Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Yankees.com: Onslaught helps Drabek drop Yankees
TORONTO—The Blue Jays broke out of their recent slump at the plate, slugging four home runs to snap a three-game losing streak with an 8-1 victory over the Yankees on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre.
J.P. Arencibia started the offensive attack in the bottom of the second inning off New York starter Hiroki Kuroda. Arencibia, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, sent a 3-1 slider over the wall in left-center field for his fourth home run of the season, giving Toronto an early 2-0 lead.
I was watching a special about the Yellowstone super volcano the other day. The magma chamber is three times the size of New York City and the fallout from an eruption would probably cover three-fourths of the United States. According to a study commissioned by the BBC ash from such an eruption would eventually reach Europe. If the Yellowstone caldera were to go off it would almost certainly be the biggest disaster in human history, surpassing the 2012 Yankees.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Yankees.com: Without much help, CC handed first defeat
BALTIMORE—The Yankees’ offense lagged against Wei-Yin Chen and the Orioles handed CC Sabathia his first loss of the season, posting a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday at Camden Yards.
Chen, a 26-year-old product of Taiwan, enjoyed some success against the Yankees in his first Major League start, on April 10, and was able to improve upon that, blanking New York through the first six innings.
I’m not sure what looked worse. The Yankee offense or CC. Either way, it was a well-deserved loss, but at least the Yankees didn’t need to use their closer.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Yankees.com: Pettitte celebrated, but falls to Mariners
Pettitte, making his first start in nearly 600 days, turned back the clock to 2010 Sunday, when he controlled Seattle early but fell to a 6-2 loss on a pair of two-run home runs. The left-hander said he didn’t feel any rust from his layover and that his velocity and location were good enough to win.
I didn’t get to see the game so I’d be interested to hear how people thought Pettitte looked. My first impression is that giving up four runs to a putrid Seattle team isn’t necessarily a good start, but it’s only one game.
As for the rest of the team, it’s pretty annoying to see them light up James Shields, David Price and Felix Hernandez then get stifled by Kevin Freaking Millwood, but I think taking four of six on this home stand is pretty good.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Yankees.com: Ibanez’s blast helps Yankees solve Felix
One night after the Bombers knocked around the Rays’ David Price, Raul Ibanez’s three-run homer helped power an 11-hit assault on Felix Hernandez as the Yankees toppled the Mariners, 6-2, on Friday at Yankee Stadium.
“I think that things are definitely coming around offensively; guys are swinging the bats well,” said Ibanez, whose sixth-inning blast off Hernandez put New York in command. “We’ve been having some good swings together as a group.”
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Yankees.com: CC fans 10 Rays in fifth straight win
NEW YORK—In a battle of top-tier lefties, Yankees ace CC Sabathia outdueled Rays southpaw David Price for the first time in his career and the Yankees took a series victory with a 5-3 win over the visiting Rays on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
It was the sixth time the two All-Stars have gone head-to-head, but just the first time the Yankees have won such a meeting.
I’m surprised by that last sentence. I knew they’d matched up quite a few times, but I didn’t think the Yankees had never won one of them.
NY Times: Robertson Fails in Second Test as Closer, Giving Up 4 Runs
If Dave Robertson is going to follow in Rivera’s footsteps, then he, too, must learn this difficult trick. After blowing his first save as Rivera’s successor on Wednesday night, he has the opportunity to show the Yankees how he will respond.
One day after he pitched his way out of a jam to earn his first save of the season, Robertson put himself in the same situation Wednesday, but his good fortune ran out. He gave up four runs in the ninth inning — the first runs he allowed since Aug. 21 — as the Tampa Bay Rays stunned the Yankees, 4-1. The last three runs came on a homer by Matt Joyce.
Robertson was going to give up some runs at some point. It just stinks that it happened last night. Should the AL East come down to a game or two between Tampa Bay and the Yankees at the end of the year, we can look back at two costly blown saves. Last night’s by Robertson and Opening Day by Mo.
On a somewhat related note.
Players A, B, C and D
| player | PA | AB | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | avg | obp | slg | ops |
| A | 521 | 447 | 114 | 20 | 1 | 18 | 53 | 70 | .255 | .336 | .425 | .761 |
| B | 521 | 476 | 135 | 26 | 1 | 23 | 43 | 99 | .283 | .345 | .488 | .833 |
| C | 521 | 455 | 117 | 24 | 3 | 14 | 47 | 91 | .256 | .327 | .410 | .737 |
| D | 521 | 477 | 117 | 25 | 2 | 15 | 40 | 101 | .246 | .309 | .401 | .710 |
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Yankees.com: Ibanez’s homers return Nova to win column
Nova turned in arguably his best outing of the season during a rainy evening at Yankee Stadium, striking out eight and leading the Yankees to a 5-3 win over the Rays that saw former setup man David Robertson record his first save since Mariano Rivera sustained a season-ending right knee injury last week in Kansas City.
Raul Ibanez homered twice, including a long two-run blast, and Curtis Granderson belted a solo shot, his 10th of the year, to provide the offense as the Yankees toppled James Shields, posting their third victory in four games.
This game felt like a playoff game to me, and it was a tight one with a lot of tension and drama. Nova was very good except for the continued HR issue he’s been having this year, and he reward Joe Girardi’s faith by pitching out of a big jam to end the 7th in what may have been the key point in the game.
Robertson got his first save of the year, hopefully the first of many, although it took loading the bases and facing Carlos Pena to get it. I’m not worried about Robertson at all, but I do have concerns about the bridge to him.
And I have to say that I’m happy to see Ibanez exceeding my admittedly low expectations for him. He seems like a good guy and I hope he can continue to do so.
But mostly it was nice to finally beat the Rays after losing seven straight to them going back to last year, although some of those losses felt like wins.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Yankees.com: Hughes makes Yankees’ outburst hold up
KANSAS CITY—Phil Hughes brought more than just an extra-zippy fastball with him as he returned to the mound for the seventh inning on Sunday. He seemed to be carrying a few extra ounces of his manager’s trust.
Hughes’ strong effort earned him a chance to head back out and wrap up an impressive day of work in which he made a big lead stand up for a 10-4 win over the Royals that figures to keep him in the Yankees’ starting rotation.
I just finished watching my DVR of the game, and Hughes looked the best he’s looked all year. He was hitting 95 in the 7th inning and was actually somewhat efficient for most of the game, getting through several innings with fewer than 20 pitches. I’m still not sure he’s going to end the year as an effective member of the starting rotation, but over his last four starts he’s walked 4.4% of the batters he’s faced while striking out 21.1%. A ratio like that is generally an indicator of someone who can be a successful pitcher, even if his 7.52 RA over that stretch disagrees.
The lineup looks a lot better with Nick Swisher back in it, and hopefully he’ll be joined by Brett Gardner soon, and then maybe the Yankees can move out of fourth place.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Yankees.com: CC wins fourth straight after Yanks erupt late
KANSAS CITY—Eduardo Nunez’s go-ahead RBI triple opened the floodgates in a four-run seventh inning as the Yankees rallied to top the Royals, 6-2, on Friday at Kauffman Stadium.
Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter also homered as New York snapped its three-game losing skid behind eight strong innings from ace CC Sabathia, who won his fourth straight start.
That was a much needed win, more to regain sanity than anything else.
Also, For now, Robertson, Soriano will split ninth.
This seems like a good idea if it means using Robertson in the higher leverage situations.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
NJ.com: Carig: Phil Hughes is just okay for Yankees in 7-1 loss to Orioles
In what ultimately went down as a 7-1 loss to the Orioles, Hughes gave his team a chance to win, departing with the Yankees trailing only by two runs.
For others, allowing four runs in 5⅔ innings is hardly a cause for celebration. But for Hughes, whose season until Tuesday night had been marked by short, brutish appearances, it was a step forward.
It was tentative step, but a step nonetheless, and both Hughes and the Yankees seemed eager to take it.
Perhaps it is why the crowd gave the pitcher a lukewarm round of applause, despite the fact that Hughes displayed some of the same issues that have plagued him all year.
It was almost certainly Hughes’s best start of the year, but it still wasn’t a great one. I did see enough to think that if Hughes eventually winds up back in the bullpen, he’ll be pretty good there, because he got his fastball up to 95 and he probably had his best curve of the year on top of it. Until Andy Pettitte is ready to return Hughes is safe in the rotation, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens if David Phelps outpitches him in the rotation until then.
As for the rest of the team, feh. Aside from Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson,there’s really no compelling reason to watch them right now. I don’t expect it to last, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating to watch right now.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Yankees.com: Efficient Kuroda helps own cause to top O’s
NEW YORK—Hiroki Kuroda turned in a stellar seven-inning effort and Eric Chavez slugged a two-run homer, as the Yankees defeated the Orioles, 2-1, on Monday at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees received a strong starting performance for a second straight day, as Kuroda followed up CC Sabathia’s winning effort with a gem of his own, permitting just one run on four hits and saving the lead with his own defensive play at home plate.
Kuroda looked like he had nothing over the first two innings as seemingly every ball was hit hard, but he settled down nicely to give the Yankees seven innings of one-run ball. His final play of the game was probably the most important one. The Orioles had the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second with two outs in the seventh when a pitch got away from Russell Martin. It rolled into foul territory but not all that far and the Orioles gambled by sending the runner but Martin was able to retrieve the ball and flip it to Kuroda who beat the runner to the plate and applied the tag to the end the inning. The Orioles could not muster anything against David Robertson or Mariano Rivera over the final two innings and the Yankees had a nice win in a rare briskly played pitcher’s duel.
I’m enjoying watching Kuroda pitch so far and hope he can keep it going. I’d take a 3.69 ERA from him over the rest of the year.
I was not particularly enamored with the Eric Chavez re-signing, but so far he’s been great. I don’t know if he’ll stay healthy or keep it up all year, but he’s probably already been worth his salary.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Yankees.com: CC sharp as Yankees take series from Tigers
NEW YORK—CC Sabathia turned in his sharpest outing of the young season, Curtis Granderson homered and drove in a pair of runs and the Yankees defeated the Tigers, 6-2, on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees scraped together just enough from their numerous opportunities to score against Tigers starter Max Scherzer, posting a victory even after stranding an eye-popping 15 men on base.
Hoping for a deep outing to assist a taxed bullpen, the Yankees got what they needed from Sabathia, as the ace left-hander pitched eight innings and limited the Tigers to two runs as he charged to his third consecutive victory.
I guess we can stop worrying about CC for now.
Nick Swisher left the game with a low-grade hamstring strain, which may not necessarily require a DL stint, but will probably keep him out of action for a few games. I guess this means more Raul Ibanez follies in the OF.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Yankees.com: Garcia ousted early as rallying Yanks fall
NEW YORK—Freddy Garcia is long removed from blowing fastballs by hitters, but he found a second life as a soft-tosser who hit the corners exceptionally. Those days, too, seem to be fading further and further into the rear-view mirror.
Loud boos showered the veteran as he was sent to a second-inning exit on Saturday, and Garcia may have pitched himself out of New York’s rotation with his latest clunker, hit hard for six runs as the Tigers defeated the Yankees, 7-5, at Yankee Stadium.
We can now complete SG’s trend line for Freddy:
April 10: 4.2 IP, 4 R
April 16: 5.2 IP, 5 R
April 21: 1.2 IP, 5 R
April 28: 1.2 IP, 6 R
Friday, April 27, 2012
Yankees.com: Yanks use passed ball to walk off vs. Tigers
NEW YORK—Derek Jeter raced home to score the winning run on a passed ball in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Yankees defeated the Tigers, 7-6, on Friday at Yankee Stadium.
Brayan Villarreal recorded the first out of the ninth inning, but Jeter walked and moved to third base on a wild pitch as Curtis Granderson walked.
The last pitch skipped away from catcher Alex Avila and rolled to the backstop as Alex Rodriguez waved home Jeter, who slid home and called himself safe as Villarreal couldn’t catch the throw to the plate.
The play of the game, of course, was this defensive gem. The hat flying off as he slides/falls-flat-on-his-face is what makes it for me.
Hurry back, Brett.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Yankees.com: With 10 Ks, Darvish breezes past Yanks
ARLINGTON—Right-hander Yu Darvish was electric across 8 1/3 innings, leading the Rangers to a 2-0 victory over the Yankees at Rangers Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Darvish, helped by a couple of outstanding plays by shortstop Elvis Andrus, outpitched Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda in only the seventh game in Major League history to be started by two Japanese-born pitchers.
Darvish was really good, and Kuroda was good as well. I can’t wait to read all the awful ‘Yu’ puns in the NY fish wraps tomorrow.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Yankees.com: Jeter’s four hits help CC top Texas
ARLINGTON—The Yankees believed their trip to Texas could be a good measurement of how they would stack up against the American League’s best competition thus far, and the early results suggest they’re doing just fine.
CC Sabathia pitched eight innings in what was arguably his sharpest start of the young season, Alex Rodriguez homered and Derek Jeter banged out four hits as the Yankees defeated the Rangers, 7-4, on Monday at Rangers Ballpark.
I think Sabathia pitched much better than the four runs allowed would have you believe. Fortunately for him his offense gave him seven runs so it can be considered a gutsy performance instead of a disappointing one.
Derek Jeter’s continuing resurgence is the story of the season so far though in my mind. He now leads the AL in hits and these aren’t cheap for the most part. He’s hitting the ball hard to the outfield consistently and it’s been great to watch.
If the Yankees can take one of the next two games, this road trip will have been a resounding success.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Yankees.com: Down nine early, gutsy Yanks stun Boston
BOSTON—Nick Swisher drove in six runs, including a grand slam, and Mark Teixeira homered twice as the Yankees scored 15 unanswered runs and charged back from nine runs down, stunning the Red Sox, 15-9, on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Swisher connected for his first grand slam in a Yankees uniform as part of a seven-run seventh inning against three Boston relievers that also included a three-run Teixeira blast, as 11 Yankees batters came to the plate in the frame.
Facing former Yankees righty Alfredo Aceves in the eighth, Swisher belted the go-ahead hit, a two-run double to deep center field, as New York also batted around in that seven-run frame. Aceves had been manager Bobby Valentine’s last resort in a game that the Red Sox led, 9-0, after five innings.
I guess I shouldn’t have turned the game off after the second inning.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Yankees.com: After honoring Fenway, Yanks pound Sox
Honoring the oldest operating facility in the big leagues, Boston was attired in replicas of what the club would have worn on April 20, 1912, as the gates along Yawkey Way opened, just five days after the sinking of the Titanic.
