Cano hit a tiebreaking double and a two-run homer in New York’s nine-run sixth inning, sending Phil Hughes and the Yankees to an 11-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

Austin Kearns added a two-run double and Derek Jeter a two-run triple as New York’s offense, still missing Alex Rodriguez and Lance Berkman because of injuries, broke loose for the second consecutive day.

“Big hits by a lot of people,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Our guys are picking up the slack.”

A good buddy of mine posted the following article about the upcoming series finale between these two teams. All I know, is that I wouldn’t want to be behind the plate trying to break up these two teams. If anything does happen, go Yankees!

Check out the following link. It’s a great read!

http://nj.com/advnj/pm_29222/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=8E6517DBBF3AF34A5842501C7F67BD68?contentguid=Wi1kNsiR

The New York Daily News, citing a Yankees team source, said Steinbrenner died at about 6:30 a.m. ET today in Florida after suffering a massive heart attack last night.

Words to remember Steinbrenner by

Tell us: Was Steinbrenner greatest owner ever?

A family statement said: “It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing. He passed away this morning in Tampa, Fla., at age 80.”

WABC reported Steinbrenner suffered a massive heart attack last night and was rushed to St. Joseph’s hospital in Tampa.

Steinbrenner last week told the AP he was “feeling good” after spending a couple hours in his office at the Yankees’ spring training complex.

During Steinbrenner’s ownership, the Yankees have won 11 pennants and seven World Series.

The Yankees website is acknowledging that there are reports about Steinbrenner suffering a heart attack, but makes no further comment, as of 9:55 a.m. ET.

When Steinbrenner celebrated his 80th birthday on July 4 at his home in Tampa, he said in a press release through his spokesman Howard J. Rubenstein:

“I want to thank everyone who has sent their good wishes. I am very fortunate to have the love and support of a great family and many, many friends. The Yankees and their fans are a large part of what keeps me going. It means a lot. And I remind everyone that the Fourth of July is also the birthday of our country. We are all lucky to be Americans.”

Steinbrenner will be remembered for many things. Among them:

He hired — and fired — Billy Martin for five separate managerial stints. He also made a Miller Lite commercial with his favorite manager.

His five-year, $3 million contract with Reggie Jackson in 1977 ushered in the era of big-time free agency money, and proved worth it when Jackson went on to earn the name of Mr. October.

During the 1981 World Series Steinbrenner contended he had broken his hand while punching out two abusive Dodgers fans. Those alleged fans never were found, and it was widely suspected that The Boss had injured himself by punching an elevator wall because he was angry about a Yankees loss.

When Dave Winfield failed to produce significantly for the Yankees, Steinbrenner belittled him as Mr. May. In 1990 he was suspended for life — but late reinstated — for hiring someone to dig up dirt on Winfield.

His failing health became obvious at the 2008 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, when Steinbrenner was driven onto the field in a golf cart. He met with former players and broke into tears. Later that year, he gave control of the team to his sons.—USA today

As I was watching the game yesterday, I could do nothing but smile as I watched the chowdas go down in a blaze of glory as Phil Hughes and the Yankees offensive firepower was too much for Josh Beckett and the Red Sox.

One of the best things about this victory is that the Yankees are playing with a beaten up lineup. They went into the game with two starters (Posada and Granderson) recovering from injuries, and finished the game with two more injured players in Robinson Cano and Nick Johnson with a sore knee from a wild pitch, and a sore wrist.

How the Yankees continue to dominate is beyond me, however, I am enjoying the ride. Aren’t you?

“The card is a little short right now,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who also was without injured catcher Jorge Posada and center fielder Curtis Granderson. “It is frustrating, but no one is going to feel sorry for (you).”Phil Hughes (4-0) allowed seven hits and two runs in seven innings and has a 1.69 ERA.His confidence, Hughes said, “is up there. I’m throwing the ball well. I’m just trying to keep it going. There’s a lot of season ahead of us.” Beckett (1-1) struck out six and allowed one hit in the first three innings but ended up giving up nine runs in 5 1/3. He also plunked Derek Jeter in the back in the six-run sixth and even hit his own catcher, Jason Varitek, in that inning with a pitch that forced him out of the game with a left forearm contusion.”I had an idea where (the ball) was going. It just wasn’t going where I wanted it to go,” Beckett said. “When you try to overthrow like that, your delivery gets all messed up.”Neither team suggested that Beckett was trying to hit batters.”No one’s going to hit you (deliberately) with the bases loaded,” Jeter said.The Yankees have outscored opponents 37-12 during their winning streak.Jeter played in his 2,165th game for the Yankees, breaking a tie with Lou Gehrig for second place in club history. Mickey Mantle is first with 2,401.David Ortiz drove in both runs for Boston, which was coming off a four-game sweep over the Los Angeles Angels.The game lasted just 3:01, shorter than the three in the teams’ opening series of the year — 3:46, 3:48, 3:21. After that series, umpire crew chief Joe West said that the Yankees and Red Sox were “pathetic and embarrassing” for dragging out those three games.The Red Sox started Friday’s game with a 15-14 record, the first time they were over .500 since beating the Yankees on opening night. But since then, New York is 20-7.They’ve kept winning without Posada, who hasn’t played since Monday because of a strained right calf, and Granderson, who went on the disabled list on Sunday with a strained left groin. Johnson felt pain in his wrist during his first at-bat and is to be examined Saturday at a New York hospital while Cano is day to day, Girardi said.Alex Rodriguez led off the sixth with a double and Cano was hit by a pitch. He walked slowly to first and stayed in the game for two pitches before Ramiro Pena ran for him. A passed ball moved the runners up and Brett Gardner was walked intentionally. The next six batters all got RBIs — Francisco Cervelli with a walk, Randy Winn (single), Jeter (hit by pitch), Marcus Thames (single), Mark Teixeira (single) and Rodriguez (sacrifice fly).Beckett threw inside pitches to two other batters, sending Cervelli to the dirt on a 3-2 pitch and coming close to Teixeira.”In a 3-1 game, there’s certainly no intent in any one of those situations,” Boston pitching coach John Farrell said. “I don’t think any one of us foresaw the sixth inning unfolding like it did.”And the pitch on which Beckett hit Varitek?”We switched the signs a little bit,” Beckett said. “That was completely my fault.”Swisher’s sixth homer of the season broke the scoreless tie in the fourth. The Red Sox made it 3-1 on a sacrifice fly by Ortiz in the bottom of the fourth. After the Yankees went ahead 9-1, Ortiz singled in a run in the bottom of the sixth.The last two runs scored in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Thames and a single by Adrian Beltre.

