by Chris Lima
River Avenue News

Congratulations to Carl Pavano, owner of an impressive 4-2 record this season, and proud parent of a 5.77 ERA.

Pavano, in his last start before hitting the free agent market, lasted 3.2 innings giving up five runs, including a home run to Vernon Wells.

Team's interested in acquiring Pavano can rest assured that he is fully rested, throwing maybe 30 innings in the past four seasons. Ignore his history of irrational injuries, they were caused by having access to an irrational amount of money.

And please, if you're interested in Pavano's services, ignore that ridiculously high earned run average. 5.77 is an adjusted era, partially because the Yankee's score keeping official refused to give errors to Bomber fielders, where they were obviously due. If Bobby Abreu had been playing where he was supposed to (Tier Box, Right Field, Row F, Seat 3) he would have been in position to field half the balls hit off Pavano.

So, from all of us here at River Avenue News, we'd like to wish Mr. Pavano good luck in his future endevors, wherever they may take him.

And if that path happens to wind up having him sign a multi year deal with the Yankees for more than 15 cents, we've got a writer on staff with AA Batteries and one heck of an arm.

Carl Pavano, RHP (4-1, 4.99)
Yankees (86-71)
Roy Halladay, RHP (19-11, 2.81)
Blue Jays (83-74)

Scouting Report:
Yankees: Pavano is set to make his seventh start of the year for the Yankees following his late August return, taking on the Blue Jays as the Yankees complete their season series with Toronto. Pavano has won his past two outings despite not making it through the sixth inning, beating the Rays and Orioles. Pavano also faced the Blue Jays on Aug. 29 at Yankee Stadium, limiting the Jays to one run over six innings in a 2-1 Yankees victory.

Blue Jays: The ace of the Jays' staff notched his team-leading 19th victory of the season in his last start. Against Boston, Halladay allowed three runs on six hits over six innings. He was not particularly sharp, though, as he walked three batters -- the most since July 29 against Tampa Bay, a span of 10 starts. Against the Yankees, Halladay will aim for his 20th win of the season. It would mark only the second time in his career that he has reached the plateau, with the first time coming in 2003 when Halladay won 22 games en route to collecting the American League Cy Young Award. He is 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA lifetime against New York.

They sure don't look like a team that's been eliminated from playoff contention. The New York Yankees continued their recent winning ways, beating the Blue Jays 6-2 thanks to a Bobby Abreu grand slam in the top of the tenth inning.

Phil Hughes failed to earn his first win of the season, but was more concerned that the Yankees won;

"I really wanted to pitch well tonight," Hughes said. "A win would have been great, but we ended up winning the ball game, which is all that really matters. It would have been nice to get rid of that goose egg in my win column, but it is what it is. I'm just happy to pitch well."

The win is the Yankees seventh win in a row, something they hope will carry over into the 2009 season.

The famous saying goes, you can wish in one hand and crap in the other; see which one gets filled first. There is no bigger momentum killer than six month in between games, but in the meantime, Yankee fans can enjoy the rest of the season if they keep playing the way they have of late.

Phil Hughes, RHP (0-4, 7.96)
Yankees (86-71)
A.J. Burnett, RHP (18-10, 4.18)
Blue Jays (83-74)

Scouting Report:
Yankees: Hughes will try again for his first victory of the season as he faces the Blue Jays in the second game of a three-game series at Rogers Centre. Hughes, who missed most of this season with a cracked rib, made his return to the big league level on Sept. 17 vs. the White Sox, allowing one run in four innings but running his pitch count to 89. He'll be facing Toronto for the first time since April 3, when he had a no-decision in a 3-2 Yankees win.

Blue Jays: Burnett received a no-decision against the Red Sox in his last start. The right-hander allowed three runs on eight hits over seven innings. He walked two, struck out six and exhausted a season-high 121 pitches. With only one start remaining this year, Burnett has already set a career high in wins (18), strikeouts (220) and innings pitched (213 1/3). In his career against the Yankees, Burnett is 6-3 with a 2.58 ERA.

Despite a solid performance by Mike Mussina (5 innings, 4 hits, 6 strikeouts) and a Jason Giambi home run, the Yanks 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays was not enough to get the Yanks into the playoffs.
Boston beat Cleveland 5-4 last night, wrapping up the Wild Card for the American League. This is the first time since 1995 that the Bombers will not be playing October baseball.
This season also marks the first time in Derek Jeter's career that he will no be participating in the playoffs.