The Red Sox won that opening game, 7-6, in 11 innings, but behind a 15th consecutive winning decision from right-hander Ivan Nova and the Yankees’ offensive power, New York spoiled any chances of a historic reprisal early.
Dustin Pedroia dropped a Derek Jeter popup that led to an unearned first-inning run before Swisher and Chavez teed off on Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz for solo homers in the second inning.
Chavez added a second homer in the fourth frame off Buchholz, and Rodriguez slugged the 631st of his big league career over the Green Monster in the fifth, passing former Mariners teammate Ken Griffey Jr. for sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list.
I can’t wait to watch the replay of this one.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Yankees.com: Yanks to Twins: CC you later!
It was a night of early exits in the Bronx: Denard Span and Ron Gardenhire were ejected and Francisco Liriano lasted 2 1/3 frames. CC Sabathia, meanwhile, settled in for his first win, with big hits from Chris Stewart and Andruw Jones.
My cable box thought I’d enjoy watching it initialize itself for a few hours so I didn’t get to see much of the game after the third. From what I saw, CC looked shaky, but it appears that he did much better as the game wore on. I’m still not sure he showed enough to think he’s about to go on a dominant run, but I’ll take the incremental improvement, even if it’s against one of the lesser offensive teams in the league.
Brett Gardner didn’t make the recap highlights, but he went 2 for 2 with 2 walks, all against LHP I believe, making his case that he should not be a platoon player. I agree with said case. You do have to rest him and Granderson some, and it’s probably smart to do that vs. LHP, but they should both still probably play a fair amount against them.
Yankees.com: Yankees’ hot start fizzles in loss to Twins
NEW YORK—Joe Girardi offered up a prophecy Monday afternoon that he’d rather have not seen come true.
Just hours before his club took the field for the series opener against the visiting Twins—who have had remarkably little success at Yankee Stadium over the last 10 years—Girardi noted how formidable the heart of Minnesota’s order is again, with the resurgent health of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, and the addition of outfielder Josh Willingham.
As formidable as the heart of the Yankees’ order?
Losing to the Twins at home is not something that can be spun. They stink, and now the Yankees have to try and make up for it. Taking the next three games would be a start to that.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Yankees.com: Jeter’s homer helps Yankees outslug Angels
NEW YORK—Derek Jeter cracked a three-run homer and Ivan Nova turned in six effective innings for the victory as the Yankees defeated the Angels, 11-5, on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
Mark Teixeira had two hits, including a run-scoring double, as part of a four-run third inning that sent Angels starter Jerome Williams to an early exit.
Jeter’s second blast of the year was a line drive into the right-field seats off Hisanori Takahashi in the fourth inning, opening up a seven-run lead and providing Nova with a large cushion to cruise toward his second victory of the year.
The Angels made it a three-run game by the seventh, when Albert Pujols knocked in a run with a single facing an ineffective Rafael Soriano, but David Robertson bailed the Yankees out of a bases-loaded jam to escape the inning.
It’s nice when the Yankee offense graces us with their presence, isn’t it? Derek Jeter can’t carry this team alone all season.
Nova’s final line doesn’t look all that great, but I thought he pitched pretty well over most of the game. He continued to show the separation in his walks and strikeouts that are an indication that he’s not pitching over his head with 2 BB and 8 K, but he gave up 2 HRs and 4 runs so it was a mixed outing.
The Yankees have won 5 of 6 after starting the year 0 for 3 against the juggernaut Rays. The schadenfreude-lover in me also is happy that the Angels weren’t able to leave this series feeling they’ve “turned their season around” and that Albert Pujols didn’t really break out. I still think they’re a good team and will be in contention until the end of the year, but let that start after tonight.
A 5-4 record feels meh, but it’s about where we should have realistically expected them to be at this point. The home series against the Twins starting tomorrow seems like a good opportunity to try and move ahead of those expectations.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Yankees.com: Hughes chased early; Yanks can’t recover
NEW YORK—With too many starting pitching options for five spots, each turn through the Yankees’ rotation is essentially another audition. Phil Hughes didn’t provide an encouraging one on Saturday.
The right-hander served up six runs in 3 1/3 inefficient innings, including homers to Chris Iannetta and Howard Kendrick, as the Angels roughed up the Yankees, 7-1, at Yankee Stadium.
I didn’t see any of Hughes’s innings, so I can’t tell you how he looked. In comparing his last start to this one, here are some stats.
| Date | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | BF | P/BF | BB/BF | K/BF |
| 8-Apr | 4.7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 4.71 | 9.5% | 23.8% |
| 14-Apr | 3.3 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 4.20 | 10.0% | 30.0% |
I guess we can be happy that he was more efficient on a per batter basis. Other than that, it’s tough to see much to be happy about with this outing.
Hughes probably gets at least three more starts before the Yankees have to make a decision about whether he should be bumped for someone. Hopefully he makes the decision harder than it is looking to be right now.
Even if Hughes had pitched much better and held the Angels to say, two runs, it wouldn’t have mattered today. I was bothered by the fact that the Yankees seemingly had no interest in C.J. Wilson this offseason, although I didn’t know about their payroll mandate at the time. Time will tell if they’ll regret that decision, but at least today I’m sure they did.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Yankees.com: Superb Kuroda leads Yanks in Bronx opener
NEW YORK—Hiroki Kuroda worked eight-plus stellar innings in his Yankee Stadium debut and Nick Swisher cleared the bases with a three-run double as the Yankees defeated the Angels, 5-0, on Friday in their home opener.
Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson also homered in the victory for New York, as the Bombers won for the 14th time in their last 15 home openers, including three of four at the new ballpark. Rodriguez’s fourth-inning homer was the 630th of his career, tying him with Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth on the all-time list.
I only got to see bits and pieces but I look forward to watching the replay of Kuroda’s performance. Pretty much the home opener you’d draw up on paper if you could. A great starting pitcher performance, Swisher putting the team up 3-0 in the first inning., Rodriguez going 3 for 4 with a SB and showing that perhaps there’s still some life left in him, and most importantly a win.
If we revisit this, the Yankees have now gotten their record back to where it should have been after seven games. According to log5 the Yankees would have been 3.82 - 3.18 at this point, and they’re 4-3. Yay.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The Adventures of Clay Rapada’s First Yankees Win
One of my stranger inner routines during the offseason involves contemplating random baseball games from April’s long faded away, daydreaming about middle infielders wearing ski-masks while turning double plays and chilly pitchers breathing into the palms of their hands. Usually this type of reverie arises while stuck in traffic, windshield wipers creaking against my car’s ice stained windows. In comparison, early season baseball seems downright romantic. (Wintertime in New York. Feel the depression! And go skate by a giant tree!)
Life is usually about context, though. The past needs to be registered and fitted into a narrative, traced directly to the present. In this sense, ballgames played in raw conditions are looked back upon fondly, for their usefulness in leading somewhere else.
The present does not always conform to context. Last night, my wintertime longing for cold weather baseball was confronted by an ugly reality. The Orioles and Yankees stirred a strange brew. The length of the game was over four hours, rendering the first inning a distant dream unfolding on a galaxy, far, far away, where Derek Jeter homered… to… dead center? (well, it was against a lefty, and against lefties, Derek Jeter still parties like it’s 1999)
The pace was sluggish. Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen ran deep counts despite issuing only one walk (though he did hit A-Rod in the first) and needed to extricate himself from jams on multiple occasions in order to post a quality big league debut. Chen’s win disintegrated when a Mark Reynolds error and Brett Gardner single tied the game in the sixth. Meanwhile, Yankees starter Freddy Garcia chucked five wild pitches, the first time that’s occurred since 1989, which was only a couple of minutes after the first inning of this very game. (Suzyn I tell ya, it was a long game)
And the quality of the game was substandard. Sure, both bullpens distinguished themselves, and the Orioles, in particular, boast a couple of electric arms flying beneath the mainstream radar. (baseball hipsters will no doubt be boasting to outsiders about the exploits of Strop and Lindstrom, with patronizing knowingness)
But the offenses must be called into account for failing to deliver repeatedly with runners in scoring position. The Yankees ended the evening 2-18, claiming the game thanks to Raul Ibanez, who launched a twelfth inning missile over the head of Nick Markakis. Strop, working his second frame, hung a slider to make the memories happen. Hanging sliders may be a cliché way to start modern day horror fiction, but clichés can retain effectiveness when utilized in a self-referential way. And keep in mind, hanging sliders are known to spin back upon their axis, freeing them to be featured in an infinite number of plots. Check your textbooks for more info.
For their part, the Orioles offered a far more modest 0-8 with runners in scoring position. Don’t feel too sorry for the Orioles, though. Tomorrow night they face a giant man who is left-handed, throws in the high nineties, and will be hurling with a vengeance after a disappointing turn on Opening Day. No doubt their strikeout prone lineup will be looking forward to that challenge.
As for the Yankees, their struggles with runners in scoring position have been frustrating in the early going, but the upshot is that they have plated enough runs to win two games, and were a Zobrist away from being over .500 as of this writing. Despite clutch approaches ranging from helpless to slapstick, (In the case of Swisher, a subtle blend of both. Hey Nick, where ya going? You dropped your bat. Nick?*) the Yankees could still head home full of pride and hubris with a win in the series finale. And that’s how we like our Yankees.
They owe Clay Rapada, Cory Wade, and David Phelps a debt for being in a potentially comfortable position. Rapada fooled Robert Andino to end the eleventh inning, on a strike three breaking ball that floated down the middle, like a lonely snowflake landing in an abandoned parking lot. Considering Rapada was facing off against a right-handed hitter, who are transformed into genetically altered Jimmie Foxx-bots by his presence, it was a horrifying situation. But Rapada succeeded, as had his predecessor, Cory Wade, whose floating curve balls baffled the Orioles over two and a third sudden (metaphorical) death (!) innings. Freshman David Phelps impressed in long relief, soaking up the innings left abandoned by Wildman Garcia. Mariano Rivera recorded his first save, and I wasn’t quite able to see where he left his initials on this particular painting, though fans with DVR could give me an update.
Overall, the game may have been a difficult watch at times, but there’s no question I will recall it fondly months from now, part of a sweet prologue. The mind can play tricks. And sometimes, like the tricks played by Wade and Rapada, the deception works.
*I kid Nick because I’m a fan. When someone badmouths him I just start throwing things and screaming .800 OPS! .800 .OPS! until the authorities arrive.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Yankees.com; Ibanez ends drama as Yanks prevail in 12
BALTIMORE—Raul Ibanez provided the Yankees with the big hit that they’d been searching for all night, delivering a go-ahead ground-rule double that powered a 5-4 victory over the Orioles in 12 innings on Tuesday at Camden Yards.
I didn’t think Joe Girardi managed this game all that well, but I’m glad the team won. I didn’t really have a problem with using Boone Logan to start the ninth, particularly since he was on a short leash and got pulled as soon as the first batter reached. My primary beef was the whole sequence in the top of the 11th. After Russell Martin walked to lead off the inning, Girardi pinch-ran for him with Eduardo Nunez. The benefit to this is getting a stolen base threat into the game. Instead, Girardi had left-handed hitting Brett Gardner bunt Nunez to second against a RHP so that Derek Jeter could try to drive him in with the platoon disadvantage. This also meant that the next time Martin’s spot came up, it’d be Chris Stewart in his spot. It turned out to not matter, but I think Girardi would be better off not trying to be so active when an opportunity presents itself.
Of course if one of the Yankees #4 or #5 or #6 hitters could have gotten a hit in the fifty times they came up with a chance to drive in a runner it would have been a non-issue.
On the plus side, David Phelps was nails after a crappy outing by Freddy Garcia, as was Cory Wade. Raul Ibanez’s big hit was obviously cool, and Mariano Rivera closed it out with a perfect 12th inning, lowering his ERA to 7.71. The Yankees have a chance to head home at .500 if they can win tomorrow behind CC Sabathia, and after starting out 0-3 you can’t ask for more than that.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Yankees.com: Silent Yanks leave St. Pete empty-handed
ST. PETERSBURG—The last time the Yankees opened a season with three losses, the owner started chirping back in New York and the manager’s job security was being called into question by the tabloids.
That club won 114 games and the 1998 World Series, which provides some historical perspective for the Yankees. It is indeed early, but that removed only some of the sting after the Rays completed a season-opening three-game sweep with a 3-0 victory on Sunday.
I realize that the Yankees lost all three games in this series, but according to FIP they actually won this series 2-1. So there’s that.
Optimistic posts only please. Any one complaining will be banned.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Yankees.com: Mo proves human, as Rays deny Yankees
ST. PETERSBURG—What could well turn out to be Mariano Rivera’s final Major League season began with an Opening Day blown save, as the Rays toppled the game’s all-time saves leader to post a 7-6 victory on Friday at Tropicana Field.
Joe Girardi should get at least half of the blame for his loss. His asinine decision to intentionally walk Sean Rodriguez in the first inning probably was as big of a reason for this loss as Mo’s blown save.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Yankees.com: With no late magic, Yanks’ season ends
NEW YORK—From the first morning the Yankees unzip their bags and begin preparing for the regular season, there is one common goal they can all agree upon. For the second time in as many years, they have fallen short of it.
The Yankees’ dreams of a 28th World Series championship were packed into winter hibernation on Thursday, as the Tigers defeated New York, 3-2, in Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
Detroit became the first visiting club to celebrate clinching a postseason series on the field at the new Yankee Stadium, moving on to face the Texas Rangers in the AL Championship Series opening on Saturday.
Congratulations to the Tigers. Have fun getting swept by the Rangers.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Yankees.com: With plenty of help, Burnett forces Game 5
DETROIT—The American League Division Series is going to be decided in New York. A.J. Burnett and the Yankees staved off elimination with a 10-1 victory over the Tigers in Game 4 on Tuesday at Comerica Park.
Originally slated to be in New York’s bullpen during this series, Burnett rose to the occasion, delivering 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball to prolong the Yankees’ season for at least another two days.
Two terrific catches by center fielder Curtis Granderson aided the effort, as the former Tigers star patrolled his old stomping grounds with aplomb.
Granderson backtracked and made a leaping grab of a Don Kelly line drive to leave the bases loaded in the first inning, then made a sensational diving grab of Jhonny Peralta’s drive toward left-center with a runner on to end the sixth.
If you were going to judge A.J. Burnett’s start by his BB/K ratio and his BABIP against and his HR/FB rate, you’d probably be correct in saying he didn’t pitch all that well tonight and was at least somewhat lucky.
