[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.

The New York Yankees Prepare for Life Without Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera was just enjoying some exercise and shagging fly balls at Kauffman Stadium Thursday night when he suddenly tore his ACL in a freak accident that will likely end his illustrious career.

Baseball's All-time saves leader will definitely miss the remainder of the first half of the 2012 season and is quite possibly done pitching for good. He was lifted off the field by Joe Girardi and another coach and could not walk to the clubhouse on his own before being taken to the hospital for an MRI which revealed the torn ACL and meniscus. Rivera, who told reporters today that he refuses to go out like this, explained his injury like this:

Season Previews: New York Yankees

With Spring Training well underway, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Five years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Love them or hate them, we've chosen to begin our preview of the American League East with the 2012 New York Yankees.

Kuroda, Phil Hughes
Pineda and Garcia
Andy Pettitte too?

Ivan Nova too
CC Sabathia will
Eat you for breakfast

Brett Gardner in left
Granderson in center field
Nick Swisher in right

A-Rod at third base
Usual suspects around
The Yankees infield

Turning double plays:
Cano and Derek Jeter
To Mark Teixeira

Well Hello Again Stranger: Andy Pettitte Out of Retirement

That was pretty quick... apparently retirement wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Just over a year after announcing his departure from Major League Baseball, Andy Pettitte has decided to make a comeback.

The New York Yankees announced Friday that the 39-year-old lefty had signed a minor-league deal with an invitation to big league spring training. If he ends up making the major league roster, he would get a $2.5 million, one-year contract.

Pettitte is expected in camp on Tuesday and is vying for a spot in the rotation, which already includes CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Phil Hughes, and maybe even Freddy Garcia.

Pettitte, who owns a career 240-138 record, spent all but three of his 16 seasons in the big leagues with the Yankees, heading down to Houston to pitch for the Astros from 2004-06. In his last season in the Bronx in 2010, he was named to the American League All-Star team and went 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA. He was always dependable in the postseason, and that's always handy when you're the Yankees.

Welcome back Andy Pettitte, thanks for the surprise.

[River Ave. Blues]

Dynamics Changing in the American League

Please enjoy this guest post...

With the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim going all in with the ten year, $250 million deal for St. Louis Cardinals superstar first baseman Albert Pujols, the dynamics of the entire American League look to be different as the Angels will join the New York Yankees as preseason favorites in MLB betting odds.

The Angels recently signed a multi-billion dollar deal with Fox for television rights to their games which all of a sudden gave them Yankee-type power and influence that they immediately put to work with the addition of Pujols, who was an instrumental leader in the Cardinals making their near impossible run as World Series champions last fall.

Young Lady Gets the Chance to Interview Curtis Granderson for Baseball Youth Magazine

When this email came across our inbox, we couldn't help but smile.

In an attempt to avoid dating myself, I'll just say that when I was Haley Smilow's age, I fell deeply in love with baseball and never looked back. Sadly, I never got the opportunity to interview my favorite player, Scott Leius. Anyway, we decided to share her interview with Curtis Granderson for Youth Baseball Magazine with all of you. It's awesome.

The 10-year-old New York City native and her family took a fun baseball trip around the Midwest this summer to seven stadiums in five states, including Miller Park, U.S. Cellular Field, Wrigley Field, Busch Stadium, Kauffman Stadium, Target Field, and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, to enjoy 26 ballgames in 31 days. Now that's a vacation.

Along with several other players, Haley had the chance to meet the New York Yankees center fielder for an interview, which was published in Baseball Youth. While we are re-printing the interview in full, we encourage you to check out the magazine, which would make an excellent holiday gift for the little baseball lover in your life.

Jorge Posada Won't Be Wearing Yankees Pinstripes in 2012

Jorge Posada has a big choice to make. Either retire and ensure his entire 17-year career is spent in New York Yankees pinstripes, or move on to another team and continue to play the game he loves. Whatever choice he makes, we think this Ballplayers Anonymous guide we created back in 2007 for Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, David Wells, Barry Bonds, and Kenny Rogers will likely help.

For the long time backstop, now 40 years old, there's no going back to New Yankee Stadium as a member of the home team. In fact, he says "there's not even a percentage of chance" that he can come back. Russell Martin took over immediately last season while Posada became designated hitter with one year remaining on a $52.4 million, four-year deal. The switch-hitter struggled against lefties and was batting just .165 back in May when he was dropped to no. 9 in the batting order, which was apparently the last straw as he asked to be taken out of the lineup, saying he wasn’t ready to play. However, he recovered and managed to hit .235 with 14 homers and 44 RBI in 2011.

