The LoHud Yankees Blog

The USC football team faces Washington at Husky Stadium this afternoon. It’s a short ride from Safeco Field and Phil Hughes will be there on the sideline for the first half.

Phil is a devoted fan of the Trojans and is fired-up to see the team up close. Seeing the USC Song Girls up close won’t be such a bad deal, either.

Mariano Rivera and the Yankees were stunned by the Mariners last night.

Andy Pettitte is ready for his next start.This notebook also has updates on Dave Robertson. Ian Kennedy and Juan Miranda.

For Robbie Cano, playing with Derek Jeter has been an education.

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If you use Safari, our web site does not allow you to click to the second page of the story for some reason. I’ve been after them to fix that and it has fallen on deaf ears so far. To read the whole story, click the print icon and it’ll come up.

Sorry about that.

Take it from somebody who once covered a team that had Armando Benitez closing, Mariano Rivera is the best friend a beat writer ever had.

He comes in, the game is over. You can send your story back to the newspaper before he’s done pitching 99 times out of 100.

Tonight was that one time.

With two outs and nobody on, pinch hitter Mike Sweeney smacked a double to center. Then the great Ichiro Suzuki lined a pitch into the stands in right field. After getting picked off twice in the game, he was suddenly a hero.

“Mike Sweeney created an opportunity for us and I just went with the flow he created,” Ichiro said. “It was an at-bat where I went with my emotions.”

Mo had converted 36 straight saves and given up one run in his previous 33 innings.

“It just shows that he is human,” Joe Girardi said. “When it happens, you’re somewhat surprised. But no one is going to be perfect in this game.”

It was the first walk-off Mo has allowed since Marco Scutaro beat him in April of 2007 and only the fifth in Mo’s career. The others belong to Bill Selby (2002), Bill Mueller ( 2004) and Vernon Wells (2006).

Rivera was, as always, stoic in the face of disaster.

“Two pitches cost us the game,” he said. “That’s why I’m there. I’ve been there before and you know you those games are going to happen. You move on. You can’t change it. You come back tomorrow and play hard again.”

The Yankees lost a game off their lead in the East and allowed the Angels to creep within 5.5 games. The sudden disaster also overshadowed a strong performance by A.J. Burnett.

Nick Swisher shook as head as he walked out of the clubhouse. “That’s something you don’t see very often,” he said.

YANKEES (94-53)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Molina C

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (11-9, 4.33).

MARINERS (76-71)
Ichiro RF
Gutierrez CF
Lopez 2B
Griffey Jr. DH
Beltre 3B
Hall LF
Hannahan 1B
Johnson C
Wilson SS

Pitching: RHP Felix Hernandez (15-5, 2.52).

TIME/TV: 10:10, YES.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees start a six-game road trip after a solid 7-3 homestand. The Yankees lead the Red Sox by seven games in the AL East with 15 to play. They lead the Angels by 6.5 games in the race for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

FREQUENT FLYERS: The Yankees were just in Seattle, winning three of four games from Aug. 13-16. They are 5-2 against the Mariners this season. Burnett and Hernandez did not pitch in that series.

MO MILESTONES: Mariano Rivera needs two strikeouts for 1,000 in his career.

MO-MENTUM: This boggles the mind. The Great Rivera has allowed one run in his last 33 games, a span of 33 innings. He has given up 15 hits, walked eight and fanned 32. The Yankees are undefeated in those games.

COMEBACK KIDS: The Yankees lead the majors with 48 come-from-behind victories.

LONG-TIME COMING: The Yankees are 41 games over .500. They have not been 42 games over .500 since ending the 2002 season 103-58.

HE’S THE HIDEKI, YOU KNOW: Hideki Matsui hit his 25th home run of the season on Wednesday. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he tied Don Baylor (1984) for the most home runs as a Yankees DH in a single season. It also was his 12th homer off a left-handed pitcher this season (in 123 AB), tying for most against a lefty for a lefty hitter in the majors this season.

ON THE iPOD RIGHT NOW: Surprise, Surprise by Bruce Springsteen.

Back with more later. Lots of newspaper work to do now, however.

UPDATE, 8:12 p.m.: Just talked to Andy Pettitte after he threw his bullpen. He felt fine and is ready to make his start on Monday. There was no discomfort in his shoulder.

“I’ll be satisfied if I get through that start. I’ve been off a few days and obviously it was good to get through my normal long bullpen. I had no problems,” he said. “I’ve had a good period of rest. I didn’t expect to feel anything. I played long toss yesterday and felt great. The big thing for me will be now to get through Monday without having it fatigue-ing out on me and I’ll feel I’m over it.”