But if you judge a start by the results and the importance of the situation, Burnett saved his team’s season tonight. After walking the bases loaded in the first inning (one intentional), Burnett appeared to be headed for disaster, but one of the two aforementioned great Granderson catches ended the inning, and Burnett was able to pitch into the sixth while walking just one other batter. Rafael Soriano, Phil Hughes and Boone Logan retired the final 10 Tigers to close things out.
The offense struggled a bit early but by the fifth the team had built up a 4-1 lead and eventually broke things open in the eighth. So now they’ll head home for a day off before a deciding Game 5 on Thursday.
At the very least, we won’t have a repeat of the 2006 ALDS.
NY Times: Season Starting to Slip Away
For Sabathia, it was a struggle all night, particularly with Gerry Davis’s small strike zone, as he never found a groove to carry him past the sixth inning. For Verlander, it was a night to demonstrate why he will almost certainly win the Cy Young Award.
Although he was not perfect, Verlander was dominant for a long stretch of the game and led the Tigers to a 5-4 victory that gave Detroit a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-five series.
It’s tough to expect an offense to score four runs against Justin Verlander. That the Yankees were able to do that and still fall short tonight is tough to deal with. Granted, Rafael Soriano gave up the deciding run, but this game was lost because of Sabathia’s ineffectiveness. Yes, the strike zone he had to work with made it much harder to pitch well, but there’s not much you can do about that but deal with it. Unfortunately CC couldn’t.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see A.J. Burnett pitch well enough for the Yankees to beat Rick Porcello tomorrow. I don’t expect it, but it could happen.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
MLB.com: Max effort: Tigers tie up Division Series
Max Scherzer held the Yankees hitless until the sixth inning, and Joaquin Benoit escaped a seventh-inning jam as the Tigers evened the ALDS at one game apiece. Miguel Cabrera ripped a two-run homer, and he and Magglio Ordonez each pounded out three hits.
So now the Yankees have to beat Justin Verlander in Detroit to avoid facing two consecutive elimination games with A.J. Burnett pitching the first one.
At least they won the division.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Yankees.com: Suspension of disbelief: Cano puts on show
Robinson Cano missed a homer by a matter of inches on his go-ahead double, and his grand slam put the game away one night after it began as the Yankees won Game 1 of the ALDS. Ivan Nova picked up the win in relief of CC Sabathia by stifling the Tigers for 6 1/3 innings.
Nova pitched well enough in relief that I think he deserves a start.
Although Doug Fister was charged with six runs, he was pitching pretty well until the sixth. Obviously Cano had a monster day, but there were a few other key plays that I though were worth mentioning.
1) Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter and Russell Martin combining on a relay throw and tag to nail Alex Avila at home after a Jhonny Peralta single that would have given Detroit a 2-1 lead in the fifth.
2) Nova retiring Wilson Betemit on the very next play with runners on second and third. As I mentioned in the last thread, Betemit hit .307/.374/.557 vs. RHP in 2011.
3) Brett Gardner’s two-out, two-run single to push the Yankees lead to 4-1 and help set the stage for Cano’s grand slam that basically won the game.
I had no problem with how Joe Girardi handled the ninth. Nova was only around 80 pitches and he got the first out. And I was fine with using Ayala to try to close it out since the team had an eight run lead. I was also fine with using Mo to throw three pitches to close it out.
Now we just have to hope that Freddy Garcia’s smoke and mirrors act last for a few more weeks, beginning with tomorrow’s game.
With every series underway, here are my updated odds for each team’s advancing out of their respective series through tonight.
| Team | DS |
| Phillies | 77.4% |
| Brewers | 74.5% |
| Yankees | 67.6% |
| Rangers | 57.2% |
| Rays | 42.8% |
| Tigers | 32.4% |
| Diamondbacks | 25.5% |
| Cardinals | 22.6% |
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Yankees.com: FINAL: Rays 8, Yankees 7
Minutes after the Red Sox fell to the Orioles in Baltimore, Evan Longoria lined a walk-off homer down the left-field line to clinch the Wild Card for the Rays.
What a bizarre night of conflicted emotions.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Yankees.com: FINAL: Rays 5, Yankees 3
Bartolo Colon held the Rays to two runs in 5 1/3 innings, but he settled for a no-decision after Rafael Soriano allowed a go-ahead homer in the seventh in St. Pete.
Best Rafael Soriano appearance ever.
In 1996, the Yankees pulled Dwight Gooden off the scrap heap after he had pitched 40 innings in 1994 and no innings in 1995. Gooden made 29 starts and although he ended the year with an ERA of 5.01, from April 27 to August 12, he was very useful, giving the team 128 innings of 3.09 ERA, and going 10-2 in the process, including a no-hitter against the Mariners on May 14.
Gooden struggled at the end of the year, putting up an 21 innings of 10.55 ERA over his final five starts and was left off the postseason roster. It was an unfortunate way for his season to finish up, but the Yankees probably don’t get to the postseason without what he gave them in the middle of the season, and for that Yankee fans were thankful.
I don’t know how Bartolo Colon’s season is going to finish out. Although he was reasonably effective tonight, he’s clearly not throwing with the same zip he had at the start of the year. If the Yankees do decide to leave him off the postseason roster, it doesn’t change the fact that he gave the Yankees a lot of value this year, more than anyone could have reasonably expected.
And for that, Yankee fans should be thankful.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Yankees.com: Cano’s bat can’t carry Yanks alone in St. Pete
As the Yankees attempt to balance resting their regulars with serving their roles as spoilers in the American League Wild Card race, manager Joe Girardi fielded a lineup that produced mixed results.
Robinson Cano homered and notched a run-scoring single against Tampa Bay starter James Shields, who otherwise gave the Rays everything they needed. Pending the result of Boston’s game at Baltimore, the Rays’ win pulled them within a half-game of the Red Sox with two games remaining.
Best loss ever.
Pending the result of this?
Red Sox fall into WC tie as O’s barrel back
BALTIMORE—Two games left, and it’s all tied up. That is the reality the Red Sox now face as their once secure grip in the American League Wild Card standings has slipped away entirely.
This, after an 6-3 loss on Monday at Camden Yards to the 68-92 Orioles, a team that has beaten the Red Sox in four out of five meetings over the last week.
If the Red Sox don’t reverse that in the next two games, they could be going home earlier than anyone thought. The resilient Rays have come all the way back and have the same 89-71 record as Boston after beating the Yankees, 5-2, at Tropicana Field on Monday.
It was the continuation an almost surreal turn of events over the last few weeks for the Red Sox, who have gone 6-19 in September, losing nine games in the standings over that time.
Back on Aug. 17, Boston had a lead of 10 games in the AL Wild Card. Now, the Sox have two games—and perhaps a one-game playoff on Thursday—to avoid being the first team to blow a double-digit Wild Card lead since that format started in 1994.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Yankees.com: Burnett helps Yanks burn Red Sox in Game 1
NEW YORK—Nearly three years have passed, but A.J. Burnett has finally done what the Yankees asked when they chased him so passionately as a free agent: Beat the Boston Red Sox.
The right-hander hurled 7 2/3 strong innings on Sunday, defeating the skidding Red Sox, 6-2, in the first game of a day-night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
Burnett’s effort ended a string of 10 overall starts against the Red Sox—including nine as a Yankee—dating back to Sept. 19, 2008, taking advantage of a Boston club that continues to fret about their postseason chances.
While Burnett may not have a place in the first-round postseason rotation, where Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia could follow CC Sabathia in the American League Division Series, he offered some optimism for his inclusion in some form.
Burnett’s final line looks pretty good, but he was shaky early. Through four innings he’d thrown 32 strikes and 29 balls. Over the rest of the game he threw 32 strikes and just 12 balls, and ended his day by striking out the last two batters he faced. It’s only natural to wonder how much of his performance can be attributed to pitching against a Boston team that’s probably pressing versus him battling through adversity. I suppose we can say that we’ve seen that when A.J.‘s bad enough, he can make the worst team in MLB look good (the Twins), so this outing has to be viewed positively, although I’m sure it won’t be by some.
If I had to guess, he’s probably earned a shot at the postseason rotation, maybe as the #4 in the ALDS should the Yankees by some miracle be up 2-1. I’m fine with that, provided he’s got a short leash with someone like Bartolo Colon or Phil Hughes shadowing him. There’s no reason to think he’d be appreciably worse than either of them in a single start.
Tampabayrays.com: Four homers help Rays gain ground
ST. PETERSBURG—A home-run barrage coupled with an inspired pitching performance led the Rays to a 5-2 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
By winning, the Rays moved to within a half-game of the American League Wild Card-leading Red Sox, who lost to the Yankees in the first game of a day-night double-header on Sunday.
We’re about two hours away from a game that has the potential to be an absolute smorgasbord of schadenfreude.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Yankees.com: With rout, Yanks keep pressure on Boston
NEW YORK—Jesus Montero’s powerful bat has had the Yankees buzzing for years, and now the Red Sox can consider themselves introduced to the young slugger’s potential.
The 21-year-old Montero homered and drove in four runs in a three-hit performance as the Yankees trounced the Red Sox, 9-1, on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
New York pounded left-hander Jon Lester for eight runs in 2 2/3 innings, with Derek Jeter’s three-run homer highlighting a six-run second inning as Boston continues its September swoon.
Yankees right-hander Freddy Garcia completed a convincing outing as he lobbies for a start in the American League Division Series, limiting the Red Sox to six hits over six scoreless innings.
If you’d asked me before the game what I would have wanted ot see, it’d have been six good innings by Freddy Garcia and the Yankees pounding Jon Lester. Pretty much the perfect script, with Montero’s day a nice little bonus.
You have to think that this was the game in this series that Boston had the best chance to win, although I suppose one of the double-header games tomorrow will feature the House Money squad.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Yankees.com: Posada’s clutch hit delivers AL East title
NEW YORK—The New York Yankees captured their 12th American League East championship in 16 years Wednesday at Yankee Stadium with a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Pinch-hitter Jorge Posada leveled the final blow in the eighth inning, a two-out, bases-loaded single that broke a 2-2 tie and put New York ahead for good.
The win gave the Yankees a sweep of a day-night doubleheader and, combined with Boston’s loss to Baltimore, mathematically eliminated the Red Sox from contention for first place in the division.
It’s obviously been a frustrating season for Posada, who’s been a hugely important part of the Yankees over the last 15 seasons. So in that sense it was cool for Joe Girardi to give him a shot in what is very possibly going to be the last meaningful PA of his Yankee career, and even cooler to see him come through.
If you assumed the two games of this double-header were 50/50 shots and the odds of Baltimore beating Josh Beckett in Fenway were about 25%, the odds of today’s events were about 6.25%.
But they happened, and because of that the Yankees are the champions of the AL East!
A fact that I’m sure is shocking to 45 of 45 ESPN “experts”.
And the 1927 Yankees can rest easy for one more season.
Yankees.com: Yanks clinch playoff spot with eighth-inning rally
NEW YORK—The Yankees are going back to the playoffs for the 16th time in 17 seasons. Big hits by Eduardo Nunez and Robinson Cano sparked a three-run eighth inning to push New York past Tampa Bay, 4-2, in the Game 1 of a doubleheader Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
The win ensured that Tampa Bay will not win the American League East title and the Yankees will at least capture the AL Wild Card.
Two more to get the division, and four more for home field advantage.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks close in on playoff spot with win
NEW YORK—Ivan Nova solidified his case for a spot in a postseason rotation with 7 2/3 shutout innings Tuesday in a 5-0 win over the Rays at Yankee Stadium. The stellar, six-hit performance was Nova’s fifth quality start in his past six outings.
The victory furthered the cause of the team, as well, adding another game of separation between New York and third-place Tampa Bay to reduce the Yankees’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot to two. The Yankees can now clinch a playoff berth by beating the Rays in either half of their split-admission doubleheader Wednesday.
This team is insane if they are considering not starting Nova in the playoffs.
Orioles.com: Andino’s clutch double lifts Orioles
Yay!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Yankees.com: Rivera new saves king as Yanks top Twins
NEW YORK—The familiar opening guitar riff and drum beat from Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” blared, and what has become perhaps the most legendary custom in the Yankees’ rich history commenced.
As the door to the outfield bullpen opened and Mariano Rivera appeared, the Yankee Stadium crowd rose to its feet. It would grow louder still through the scoreless ninth as the ever-dominant reliever converted yet another save. This one, the 602nd of his career, was one for the record books.
In preserving New York’s 6-4 victory against the Twins on Monday afternoon in the Bronx, Rivera eclipsed Trevor Hoffman for the top spot on baseball’s all-time saves list. The win, coupled with a Boston afternoon loss, trims New York’s playoff magic number to four and the club’s magic number to win the American League East to five.
Rivera didn’t need to hold the all time saves record to be acknowledged as the best closer of all time, but it’s pretty cool that he has it.
Update: Updated AL East postseason odds through 6pm today.
| American League | |||||||
| TM | W | L | RS | RA | Div | WC | PL |
| Yankees | 97 | 65 | 863 | 656 | 97.9% | 1.9% | 99.8% |
| Red Sox | 92 | 70 | 867 | 716 | 1.7% | 80.3% | 81.9% |
| Rays | 90 | 72 | 707 | 619 | 0.4% | 16.3% | 16.8% |
| Blue Jays | 82 | 80 | 752 | 765 | 0.0% | - | - |
| Orioles | 67 | 95 | 696 | 840 | 0.0% | - | - |
W: Projected final 2011 wins
L: Projected final 2011 losses
RS: Projected final 2011 runs scored
RA: Projected final 2011 runs allowed
Div: Division win percentage
WC: Wild card win percentage
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Yankees.com: Whatever
Freddy Garcia allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings Sunday, while Yankees bats were held in check by Brandon Morrow in the series finale in Toronto
On September 6, the Yankees beat Baltimore 5-3. It was their sixth straight win and put them at 87-53, and 2.5 games up on Boston in the AL East. Actually, here are the complete AL standings on September 6.
| Tm | W | L | GB |
| NYY | 87 | 53 | — |
| BOS | 85 | 56 | 2.5 |
| TEX | 81 | 62 | 7.5 |
| DET | 80 | 62 | 8.0 |
| TBR | 77 | 64 | 10.5 |
| LAA | 77 | 65 | 11.0 |
| CHW | 71 | 69 | 16.0 |
| CLE | 70 | 69 | 16.5 |
| TOR | 70 | 72 | 18.0 |
| OAK | 64 | 78 | 24.0 |
| KCR | 60 | 83 | 28.5 |
| SEA | 59 | 82 | 28.5 |
| MIN | 58 | 84 | 30.0 |
| BAL | 55 | 85 | 32.0 |
The Yankees lost their last home game to Baltimore in 11 innings before embarking on a 10 game, four city road trip that is finally over. The Yankees lost a makeup game in Baltimore before flying out to Anaheim to drop the first two games of a three game series there. They then righted the ship briefly by winning the finale in Los Angeles and then taking the first two in Seattle. They dropped the finale in Seattle and the first one in Toronto and then split the final two games. So they went 4-6 on the trip, and 4-7 in their last 11 games.
