One-time Yankee Granderson retires

Curtis Granderson, a 3x All Star who played for the Tigers (2004-2009), Yankees (2010-2013), Mets (2014-2017), Dodgers (2017), Blue Jays (2018), Brewers (2018) and Marllins (2019) has announced his retirement.

The OF, primarily a CF, hit 344 HR in his career, including 41 for the Yankees in 2011 and 43 for the Yankees the following season.

He finished in the top 10 for MVP voting twice, getting consideration 3x. and finished 4th in 2011, when, besides hitting 41 HR, he led the AL in RBI (119), led the majors in runs scored (136), and earned a Silver Slugger Award.

Earlier in his career, he used his speed more, topping 20 SB 3x, while leading the league in triples 2x.

His 162 game average was .249-27-74, with 12 SB, OPS+ 114.

While not a HOF, a very good career.

In postseason play, Granderson hit .224-9-30 in 64 games. He made it to the WS with the 2006 Tigers, 2015 Mets and 2017 Dodgers, but he didn’t play in the 2017 WS.

He hit 3 HR for the Mets in the 2015 WS.

All three of those teams lost the WS.

A great representative of the game off the field, Granderson won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 2015 and the Roberto Clemente Award the following year.

On baseball-reference.com, JAWS has him listed #31 among all-time CF.

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With spring training camps opening soon, I was wondering if Greg Bird had latched on with anyone. The answer is not yet.

Looks like he may have to sign a minor league deal with someone to prove his worth and also to prove if he can ever stay healthy.

Giants oust Mets, some Yankee moves.

Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete-game 4-hit shutout as the Giants eliminated the Mets in the NL wild card game, 3-0. They now face the Cubs.

Conor Gillaspie’s 3-run HR in the top of the ninth off of Jeurys Familia was the whole game.

Curtis Granderson did save a run for the Mets with a great catch, but in the end, it all went for naught.

Noah Syndergaard pitched great for the Mets, 7 shutout innings, 2 hits, 10 K, but unlike Bumgarner, was pulled and didn’t pitch the complete game. It proved fatal for the Mets.

Bumgarner is now 8-3, 1.94 in postseason play. A postseason beast.

Meanwhile, Buck Showalter is getting blasted for not using his closer in the extra inning loss that the Orioles had up in Toronto the other night. He did the same mistake that Joe Torre did in Game 4 of the 2003 WS, which is saving your closer for a save on the road. Meanwhile your team never gives you a lead to save and some lesser pitcher loses the game for you while your best is in the bullpen. In extra innings, sometimes you need your best to preserve the tie and prevent a walkoff win.

ALDS series start today. Toronto at Texas, Boston at Cleveland.

A couple of Yankees moves. The Angels claimed Blake Parker and Kirby Yates off of waivers. Parker was 1-0, 4.96 after coming over from Seattle this year.

Yates was 2-1, 5.23.

Anthony Swarzak, who was 1-2, 5.52, refused assignment to SWB and became a free agent.

CC Sabathia will have routine knee surgery to clean it out.

Game 107. Yanks 9, Mets 5.

Steven Matz/Mark Teixeira may not have the same fireworks as Roger Clemens/Mike Piazza, but there was a little bad blood last night as Teix was plunked in the shin after earlier hitting a 3-run HR off Matz in the Yanks’ 9-5 win over the Mets Wednesday night.

Chad Green started and struggled. His second pitch of the game was hit for a HR by ex-Yankee Curtis Granderson. Four batters later, another Mets’ run was in, the bases were loaded, and no one was out. He got out of the first down just 2-0.

The Yanks came back with three in the bottom of the first on a 2-run double by Chase Headley and an RBI single by Didi Gregorius.

Green gave up a run in the top of the second to tie the game, but Teixeira’s 10th HR of the season (#404 career) put the Yanks up 6-3 after two.

The Mets scored an unearned run off of Luis Severino in the seventh. Severino had to relieve the stuggling Green in the fourth and did a great job in relief, getting the victory. It’ll be interesting in a few days to see who gets the next start, Green or Severino.This was the Severino we wanted to see early in the season.

The Yanks got three in the bottom of the seventh to ice the game. Gary Sanchez got his first MLB hit, a single, and went to third on a double by Aaron Hicks. A Rob Refsnyder SF brought in Sanchez. After a couple of walks loaded the bases, Starlin Castro’s infield hit made it 8-4, and a bases-loaded walk to Didi made it 9-4.

Tyler Clippard gave up a HR to Neil Walker in the ninth. The final score: 9-5 Yanks.

The Yanks are 54-53. Today’s game, #108 marks the 2/3 point of the season.

Green 3 2/3 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 4 walks, 2 K. 4.94. Gave up 1 HR.
Severino (w, 1-6, 6.02) 4 1/3 IP, 1 R (UNEARNED), 1 H, 1 walk, 5 K.
Clippard 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 4.31 (combined AZ/NYY ERA). Gave up 1 HR.

