Mets 10, Nationals 8: Oliver Perez pitched as he did in the first half of the season (poorly), and the Mets were in trouble. Manager Jerry Manuel had to turn to his relief corps with only one out in the fourth inning. So what happened? Nelson Figueroa allowed two inherited runners to score, but, after that, the relievers allowed only one run in 5 2/3 innings. Not too shabby. Joe Smith got the win with......

Mets 7, Braves 3: The bad-bullpen shoe is on the other foot, at least for one day. The Mets jumped out to an early lead -- what else is new? -- on a David Wright sacrifice fly and a Fernando Tatis ground-rule double in the first. The Braves got three back off Oliver Perez in the third, however, and the Mets' bats were shut down. Trailing 3-2 in the eighth, the Mets got a two-run......

Left photograph of Jerry Manuel taking the ball away from relief pitcher Carlos Muniz (left) with catcher Brian Schneider watching by Alan Diaz/AP and right photograph of catcher Jose Molina talking to pitcher Mike Mussina by Bill Kostroun/AP Marlins 7, Mets 3: This game started by everyone hailing the continued resurrection of Fernando Tatis (who hit an RBI triple in the second). It ended with the Mets barely clinging to a half-game lead over......

Red Sox 6, Yankees 4: If Johnny Damon had caught the ball, things might have turned out differently. With the Yankees leading, 3-1, and two Red Sox on base, Kevin Youkilis lifted a high drive to left field, and Damon appeared to have it in his glove. Then gravity kicked in, Damon returned to Earth, and, after literally hanging on top of the wall, the ball fell to the warning track. That proved to be the turning point. ...

Cincinnati 4 Yankees 2: It has been 32 years since the Reds last appeared at Yankee Stadium and they picked up where they left off. In 1976, it was a two-game sweep to win the World Series. In 2008, the stakes were not as high, but the Reds had Edinson Volquez, the best pitcher in the NL so far, on the mound and he delivered. Volquez earned his 10th win of the season, allowing only......

Yankees 6 Kansas City 3: Start number two for Joba was longer and somewhat better. Chamberlain lasted 78 pitches, which translated to 4-1/3 innings, striking out five and allowing three runs. He really made only one bad mistake, a hanging slider that Jose Guillen crunched for his 10th home run of the season. Johnny Damon continued his hot hitting with two more hits and scored two runs. Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi both hit home......

Yankees 12, Royals 11: Coming up six times in a nine-inning game is tough enough. Getting a hit in each of those at-bats is almost unheard of. Johnny Damon did just that, however, tying an American League record for a nine-inning game and matching a Yankees record for most in any game. His sixth hit was the sweetest, as it was a line-drive single in the bottom of the ninth that plated Wilson Betemit for......

Photograph of Mets catcher Brian Schneider tagging out the Yankees' Johnny Damon at the plate during the third inning by Julie Jacobson/AP (Damon tried to score from first base on a double by Bobby Abreu. ) Mets 7, Yankees 4: With ace Johan Santana on the mound, the Mets had to have this game. They got it. Santana shook off three Yankees home runs -- and got some help by the Yankees' questionable baserunning --......

Photograph of Yankee players celebrating their 6-3 win over the Cleveland Indians--from left, Wilson Betemit (14), Melky Cabrera (28), Robinson Cano (24) Derek Jeter (2), Johnny Damon (18) and Bobby Abreu, right--by Frank Franklin II/AP Yankees 6, Indians 3: Consider for a moment what situation the Yankees would have been in if they had lost this game. They would have been 3-6 (with the six losses coming in two sweeps) on a nine-game homestand......

Photograph of Mets relief pitcher Duaner Sanchez, center, surrounded by infielders, from left, Raul Casanova, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Damion Easley and Carlos Delgado as manager Willie Randolph, lower right, comes out to the mound to take out Sanchez after the Arizona Diamondbacks scored five runs in the eighth inning by Paul Connors/AP Yankees 6, Mariners 1: Johnny Damon had two doubles and a home run and Mike Mussina pitched six innings of one-run......