We can play the expected record using log5 vs. actual record to see just how badly the Yankees underperformed over the last 11 games.
| Date | Game | xW | xL | aW | aL |
| 9/7/2011 | vs Orioles | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/8/2011 | @ Orioles | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/9/2011 | @ Angels | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/10/2011 | @ Angels | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/11/2011 | @ Angels | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 9/12/2011 | @ Mariners | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1 | 0 |
| 9/13/2011 | @ Mariners | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1 | 0 |
| 9/14/2011 | @ Mariners | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/16/2011 | @ Blue Jays | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0 | 1 |
| 9/17/2011 | @ Blue Jays | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1 | 0 |
| 9/18/2011 | @ Blue Jays | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0 | 1 |
| 6.3 | 4.7 | 4 | 7 |
xW/L: Expected wins/losses
aW/L: Actual wins/losses.
So they lost about two more games than they probably should have. If they’d won 2 of the 4 walk-off losses they’d have basically been where they should have been.
Here’s how the standings look now.
| Tm | W | L | GB | Gain |
| NYY | 91 | 60 | — | |
| DET | 89 | 64 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| BOS | 87 | 65 | 4.5 | -2.0 |
| TEX | 88 | 65 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| TBR | 83 | 69 | 8.5 | 2.0 |
| LAA | 83 | 69 | 8.5 | 2.5 |
| TOR | 77 | 75 | 14.5 | 3.5 |
| CLE | 75 | 75 | 15.5 | 1.0 |
| CHW | 74 | 78 | 17.5 | -1.5 |
| OAK | 69 | 84 | 23.0 | 1.0 |
| KCR | 67 | 87 | 25.5 | 3.0 |
| SEA | 63 | 89 | 28.5 | 0.0 |
| BAL | 62 | 89 | 29.0 | 3.0 |
| MIN | 59 | 92 | 32.0 | -2.0 |
Gain is just the number of games each team gained on the Yankees since September 7.
The saving grace for this debacle of a stretch is that Boston actually played worse, which allowed the Yankees to pick up 2.5 games on them for the AL East. The Yankees were also able to pick up two important games on Minnesota.
Detroit made the biggest move up, which is an issue for possible home field advantage. The Tigers have a much easier schedule than the Yankees over the rest of the season, with only two road games (against Kansas City) and 7 home games, 4 against Baltimore and 3 against Cleveland. Texas also picked up ground in the race for home field advantage, but they have a more difficult schedule than Detroit with six road games against Oakland and California and three home games against Seattle.
The Yankees are probably still over 99% for making the postseason, and about 95% for winning the division. At the beginning of the season I’m sure any of us would have been happy to be in this position right now. But you can’t help but feel disappointed that the Yankees didn’t take advantage of a golden opportunity to put things away over the past week and get themselves into the best position possible heading into the postseason.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Yankees.com: Rivera ties Hoffman as Yanks rally past Jays
TORONTO—Move over, Trevor Hoffman. A religious man who reluctantly enters to Metallica music and throws an evil cutter will temporarily keep you company.
Mariano Rivera closed out the Yankees’ 7-6 win against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Saturday, giving him 601 career saves and tying him with Hoffman for first place on the all-time list. A rough start by Bartolo Colon found the Yankees down five early, but a three-run homer by Alex Rodriguez and a two-run shot by Curtis Granderson brought them all the way back.
Then Rivera did what he’s done better than any other man over the last 16 years: pitch a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a tight lead.
Not sure why, but I thought today was a night game. Oh well. Yay win, yay Mo.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Yankees.com: Swisher provides only offense in walk-off loss
It was another one-run loss for the Yankees, who managed just four hits all night and had their three-game winning streak snapped.
“We’ve had three tough ones on this road trip, lost three games by one run,” manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s a tough one, because you figure your offense is usually going to score more than one run.”
Despite the loss, the Yankees maintained a four-game lead in the American League East thanks to Toronto’s 5-4 win over second-place Boston. New York’s magic number is now 11 and the Yankees will enjoy an off-day Thursday before heading to Toronto for a three-game set starting Friday.
Losing a game against a crappy team when your starter gives up 1 run over 7 1/3 innings is somewhat annoying, isn’t it?
I turned off the game when I saw Rafael Soriano warming up to come in, but it doesn’t seem like I missed much. My chief issue with last night was the way Girardi handled the 8th inning on offense. After Andruw Jones was hit by a pitch, Girardi pinch-ran for him with Brett Gardner. Miguel Olivo is a fairly good catcher in terms of stealing bases, but Girardi didn’t even bother trying to let Gardner steal, opting instead to give Seattle a free out by having Russell Martin bunt Gardner to second. I’ll grant that the bunt in and of itself is probably defensible if you look at things like run expectancy and win probability although it’s probably not optimal.
What was not defensible was what happened after the bunt.
Jamey Wright is a RHP who’s bounced around MLB for 16 seasons. He’s been about average for a reliever over the last three years (ERA+ of 104). He has the type of platoon split you’d expect from a RHP in his career, although it’s worth noting he’s been better vs. LHB over the last three season.
Still, there was no reason to let Eduardo Nunez hit after the Martin bunt. You have a fully stocked bench to avoid that from happening. When I saw Nunez coming up my first thought was “WTF?” Then I thought, “well maybe Girardi wants to be cautious with Eric Chavez and rest him.” That thought then melded into, “WTF?” He could pinch-hit for Nunez with Jorge Posada or Chris Dickerson and then use Ramiro Pena for defense if he didn’t want to use Chavez.” The defensive upgrade alone by replacing Nunez with a warm body makes it the smart move. Instead, Nunez, who’s hit .236/.288/.312 since the All Star Break over 172 PA, grounded out on the second pitch of his PA, shocking probably one person on the planet. Maybe two if you count Binder™ as a sentient being, and the Yankees didn’t score.
It gets better though.
In Nunez’s very next PA, Girardi PINCH HIT FOR HIM WITH ERIC CHAVEZ. If you were willing to do it in the 10th inning with two outs and the bases empty, why wouldn’t you have done it in the eighth inning with the go-ahead run on 2B and one out?
Anyway, it was a crappy game and a tough one to lose given the fact that both Tampa Bay and Boston had lost earlier. So I guess in that sense it was a fitting ending to a crappy road trip that saw the Yankees lose 4 of 7 games when they could probably have put away Boston in the AL East for good.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Yankees.com: Mo’s 600th save preserves win for Burnett
SEATTLE—All was good in Yankee land Tuesday night at Safeco Field.
Not only did the Bronx Bombers keep their American League East lead at four games with a 3-2 win over Seattle, but closer Mariano Rivera made history with his 600th career save, securing New York’s third straight victory in front of 18,306.
It was save No. 41 on the season for Rivera, who needs just one more save to tie Trevor Hoffmann atop the all-time saves list.
Rivera helped starter A.J. Burnett secure his first win since Aug. 15. Burnett’s six-inning outing wasn’t pretty by any means—the righty hit two batters, walked two more and threw two wild pitches—but the 34-year-old fooled the Mariners with his off-speed pitches all night to set a season high with 11 strikeouts.
Good for Mo. It’d be nice to see him tie the record tomorrow and then break it at home. Rivera seems genuinely emotional in the post-game interview with Kim Jones. Probably the most emotional I’ve ever seen him.
Yeah, Seattle isn’t that good, but Burnett pitched well. Will it last? Who knows? But it helped shrink the magic number tonight, and that’s a good thing.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Yankees.com: Yankees figure out Felix in rout
SEATTLE—The box score will tell you that the Yankees defeated the Mariners, 9-3, Monday night at Safeco Field.
But this was more than just a win to move New York further ahead in the American League East race. This was a win against Felix Hernandez.
For over three years, the defending American League Cy Young winner had New York’s number, going 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his last six starts against the Bombers. But the Seattle ace finally cracked, as the Yankees bats went off in a five-run fourth inning to help New York finally bring down King Felix.
Behind the big cushion, starter Phil Hughes kept the struggling Seattle offense in check. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning and was done after that, hurling 99 pitches and giving up just one run on five Seattle hits. Hughes has held opponents to two earned runs or less in six of his last eight starts.
It was nice to see an offensive outburst against one of the best pitchers in baseball after a pretty crappy stretch over the past week. I thought Hughes pitched okay. Not great, but decently.
Now it’s complaint time. You’d have thought that a 9-1 lead with three innings to go would have been a good time to perhaps take a look at someone like Andrew Brackman or Dellin Betances. Or, you know, you could run Scott Proctor out there for two innings and Luis Ayala for one.
Yay win, anyway.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Yankees.com: Pigs Fly
ANAHEIM—A little sunshine helped the Yankees to a desperately needed victory, as Mark Teixeira saw a key fly ball misplayed by Peter Bourjos en route to a 6-5 victory over the Angels at Angel Stadium on Sunday.
Batting in the seventh inning with New York down by a run, Teixeira sent a drive to center field that popped in and out of Bourjos’ glove as the outfielder squinted into a high blue sky, allowing Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter to charge home with the tying and go-ahead runs.
The miscue helped the Yankees finally get back into their winning mode after having lost four consecutive games in three different cities as they play out a taxing September stretch.
I suppose this means I can watch the replay.
So, in order for the Yankees to win this game they needed:
1) An error on a fairly routine fly ball by one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. It would have been a game-tying sacrifice fly instead of a go-ahead two-run error.
2) Freddy Garcia pitching out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth without allowing a run. That the last out of the inning was a routine grounder to Nun-E that actually got converted into an out makes it all the more remarkable.
3) Rafael Soriano pitching out of a first-and-third, one-out jam to preserve a one-run lead. Yeah, that Rafael Soriano.
4) Six defensive innings at catcher by the worst defensive catcher in the history of pro baseball.
Seems about right to me. I don’t know if the odds of all those things happening are worse than the odds of A.J. Burnett beating the Red Sox, but it’s got to be in the ballpark.
We also saw the debut of the catcher closer. I always knew it took a special pitcher to pitch the 7th, or 8th, or 9th. I had no idea that it took a special catcher to catch those innings. It was a cool deal for Austin Romine though, as he got to make his MLB debut against his brother’s team with his parents in the stands. As far as I can tell from reading accounts of the game, Jesus Montero didn’t embarrass himself behind the plate, so that was good too. The decision to pull Montero after six innings was a curious one, but given the family circumstances for Romine it makes a bit more sense in hindsight.
And I would never have believed it, but as oscar gamble’s afro (the poster, not his actual afro) noted, by winning today the Yankees won the season series with the Angels 5-4. I would never have guessed that.
I still hope we don’t see them again in 2011, or see them laying down for Boston in the ALDS.
Speaking of Boston, the Yankees have finally picked up a game on a team that’s lost something like ten games in a row. Yay!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks muster little at plate in loss to Halos
CC Sabathia labored through six innings, walking four and leaving the bases loaded twice, but the Yankees, forced to go on without Russell Martin, have struggled at the plate.
No, the game’s not technically over. But I’m done watching it.
Yankees.com: Yanks muster little at plate in loss to Halos
ANAHEIM—Maicer Izturis’ game-winning drive landed in Curtis Granderson’s glove, too deep in center field to attempt a throw, and all Derek Jeter thought about was the toss he should have made.
Izturis connected for a bases-loaded sacrifice fly facing Luis Ayala in the ninth inning on Friday night, lifting the Angels to a 2-1 victory over the Yankees that made Jeter’s hurried fifth-inning throwing error loom even larger.
“It boils down to giving them extra outs,” Jeter said. “I gave them an extra out throwing that ball away.”
More importantly, Jeter added, the Yankees couldn’t afford to cough up runs facing a stellar Jered Weaver, who limited the Bombers to just Jesus Montero’s homer over eight innings, striking out 11.
I’ll give Jeter a pass, since it was Jeff Mathis busting it down the line. It’s pretty hard to throw out a backup catcher on a routine grounder.
I didn’t get to see the game, but reading the recap and the game chatter here’s what I have to say about it.
1) Jered Weaver is a good pitcher, and from what I can glean he pitched well. Sometimes you face a good pitcher and he shuts you down.
2) As I’ve gotten older, I’ve lost the ability to “hate” players. Frankly, if I was the absolute worst player in MLB history, I’d bat or pitch every time a team kept giving me a chance to do it. So I don’t hate players who aren’t particularly good. If their team puts them in a position to fail, that’s the team’s fault, not theirs. So with regards to using Aaron Laffey last night (or Scott Proctor the day before) in the absolute highest leverage a team can be in at the start of an inning, I won’t blame Laffey (Proctor) for that. I’ll blame Joe Girardi. If you think this game is unimportant enough to use Laffey in that spot, you shouldn’t have wasted David Robertson in the eighth, since now you probably won’t be able to use him in a game you may actually try to win tonight. If you think these games are unimportant, why not audition some of the people who have upside and may have a meaningful role with this team in the years to come? Perhaps they’ll surprise you and show that they’re ready now? Does anyone think Buck Showalter would have used Jack McDowell to replace Mariano Rivera in the 9th inning of the fifth game of the 1995 ALDS if he knew how good Rivera was? If Hector Noesi didn’t get a shot against Baltimore in extra innings in his MLB debut, would the Yankees ever have made him a useful part of their bullpen?
3) As I said, the Yankees always find a way to lose to the Angels, and it’s really infuriating. Your pitcher’s pitching brilliantly against them? Make an error that gives them the run that ends up costing you the win.
4) The Yankees are probably exhausted right now given the way their last three games have unfolded. A four hour rain delay in New York resulting in a game that ended around 2:00 am followed by a trip for a day game to Baltimore followed by a flight to the West Coast to play a game at 10:00 pm Eastern time. So maybe we’re seeing some effect from that.
5) Any schadenfreude from the Red Sox’s recent tailspin is pretty much gone with the fact that the Yankees haven’t been able to gain even one iota from it, aside from shortening the amount of time the Red Sox might have to catch them.
It’s still really unlikely that the Yankees miss the playoffs, and with Detroit and Texas in a near dead heat record-wise there’s not necessarily going to be a huge advantage from winning the division. So I can at least be happy that Bartolo Colon pitched well, something he hasn’t done as much of since his return from the DL. I can also appreciate the fact that Jesus Montero pulled a HR off one of the best pitchers in the league and helped make his case for full-time play. Also, the Angels are just two games back of Texas in the loss column and it wouldn’t necessarily be the worst thing in the world if they forced Texas to go all out down the stretch. It can only benefit whomever faces the AL West winner if the race goes down to the wire.
