay became the team's first 20-game winner in 28 years.

You Can’t Catch Johnny Damon!

A day after the New York Yankees came back to win Game 3, Johnny Damon became the difference-maker with a two-out, ninth-inning, game-saving performance.

The Yankees took a 3-1 World Series lead with a 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies just after the reigning champs had started a rally in the seventh inning. Chase Utley took CC Sabathia’s 107th pitch of the evening into the right-field bleachers to make it a one-run game on his third bomb of the Series.

Continue reading and comment on this story at Sports Untapped.

CC Sabathia, Yankees Clobber Angels in Game 4

Working on three days rest, CC Sabathia munched his way through the Los Angeles Angels lineup for eight innings, allowing just one run on five hits, and striking out five after 101 pitches to aid his New York Yankees in their 10-1 victory.

Alex Rodriguez continued his outstanding postseason play with his third longball in as many games, falling a triple short of the cycle in his 3-for-4 night. Scoring three runs, he called his stolen base "a little bit of a miracle" in a post-game interview with Tiny Ken Rosenthal, saying that this was the best he's felt all year.

Captain Cheeseburger Dominates Halos

Big lefty CC Sabathia tossed eight fantastic innings Friday night for the New York Yankees, four-hitting the Los Angeles Angels to win his second straight postseason start with a 4-1 victory in the ALCS opener.

Meanwhile, the Halos played some of the sloppiest ball we've ever seen from that club. They made three errors altogether, making way for two unearned runs -- the most startling was a single which eight-time gold-glove centerfielder Torii Hunter let roll right by him.

Alex Rodriguez continued his clutch playoff hitting with a one-out sacrifice fly for his seventh RBI of the postseason, giving the Yanks the lead. Hideki Matsui followed that up with a short pop-up between third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar, but the two failed to communicate and the ball dropped to the ground while Johnny Damon rounded third to score. Angels starter John Lackey? Not impressed.

Yankees Beat Twins in Game One

The New York Yankees played and won their first postseason game at the new Yankee Stadium Wednesday night, coming away with an impressive 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins in Game 1 of their ALDS.

CC Sabathia ate his way through the Twins lineup, tossing 6.2 solid innings and allowing two runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts to walk away with a 1.35 ERA. The Twins had a 2-0 lead heading into the third inning after a clutch two-out hit from Michael Cuddyer before MVP candidate Joe Mauer scored on a passed ball. That's all the scoring they did.

What's That Sucking Sound?

Oh, it's just your Opening Day starter.

Happy Opening Week everyone! I'd like to start by asking Yankees, Indians, Padres and Diamondbacks fans to stop flipping out over their ace's recent performances. Actually, you're alright Padres fans... you have a lot to worry about.

But Yanks fans, are you seriously that concerned over CC Sabathia's debut in pinstripes? Sure, he sucked. But don't go crushing your $161 million dreams quite yet. The guy has seven long years to make good on his record-breaking contract.

The spankin' new lefty was lit up for six runs in 4-1/3 innings, while the A-Rodless lineup couldn't manage a rally to overcome their 10-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. He struggled with the command of his fastball all day, surrendering eight hits and walking five batters. What's worse, is that he failed to record a single strikeout, something he'd only done just four times prior in his career.

Continue reading and rate this story at Fantasy Pros 911.

Holy Crap, The Brewers Did It

This Milwaukee Brewers postseason was brought to you in part by El Capitán Chorizo. Okay, and Ryan Braun... who actually wasn't even born yet the last time the Brew Crew made the playoffs.

CC Sabathia worked a lights-out, four-hit complete game (the 26th of his career and 10th of the season) against the NL Central Champion Chicago Cubs Sunday during his third straight start, on three days’ rest. Tough. Meanwhile, Brauny hit a tie-breaking longball in the eighth to give the Yost-less Brewers the 3-1 victory along with the National League wild card.

That's a No on the No-No

In the bottom of the seventh inning of the Milwaukee Brewers' game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, official scorer Bob Webb ruled Andy LaRoche's hit a single rather than an error.

Turns out, he was right.

Webb explained that when Brewers ace CC Sabathia tried to bare-hand LaRoche's soft grounder before dropping the ball, the runner was already 2/3 of the way down the first baseline, therefore ruling it a hit.

This became the difference between a no-hitter and a one-hitter, which is why the Brewers' so passionately lobbied for the ruling to be changed. However, MLB agreed with Webb, and after further review, the play stands.

The end.

[ESPN] | [The Fanhouse] | [Cute Sports]