New York Yankees
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
B Gardner CF	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.202
J Damon LF	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.305
M Cabrera LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.243
B Abreu RF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.299
A Rodriguez 3B	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	.300
J Giambi 1B	4	2	2	1	0	1	0	.252
D Jeter SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.301
X Nady DH	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.267
R Cano 2B	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	.264
C Ransom SS-1B	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	.276
J Molina C	3	0	0	0	0	2	2	.219
Totals	33	3	7	2	1	9	5
BATTING 2B: X Nady (10, J Litsch); R Cano (32, J Litsch) 3B: B Gardner (2, J Litsch) HR: J Giambi (32, 4th inning off J Litsch 0 on, 1 Out) RBI: R Cano (65), J Giambi (95) Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: J Damon 1, J Molina 1 Team LOB: 4
FIELDING E: C Ransom (2, throw) DP: 1 (R Cano-C Ransom-J Giambi). Outfield Assist: B Gardner (M Scutaro at 3rd base).

New York Yankees
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
M Mussina (W, 19-9)	5.0	4	0	0	0	6	0	73-47	3.47
P Coke (H, 4)	0.1	1	0	0	0	1	0	9-7	0.00
B Bruney (H, 11)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	14-8	1.87
D Marte	0.0	1	1	1	1	0	0	15-8	5.40
J Chamberlain (H, 19)	1.2	3	0	0	1	3	0	30-17	2.42
M Rivera (S, 38)	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	13-7	1.43
Totals	9.0	9	1	1	2	14	0	154-94
PITCHING WP: J Chamberlain IBB: A Lind (By J Chamberlain) Batters faced: M Mussina 17; P Coke 2; B Bruney 3; D Marte 2; J Chamberlain 9; M Rivera 3 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: M Mussina 6-2; P Coke 0-0; B Bruney 1-0; D Marte 0-0; J Chamberlain 2-0; M Rivera 1-0

Scoring Summary
			NYY	TOR
	2nd	R Cano grounded out to second, J Giambi scored, X Nady to third.	1	0
	4th	J Giambi homered to right center.	2	0
	7th	R Cano scored on G Zaun's passed ball.	3	0
	7th	S Rolen singled to center, A Lind scored, L Overbay to second.	3	1

Mike Mussina, RHP (18-9, 3.57)
Yankees (85-71)
Jesse Litsch, RHP (12-8, 3.72)
Blue Jays (83-73)

Scouting Report:
Yankees: Mussina bounced back from a shaky start to pick up his 18th win, against the White Sox on Thursday. After he was worked for 28 pitches and one run in the first inning, the veteran shut down Chicago through the next five innings before he left to a standing ovation. He gave up just five hits and retired 10 straight batters to keep his pitch count from getting out of hand. In the first of two remaining scheduled starts, Mussina will attempt to take one more step toward what would be his first 20-win season. He is 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA in two starts against the Blue Jays this year.

Blue Jays: Litsch has struggled some with his control lately, issuing an uncharacteristic nine walks over his past two starts. Even so, Litsch has gone 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA in seven starts since being recalled from Triple-A after a three-start stint in the Minors to retool his pitch arsenal. On Thursday, the 23-year-old Litsch picked up a win in a 107-pitch effort against the Orioles after allowing two runs on four hits with six strikeouts and four walks over six innings. In his career against the Yankees, Litsch is 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts.

Roy Halladay continued his mastery of the Yankee lineup yesterday, striking out three and only allowing two runs (both homers to Giambi and A-Rod).

The win was Halladay's fourth against the Bombers this season.

New York Yankees
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
J Damon CF	5	0	2	0	0	1	0	.313
D Jeter SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.294
B Abreu RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.299
A Rodriguez 3B	3	1	1	1	0	0	2	.306
J Giambi 1B	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	.251
X Nady LF	4	0	2	0	0	0	2	.304
H Matsui DH	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.303
R Cano 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.268
J Molina C	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	.225
a-W Betemit PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.258
Totals	35	2	8	2	0	3	16
a-grounded to second for J Molina in the 9th
BATTING 2B: X Nady (7, R Halladay) HR: A Rodriguez (29, 4th inning off R Halladay 0 on, 0 Out); J Giambi (28, 6th inning off R Halladay 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: A Rodriguez (81), J Giambi (84) Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: A Rodriguez 1, H Matsui 1, R Cano 1, J Molina 2 Team LOB: 8
FIELDING DP: 1 (D Jeter-R Cano-J Giambi).