UPDATE, 8:20 p.m.: Dave Robertson played catch in the outfield and said his elbow felt fine. That’s two such sessions for him. It’ll be one or two of those then back on the mound then in a game. “It’ll be fast,” he said.

UPDATE, 10:13 p:m.: We are underway. Enjoy the game.

UPDATE, 10:28 p.m.: Brian Bruney is wearing No. 99 now. Turns out he never liked 38 for some reason.

UPDATE, 11:29 p.m.: 1-1 through five innings here. Just what you expect with Felix. A.J. is pitching well, too.

UPDATE, 11:35 p.m.: Nice day for Johnny Damon. He’s 3 for 3 with two doubles and a run scored. The Yankees lead 2-1. That’s a big run in this game.

UPDATE, 12:31 a.m.: Yankees up a run and have Mo set up to face the bottom third of the Seattle order. This would be a nice win to start the road trip and a big boost for Burnett.

This from the Yankees:

When Hideki Matsui homered on Wednesday, he joined Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher as Yankees with at least 25 jacks.

That hasn’t happened since 1938 when Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey and Joe Gordon did it. That bunch went 99-53 and swept the Cubs in the World Series, outscoring them 22-9.

Joe D went .324/.386/.581 that year with 32 homers and 140 RBI at the age of 23. He also had 13 triples. Imagine that, at 23?

Lonny Frey, thought to have been the oldest living Yankee, passed away on Sunday at his home in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, at the age of 99.

Frey played 15 years of professional baseball, including two seasons with the Yankees (1947-48). A three-time All-Star (1939, ’41, ’43), He played in three World Series, winning the title with the Yankees in ’47.

Tommy Henrich (96) is now thought to be the current oldest living Yankee, although Angel Berroa disputes that.

(C’mon, I had to get one more Berroa joke in there. Had to.)

Suzyn Waldman, a friend of the LHYB, is not working the Seattle series so she can observe the holidays. We look forward to seeing her again in Anaheim.

But Sweeny Murti, the man from WFAN, is taking over her pre-game and post-game duties. Once the game starts, Kimberly Jones of YES will work with John Sterling.

This seems to be some sort of Penn State plot. I’m very suspicious.

Back later with the game post. Don’t forget, this is a 10:10 p.m. game, everything is pushed back.

Bernie Williams received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Album for Moving Forward.

The album’s first single, Go For It, recently topped Billboard’s “Smooth Jazz Songs” chart As the top jazz song in the country.

This from Bernie’s label:

“I don’t have many words right now that can explain how excited and grateful I am about this nomination. When I stopped playing baseball, I knew that I would become more dedicated to my music,” Bernie said. “Just to have the chance to sign with Reform Records and create this CD was a tremendous opportunity. Now, to already have my first Latin Grammy nomination from my fellow musicians is beyond anything I could have dreamed. Last year I was able to attend the Latin Grammy Awards just as a music fan. I’m elated that this year I can return as part of such an illustrious group of nominee.”

Meanwhile, Bernie still has yet to admit he has retired from baseball. But that’s another story.

The Yankees have 15 games left to play and and A.J. Burnett will get three starts, the first coming tonight.

Burnett is 11-9 with a 4.33 ERA. He leads the AL in walks and wild pitches and is tied for third in hit batters. Once the team’s best starter, he is 1-5 with a 6.14 ERA in his last nine starts.

In terms of the standings, tonight’s game is just another page off the calendar for the rampaging Yankees. But Burnett will be facing Cy Young contender Felix Hernandez. This is his chance to show to people — especially his teammates — that he’s ready for the postseason.

With Andy Pettitte dealing with a sore shoulder, Burnett’s ability to make a series of quality starts in October could be what determines whether the Yankees win No. 27. That has to start at sometime.

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I’d be remiss not to thank those of you who have sent e-mails or made comments wishing me well with my new job. I really appreciate it. I’m overwhelmed by your kindness. The best part about starting this blog was getting to meet so many of you and share your passion for baseball.

I’m happy to say The Journal News is already taking steps to find a replacement and this blog will remain a priority for the paper. I know the people making the decisions and you’ll be in good hands.

Meanwhile, lets get back to business. The Yankees have some exciting times ahead.

A few of the beat writers went out for dinner last night and we discussed this on the walk over: How many times should the Yankees celebrate during the regular season?

The team is close to officially clinching a playoff spot as they lead Texas by 13 games. Should they break out the champagne that day or wait until they clinch the division?

Considering their record and the comfortable lead in the division, the consensus was they should wait and do it once. No sense getting carried away.