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]

Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi Also Pounded Beers! This Story Won't Go Away

Since this story won't seem to go away, we're gonna go ahead and join in the fun.

According to the New York Daily News, chronic douches Rogers Clemens and Jason Giambi have joined in the debauchery, as reports have surfaced that they, too, drank beer in the dugout and clubhouse during games. You know, back when they were relevant.

So yes. It turns out the Boston Red Sox aren't the only team to have participated in "rally beers" -- a term coined by another player we rabidly dislike, A.J. Pierzynski.

Yankees clubhouse insiders claim that Giambi and Clemens would pass brewskis disguised as a "protein shake" back and forth on the bench during games on a routine basis. Funny, that's not the first interest they've shared. Now they get to share a shoddy reputation... as if either of them had a shining one in the first place.

[Courtesy of Larry Brown Sports]

There's Always Next Year, Yankees Fans

Moving right along with this season's second edition of There's Always Next Year...

The Detroit Tigers are headed to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2006 after scraping past the New York Yankees 3-2 Thursday night with an exciting Game 5 victory in the Bronx.

The Texas Rangers, who advanced to the ALCS on Tuesday after taking three of four Division Series games over the Tampa Bay Rays, were ready and waiting and probably didn't give a crap who they faced in the end, as long as they get another shot at the World Series.

But enough about the winners. Let's have an emotional look at the losers. In sad photo montage, of course.

Yankees Force ALDS Game 5 with 10-1 Punishment of Tigers

The Detroit Tigers put Rick Porcello on the hill for Game 4 in the hopes that he would get the job done and send the New York Yankees packing for the offseason.

Instead, the Yanks took advantage of a couple of the 22-year-old pitcher's mistakes before busting the game wide open off the relief corps for a 10-1 victory to force Game 5 of their American League Division Series.

Derek Jeter drilled a 1-0 slider for a two-run double in the third inning before Curtis Granderson, who made a spectacular catch with the bags juiced in the first, crushed one for an RBI double in the fifth to give New York an early lead. Then they kicked the door in with a six-run eighth inning off relievers Al Albuquerque and Daniel Schlereth.

While Yankees starter A.J. Burnett sucked pretty much all season, he did what he had to do against the Tigers, who wasted opportunities with runners in scoring position the entire game. They failed to get a hit with men on four separate times, in fact.

The two teams will meet again Thursday in the Bronx for the deciding contest at 8:07pm ET on TBS. This marks the first postseason series for Detroit that will go the maximum number of games since 1972 when the Tigers lost at home to the Oakland Athletics in Game 5 of the ALCS.

[The Detroit 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]

Detroit Tigers Fend off New York Yankees to Even up ALDS

The Detroit Tigers held off the New York Yankees to tie up their American League Division Series on Sunday with a 5-3 win at Yankee Stadium, and are very much looking forward to heading back home to Detroit Monday night.

AL Batting Champion Miguel Cabrera smoked a two-run homer off Yankees starter Freddy Garcia in the first to give Max Scherzer an early lead before adding another RBI in the sixth along with Victor Martinez to make it 4-0. Scherzer actually pitched no-hit ball into the sixth before the Cano blooped one the opposite way into left field, but we totally forgave him for that.

About the time it started to rain again, Curtis Granderson hit a solo shot in the eighth off Joaquin Benoit, but Don Kelly answered with a home run of his own in the top of the ninth to bring the score to 5-1.

Things got a little crazy in the bottom of the ninth when Nick Swisher went yard and Andruw Jones added a sacrifice fly to bring the Yankees within two.  Tigers closer Jose Valverde then walked Granderson to put runners on first and second, but quickly recovered to retire the hot-hitting Cano and cap Detroit's victory to bring the series to Motor City for Game 3 Monday at 8:30pm ET on TBS.

Ivan Nova, Robinson Cano Lead Yankees Past Tigers in ALDS Game One

A day after their rain-suspended Game One of the American League Division Series, the Detroit Tigers headed back the Yankee Stadium to resume play in the bottom of the second inning.

Right-hander Ivan Nova pitched 6.1 brilliant innings of relief while Robinson Cano contributed a tie-breaking double in the fifth and a grand slam in the six-run sixth to give their Yankees a 9-3 victory Saturday night.