New York Yankees
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
A Pettitte (L, 13-11)	6.1	10	6	6	1	4	1	112-78	4.52
J Veras	0.2	0	0	0	1	2	0	22-12	3.51
A Aceves	2.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	19-17	0.00
Totals	9.0	10	6	6	2	9	1	153-107
PITCHING WP: J Veras IBB: V Wells (By J Veras) Batters faced: A Pettitte 29; J Veras 3; A Aceves 6 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: A Pettitte 8-7; J Veras 0-0; A Aceves 0-3

Scoring Summary
			TOR	NYY
	1st	V Wells singled to right, M Scutaro scored, A Rios to second.	1	0
	1st	R Barajas doubled to deep left, A Rios and V Wells scored.	3	0
	2nd	S Rolen homered to left.	4	0
	4th	A Rodriguez homered to center.	4	1
	6th	J Giambi homered to right.	4	2
	7th	D Eckstein singled to left, J McDonald scored, M Scutaro to third.	5	2
	7th	M Scutaro scored, D Eckstein to second on wild pitch by J Veras.	6	2

After staking Darrell Rasner a 6-2 lead, the Yanks fell apart giving up three in the seventh (in part thanks to a Robinson Cano throwing error) and then two more runs in the eighth.

With men on first and second with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Jays brought in right handed third baseman Alex Rodriguez to shut the Yankees down. A-Rod promptly grounded into a double play, killing any chances of a late game rally.

New York Yankees
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
J Damon CF	5	0	1	0	0	2	2	.312
D Jeter SS	4	2	2	0	1	0	1	.297
B Abreu RF	4	1	2	0	1	0	2	.299
A Rodriguez 3B	5	1	1	1	0	1	5	.306
J Giambi 1B	3	0	1	1	1	2	1	.251
C Ransom 1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.600
X Nady LF	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.298
H Matsui DH	4	0	1	2	0	0	0	.303
R Cano 2B	4	1	2	1	0	2	2	.271
I Rodriguez C	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.280
B Gardner PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.189
J Molina C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.228
Totals	38	6	12	6	3	8	19
BATTING 2B: H Matsui (15, B Tallet) HR: R Cano (13, 4th inning off J Parrish 0 on, 2 Out); I Rodriguez (7, 4th inning off J Parrish 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: A Rodriguez (80), J Giambi (83), R Cano (60), I Rodriguez (34), H Matsui 2 (40) 2-out RBI: A Rodriguez, J Giambi, R Cano, I Rodriguez, H Matsui 2 GIDP: A Rodriguez Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: C Ransom 1, B Abreu 1, J Damon 1, J Giambi 1, R Cano 2 Team LOB: 8
BASERUNNING SB: B Abreu (15, 2nd base off J Parrish/G Zaun); J Damon (25, 2nd base off J Frasor/G Zaun); B Gardner (7, 2nd base off S Downs/G Zaun)
FIELDING E: R Cano (12, throw)

New York Yankees
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
D Rasner	6.0	6	5	4	1	1	1	83-61	5.08
B Bruney (H, 7)	1.0	2	1	1	0	2	0	15-10	2.59
D Marte (L, 0-3; H, 8)	0.1	1	1	1	0	0	0	5-2	7.71
E Ramirez (B, 3)	0.2	2	0	0	0	1	0	13-10	3.42
J Veras	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	11-4	3.56
Totals	9.0	11	7	6	2	4	1	127-87
PITCHING IBB: V Wells (By J Veras) Batters faced: D Rasner 26; B Bruney 5; D Marte 2; E Ramirez 4; J Veras 4 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: D Rasner 7-10; B Bruney 0-1; D Marte 1-0; E Ramirez 1-0; J Veras 3-0

Scoring Summary
			TOR	NYY
	1st	A Rodriguez singled to left, D Jeter scored.	0	1
	1st	J Giambi singled to right, A Rodriguez scored.	0	2
	4th	V Wells homered to left center, A Rios scored.	2	2
	4th	R Cano homered to right.	2	3
	4th	I Rodriguez homered to left.	2	4
	5th	H Matsui doubled to deep right, D Jeter and B Abreu scored, J Giambi to third.	2	6
	7th	J Bautista singled to center, A Lind scored, L Overbay to second.	3	6
	7th	J Inglett singled to center, L Overbay and J Bautista scored, G Zaun to second.	5	6
	8th	J Bautista singled to left, V Wells scored, A Lind to third.	6	6
	8th	G Zaun grounded into fielder's choice to third, A Lind scored, J Bautista out at second.	7	6

Carl Pavano went six innings, only allowing one run, as he improved to 2-0 this season.