Yankees 9 White Sox 5: Bobby Abreu had a huge grand slam in the seventh to put the Yankees up 6-3 and Johnny Damon added a 3-run shot in the 8th to put the game safely out of reach. Chien-Ming Wang was shaky, but fought through six innings and got the win. It is the 50th win of his career and Wang becomes the fastest pitcher to win 50 games since Dwight Gooden did it......

Yankees 7, Orioles 1: Sunday would have been bleak indeed if the Yankees hadn't gotten to Steve Trachsel. They weren't dancing on their flight to Chicago however; Alex Rodriguez strained his quadriceps and is "day-to-day," which probably means he is missing a few games. Andy Pettitte took a perfect game into the fifth inning and looked fine in his seven innings of work. Even a previously dormant Johnny Damon went deep to help his team......

Tampa 6 Yankees 3: After five games the biggest question in Yankeeland is what happened to the offense? 15 runs scored in five games is not what anyone expected from this team, but that’s where the Yankees stand thanks to some anemic hitting. It’s a collective slump with every regular not named Abreu, Rodriguez or Cabrera struggling. Some of the noteworthy failures right now are Jason Giambi is 1-for-12 (.083) Johnny Damon 2-for-18 (.111) and......

Photos of Michelle Damon from SI.com Gracing newsstands and mailboxes around the nation yesterday was one of the highlights of winter - the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. While Marisa Miller was the model that made the cover, SI continued the tradition of featuring the wives of the athletes that are typically covered in its pages. One was Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon's wife Michelle. In the magazine, she's complimented on her body by photographer Marlena......

Cleveland 6 Yankees 4: The 2007 Yankees’ season ended as it began, in disarray. Chien-Ming Wang didn’t make it out of the second inning and while Mike Mussina was reasonably effective, he left with a 6-1 deficit. Meanwhile, Paul Byrd managed to shut down the Yankees’ offense. Somehow, Byrd pitched around 10 base runners in five innings and the Yankees squandered numerous opportunities to score. In a way, that was the story of this......

Yankees 8 Indians 4: It looked bleak in the third inning. Already down 2-0, the Yankees watched Roger Clemens hobble off the mound with a hamstring injury. But, Phil Hughes came in and stabilized things and Johnny Damon hit a huge three-run home run to put New York ahead. After Trot Nixon misplayed a Robinson Cano single into a three-run event, the Yankees had seized control of the game and reversed the momentum in......

Blue Jays 2, Yankees 1: Ian Kennedy would have signed up for one hit allowed in seven innings. The hit was a run-scoring double -- on a ball that Melky Cabrera should have caught.Too bad A.J. Burnett looked just as sharp while holding the Yankees to only a Johnny Damon solo homer. Then Chris Britton allowed a a run-scoring single in the ninth, and a seven-game winning streak went up in smoke. With Phil Hughes......

Yankees 9 Toronto 2: Alex Rodriguez didn’t hit a home run, ending his streak at five-straight games. He did manage two hits, but it was some other Yankees that shouldered the offensive load for a change. Johnny Damon had a great game, going 3-for-5 and making an outstanding catch. Jason Giambi woke his slumbering bat with a grand slam and Jorge Posada added two hits and a home run. Phil Hughes did just enough and......

Yankees 11, Royals 5: Good thing the Yankees didn't make that Alex Rodriguez for Ervin Santana move this offseason. Rodriguez hit two homers -- Nos. 50 and 51 -- as the Yankees cruised past the Royals. Detroit beat Seattle again, so the wild-card lead stands at three games. Johnny Damon, who looked like a corpse for most of the season, has played better of late. He socked his 10th homer as the Yankees gave plenty......

Yankees 5, Red Sox 3: This game wasn't important in the American League East race. If a miracle occurs over the next three weeks, it may be looked upon as signifcant, but right now it simply helps the Yankees in their quest to make the playoffs as the wild card. Andy Pettitte threw seven innings of three-run ball, and the Yankees broke a 3-3 tie when Johnny Damon homered off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the seventh......

