MLB

The New York Yankees went into last night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles with a 16-8 record and have essentially gotten nothing from Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson, and Javier Vazquez.

I guess that might be all relative because they have gotten some unreal production from guys like Francisco Cervelli, Marcus Thames, Andy Pettitte, and Brett Gardner. But going back to the players who have struggled, perhaps the biggest concern for the Yankees in the long run is Vazquez.

Upsets can be defined many ways.

When you think of upsets in American sports you will probably think of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” where the upstart men’s college hockey team defeated the alien USSR for the gold medal in the winter Olympics.

In major league baseball, there are no upsets like that.

During the regular season that word isn’t even mentioned. Teams go through hot and cold spells, face all sorts of pressures and expectations from sources that are never seen or heard from, and in general play for the marathon, not a single series.

With Curtis Granderson on the 15-day disabled list, Yankees outfielder Randy Winn will receive significant playing time in the outfield.

On Monday night, he provided the power stroke with a three-run home run to help lead New York past Baltimore, 4-1, at Yankee Stadium.

CC Sabathia (4-1) pitched eight innings of one-run ball to earn the win, while Jeremy Guthrie (0-4) suffered the loss.

Joba Chamberlain pitched the ninth for his first save of the season. Mariano Rivera was unavailable due to stiffness in his left side.

My Double G Sports fantasy baseball team which is competing in the Battle of the Blogs continues to struggle and has hit a new low. I am now officially in last place in the Willie Mays Division and am ranked 13 out of 20 teams.

Ubaldo Jimenez looks like the best pitcher in baseball.  Rich Harden and Jake Peavy appear to have turned things around.  Adrian Beltre homered for the first time.  Let’s look at these stories and all the rest from yesterday’s games:

Pitchers:

Game number 20 of 162 in the Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight summer-long journey featured a game that provided a whopping 25 runs on 32 hits between two struggling A.L. powerhouses.

Game No. 20 — Anaheim Angels vs. Boston Red Sox

NATS' HISTORIC APRIL

With no game Monday evening, the Washington Nationals (13-12) can look ahead to their upcoming series with the Atlanta Braves (11-14).

While just one game above .500 now, the Nationals went 13-10 in April, posting a winning record in the month for the first time since the franchise moved to Washington.

With star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman returning after missing eight games so far, optimism abounds at Nationals Park.

EAST UP, A-TOWN DOWN

Whether it is conditioning, better use in the earlier part of careers, or simply positional evolution, any fan can recognize the trend of older pitchers lasting longer than ever.

While we will likely never see a post-40 year old run like Nolan Ryan had to close his career, the likelihood of being an effective pitcher, from the rotation or the pen, is higher than ever. Who, however, are the best?

News flash: Ubaldo Jimenez is good.

This is an All-Star starting lineup, as would be voted by the fans (if the fans actually knew what they were doing), plus a starting rotation and one relief pitcher.

But this is one fan's opinion: mine. It was an easy exercise. There were several somewhat close calls, but nothing which I had to wring my hands over.

All numbers displayed are from the month of April only, and nothing these players did in the first couple of games in May had any impact.