I seriously expect the Yankees to lose every game they play against the Angels. Because of that, I just can’t get that worked up about it anymore. As a card-carrying stat-nerd, I really have a tough time reconciling the fact that what’s happened in the past has no bearing on what happens now when these two teams play and that the talent on the field that given day should be the primary factor in who wins or loses with the way the Yankees constantly roll over for Anaheim.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Yankees.com: Rafael Soriano Stinks
The Yankees appeared ready to cling to a 4-3 win with two picture-perfect defensive relays. In the seventh inning, Curtis Granderson fielded Vladimir Guerrero’s tailing hit to right-center and threw a strike to second baseman Robinson Cano, who then delivered an on-target throw to catcher Francisco Cervelli at the plate. Cervelli was bowled over by Nick Markakis but held onto the ball to preserve a one-run lead.
In the eighth, Granderson tallied another assist, cutting down Mark Reynolds at the plate after Chris Davis’ single. But Andino followed with an RBI single to left that tied the score at 4.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Yankees.com: Homers, one reviewed, lift Yanks through rain
NEW YORK—Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner blasted back-to-back seventh-inning homers through the rain drops, leading the Yankees past the Orioles, 5-3, as Tuesday turned into Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
Cervelli broke a tie with a video-reviewed home run off Baltimore starter Tommy Hunter, which was touched by a fan leaning over the left-field wall. But the original call was upheld by the umpires after the replay.
Gardner left no doubt with his blast, rocketing a laser off the right-field foul pole to give the Yankees a two-run lead in a contest that was played in inclement conditions because of an already difficult September schedule. New York won its sixth straight game and maintained a 2 1/2-game lead over Boston in the American League East.
What are the odds of Cervelli and Gardner hitting back to back homers?
I thought Phil Hughes looked pretty good tonight, although his velocity was down somewhat from his last few starts. He threw 22 curves, 14 for strikes, and managed to get nine swinging strikes. Coming off two straight games where he allowed six runs, he was probably pitching for his spot in the rotation and I’d imagine he’s saved it for another turn.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Yankees.com: Montero’s big day leads Yanks in slugfest
NEW YORK—Four games into his big league career, Jesus Montero has already displayed why the Yankees consider him their top prospect.
Montero, 21, hit his first two Major League homers—and got his first curtain calls from 45,069 fans—as the Yankees outlasted the Orioles, 11-10, in a Labor Day matinee in the Bronx on Monday.
Both of Montero’s homers came off Orioles reliever Jim Johnson and landed in the right-field seats. The first broke an 8-8 tie in the fifth, and the second gave the Yankees some insurance in the seventh.
Monteroo!
That doesn’t work…
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Yankees.com: Backed by homers, CC earns 19th win
NEW YORK—If CC Sabathia felt the effects of a 128-pitch, six-inning outing Tuesday night in Boston, he didn’t show it Sunday.
The left-hander pitched 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball to bag his 19th win of the season as the Yankees downed the Blue Jays, 7-3, to complete a three-game sweep in the Bronx. Sabathia struck out 10, walked one and threw 111 pitches. He retired 13 of the final 14 batters to face him.
Derek Jeter hit his fifth homer of the season—and the second since he reached 3,000 career hits with a long ball—to give the Yankees and their ace some early breathing room. The three-run shot to left field against Toronto left-hander Brett Cecil landed in the same area as the famous July 9 home run and extended the Yankees’ lead from 1-0 to 4-0.
I was wondering how Sabathia would look after a pretty tough start on Tuesday, and the answer was great.
And thank God we have Rafael Soriano to pitch innings that only eighth inning guys could pitch. If the Yankees hadn’t dropped $36M on Soriano they may have won this one 9-2 instead of 9-3. But I digress.
The sweep is nice, but if they’re going to sweep a pretty good Toronto team they damn well better sweep a crappy Orioles team.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Yankees.com: Cano comes through for Yanks in win
NEW YORK—After seeing a total of four pitches in his first three plate appearances—and going 0-for-3 in the process—Robinson Cano tried for a more patient approach in at-bat No. 4. His change in strategy paid off.
On the sixth pitch he saw from Casey Janssen, Cano ripped a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh to erase a one-run deficit and lift the Yankees to a 6-4 win over the Blue Jays on Saturday at Yankee Stadium. With the win, the Yankees (84-53) maintained their position ahead of the Red Sox in the American League East.
The double, Cano’s 40th of the season, prevented a loss for Bartolo Colon, who allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings and is winless since July 30. It also earned Cano his 100th and 101st RBIs this season to put him over the century mark for the second time in his career.
Cano now leads the AL in extra-base hits. And congratulations to Jesus Montero for getting his first MLB hit!
Yankees.com: Yanks flash leather behind Nova in victory
The turning point of the ballgame may have come earlier than anyone expected, as Nova’s streak appeared to be in jeopardy right off the bat.
The right-hander walked Blue Jays leadoff hitter Yunel Escobar to start the game before surrendering back-to-back singles to Eric Thames and Jose Bautista, the second scoring Thames with the game’s first run.
Toronto cleanup hitter Adam Lind then sliced a line drive to left field, where Brett Gardner made a running catch for the first out, on which Thames scored the second run of the inning. In the next at-bat, Gardner also made a sliding grab on a ball hit by Edwin Encarnacion, and doubled up Bautista at first to end the frame.
“Right before the pitch I moved over a little bit and got a good jump on it, and got it in for the double play to end the inning,” Gardner said.
This is an example of why the notion that Brett Gardner is one of the most valuable players in baseball has merit. There’s more to baseball than HRs and RBI. Whatever you think of the various defensive metrics out there, the fact is, Gardner is an outstanding defensive LF and it was the primary reason that the Yankees won last night’s game. Well, that and Nova’s six great innings after the first and Gardner’s two-run HR. And the rest of the defense’s play.
And yay, first place!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Yankees.com: Martin, Yanks double their pleasure vs. Sox
BOSTON—Russell Martin’s two-run double off Daniel Bard highlighted a three-run seventh inning as the Yankees came from behind to defeat the Red Sox, 4-2, on Thursday at Fenway Park.
The victory gave New York its first series victory of the year against Boston, winning for the fourth time in 15 head-to-head meetings and moving within a half-game of the lead in the American League East.
Andruw Jones started the surge by working a one-out, 14-pitch walk from Alfredo Aceves, and top prospect Jesus Montero reached base for the first time as a pitch brushed the front of his jersey.
Martin then connected with a full-count fastball from Bard, belting it up the gap in right-center. He slid into third base on the throw, clapping his hands as the Yankees bench spilled out of the dugout in celebration.
Great AB by Jones to get the rally started against former Yankee Aceves. I guess we can forgive Cashman for letting him go for one night.
A.J. Burnett exceeded all my expectations tonight, but I have little hope that he’s turned a corner. The bullpen had to work hard to get the last 11 outs, but they did it and the Yankees FINALLY win a series against Boston.
I think I need about 15 hours of sleep after that series though.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Yankees.com: Gritty CC helps Yanks close gap on Red Sox
BOSTON—CC Sabathia had no worries about his inability to beat the Red Sox in four previous starts against them this year, noting that he’d done it before and promised to do it again.
The ace left-hander made good on that, firing a season-high 128 pitches and striking out 10 batters as the Yankees defeated the Red Sox, 5-2, on Tuesday at Fenway Park.
It’s rarely pretty when the Yankees and Red Sox play, but I’ll take a win every time.
CC really had to labor tonight, although he didn’t have the greatest strike zone to work with, but he was good enough to hold Boston to two runs over six innings. I thought Girardi should have pulled Sabathia after five, but it worked out I guess. That doesn’t mean it was the right decision, but whatever.
That plus three scoreless out of the pen was enough for the Yankees to pick up their third win in 13 tries against Boston this year. The Yankee offense was mostly from Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez, who combined for seven of the nine Yankee hits on the evening, with an assist from Francisco Cervelli, who hit his second HR of the season, after setting a record last year for the highest OPS by a player in 300+ PA who failed to homer.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Yankees.com: Swisher’s homer the difference in Baltimore
BALTIMORE—Nick Swisher’s red-hot bat helped support Freddy Garcia’s return to the rotation as the Yankees defeated the Orioles, 3-2, on Monday at Camden Yards.
Swisher belted a two-run homer off Baltimore starter Alfredo Simon, the outfielder’s sixth home run in seven games, and Garcia held the Orioles to a solo homer over six encouraging innings.
Making his first start since Aug. 7 due to a mishap that left his right index finger bandaged, necessitating a stint on the disabled list, Garcia looked like he didn’t skip a beat in his time away.
And now they’ll limp into Boston.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Yankees.com: Grandy leads Yanks’ Game 2 homer barrage
BALTIMORE—Curtis Granderson grabbed hold of the Major League lead with two home runs, and the Yankees hit three consecutive blasts in the sixth inning, powering an 8-3 drubbing of the Orioles on Sunday.
The offensive display came in the second game of a split-admission doubleheader, after Baltimore had bested New York, 2-0, behind a strong pitching performance by left-hander Zach Britton.
Maybe he should win the MVP after all.
You have to be impressed with the way the Yankees recovered from an insurmountable 2-0 deficit in the second inning to take the nightcap. Ivan Nova settled in after a rough start and continued his positive trend of striking hitters out while walking them with less frequency, finish the game with seven Ks and three BBs over seven innings.
Random cool stat of the night:
| Split | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Robertson - Bases Loaded | 16 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .063 | .063 | .125 | .188 |
Yes, David Robertson has struck out 13 of the 16 hitters he’s faced with the bases loaded this year.
Losing the first game was annoying, but seeing Bartolo Colon pitching as well as he did takes some of that annoyance away for me.
Hopefully the Yankees can take tomorrow’s game and salvage a 2-5 road trip.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks pound A’s with record three slams
NEW YORK—Russell Martin’s sixth-inning grand slam fueled a historic Yankees rout, as the Bombers rallied to post a 22-9 victory over the Athletics on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
Robinson Cano also belted a fifth-inning grand slam for New York, which avoided a series sweep by overcoming a poor start from Phil Hughes, who served up six runs in just 2 2/3 innings. Curtis Granderson’s eighth-inning slam was the third of the afternoon for the Yankees, who set a Major League record for most slams in a single game.
Expect Boston to his four grand slams in some game this weekend.
Admit it. When the Yankees went down 7-1 in the top of the third, you didn’t think they had a chance, right?
For a brief shining moment, Derek Jeter’s average sat at .300, although when he struck out in his seventh PA of the game he dipped back down to .299.
Watching first baseman Nick Swisher dig out a low throw from second baseman Jorge Posada for the final out of the game (yes, seriously) was fun too.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
NYDN: Coco Crisp takes Rafael Soriano deep for three-run home run in 10th inning, A’s beat Yankees
Moments after Coco Crisp’s 10th-inning home run landed in the second deck in right field Wednesday night, thousands of fans at the Stadium rose from their seats and headed for the exits. The ones who remained hooted at Rafael Soriano, serenading the $35-million setup man with boos after he finally got the last out of the inning.
Hoot.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Yankees.com: Nova stellar as Yanks end trip with win
“I feel really confident in my slider,” Nova said. “We worked on it, we got it back, and it’s a pitch that, in situations, I can throw to left-handed hitters and get the out.”
Nova remained in control the rest of his day, but had to get out of jams with runners on in each of the next two innings.
After giving up a leadoff single to Jim Thome in the fifth, Nova allowed what was ruled a double to Danny Valencia, though it should have been caught. Valencia’s fly ball dropped between Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher in right-center field. Two strikeouts and a groundout later, Nova escaped with the shutout intact.
“That game was won for us, to me, in the fifth inning,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “He’s got second and third, nobody out, and he gets out of the inning. That was the ballgame. When you look at that inning, you try to tell yourself, ‘It’s OK to give them one, let’s try not to give them two.’
I agree with Girardi, that spot was huge, and it was nice to see Nova getting some Ks again after a couple of games where he didn’t do so hot in that regard.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks have their way with resilient Royals
KANSAS CITY—Robinson Cano teed off on a monster three-run homer toward the right-field fountains at Kauffman Stadium, highlighting the Yankees’ offensive attack in a 9-7 victory over the Royals on Tuesday night.
Cano’s fourth-inning blast off Kansas City starter Danny Duffy helped the Yankees patch over a rare blip from their own young hurler, Ivan Nova, who has found the Royals to be a more challenging opponent than expected this year.
I was driving when Cano’s PA against Duffy started in the fourth inning and I think I covered about 10 miles by the time it ended. 12 pitches, seven straight foul balls and then boom.
Nova wasn’t good tonight, but I’m hopeful it was just a blip.
And we won’t know for sure for another game or two, but it does look like we just saw another chapter of WWWMW™ and not the end of the line for the greatest closer of all time. Shame on any of us who thought differently.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Yankees.com: Jeter backs A.J., lifting Yanks into tie for first
KANSAS CITY—Derek Jeter stood near the base of the mound at Kauffman Stadium on Monday, his hand on A.J. Burnett’s shoulder as he offered a few words of encouragement before the pitcher headed for the dugout.
What Burnett may have appreciated even more, though, was Jeter’s two-run triple in the sixth inning, lifting the embattled hurler to his first August win as a member of the Yankees in a 7-4 victory over the Royals. The win pulled New York into a first-place tie with the idle Boston Red Sox in the American League East.
The only difference between Burnett today and Burnett last time out is that his team scored him more runs. Burnett again failed to give the team a quality start (at least 6 IP, 3 or fewer runs allowed), something he’s managed in only eight of his 25 starts. For comparison’s sake:
| Pitcher | GS | QS ? | QS% |
| Freddy Garcia | 20 | 14 | 70% |
| CC Sabathia* | 26 | 16 | 62% |
| Bartolo Colon | 18 | 11 | 61% |
| Ivan Nova | 19 | 11 | 58% |
| Phil Hughes | 9 | 4 | 44% |
| A.J. Burnett | 25 | 8 | 32% |
| Brian Gordon | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| League Average | 54% | ||
| Team Total | 119 | 64 | 54% |
Other than that, nice win. They got some positive offensive contributions from everyone except Eric Chavez, and the pen pitched well aside from one person. It was also good to see signs that WWWMW™ is possibly over as well.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Yankees.com: Motivated Posada fuels Yanks with six RBIs
Pulled from regular designated-hitter duty last week, Posada returned to the lineup in dramatic fashion on Saturday, belting a grand slam and collecting six RBIs as the Yankees rolled to a 9-2 victory over the Rays.