Mets 4, Dodgers 3: The performance of the Mets bullpen and of Carlos Delgado haven't exactly inspired fear recently, so when Orlando Hernandez pitched deep into the game and Delgado actually hit, things were going pretty well. Hernandez threw for 7 great innings, allowing only 2 runs by the Dodgers and retired 12-straight at one point. Delgado used the game to break out of a 0-19 slump at the plate. Dropped all the way down......

Mets 8, Nationals 2: After fooling around with some of the National League's weaker teams, the Mets finished a sweep in Washington with this drubbing. Carlos Beltran led the way with two homers. His trip to the disabled list seems to have helped him out of his slump. Orlando Hernandez, who said his team had "good offense" and "good defense," won his fourth straight decision. He hasn't lost since July 4. Yankees 9, Tigers 3:......

Yankees 7, Royals 1: Kansas City has looked tough against some other teams in the American League, but the Yankees haven't had any trouble with the Royals. Robinson Cano's homer started things off in a way his teammates have been used to. Then the Yankees got the rest of their runs through less explosive means. Joe Torre's lineup worked out well -- Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon combined to go 5-for-9 with a walk in......

Mets 5, Nationals 0 (5 innings): John Maine lasted five innings. Normally that wouldn't that be that good, but then the rains came, the game was called 90 minutes later and Maine had a complete-game one-hitter. Don't look past Maine's battery-mate, Ramon Castro, who went 2-for-2 with a home run and has looked great when he's seen the time. Would the Mets be a better team with him as the regular catcher and Paul......

Devil Rays 14, Yankees 4: Pitchers can go from cruising to losing in a matter of batters. Mike Mussina's propensity to allow home runs makes him especially prone to such reversals of fortunes. He looked good for two innings on Friday but couldn't finish the fifth. Four games at home against the Devil Rays might look like a well-wrapped Christmas present, but with Matt DeSalvo and Kei Igawa scheduled to start both ends of......

Yankees 3 Blue Jays 2 (10 innings): This was a wild one. Andy Pettitte and Roy Halliday pitched brilliantly each allowing only one run before turning it over to the bullpens and that’s when things really got interesting. First up was Kyle Farnsworth, who grows more useless by the day. Farnsworth managed to put the go-ahead run into scoring position with a wild pickoff throw and the Blue Jays ended up taking a 2-1 lead......

Oakland 7 Yankees 0: Not only did the Yankees lose on Saturday, but they managed only a single hit in the game, Johnny Damon’s single to center in the sixth. Apart from that, they were totally embarrassed, giving a half-assed performance in another utterly forgettable game in an utterly forgettable season. The Yankees’ offense is completely off the tracks and it won’t matter what trade they make if players like Damon, Abreu, Cano and......

Jason Giambi has decided to talk. The Yankees DH, who faced a Thursday deadline from Major League Baseball to cooperate with their steroid investigation, decided yesterday to cooperate with baseball's steroid investigator George Mitchell. Giambi will have the inauspicious title of being the first known active player in baseball to talk to Mitchell, the former Senate majority leader. After speaking yesterday with Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball, Giambi released a statement announcing his cooperation.......

Yankees 5 White Sox 1:If the Yankees are going to get off the deck and get back into playoff contention, they will need a lot more nights like this. Chien-Ming Wang was brilliant, going the distance while allowing only one run and six baserunners. Wang also struck out four as he cruised to an easy win, his fifth of the season. The Yankees scored the bulk of their runs in the fourth. Johnny Damon......

Yankees 6, Red Sox 2: Chien-Ming Wang didn't have his best stuff, but he still held himself together long enough for the Yankees to take the opener of this critical three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Alex Rodriguez homered for the third straight game, and the Yankees are back within single digits of the Red Sox in the American League East after winning their second straight game. Jason Giambi also hit a long blast. The offense......