Nova surrendered only two runs on four hits, striking out five and walking four. Opposing pitcher Doug Fister lasted just 4.2 innings of relief, getting the loss after fanning seven, but giving up six runs on seven hits.

Freddy Garcia will get the ball for New York Sunday afternoon for Game Two of the best-of-five series at 3pm ET on TBS. He'll face 27-year-old righty Max Scherzer, who is a career 3-0 in as many starts against the Yankees, with a 2.84 ERA. Garcia, who came to the Bronx this winter, is 18-8 with a 3.88 ERA against the Tigers over 32 career starts, seeing lots of time against them while with the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

[Baseball Nation]

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?

Holy Crap, Wild Card Wednesday Was Nuts

What a finish to baseball's regular season, the greatest show on dirt. That was literally the most exciting night of baseball we have ever witnessed in our entire lives. Sincerely hope you got to see at least one of these games.

The Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox polished off their respective collapses while the Tampa Bay Rays made the most improbable comeback of their young franchise's history. Also, Chris Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals plowed through the Houston Astros like they had the worst record in baseball... oh, wait.

Guys like Nolan Reimold and Robert Andino, who forced Jonathan Papelbon's soon-to-be infamous blown save, are maybe the last two names you'd expect to hear today. Maybe, if you're living outside of Baltimore, you have no clue who the hell they are. They're spoilers. Season-enders. Game-changers for a day.

Many Red Sox fans, already disappointed with Carl Crawford's once-promising season in Beantown, may want to kick him in the nuts today after his disgraceful, missed catch on Andino's low liner to end the game. Pure laziness. David Ortiz summed it all up in his post-game interview:

"Umm....this is... this might be the worst situation that I have ever been involved in, in my whole career."

Then there's Evan Longoria, who enjoyed a two-home run evening -- one being quite possibly the biggest walkoff bomb of his career -- at Tropicana Field as his Rays rallied from a 7-0 deficit in the eighth inning. And Dan Johnson. Batting .183 on the year and the last guy you want at the plate when your team is down to their last strike of the season in the bottom of ninth, goes yard to tie it up and give Tampa a shot at October.

John Krasinski and Alec Baldwin: Ninth-Inning Pressure

Not everyone can handle the pressure in the ninth inning... especially if you have to pee.

Rays Win, Red Sox Lose, AL Wild Card All Tied Up

With only two games remaining in the regular season, the American League Wild-Card is all knotted up between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.

Boston found yet another way to lose a ballgame Monday evening, squandering their one-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays with a 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. This marks their 17th failure in 22 games, creating a giant sucking sound out of Beantown.

Josh Beckett started for Boston and ended up surrendering seven runs on six hits over six innings, losing to the Orioles for the second time in less than a week. Ouch. An attempted rally in the eighth was thwarted when the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out, missing the opportunity when Pedro Strop struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia (who was hit in the throat with a foul ball in the bottom half of the inning) and retired Marco Scutaro on a grounder to end the threat.

The Red Sox must win their final two games, and at worst, back into the postseason by winning a one-game playoff against the Rays. That would be the most exciting scenario, of course, but either way they control their own destiny. Former Oriole Erik Bedard will face his old team Tuesday night against rookie left-hander Zach Britton, who has a career 10.80 ERA against the Red Sox over two games this season. Looking good for Boston.

Boston Red Sox Cling to One-Game Wild Card Lead

The Boston Red Sox are hanging on for dear life to their one-game lead in the American League Wild Card race.

Thanks to a Jacoby Ellsbury three-run shot with two out in the 14th inning, his Red Sox managed to beat the AL East champion New York Yankees 7-4 during Sunday's doubleheader nightcap after dropping the opener. The outfielder is batting .322 on the season with 31 homers and 103 RBI with 38 stolen bases as well. God, that's sexy.

Yankees Clinch Yet Another Playoff Berth

As Mariano Rivera earned his 603rd career save a day after becoming Major League Baseball's all-time saves leader, his New York Yankees punched their third straight ticket to the playoffs with a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday. In fact, this marks their 16th playoff berth in 17 seasons.

If anything, the 94-60 Yankees are awfully consistent. The worst they could do at this point is become the American League Wild-Card, with their magic number to win the AL East for the 12th time in 16 years at two. It's not even a big deal anymore. No hip bumps on the field or champagne in the clubhouse. Just their targets set dead on a 28th World Championship.