***
Making his first start since tossing a rain-shortened shutout at Chicago, Phil Hughes limited Tampa Bay to two runs and four hits in six innings before leaving with a seven-run lead. Hughes appeared to be on the bubble as the Yankees prepared to whittle their rotation down to five starters, but with the news that Freddy Garcia will miss at least Sunday’s start, Hughes’ rotation spot is safe for the time being.
Hughes looked good. He gave up only 4 hits, and this was the third start in a row that he walked only one batter through 6 innings.
Freddy Garcia may not make this list, but he’s taken a step towards A.J. territory with his recent injury.
UPDATE: Apparently, the Yankees signed Scott Proctor to a minor league deal.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Yankees.com: Cano slams Angels after two-out error
NEW YORK—Robinson Cano made the Angels pay a heavy price for a crucial error, blasting a seventh-inning grand slam to lead the Yankees to a 6-5 victory on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Second baseman Maicer Izturis booted Mark Teixeira’s soft tapper, which appeared to be the final out of the inning, sending up Cano with the bases loaded against reliever Scott Downs.
Cano took advantage of the opportunity, pelting the facing of the second deck in right field, earning a curtain call for his fifth career grand slam, and his first since Aug. 22, 2010, against the Mariners.
For Cano, the homer was his second in less than 24 hours, having also homered in the seventh inning on Wednesday, and the first permitted to a left-handed batter by Downs this year.
Yay Cano!
Derek Jeter went 3 for 3 with a walk, continuing to be a lot more productive since his return from the DL on July 4.
| Dates | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | SB | CS | HBP | GDP | avg | obp | slg | woba | isoD | isoP |
| 3/31-6/13 | 293 | 68 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | .260 | .324 | .324 | .295 | .065 | .065 |
| 7/4-8/11 | 139 | 39 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .312 | .374 | .440 | .359 | .062 | .128 |
| Dates | br | br/650 | babip | FB | GB | LD | IFH | fb% | gb% | ld% | bb/pa | k/pa |
| 3/31-6/13 | 28 | 62 | .288 | 52 | 153 | 27 | 12 | 22.4% | 65.9% | 11.6% | 7.8% | 10.6% |
| 7/4-8/11 | 20 | 93 | .370 | 13 | 63 | 25 | 6 | 12.9% | 62.4% | 24.8% | 7.9% | 16.5% |
FB: fly balls
GB: ground balls
LD: line drives
IFH: infield hits
woba: weighted on-base average
isoD: Isolated plate discipline (obp - avg)
isoP: Isolated power (slg - avg)
br: linear weights batting runs
br/650: br pro-rated to 650 PA
babip: batting average on balls in play
Granted, 6 of his 39 hits have been of the infield variety, but that’s actually only 15.4% of his hits, compared to 17.6% prior to going on the DL.
And I am hoping that WWWMW™ is not going to last any longer. It’s been long enough.
I was wondering if Russell Branyan was the first player to ever homer off Rivera on his first pitch of the game. It turns out it’s happened twice before.
April 11, 1997 to Mark McGwire
I remember this one. It was a shot to the black in dead center and it was early in Rivera’s first year as an official closer, supplanting John Wetteland after Rivera’s superlative 1996. The media decided to play up the whole ‘maybe he can’t get those last three outs since they’re so much harder to get’ thing, but I guess it turns out he could.
I don’t remember this one, a blown save against the White Sox in Chicago.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Yankees.com: Nova states his case, helping Yanks roll
NEW YORK—Another strong start from Ivan Nova did little to clear the Yankees’ muddled rotation picture, keeping a most welcome problem intact through a 9-3 trouncing of the Angels on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
Already named by manager Joe Girardi as one of the team’s five best starters this year, Nova has essentially made it impossible to be sent back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as the Yankees continue to carry six starters.
Backed by a pair of home runs from Curtis Granderson, who established a new career high of 31 with a three-run homer in the first inning and a solo shot in the fifth, Nova had all of the support he would need.
Remember when people were bitching about giving up Austin Jackson for Curtis Granderson?
Nova’s final line was meh, but I thought he pitched pretty well. He seemed to get rattled when he didn’t get some borderline calls in the seventh, but fortunately the Yankees’ $12M 7th inning guy was able to come in and snuff out the Angels rally before it became a full-fledged comeback.
Robinson Cano just missed the 232nd cycle in MLB history, and had to instead settle for being just the 435th player to have an XBH-cycle without a single.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Yankees.com: Yankees run themselves out of rally after Mo falters
NEW YORK—Bobby Abreu crushed his second homer of the night, a two-run blast in the ninth inning off Mariano Rivera, to help the Angels rally for a 6-4 victory over the Yankees on Tuesday.
Abreu’s sixth shot of the year came after the Yankees had covered for a late skid by starter A.J. Burnett, mounting a three-run rally in the seventh inning that spoiled a strong start by Angels starter Dan Haren.
In the ninth, Rivera recorded the first two outs by firing to second base on a sacrifice bunt and inducing a groundout, but Abreu connected with Erick Aybar aboard for the crushing blow.
The Yankees mounted a rally against Jordan Walden in the bottom of the ninth, but Curtis Granderson was picked off first base to end the game with Eduardo Nunez on third and Mark Teixeira at the plate.
When the Yankees were down 4-1 in the 7th, it seemed like just another run of the mill loss. A bad start by A.J. Burnett and the offense not doing enough to compensate, but one that’d be easily forgotten. Instead, the Yankees rallied to tie it, then saw Mariano Rivera unable to preserve a tie after blowing a save in his last appearance, still managing to get the tying run on base with their cleanup hitter up, only to have Granderson get picked off.
If you could pin this one on Burnett, we’d have a nice easy scapegoat. Since we now have to blame Rivera and Granderson too, it’s a little harder.
It really is amazing the way this team rolls over for the Angels. It’s almost as bad as the way the Angels roll over for Boston.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Yankees.com: CC remains winless against slugging Sox
BOSTON—The Yankees enjoyed but a few precious hours to admire sole possession of the top spot in the American League East, and now they must share custody with their rivals from Boston for at least another evening.
CC Sabathia continued to have problems with the Red Sox, hammered for a five-run fourth inning and seven runs in all, as the Yankees gave back a share of first place in Saturday’s 10-4 decision at Fenway Park.
The Yankees should let CC walk when he opts out*.
*This is a joke, for the handful of readers out there who may be too stupid to realize it.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks solve Lester to drop Sox out of first
BOSTON—The streaking Yankees pulled into Fenway Park on Friday and reclaimed sole possession of first place in the American League East, securing their eighth straight win by posting a 3-2 victory over the Red Sox.
New York had not sat alone atop the division since the morning of July 7 but was able to topple a tough Jon Lester, as Nick Swisher came through with a go-ahead hit after Boone Logan had evaded a huge jam.
Maybe this whole shutdown bullpen theory has merit.
Normally when a middle reliever gets a win it’s as much due to circumstance as anything else, but Logan was nails tonight and he deserved it.
And I realize it’s dumb, but I’m taking way too much pleasure in the Yankees stopping Adrian Gonzalez’s hitting streak.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Yankees.com: Yankees erupt early, pour it on late
CHICAGO—A.J. Burnett’s struggles made it interesting, but the Yankees’ offense eventually made it a blowout.
Behind their fourth double-digit-scoring game in less than two weeks, the Yankees won their sixth straight game at U.S. Cellular Field on Wednesday night, dismantling the White Sox by a score of 18-7.
Their offensive onslaught saw Eric Chavez hit his first home run since May 11 of last year, Derek Jeter tie his career high with five hits, Mark Teixeira hit his first triple since 2009 and the first three hitters of the Yankees’ lineup combine to go 12-for-17 with 10 runs and seven RBIs.
We’ll have to wait at least one more start for Burnett’s first win as a Yankee in August.
Burnett joined a list of three other Yankee pitchers who allowed at least 13 hits while not completing five innings. So congratulations to him.
In happier news, since returning from the DL on July 4, Derek Jeter’s hitting .333/.380/.495.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Yankees.com: Rain cuts into Hughes’ gem as Yanks roll
CHICAGO—Phil Hughes made what seemed like his most important start of the season on Tuesday night and wound up with by far his best pitching effort of 2011.
In the end, the only thing that got in his way was the weather.
By the time a second rain delay hit in the middle of the seventh inning at U.S. Cellular Field, the Yankees held a 6-0 lead, and Hughes had hurled six stellar innings.
That’s the Hughes we’ve been waiting to see all year. Granted, the White Sox lineup isn’t exactly fearsome, but Hughes had better stuff than he’s had at any point this year and looked every bit as impressive as his final line did (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K). If Hughes was indeed pitching for his job, he probably saved it tonight.
Couple Hughes’s performance with a nice debut by Manny Banuelos in his first AAA start and a Jesus Montero HR with Brian Cashman in attendance and tonight was a good night to be a Yankee fan.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Yankees.com: CC denies White Sox, earning 16th win
With the practically unbeatable CC Sabathia on the mound, the Yanks came out swinging against White Sox starter Jake Peavy but got little else after the first inning. Still, Sabathia’s arm preserved an early lead and led them to a 3-2 victory at U.S. Cellular Field to get the start of August and a seven-game road trip off on the right foot.
The Yankees—the ones who surprisingly didn’t make a single trade in July—have now won seven of their last nine games.
It’s a testament to how good CC’s been this year that a game where he pitched eight innings and allowed two runs seemed like one of his less impressive outings.
And how great is Mo? Nine pitches (all between 92-94 mph), nine strikes and most importantly three outs.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Yankees.com: Gardner, Garcia lead Yanks past O’s
Many held their breath in the fourth inning when Francisco Cervelli stepped to the on-deck circle instead of Derek Jeter. Everyone knew better than to think Cashman had traded Jeter, but it was unclear just how long the shortstop would be out after taking a pitch on his right hand to lead off the third inning.
Was anyone really holding their breath?
Brett Gardner provided a welcome distraction from those concerns, hitting a decisive bases-loaded triple with Cervelli on deck to key the Yankees’ 4-2 win. Two innings later, fears were quelled when the Yankees announced that X-Rays on Jeter’s right middle finger were negative, revealing just a bruise and making the captain day to day.
...
The Yankees were aided by what has become a typical Freddy Garcia performance in 2011—more substance than style, more movement than speed.In helping the Yankees close out this 10-game homestand with a 7-3 mark, the 34-year-old Garcia pitched his eighth quality start in his last nine outings, striking out six over six innings while surrendering two runs on five hits.
By winning three games in the last 30 hours the Yankees were able to finish up the homestand at 7-3, which is probably about as good as any realistic expectation.
The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone, and it looks like the Yankees stood pat. I’m fine with that.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks’ milestone frame sets stage for blowout
Game 1: Support group: Yanks’ bats back Colon in victory
Bartolo Colon wasn’t at his sharpest, but Nick Swisher (single, double, homer, two RBIs, two runs) and the Yanks’ offense made sure Colon’s effort was enough for the win in the first game of the day-night doubleheader vs. the O’s.
Yay.
The Yankees scored a franchise-record 12 runs in the first inning, setting the tone for their 17-3 win over the Orioles, their second win of the day. It followed an 8-3 victory hours earlier that featured the Yankees’ last five batters recording 10 hits, the same number the New York lineup recorded in Game 2’s first inning.
Double yay.
All year, I’ve harped on the fact that Ivan Nova’s walk rate and strike out rate did not indicate sustainable success. A pitcher who walks as many batters as he strikes out is not one that is likely to have a long and successful career. A funny thing happened on his march towards replacement level though.
| Dates | BF | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | HBP | SO | RA | ERA | FIP | BB/BF | K/BF |
| 4/4 - 6/3 | 274 | 60.0 | 70 | 36 | 30 | 4 | 26 | 3 | 29 | 5.40 | 4.50 | 4.55 | 10.6% | 10.6% |
| 6/10 - 7/30 | 160 | 38.666 | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 28 | 3.26 | 3.26 | 4.70 | 7.5% | 17.5% |
Now we’re seeing evidence that he’s gotten better. I wouldn’t worry much about the fact that his FIP is 0.15 higher over the second set of starts. Changes in Walk rate and strike out rate stabilize more quickly than something like home run rate. We’re seeing evidence that Nova’s improving in a way that makes him a more viable option for some team’s starting rotation going forward. Whether that will be the Yankees or someone else, who knows?
I do know that right now, I’d rather see Nova pitching than either A.J. Burnett or Phil Hughes. Unfortunately for him, he still has options.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Yankees.com: Bullpen scuffles as Yankees fall to Mariners
NEW YORK—Hours after the 273rd Major League no-hitter was completed Wednesday, the Mariners put an end to a different, uglier chapter in baseball history.
Their 9-2 win over the Yankees capped a franchise-record 17-game losing streak, which was tied for the 14th longest in Major League history. It lasted 21 days, starting July 6 in Oakland and ending Wednesday in the Bronx.
In between came none of the breaks they received Wednesday, when Ichiro, Dustin Ackley and Mike Carp each recorded four hits, none bigger than Carp’s three-run triple in a five-run seventh inning.
You obviously take six innings and two runs from your starter if you can get it, but Hughes didn’t really look that impressive, particularly against a team that’s somewhat offensively challenged. Hughes allowed nine hits and one walk over six innings which normally translates to allowing a bit less than four runs, so his final line is probably a bit misleading.