Please don't give him a new contract....

New York Yankees
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
J Damon CF	3	1	2	0	1	0	0	.313
D Jeter SS	4	0	0	0	0	2	4	.295
B Abreu RF	4	1	2	1	0	1	0	.298
A Rodriguez 3B	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	.307
J Giambi 1B	2	0	0	1	0	2	0	.250
C Ransom 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.750
X Nady LF	3	0	0	0	0	2	1	.308
H Matsui DH	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.304
R Cano 2B	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	.269
I Rodriguez C	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	.277
Totals	28	2	7	2	1	8	8
BATTING 2B: B Abreu (35, A Burnett); R Cano (27, A Burnett) RBI: B Abreu (83), J Giambi (82) SF: J Giambi GIDP: D Jeter, A Rodriguez Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: D Jeter 1, X Nady 1 Team LOB: 4
BASERUNNING SB: J Damon (24, 2nd base off A Burnett/R Barajas)
FIELDING DP: 1 (D Jeter-R Cano-J Giambi).

New York Yankees
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
C Pavano (W, 2-0)	6.0	3	1	1	1	1	0	72-42	3.27
B Bruney (H, 6)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4-2	2.31
D Marte (H, 7)	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	5-4	7.15
J Veras	0.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	10-5	3.64
E Ramirez (H, 5)	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	5-3	3.47
M Rivera (S, 32)	1.2	1	0	0	0	3	0	17-13	1.46
Totals	9.0	5	1	1	2	6	0	113-69
PITCHING Batters faced: C Pavano 21; B Bruney 1; D Marte 2; J Veras 2; E Ramirez 1; M Rivera 6 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: C Pavano 4-13; B Bruney 0-1; D Marte 0-1; J Veras 0-0; E Ramirez 0-0; M Rivera 2-0

Scoring Summary
			TOR	NYY
	4th	B Abreu doubled to deep left center, J Damon scored.	0	1
	4th	J Giambi hit sacrifice fly to left, B Abreu scored, A Rodriguez to second.	0	2
	6th	M Scutaro singled to center, T Snider scored.	1	2

John Parrish, LHP (1-0, 4.05)
Blue Jays (68-64)
Darrell Rasner, RHP (5-9, 5.03)
Yankees (70-62)

Scouting Report:
Blue Jays: The Blue Jays recalled Parrish from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, and he'll make a spot start against the Yankees during a three-game set on the road. This season for the Jays, Parrish has gone 1-0 with a 4.71 ERA as a starter, allowing 11 runs on 21 hits in 21 innings, with his last start coming on July 5. This season at Triple-A, Parrish went 10-1 with a 2.97 ERA in 17 games. The lefty is 0-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 30 career outings against the Yankees.

Yankees:After his last outing, a 3 1/3 inning, three-earned-run affair against Baltimore, Rasner said he was "disgusted" by the way he threw. It was indeed a rough outing for the 27-year-old who has been the tough-luck loser several times this season for New York. Last Sunday, however, wasn't tough luck at all. Rasner struggled with his control all afternoon, consistently leaving the ball up in the zone, and he was hammered for eight hits. Rasner has not walked away a winner since before the All-Star break, July 12, when he threw five innings and allowed three earned runs. Over that stretch, the right-hander is 0-2 in six starts.

A.J. Burnett, RHP (16-9, 4.58)
Blue Jays (67-63)
Carl Pavano, RHP (1-0, 5.40)
Yankees (70-60)

Scouting Report:
Blue Jays: On Sunday, Burnett walked away with a no-decision against the Red Sox, though the right-hander squandered two leads in Toronto's loss. Burnett allowed five runs on seven hits, including a pair of home runs, with seven strikeouts and three walks. Burnett raised his American League-leading strikeout total to 185, but he gave up five runs for the first time in nine starts. Prior to Sunday, Burnett was 7-1 with a 2.89 ERA in his previous eight outings. He is 6-2 with a 2.63 ERA in nine career games against the Yankees.

