Game 62: Treading water
ByOn Wednesday, April 16, the Yankees had just beaten the Red Sox in a marathon game in the Bronx. They won 15-9, and that victory moved them into a first-place tie, a season-high two games over .500. Since then, the Yanks haven’t reached that peak yet. They’ve gone 21-24 and have spent the last six weeks flirting with .500.
At some point, then, something in the Bronx must give. The Yankees must either shape up or we have to come to terms with the fact that the Yankees are simply some crappy .500 team that’s overpaid and underperforming our expectations.
The Yanks this afternoon face Brian Bannister. The righthander, once on the Mets and later traded for Ambiorix Burgos (oops), has put up some decent numbers this year. In April, he beat the Yanks, allowing just two runs in five innings while giving up five hits and four walks. Hopefully, the Yanks can do a bit better than that this time around. Andy Pettitte goes for the Yanks, and Hideki Matsui sits so that Jason Giambi can get some ABs at DH.
The game starts at 1:05 p.m. on this hot and humid day in the city.
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Betemit 1B
Cabrera CF
Pettitte P
Game Notes: Just so this doesn’t fly under the radar: The Yanks and Brian Cashman did not talk contract in Tampa this week, contrary to earlier reports from Thursday.
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Does Matsui have a minor injury or something? I wonder why he isn’t in the lineup.
Bannister is really good in day games; doesn’t bode well for the Yanks.
Why didn’t the RedSox let Manny be Manny and whoop Youk’s arse?
Per PeteAbe:
The plot thickens. Game 2 of the Regional is tonight and Fullerton will be throwing Cory Arbiso, another Yankees draft pick (22nd round). That game is going to be on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. (EDT).
12-3, 4.21 ERA. Uninspiring peripherals.
Eh, I’m just noting it because he’s a draft pick, I know nothing of him nor has anyone said something since his pick so I am assuming there is nothing to say.
I can’t wait for Joe Posnanski’s 7,000 word recap of Brian Bannister’s start after the game.
Look at that .281 OBP Guillen’s sporting. Sheesh.
Jim Callis said he will answer this following question in Monday’s upcoming Ask BA:
Greg from San Francisco asks:
Which players drafted yesterday take over as their organization’s #1 prospect? Looks like David Price clearly beats Beckham, but what about Alvarez with the Pirates? Posey over Villalona? Hosmer over Moustakas?
Sweet, that is indeed a great question. Any of you guys want to chime in?
Well, the obvious ones that would become their team’s top prospect are Crow, Posey, Yonder, Hosmer, Smoak, Hicks, Castro, and G. Beckham.
T. Beckham would be Tampa’s 4th best prospect behind Price, Davis & McGee (scary), and I still like McCutchen over Alvarez. Wieters over Matusz is an easy call.
LoL, should Andrew Friedman be getting votes as the AL MVP this year?
Well, that sucks.
I’m always of the belief that the best play is the play that gives you the best chance of scoring. Fuck the time of the game. I like the play because he was trying to bunt for a hit it seems, not a true sacrifice.
I completely disagree. We’re talking about Derek Jeter – the Yankee with the third most career hits in team history – bunting with no outs in the bottom of the first. That’s just not good baseball.
What spot in the order is Gordon Beckahm hitting? I for some reason keep missing his Plate Appearances.
Should be 3rd.
Can’t even manufacture a hit. Sad.
I meant a run.
So that’s how you beat the shift!
If Michael Kay says fortuitous…
Giambino!
Check the NoMass Draft Blog for some signing info on the Yankees’ day 1 picks and their subsequent 8-17 picks. Tried posting the link but the post didn’t go through (which is weird because it went through before).
http://www.nomaas.org/draft/
Once in a while it’ll get caught in moderation.
Runelvys Hernandez, huh? Don’t work off memory Michael Kay, you’ll look like an idiot.