One thing that I’ve noticed since Hughes came back is he’s been moving away from the cutter. Here are his pitch charts for the four starts since he returned from the DL.
| Date | Pitch Type | Avg | Max | Count | % | Strikes | Swing & Miss |
| 6-Jul | FF (FourSeam Fastball) | 91.5 | 92.9 | 40 | 46.0% | 29 | 0 |
| 6-Jul | CH (Changeup) | 83.6 | 84.7 | 6 | 6.9% | 3 | 1 |
| 6-Jul | CU (Curveball) | 74.3 | 76 | 21 | 24.1% | 11 | 1 |
| 6-Jul | FC (Cutter) | 88.5 | 91.1 | 20 | 23.0% | 14 | 0 |
| 6-Jul | Total | 87 | 57 | 2 | |||
| 17-Jul | FF (FourSeam Fastball) | 91.3 | 92.8 | 45 | 28.1% | 30 | 6 |
| 17-Jul | CU (Curveball) | 75.0 | 78 | 25 | 15.6% | 17 | 1 |
| 17-Jul | FC (Cutter) | 88.4 | 90.6 | 10 | 6.3% | 4 | 1 |
| 17-Jul | Total | 80 | 51 | 8 | |||
| 22-Jul | FF (FourSeam Fastball) | 90.9 | 92.5 | 59 | 60.2% | 45 | 0 |
| 22-Jul | CH (Changeup) | 84.0 | 84.9 | 6 | 6.1% | 1 | 0 |
| 22-Jul | CU (Curveball) | 74.5 | 77.2 | 24 | 24.5% | 17 | 3 |
| 22-Jul | FC (Cutter) | 87.7 | 89.3 | 9 | 9.2% | 3 | 1 |
| 22-Jul | Total | 98 | 66 | 4 | |||
| 27-Jul | FF (FourSeam Fastball) | 91.2 | 93.3 | 60 | 59.4% | 43 | 4 |
| 27-Jul | CH (Changeup) | 83.5 | 84.5 | 5 | 5.0% | 1 | 0 |
| 27-Jul | CU (Curveball) | 73.8 | 75.7 | 31 | 30.7% | 19 | 5 |
| 27-Jul | FC (Cutter) | 88.1 | 88.9 | 5 | 5.0% | 2 | 0 |
| 27-Jul | Total | 101 | 65 | 9 |
He went from throwing 20 on July 6 to just two today. The cutter was a very effective pitch for Hughes as a reliever and through the first part of the season last year, but I felt he got a bit too cutter happy, and it wasn’t fooling hitters the way it had before. It looks like he’s moving towards throwing more curveballs instead, and as a starter I think that’s the smart choice. If you’re only throwing an inning changing speeds isn’t really all that important, but if you’re facing hitters multiple times you need to make it a little harder for them.
If you want to draw a positive from today’s outing, I guess you can like the fact that he got four swinging strikes with his fastball and five swinging strikes with his curveball. The fact that he only walked one is good too I suppose, although again, this is a Mariners team that’s hitting .224/.288/.332 this year, good for an OPS+ of 79, which is far and away the worst in MLB.
Since it appears Hughes is trying to make adjustments as he’s moving along, I think we need to exercise a bit more patience with him. Maybe it’s not the best way to maximize wins in 2011, but it may pay dividends down the line.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Yankees.com: CC fans 14 in earning win No. 15
A 17th consecutive loss for the Mariners appeared to be a foregone conclusion by the fourth inning on Tuesday, when Curtis Granderson’s solo home run broke a scoreless tie. What was in doubt, what kept Yankee Stadium alive and anxious before and after a 30-minute rain delay, was whether any Mariners player would do so much as reach first base against the Yankees’ ace.
The answer came in the form of a Brendan Ryan single with one out in the seventh inning, until that point the only blemish on Sabathia on what ended up being a 4-1 Yankees win. Sabathia, who had fallen behind 2-0 to Ryan, recovered by striking out the next two batters, his last resulting in a career-high 14 punchouts on the night.
It’s been 13 years since a Yankee pitcher struck out at least 14 batters in a game, which David Cone did on June 7, 1998. Cone and David Wells both had 16 strike out games in 1997. Ron Guidry has the all-time high water mark with his 18 strikout masterpiece in his sublime 1978 season.
You can’t help but wonder what might have been if not for the two rain delays.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks rain down on struggling Mariners
NEW YORK—In 2001, a 24-year-old Freddy Garcia anchored the staff of a Seattle Mariners team that matched a Major League record with 116 wins before falling to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
Ten years later at Yankee Stadium, the now 34-year-old Garcia found himself in the middle of this old rivalry once again, this time on the winning side.
A decade never seemed further away than it did Monday during the Yankees’ 10-3 win over the Mariners, prolonged by a one-hour, 57-minute rain delay to start the game.
Garcia pitched his seventh quality start in his last eight outings, sending the Mariners to their 16th consecutive loss while picking up his ninth win. That is half as many wins as he had during the Mariners’ historic 2001 campaign. And though he did not need much help from his new team Monday—he gave up just three runs in 7 2/3 innings—he received plenty of it from his old one.
If you’d told me that Freddy Garcia would have been the Yankees’ second most valuable starting pitcher as we headed into August I’d have assumed it was going to be a disaster of a season. Although Boston’s in the driver’s seat for the AL East crown, the Yankees would really have to falter now to miss the postseason, and the Chief’s been a very big part of it.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
NY Times: Strong Effort by Colon Helps Yankees Take Care of Business
In the oppressive heat of a playoff race, this stretch serves as an oasis — three series against teams that entered Sunday a combined 43 games under .500. As the Yankees strive to keep pace with — and, they hope, overtake — Boston in the American League East, these are the games that they should win, that should fatten their victory total.
On Sunday, they accomplished their primary objective, closing this three-game set against the Oakland Athletics with a series victory. Behind seven strong innings from Bartolo Colon and a two-run home run by Curtis Granderson, the Yankees won, 7-5, holding on after Mariano Rivera staggered while recording his first four-out save of the season. Rivera stranded both runners he inherited in the eighth with a two-run lead, but stumbled in the ninth, allowing four consecutive singles with one out, including Hideki Matsui’s fifth hit of the afternoon. But with the bases loaded, he got David DeJesus to line out to Mark Teixeira, who stepped on first base to complete the game-ending double play.
Maybe it’s just me, but I thought the first two singles that Rivera “allowed” were plays that should have been made by Cano. So I’m going to pretend Mo retired all four batters he faced.
Everything is now set up for the Yankees to gift the Mariners with the end of their losing streak.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
NJ.com: Yankees, A.J. Burnett fall to Oakland Athletics, 4-3
NEW YORK — Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira held his pointer finger just apart from his thumb in an attempt to illustrate how narrowly the barrel of his bat missed a cut fastball that could have won the game in the ninth inning today.
Oakland closer Andrew Bailey, a Haddon Township native, rarely throws the cutter, which is designed to zip back toward the hitter at the last second. It was just enough of a shift in movement to keep Teixeira from getting all of the ball, and rounding the bases with a three-run homer.
Whatever.
I am glad I chose to go see a matinee of Captain America instead of this game. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I am going to guarantee two things.
1) Seattle will enter their series with the Yankees on Monday mired in a 15 game losing streak.
2) Seattle will leave that series with their losing streak over.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Yankees.com: Garcia, Granderson lead Yanks to victory
Sometimes the everyday nature of this game is what’s so great about it. You can be a goat one day, then a hero the next.
Such was the case for the Yankees’ Curtis Granderson and Boone Logan.
On Tuesday, the two were responsible for an ugly seventh inning that wound up handing the Rays a one-run victory. On Wednesday, Granderson’s catch and homer, and Logan’s strikeout, were critical in the Yankees’ 4-0 win.
Freddy Garcia played a big part, too, of course. After giving up six runs (five earned) to the Blue Jays on Friday, Garcia—like Bartolo Colon before him—bounced back in a big way with 6 2/3 shutout innings.
I still don’t want to see Garcia pitching against Boston, but I’m starting to look forward to his starts a lot more than I ever thought I would.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Yankees.com: Walks come in handy as Yanks edge Rays
ST. PETERSBURG—Russell Martin drew a two-out bases-loaded walk in the ninth to plate Curtis Granderson, giving the Yankees a 5-4 win over the Rays in the series opener from Tropicana Field on Monday night.
Forced into action after a 16-inning Sunday night game, Alex Torres made his Major League debut in a 4-4 game in the top of the ninth. With Granderson on third and two outs, Torres intentionally walked Nick Swisher to pitch to Andruw Jones, but walked Jones to load the bases.
I guess we should give the Red Sox an assist for forcing the Rays to use a pitcher making his MLB debut in the ninth inning of a tie game. Thanks fellas!
After A.J. Burnett’s pitching and glove put the Yankees in a 4-1 hole after two innings it looked like one of those nights. A late rally in the 8th tied the game and David Robertson and Mariano Rivera retired the final six Rays to bat while the Yankees took advantage of Joe Maddon’s largess to tally the winning run in the ninth.
As an aside, after starting the year being caught stealing 6 times in 11 attempts, Brett Gardner’s now stolen successfully in 22 of his last 26 attempts. Maybe he doesn’t need those remedial base running lessons after all.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Yankees.com: CC stifles Blue Jays for 14th win
Facing a Blue Jays team that had won five in a row and scored 23 runs while beating the Yankees in their first two second-half games, Sabathia gave up just one run in eight innings and led New York to a 4-1 victory at Rogers Centre.
A first-inning run by Toronto snapped the lefty’s scoreless-innings streak at 24—the longest by a Yankees pitcher since 1980—but Sabathia rolled from there, hurling seven straight shutout innings against a Jose Bautista-less lineup while surrendering just two hits and two walks in that span.
Where would this team be without CC?
It’s nice to see Brett Gardner hitting again too. Unfortunately, you get the sense that Gardner is going to have to keep proving himself to the crowd that still thinks he’s a glorified 4th OF any time he goes through a bit of a slump. Fortunately, I don’t think many here think that way.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Yankees.com: CC Sabathia is a Bad-Ass
NEW YORK—CC Sabathia and James Shields pitched like All-Stars on Sunday, dueling back and forth, sitting down batter after batter and not allowing a single earned run. The starters followed a day interrupted for celebrations by orchestrating the second-shortest game Yankee Stadium has held all season long.
Sabathia was nasty today and punctuated the game with a 98mph fastball to strike out Elliot Johnson, but the Rays basically gifted this one to the Yankees. Sean Rodriguez led off the second with a double and inexplicably tried to steal third and was thrown out. We don’t know how the rest of the inning would have played out, but there was a very good chance the Rays might have scored a run.
Similarly, the Yankee offense couldn’t do anything against Shields. Robinson Cano led off the seventh with a single, and then Jorge Posada followed up with a short fly to CF. B.J. Upton made the catch and then tried to double off Cano off first but instead threw the ball into the dugout near the Chuck Knoblauch memorial seats. They awarded Cano third base after that. Then, after Russell Martin grounded out to a drawn in infield for out number two which meant Cano couldn’t score, an errant pickoff throw by Shields let Cano score the only run of the game.
I don’t care, I’ll take it.
Sabathia has been ridiculously good over his last four starts.
31.2 IP, 22 H, 1 R, 6 BB, 42 K, 0 HR, 0.28 RA, 1.12 FIP. He’s going to make some serious coin when he opts out to join the Red Sox.
At least the Yankees will enter the All Star Break tied in the loss column with the best team of all time. You really couldn’t have expected any more than that, could you?
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Yankees.com: Hughes progresses, but Yanks can’t help
CLEVELAND—Phil Hughes returned with five innings that flashed promise for the rest of his season on Wednesday night, but Justin Masterson gathered more buzz with his effort, dealing the Yankees a commanding 5-3 loss to the Indians.
Masterson silenced the Bombers’ bats over eight dominant innings as the Yankees lost two of three in Cleveland, completing their six-game road trip with an even record.
One of New York’s three hits off Masterson came off the bat of shortstop Derek Jeter, who talked his way into the starting lineup and doubled with one out in the eighth inning for career hit No. 2,997.
To quote David Cone, it was Hughes’s best start of the year, but that isn’t saying a lot.
I don’t understand a universe where pitching Sergio Mitre in a 3-0 game in the eighth inning makes sense, but even if the Yankees had pitched a scoreless eighth that just means they’d have faced Chris Perez to start the ninth and he pretty much mowed them down once he came in. Really, the Yankees lost this game when Justin Masterson took the mound. They hit some balls well throughout the game, but a few nice catches and a pair of game-saving plays by Asdrubal Cabrera in the eighth effectively ended any realistic chance they had of winning tonight.
The story tonight was Hughes though.
The Good
His velocity was a lot better than it’s been this year, particularly early on. It dipped a bit as the innings went on, but his last two fastballs of the night were still clocked at 92 and 91 mph respectively.
He went five innings and only gave up two runs.
The Bad
Unfortunately, pretty much everything else. Hughes faced 25 batters and 10 of them reached base safely. If Cleveland hadn’t stranded 8 of those 10 runners, Hughes’s line could have been really ugly.
Of the 87 pitches Hughes threw, Cleveland batters swung and missed exactly two of them (one changeup and one curve).
The Ugly
According to FIP or xFIP, Hughes was actually lucky to only have allowed two runs.
Here are some charts comparing Hughes’s basic Pitch F/X data from 2010, 2011 prior to tonight, and tonight.
Average velocity by pitch type
| Date | FA-Vel | CU-Vel | FC-Vel | CH-Vel | Pitches |
| 2010 | 92.5 | 75.8 | 88.8 | 84.5 | 3003 |
| 2011 | 89.3 | 72.1 | 84.1 | 81.2 | 207 |
| 6-Jul | 91.5 | 74.3 | 88.5 | 83.6 | 87 |
Average horizontal break by pitch type
| Date | FA-X | CU-X | FC-X | CH-X | Pitches |
| 2010 | -5.7 | 6 | -0.4 | -9.3 | 3003 |
| 2011 | -4.3 | 6.7 | 1 | -7.5 | 207 |
| 6-Jul | -3.7 | 6.8 | 0.9 | -8.5 | 87 |
Average vertical break by pitch type
| Date | FA-Z | CU-Z | FC-Z | CH-Z | Pitches |
| 2010 | 10.2 | -8.7 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 3003 |
| 2011 | 11.4 | -6.5 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 207 |
| 6-Jul | 7.5 | -8.2 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 87 |
FA: Fastball
CU: Changeup
FC: Cut Fastball
CH: Changeup
I don’t know how much we should make of most of the variations within this data. It could as easily be a calibration issue as anything, but I think the velocity data should be somewhat informative. Hughes was closer to his 2010 self stuff-wise in this start than he’s been this season. So I think we’re now almost back to where we were at the end of 2010, with the Hughes that was not nearly as effective in the second half of the season as he was in the first half.
That’s a far sight better than the Hughes that wasn’t a major league pitcher anymore, but there’s obviously still a lot of work to be done here. He’s certainly going to get another start, so let’s hope he takes another step forward.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Yankees.com: Granderson helps CC torch former club
CLEVELAND—On a night when Derek Jeter moved two hits closer to 3,000 and Curtis Granderson homered twice, CC Sabathia loomed largest, striking out 11 as the Yankees defeated the Indians, 9-2, at Progressive Field.
Overlooked for the American League All-Star team, Sabathia won his fifth consecutive start, shutting out the Tribe over seven innings and striking out the side in three separate frames.
I’m glad CC’s not going to the All Star Game, I’d rather see him saving his pitches for games that matter. I don’t want any Yankees helping Boston’s quest for home field advantage in the World Series.