KC wins Series in 5 games

The Kansas City Royals scored two runs in the top of the ninth to tie it up, then added five in the twelfth to beat the Mets 7-2 in Game 5 of the World Series last night. With the win, the Royals are the champions, four games to one.

It is the second title for KC, following one that they won in 1985.

Curtis Granderson homered in the bottom of the first for the Mets, and the Mets added another run in the sixth. Matt Harvey was shutting down KC. All seemed good for the Mets as far as surviving the night.

But in the ninth, Harvey faltered and KC tied it up.

Then came the five-run outburst in the 12th, Lorenzo Cain capping it with a bases-loaded 3-run double.

Catcher Salvador Perez was named WS MVP.

Game 38. Yanks fall to .500.

The Mets’ Curtis Granderson enjoyed his return to the Bronx, since he hit HRs in both games back. The Mets beat the Yanks 12-7 and dropped the Yanks to .500.

It was the Yanks’ fourth straight loss, and they have now lost the last six games they have played against the Mets. Tonight, the Yanks send out ace Masahiro Tanaka to face the Mets to try to stop the bleeding. The venue switches to Citi Field.

Vidal Nuno started and took the loss. He gave up four in the first, three on a HR by Granderson. Nuno (1-1, 6.43) went 3 1/3 and gave up 7 R, 5 ER, on 4 H, 4 walks and a K.

Alredo Aceves (6.52) was ineffective in relief, 1 2/3, 4 R, 4 h, 1 walk and 2 K. He gave up a 3-run HR to Daniel Murphy.

Matt Daley (8.31) pitched three scoreless innings of relief. Preston Claiborne (2.31) gave up one run in his one inning of work

Brian McCann hopefully is coming out of his season long funk. He had 3 hits, inc. a HR (5), and drove in 3 runs for the Yanks. Yangervis Solarte homered, had two hits, and is now hitting .336-3-22. At present, he leads the A.L. in batting average.

The loss drops the Yanks to .500, at 19-19. They are in a 3-way tie for second, 1 1/2 back.

Yankees give qualifying offers to 3

Mariano Rivera was named the A.L. Comeback Player of the Year today. Meanwhile, the Yanks gave qualifying offers to 3 players: Cano, Kuroda and Granderson. Should they sign elsewhere, the Yanks get a compensatory draft pick.

Cano is expected to refuse, since he can get over $14.1MM in free agency. Kuroda is anyone’s guess. It would be a $900K decrease from last year. With Kuroda, will he come back, retire, become a free agent or go back to Japan?

Granderson is iffy. Will he accept it? He did miss 100 games due to two broken bones (HBP twice) last season. Will he accept the offer and attempt to rebuild his value? Or will he take free agency instead? We’ll see.

Game 162. Yanks win finale in 14, 5-1.

For a while, it seemed like the season and this game would never end.

But end it did and the Yanks won 5-1 in 14 to finish their season 85-77, tied with Baltimore for 3rd in the AL East, 12 out of the division lead and six out of that 2nd wild card slot.

Speaking of which, Tampa Bay has to fly from Toronto to Texas to face the Rangers Monday night in a one-game matchup to determine who IS the second wild-card. The winner flies to Cleveland to face the #1 WC Indians in a one-game playoff Wed. to determine the AL wild card.

I fear this season may be the last winning season for the Yanks for a while.

Houston ended the season on (I believe, I may be off by a game) a fifteen game losing streak. They end 51-111. Ugh. The Yanks struck out 19 Astros in 14 innings.

David Huff started and went 5. 1 R, 3 H, 0 walks and  7 K. Overall ERA 5.50 (Cle/NYY).

Brett Marshall 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk and 3 K. 4.50.

Dellin Betances 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 4 K. 10.80.

Preston Claiborne 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 4.11.

David Phelps 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walk and 2 K. 4.98.

Matt Daley 2 IP (W, 1-0, first MLB win), 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 2 K. 0.00.

David Robertson finished, no save situation. 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 0 K. 2.04.

Down 1-0 in the 8th, the Yanks tied it on a double by Nunez and single by Granderson.

In the 14th, Reynolds HR’d (21). After two strikeouts, Ryan and Almonte singled and Nunez doubled in two. Murphy singled in Nunez.

Before the game, Mo was feated. He received gifts and apologized to the Astros’ fans for not pitching this weekend (classy). He explained that the farewell at the Stadium, with Derek and Andy coming out to get him, was the perfect ending.

Football: It was a rough enough day for this Steelers’ fan to see his team go to 0-4 on the season, but then I found out that #68, L.C. Greenwood, a DE on that great Steel Curtain team of the 1970s, passed away today at the age of 73. Another piece of my childhood gone. Known for wearing those yellow shoes, I remember him in SB IX, acting like a volleyball player in spiking down a few of Fran Tarkenton’s passes. I always wondered why he wasn’t in the HOF. Maybe now he can be put in—too late for him to relish it.

Game 153. Yanks lose, 6-2.

The offense didn’t show again, and Joba Chamberlain was awful in a 6-2 Yankees loss to Toronto. The loss drops the Yanks to 80-73, guarantees they can’t reach 90 wins and could be the death blow to their chances of making the playoffs this year.

