Let the funeral parade continue tonight when the Yankees host the White Sox (7:05, YES, WCBS), after which there will be six games left at venerable Yankee stadium (and six away from it) before the Yanks miss the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
It’s strange for the Yankees to be in a position where a September game means very little except for a glimpse to the future. So as the Yankees find themselves 10 games back of the Rays in the AL East and nine back of the Red Sox for the AL Wild Card, going to the mound will be 25-year-old right-hander Alfredo Aceves.
Aceves had as good a major-league debut as anyone could have hoped for on Tuesday, limiting the best-record-in-baseball Angels to one run on five hits over seven innings in a 7-1 win.
“It’s like another step,” Aceves said after his first major-league win. “Now that I’m here, I’m not thinking my past or my future. I just leave it be. That’s not part of my job. My job is to hold the other teams and play good baseball.”
Aceves was acquired in a $450,000 transaction with Monterrey of the Mexican League before this season, and although he has started only one game and appeared in three, that money is already looking better spent than a lot of the Yankees’ money that sits in the bank accounts of those inactive or ineffective.
A second good start would put him in the running for a spot in next year’s rotation, which as of now is looking quite shaky. What was supposed to be a young and vital part of the Yankees rebuilding process has instead been hurt, hobbled and occupied by a plethora of aging mediocrity.
“To be able to come from A-ball all the way up tells you something about what’s inside of him,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Aceves. “The kid has a lot of heart. Obviously he’s not afraid to throw strikes and go after hitters, and that’s a good thing. So far he hasn’t been fazed by his surroundings, because [Angel Stadium] as tough as it gets.”
It won’t get any easier tonight, as the AL-Central leading White Sox are trying to hold off the Twins for a playoff spot, and the fans at Yankee stadium will be more focused trying to remember their last view of the white frieze rather than a view of the standings.
Tonight’s Pitching matchup:
Yankees: RHP Alfredo Aceves (1-0, 1.29 ERA)
Aceves went after the Angels powerful lineup in his first start, throwing 63 of his 89 pitches for strikes, walking none and striking out two. He’ll have to assert himself against this White Sox lineup that is free swinging and coming off a double-header sweep of the Tigers.
White Sox: LHP Mark Buehrle (13-11, 3.88 ERA)
The big left-hander seems to be the antithesis of a recent Yankees’ starter, as his last start (7.1 scoreless innings against the Blue Jays on Wednesday) marked the eighth consecutive year he has started 30-plus games for the White Sox. He has a 1-5 career mark against the Yanks, and is 1-1 with a 5.73 ERA at Yankee stadium.
With Yankees.com