–ESPN

Vazquez’s scheduled start at Boston has been pushed back to Monday at Detroit, giving the right-hander more time to work on his stuff after a rough beginning this year. Vazquez is 1-3 with a 9.78 ERA in his second stint with New York.

Girardi says he thinks Vazquez’s problems have affected him mentally and physically.

Rodriguez rested during New York’s 12-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. He says he felt some cramping in his right leg Saturday but is fine now.

My biggest concern about the way that the Yanks played yesterday is the fact that they only had three hits the entire game! That can’t be good. Not many teams in this league will win a ball gamer with only three hits.

Really, that was the big story of the night. Forget the fact that Morales got lucky and hit a bomb without throwing out his back. The Angels bullpen just showed up to play and they shut down all of our hitters. I guess they are loaded with a whole bunch of Mariano Riveras. Pretty digusting display of hitting if you ask me.

Let’s hope that the Yanks can get over this loss. Yeah, they aren’t playing that bad, but if they don’t look out, the Rays are going to take a big lead in the AL East before long.

Honestly, I would like someone to argue this point with me. He is one of the best pitchers in the game. That is a fact. Not only the number of wins he has under his belt, but the number of wins he has in big games that really matter.

Last year, Pettitte was one of the huge reasons that the Yankees did as well as they did in the postseason. He was lights out practically every time he took the mound. We all know that the money that he is receiving is no where near the checks that CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett are cashing, however, Andy Pettitte has a mental game that can rattle any hitter.

The following huge wins for Pettitte are my evidence that he will come through in the clutch yet again:

• Last Game in Yankee Stadium in 2008. Talk about pressure. The last game ever to be played in the house that Ruth built. Led the Yanks to a 7-3 victory.
• Game 6 of last years ALCS. Pettitte lead the Yankees to a much needed win over the Angels to clinch the series.
• Game 3 of last years World Series. Pettitte not only did the job from the mound, but he also got a huge RBI up the middle.
• Game 6 of last years World Series. Pettitte was the man. He threw this game on only 3 days rest. Experts and physicians were skeptical, but Pettitte proved otherwise.

Again, I will say it loud and clear. Pettitte will be the reason that the Yankees win #28 this year!

Pettitte (3-0) allowed six hits, struck out eight and walked none. The two-time All-Star gave up his only run on Torii Hunter‘s sacrifice fly in the sixth, after getting staked to a 6-0 lead. It was the left-hander’s 30th regular-season start against the Angels, the team he beat in the Yankees’ home opener with six scoreless innings on April 13 .Joel Pineiro (2-2) worked six innings and allowed six runs, two more than he gave up in 20 1/3 innings over his first three starts. The Yankees got 11 of their 14 hits against the right-handerYankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was in the DH spot for the first time this season, while Nick Johnson got the day off because of some slight back stiffness. A-Rod went 1 for 5 and twice struck out looking.Ramiro Pena made his first start at third this season for New York and made his presence felt defensively by robbing former Yankee Juan Rivera of a hit in the second inning with a diving catch of his line drive in the hole. One inning later, Pena made a nice play to short-hop a throw from left fielder Brett Gardner and slap the tag on Mike Napoli as he tried to advance from first base on Brandon Wood‘s single.The Yankees got on the board first with an RBI double by Swisher in the second inning and added three more in the fourth. Cervelli, who made his fourth start behind the plate in place of Jorge Posada with the Yankees playing a day game after a night game, hit a two-run single with the bases loaded and Derek Jeter followed with an RBI single.The defending World Series champions tacked on two more in the fifth. Gardner led off the fifth with a triple, his third hit of the game, and scored on a single by Cano — who came around on a wild pitch, a passed ball and a single by Swisher to make is 6-0. Pettitte then struck out the side in the bottom of the inning.Mark Teixeira drove in the Yankees’ final run with an RBI single in the seventh against Scot Shields. It was the right-hander’s first appearance since last Tuesday, when he walked three batters in the seventh inning and was charged with three runs. The Angels will continue to Shields in non-critital situations until he straightens himself out. His ERA in six outings this season is 14.55.

–Associated Press