Hiroki Kuroda started and went six. 3 R, 8 H, 4 walks and 7 K. Despite a 3.17 ERA, his record is now 11-12.

He gave up two in the third, and after Curtis Granderson cut the lead to 2-1 with a HR (7) in the top of the sixth, gave up a HR in the bottom of the sixth to put the Jays up 3-1.

Then came Joba to start the seventh and any hope the Yanks had to pull out a late innings rally like last night disappeared quickly. Joba gave up a walk, single and 3-run HR. 6-1. Game over.

Joba 0 IP, just those 3 batters. 3 R, 2 H, 1 walk, 0 K. 4.97.

Cesar Cabral 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walk and 2 K. 3.86.

Matt Daley 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 0 K. 0.00.

David Phelps 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 0 K. 4.93.

Vernon Wells groundout in the 9th made for the final score of 6-2.

The Yanks got only five hits in the game.

Game 149. Yanks get just 3 hits in 5-1 loss.

When you are two games out of a playoff spot with 14 to go, it probably doesn’t help that your starting SS was just acquired days ago (and is hitting under .200 at that) and your starting C is making his first major league start.

It also doesn’t help that a starting OF who has helped to lift you into a possible playoff position is scratched from the lineup at the last moment.

But such was the state of the Yankees yesterday as Alfonso Soriano was scratched at the last minute (bruised thumb), J.R. Murphy got his first major league start and Brendan Ryan started at SS.

Such is also the state that Vernon Wells still actually plays. Wells is now .211-1-24 in 83 games since May 15th. It is not reassuring knowing that he is signed for next year. It’s amazing he hasn’t been cut. It’s all about the $$$$ and how much he is owed. Anyone else would (should?) be gone by now.

The Yanks got just three hits (two by Granderson) in losing to Boston 5-1. With the loss, the Yanks fall 3 back of the Rays with 13 to go in trying to get that last wild card spot. In between are the Indians, who are 1 1/2 back of the Rays.

CC was his 2013 inconsistent, hittable, grossly overpaid CC. He went 6, giving up 5 runs, 9 h, 4 walks and 5 K. He falls to 13-13 (leads Yanks in W and L) and the ERA goes to 4.90. In only the first and sixth innings did he not give up a run. Think of this, CC isn’t showing a much better line than David Phelps’ 6-5, 5.01.

Joba went 1. 0 R, 0 H, 2 walks, 1 K. 4.43.

Matt Daley finished up. 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 2 K. 0.00.

The Yanks’s only run came in the fourth when Granderson tripled and scored on an RBI groundout by Cano.

Time is running out, and an upcoming sweep of the Rays is imperative.

Game 147. Yanks win on WP, 6-5.

For the second time in a week, the Yankees won on a 9th-inning wild pitch, this time beating Baltimore 6-5.

The game was delayed for about 90 minutes at the start because of rain.

Mark Reynolds hit a 2-run HR (19) in the second to give the Yanks a quick 2-0 lead.

The Yanks went up 4-0 in the third on a bases-loaded single by Vernon Wells.

Phil Hughes gave up a run in the bottom of the third, and when the first batter in the fourth reached on an error, manager Joe Girardi had a quick hook and brought in David Huff.

Hughes went 3+, 1 R, 3 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 5.07.

Granderson hit HR #6 in the top of the seventh to put the Yanks up 5-1, but Huff gave it right back in the bottom of the inning when Nick Markakis homered to make it 5-2.

Huff 3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 6.04.  (Cle/NYY).

Adam Warren 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk and 0 K. 3.52.

Cesar Cabral 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 0 K. 0.00. Who knew that Cabral would be used to get big outs right now when he just recently made his MLB debut? Go figure.

David Robertson blew the lead in the 8th. First off, he was saved by Alfonso Sorano when Soriano took a HR away from Manny Machado. But that relief didn’t last long as Robertson, after striking out Davis for the second out, later gave up two singles and a game-tying 3-run HR to  Danny Valencia. He then gave up a double to Hardy but struck out Wieters to end the inning.

1 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 0 walks and 2 K. 2.24.

In the top of the 9th, newly acquired SS Brendan Ryan (not eligible for the postseason if there is one for the Yankees) singled. Stewart bunted and pitcher Jim Johnson’s throw in trying for the force on Ryan was bad. All safe. Granderson bunted both runners over and a wild pitch scored Ryan with the eventual game-winning run.

Mo came in and had a 1-2-3 9th. 1 Ip, 0 R, 0 h, 0 walks and 0 K. 2.30.

The win came down to an official scorer’s decision. Because of Robertson’s ineffectiveness, the official scorer didn’t give the W to Robertson but rewarded it to Mo (6-2) instead.

The Yanks stay 1 game behind the Rays for the second wild-card slot.

Meanwhile, Brett Gardner had to leave the game after his at bat in the top of the first with an oblique strain. He could be done for the year now, too.

Ouch.