FWIW, according to Baseball Reference Sabathia only ranked 10th in WAR among pitchers entering tonight (in a tie with a few others), so he’s not necessarily the All Star snub the MSM is making him out to be. His seven scoreless innings dropped his ERA to 2.90 so I’m sure he’s moved up the list a bit though.
Nice win to break a two-game schneid that really could have been part of 10 game winning streak, but all eyes will be on Phil Hughes tomorrow. If he’s able to show us that he’s closer to what he was in 2010, I’m pretty sure this is the best team in baseball.
At least until Rafael Soriano returns.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Yankees.com: Colon, Granderson propel Yanks past Mets
Sidelined since June 11 with a left hamstring strain, Colon proved that the layoff didn’t affect him much. The right-hander scattered five hits in the winning effort, walking none and striking out six.
On their way to their seventh straight win and victory No. 17 in 21 games, the Yankees backed Colon with a four-run sixth inning off Dillon Gee, who struggled his third time through the batting order.
Curtis Granderson slugged his 22nd homer, a solo shot into the Mets’ bullpen in right-center field, and Robinson Cano added a two-run triple into the right field corner that brought home Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez.
Colon was great, basically pitching the way he did before his DL stint. Eduardo Nunez went 3 for 4, and his only out was a liner up the middle that was snared by Justin Turner that could easily have been a fourth hit. He’s now hitting .278/.320/.435 but is probably heading to the bench on Monday. I don’t know if Nunez is as good offensively as he’s shown himself to be of late, but he’s certainly earned the right to get more PT than he’d gotten prior to Derek Jeter’s injury.
Winning is fun, now we can go enjoy the fireworks (where applicable).
Friday, July 1, 2011
Yankees.com: Nova, ‘pen make early runs stand for Yanks
NEW YORK—Mark Teixeira’s two-run double keyed a three-run first inning, which was all Ivan Nova and the bullpen would need as the Yankees posted a 5-1 victory over the Mets in Friday’s Subway Series opener at Citi Field.
The Yankees produced their first three runs within the first three batters of the game, as Jon Niese allowed Teixeira’s hit to rattle into the right-field corner, and Robinson Cano added a run-scoring single.
Niese stifled the Yankees’ potent offense from there, but Nova was able to limit the damage to a run on seven hits over five innings.
Nova pulled some Houdini stuff to hold the Mets to one run over five innings, but the bullpen was strong in relief. In a post earlier today I mentioned that Eduardo Nunez had a BABIP of .240 but an expected BABIP of .296, which would have given him a line of .265/.315/.395 compared to his .234/.281/.346. I’m a little too inebriated to figure out what his BABIP is now after going 4 for 4, but I’m going to say that it’s higher. He moved his season line up to .261/.305/.378.
But that glove…
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Yankees.com: Superb CC fans 13 Brewers to seal sweep
Sabathia delivered another dominant outing on Thursday, matching a career high with 13 strikeouts as the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Brewers with a 5-0 win, their fifth in a row.
Sabathia, who has received 10 or more runs of support in six starts this season, did not need much help from his offense in becoming the Majors’ first 11-game winner of the season—this after not having recorded a win until his fifth start of the season.
Robinson Cano hit a two-run double in the first inning to give the Yankees an early lead, and Mark Teixeira hit his Major League-leading 25th home run of the season—the 300th of his career—in the third to make it 3-0.
CC was dominant today, and the House Money lineup surprised by actually scoring some runs. The Yankees are going to have a rough schedule in the second half in terms of home/road game ratio, so it’s nice to see them taking care of business at home.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks’ key homers back strong Burnett
Russell Martin’s first home run in more than a month served as the big blow behind A.J. Burnett’s effort on Wednesday, helping the Yankees to a 5-2 victory over the Brewers at Yankee Stadium.
The first-year Bombers backstop snapped a homerless streak of 68 at-bats by clearing the left-field wall in the fourth inning off Milwaukee starter Shaun Marcum, capping a four-run New York frame.
Jorge Posada added a sixth-inning homer that was credited after umpires used replay to overturn the original call, a brief interruption as the Yankees rolled to their 14th victory in 18 games.
Burnett bobbed and weaved through trouble all night, his effort receiving the assistance of double-play balls, including one turned on a great catch by center fielder Curtis Granderson.
A nice win on a rare day where the Yankees managed to pick up ground on both Tampa Bay and Boston.
And rilkefan can rejoice in the triumphant return of Sergio Mitre.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Yankees.com: Tex hits 24th homer as Yanks rout Brewers
NEW YORK—When Mark Teixeira matched Toronto’s Jose Bautista for the Major League lead in home runs on Sunday, he joked that watching former Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez homer in the preceding Old-Timers’ game had served as motivation.
Teixeira did not see Bautista retake the lead in the homer race early Tuesday evening, but it did not stop him from striking back with his 24th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the sixth inning that accounted for half of his RBIs in the Yankees’ 12-2 rout of the Brewers.
Maybe this interleague play stuff isn’t so bad.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Yankees.com: Young Nunez delivers on Old-Timers’ Day
Leave it to the Yankees’ youngest player to highlight their 65th Old-Timers’ Day.
A Sunday afternoon that began with the Yankees celebrating stars such as 86-year-old Yogi Berra and 82-year-old Whitey Ford featured 24-year-old Eduardo Nunez providing the decisive hit, a seventh-inning RBI single in the Yankees’ 6-4 win over the Rockies that kept the Bombers in first place after the Red Sox’s win earlier in the day.
Forty-one-year-old Mariano Rivera, the Yankees’ oldest player, ended the day by recording the save.
If Nunez hadn’t made 9 errors in the game I’d feel happier about him grounding a single through the SS hole with a runner in scoring position. I keep hoping that as he gets more comfortable playing every day he’ll tighten up that defense, but so far my hopes are unanswered.
For the umpteenth time this season the Yankees win a series after dropping the opener. Imagine if they’d win an opener once in a while? In winning today they were able to remain in sole possession of first place, something I would not expect to last for more than another day or two at the most.
Once again the bullpen pitched well, picking up for a somewhat lackluster outing by Ivan Nova. Boone Logan has been very good against lefties of late after struggling against them for most of the year. Hopefully he’s found whatever it was that worked for him last year. David Robertson and Mariano Rivera struck out five of the final six batters to seal off the win.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Yankees.com: With A-Rod’s help, CC first to 10 wins
NEW YORK—Alex Rodriguez began the week six days ago in a cramped hallway outside the visitors’ clubhouse at Wrigley Field, denying a report that he had a left shoulder strain and insisting that part of his body felt like any other through the course of a 162-game season.
On Saturday, Rodriguez continued to verify the strength of that shoulder with another stellar performance, recording a pair of hits and driving in three runs in the Yankees’ 8-3 win over the Rockies.
Rodriguez has been red-hot and is now up to .300/.379/.517. And don’t look now, but with a three for four day Jorge Posada’s up to .232/.323/.395. Not bad for a guy that was hitting .169/.285/.338 just 21 days ago.
CC looked very strong today. Aside from the juiced gun in Baltimore he looked to be throwing harder than he had at any point this season. As far as the 10 win thing, CC seemed unimpressed about it when asked about it, as well he should have been. Pitcher wins don’t tell us anything.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Yankees.com: Posada, Garcia lift Yanks past Reds in Game 1
“Jorgie got a huge hit for us,” manager Joe Girardi said. “That’s a big lift for us. We’ve been able to give him some at-bats, but it’s tough when you play all these Interleague games in a row.”
The blast by Posada provided right-hander Freddy Garcia with enough support to log his sixth victory of the year. Garcia’s soft-tossing arsenal limited the Reds to two unearned runs and three hits over seven innings.
Unfortunately, the night cap didn’t go so well.
Long balls trip up Gordon as Yanks fall.
CINCINNATI—Brian Gordon’s feel-good story took a few dents on Wednesday. The rookie served up three homers—including two of Chris Heisey’s three homers—as the Reds defeated the Yankees, 10-2, splitting a day-night doubleheader.
Under the lights at Great American Ball Park, the Yankees were held in check by the impressive right-hander Johnny Cueto, who limited New York to Nick Swisher’s second-inning solo homer in a two-hit, seven-inning performance.
I’m happy with a 4 of 6 road trip using silly non-DH lineups. The Yankees picked up a game on Boston (and lost a game to Tampa Bay) over a stretch where they had a slightly more difficult schedule, and that’s a good thing.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Yankees.com: Sharp Nova turns Reds into bystanders
CINCINNATI—The Yankees have looked hopefully at Ivan Nova’s lanky build and easy arm action, and they can sometimes envision the rookie right-hander serving as a reliable part of their rotation well down the line.
It is performances like Monday’s that allow them to do so with more regularity. Nova allowed just four hits in one of the sharpest outings of his young career, helping the Yankees defeat the Reds, 5-3.
That was by far the best game I’ve seen Nova pitch. I’ve harped on his BB/K ratio as a reason to be skeptical about his long-term outlook, but you can’t do much better than he did tonight.
The issue has not been Nova’s value to the team, which has been more than adequate. The issue was how sustainable his value would be as long as he was walking as many batters as he struck out. There’s little question he’s got the arm and pitches to be a solid MLB starter.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Yankees.com: Yankees pull away after Swisher’s big blast
CHICAGO—As jovial as he is kinetic, Nick Swisher is all about having a good time. And so on a holiday night in front of a nationally televised audience, he said “Happy Father’s Day” for all to hear.
Swisher celebrated Father’s Day inside his dad’s former workplace with three hits, including the go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 10-4 win over the Cubs on Sunday at Wrigley Field.
The blast, Swisher’s seventh of the season, landed deep in the right-field bleachers, breaking open a tie game and providing a rather stagnant Yankees offense with some much-needed pop.
Swisher’s HR helped the Yankees pick up CC Sabathia, who didn’t pitch all that well today but got the win. The main thing is the Yankees survived three silly games without a DH without suffering an injury.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Yankees.com: Yanks ride play at plate to Wrigley victory
Here came Carlos Pena, charging down the third-base line after left fielder Brett Gardner snatched Geovany Soto’s flyout and launched the ball to the plate. There was Martin, who had missed seven of the previous 10 games with a bad back, bracing himself for the worst as the frame’s third out was approaching the plate ever so closely.
Martin caught the throw, absorbed a vicious blow from Pena and got up with the ball, showing it to Pena for the exclamation point on what became the deciding play of the Yankees’ 4-3 win over the Cubs.
With the way the Yankees played in this game defensively and with the way they stranded all those runners, they were probably lucky to win, but the win was nice, particularly the play at the plate. As Pinstriper pointed out in the game thread the highlight was probably the way that the jubilation in Joe Buck’s voice when he thought the Cubs had tied the game in the ninth turned into consternation when he was notified that 2 + 1 <> 4 and the Cubs were still trailing.
More good work by the bullpen as well. I like what I’ve seen out of Cory Wade, who almost got screwed over by his defense despite pitching well. I’m also happy to see Hector Noesi earning some more important work in the pen and so far being up to the task. The thing I like most about Wade and Noesi so far is that they throw strikes. I don’t doubt that David Robertson is up to the task of being the official Binder™ approved 8th inning guy, but losing Robertson’s ability to come in earlier in situations that are more crucial is where Noesi, Wade and Luis Ayala will be important.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Yankees.com: Gardner’s walk-off RBI seals Yanks’ sweep
NEW YORK—A day before he put pen to paper, before he could put on a Major League uniform for the first time in three years, Brian Gordon went to a field across the street from Yankee Stadium.
Thirty-two years old and not yet officially a Yankee, Gordon tossed with baseball operations assistant Brett Weber, catching the eye of one passerby who stopped to say Gordon had a nice arm.
Unbeknownst to that observer, Gordon would take the mound one block over for the real thing the next day.
The New York-born, Texas-raised Gordon gave the Yankees everything they could have hoped for, and then some, in his first career start Thursday against the Rangers, a 3-2, 12-inning win that completed a three-game sweep and made this 10-game homestand a winning one after it began with three straight losses.
Gordon held his own in his first career start, but it was his bullpen’s outstanding work after he left that held Texas scoreless long enough for the Yankees to finally score the game winner on Brett Gardner’s single. Hector Noesi, David Robertson, Mariano Rivera and Cory Wade faced 22 batters and only three of them reached.
Wade’s already provided more value than Pedro Feliciano and Rafael Soriano.
After coming in for defense, Gardner went 2 for 2 and is now hitting .286/.364/.427. If only he could steal bases more successfully…
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Yankees.com: Tex’s two taters help Yanks top Texas
NEW YORK—Mark Teixeira hit two of the Yankees’ five home runs, going deep from both sides of the plate to lead the charge in a 12-4 victory over the Rangers on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
Teixeira blasted his 20th and 21st homers of the season, hitting a two-run shot off left-hander Derek Holland in the first inning, and adding a two-run blast in the fifth off right-hander Mark Lowe.
The display marked the 11th time that Teixeira has homered from both sides of the plate during his career, tying Chili Davis and Eddie Murray for first place on that all-time list.
Eduardo Nunez homered on his 24th birthday, and Ramiro Pena also cleared the outfield wall in support of right-hander Ivan Nova, who limited the damage to four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings to pick up his sixth win of the year.
At this point last season, Teixeira had nine HRs.
Despite the final score, this was actually a pretty tight game until the fifth. Ivan Nova wasn’t great, but luckily for him neither were Texas’s pitchers.
During the game, we found out the Yankees added Cory Wade to the bullpen and moved Rafael Soriano to the 60 day DL. That signing continues to get better and better.
Seems like a move to shore up the back of the pen and not much more than that, although he did have a strong year in 2008 for the Dodgers.
No announcement about who’s starting tomorrow, although I think it may be Hector Noesi since he wasn’t needed recently.
Apparently Brian Gordon will start tomorrow. Good luck to him.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Yankees.com: Granderson leads Yanks in rout of Texas
NEW YORK—A feeling of normalcy returned to the Bronx on Tuesday, one night after the Yankees’ lethal bats were uncharacteristically shut out.
CC Sabathia got off to a strong start, Curtis Granderson hit another home run, and Mark Teixeira was even hit by a pitch again in a 12-4 win over the Rangers in a game that started 41 minutes late because of rain.
A six-run second inning sent Alexi Ogando packing after just 1 2/3 innings and 53 pitches, as he was dealt his first loss of the season following a 7-0 start. The Yankees have had little trouble against Texas’ rookie sensation, touching him for 11 runs the two times they have faced him.
I’m kind of having a difficult time coming up with a complaint for tonight, but I’m sure you guys can help.