Yankees: Pavano made his triumphant return to the Yankees rotation on Aug. 23, after over a year hiatus from the Major Leagues. Pavano threw five innings, allowing three runs, and walked away with the win in the Yankees' 5-3 victory over the Orioles. Pavano, who has suffered through a laundry list of injuries during his tenure in New York, was coming off Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. Pavano will be looking to extend his outing in his next start (he only threw 90 pitches in Baltimore) as well as improve his command.

Momentum seems hard to come by for the Yanks theses days; after winning the day before, the Bombers were blown out of the water by the hapless Blue Jays, 14-3.
The lone bright spot in the evening was the return of Hideki Matsui, who hit a three run homer in the top of the seventh.

New York Yankees
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
J Damon CF-LF	3	0	1	0	1	2	1	.313
D Jeter SS	4	0	1	0	0	2	3	.297
C Ransom SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
B Abreu RF	4	0	0	0	0	1	3	.288
J Molina 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.227
A Rodriguez 3B	2	1	0	0	1	1	1	.308
W Betemit 3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.259
J Giambi 1B	3	0	2	0	0	1	0	.250
B Gardner CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.189
X Nady LF-RF	4	1	1	0	0	1	3	.315
H Matsui DH	4	1	1	3	0	0	2	.317
R Cano 2B	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.261
I Rodriguez C	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	.288
Totals	32	3	7	3	2	10	13
BATTING HR: H Matsui (8, 7th inning off R Halladay 2 on, 1 Out) RBI: H Matsui 3 (37) GIDP: B Abreu Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: D Jeter 1, A Rodriguez 1 Team LOB: 4
BASERUNNING SB: J Damon 2 (23, 2nd base off R Halladay/R Barajas 2)
FIELDING E: J Giambi (7, ground ball)

New York Yankees
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
S Ponson (L, 7-4)	2.0	8	7	7	1	0	0	51-31	4.67
D Robertson	1.1	3	2	2	1	1	0	31-19	5.96
B Traber	2.1	7	4	4	1	2	1	48-34	7.02
E Ramirez	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	6-4	3.57
C Britton	2.0	3	1	1	0	2	0	38-27	4.61
Totals	8.0	21	14	14	3	6	1	174-115
PITCHING Batters faced: S Ponson 14; D Robertson 8; B Traber 15; E Ramirez 1; C Britton 10 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: S Ponson 2-3; D Robertson 0-3; B Traber 1-4; E Ramirez 0-0; C Britton 0-4

Scoring Summary
			NYY	TOR
	1st	A Rios singled to right center, J Inglett scored.	0	1
	2nd	R Barajas hit sacrifice fly to center, A Lind scored.	0	2
	3rd	A Rios doubled to deep right, J Inglett and M Scutaro scored.	0	4
	3rd	A Lind singled to center, A Rios scored, V Wells to second.	0	5
	3rd	J McDonald singled to center, V Wells and A Lind scored, L Overbay to second.	0	7
	4th	M Stairs doubled to deep center, M Scutaro, A Rios and A Lind scored.	0	10
	5th	M Scutaro homered to left, J McDonald and J Inglett scored.	0	13
	7th	H Matsui homered to right, A Rodriguez and X Nady scored.	3	13
	8th	M Scutaro doubled to left, R Barajas scored, J Inglett to third.	3	14

Sidney Ponson, RHP (7-3, 4.19)
Yankees (66-58)
Roy Halladay, RHP (14-9, 2.64)
Blue Jays (64-60)

Scouting Report:
Yankees: Ponson gave the Yankees another quality start on Saturday against the Royals, holding Kansas City to two runs and seven hits through 6 1/3 innings. It marked his fourth straight start of at least six innings. He worked himself out of jams and effectively used his sinker to come up with groundouts. Ponson kept his team in the game long enough to come away with a no-decision. The righty has not allowed more than four earned runs in each of his past four starts, but he has been the victim of a lack of run support, as the Yankees have not scored more than three runs in any of those outings.

Blue Jays: Halladay was in top form on Saturday, limiting the Red Sox to one run on seven hits en route to his Major League-leading eighth complete game of the season. The lone run Halladay surrendered came via a solo homer by Boston's Dustin Pedroia in the ninth inning. Halladay finished with four strikeouts, one walk and 12 outs via ground ball in the 109-pitch effort. Dating back to June 30, Halladay is 6-3 with a 1.81 ERA in nine starts, during which he's amassed 59 strikeouts and 13 walks across 69 2/3 innings. Halladay is 12-5 with a 2.88 ERA in 29 career games against the Yankees.