Well, that was an unproductive inning for the Yanks. Sheesh…
What’s the delay for?
ump got hit with a foul tip right in the bottom of the mask, looks like concussion type symptoms. stumbling around, can’t see straight, dizzy
Umps leaving the day, gonna take some time for one of the other umps to suit up.
Thanx homie.
that ump coulda hurt Posada’s shoulder! j/k btw, hope he’s okay
I thought the same thing.
TV Land is showing Bull Durham right now, I love that flick. It started an hour ago though.
Has Johnny Damon’s arm always been inaccurate?
Dunno. I’ve never seen any of his throws go more than like, 30 feet.
Scott Hatteberg got released today. His righty bat would fit better in the lineup than Shelley Duncans, anyone else think so?
Hatteberg hits lefty.
Never mind that comment then. Thought he was a righty for some reason
Scott Hatteberg bats right handed.
Lefty.
Yeah, I was going to correct myself.
Thank God i cant watch this game today since it isnt on the package, all i have to say is pathetic.
Luckily, we have Dan Giese.
I too am predicting a Dan Giese grand slam at some point in this game
Is not grounding into a double play an intangible? If so, Jeter’s intangible numbers are falling fast
We deserve a comeback for such a shitty weather day.
Hip-Hip Jorge!! I’ve missed typing that
If only Giambi was a little faster.
I hope A-Rod is yelling out of the dugout at Cano for swinging at the first pitch
The Yanks are actually hitting with runners in scoring position.
John Sterling is bitching about Jose Guillen playing “5 steps from the warning track”, is he really that deep or is Mr. Sterling exaggerating?
Damn Sterling, thought that Sac Fly from Betemit was a 2B by the way you sounded.
He was very deep.
So is that what a mutli-run inning looks like? Wow.
I love these kind of innings, why can’t we have more of them?
Look at Melky, he just watched three straight pitches, they grow up so fast
Melky Cabrera contributing to the offense. Good for him.
who do u think are the top 5 prospects the yankees took in the draft other than cole and bleich?
It’s gotta be me right?
Since you don’t exist, I assume not.
It’s Scott Bittle.
Sorry, I’m just so excited about getting drafted by the best sports organization of all time!
You know, that’s why I had such a hard time finding a picture of him. I kept searcing for “Biddle.”
I’d say Bittle, Chris Smith, Kyle Higashioka, Brett Marshall and Corban Joseph. Not sure on the order though.
all right thanks
A brand new ball game.
And we knock out the start after 3.1 IP, when’s the last time we did that (without a line drive to the face anyway)?
Wow, Damon running 3-0?
LOL, Jeter still manages to hit into a double play. Intangibles.
I can’t even be upset by that, what a throw by Guillen
Jeremy Bonderman to miss the rest of the season due to a “blood cot of the axillary vein due to thoracic outlet compression syndrome”. From what I understand thoracic outlet comression syndrome to be (TOS) is a collection of neurological and vascular (brain, spinal cord and blood vessels) symptons in the nerves that run from the arms to the neck. It is said that more than 50% have a full recovery so let’s hope Bonderman will become part of that.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
25 years old, but he’s already got 163 career starts and 994.2 IP. Crazy.
Ouch.
Pettite calming down nicely and just pounding the corners
GIAMBINO!!!
Bomb.
Giambino!!! I really like contract years.
Yes, Brett Tomko!
And once again Cano swings at the first pitch
First pitch swinging is to be expected.
Finally get Guillen out, on a cutter down the middle too
No running on Guillen. You should have learned that in 2001.
Wonderful, who do we bring in here? Edwar pitched last night, maybe Giese?
Another terrible outing by Andy, that’s 2 in a row where he can’t protect leads – especially today in a game where he didn’t even deserve to win but the offense got him runs
Well, Dan Giese is shadowing Joba tomorrow.
I think Jeter is becoming dead weight. And I like Jeter. Just sayin’ no field + plus OK hit + 20 mil or so a year= wack player.
I’d say his large body of work grants him some patience. He’s still giving league average offense from his position while hitting well below his career norms
Hahahahahha dead weight? OK hitter?! What kind of hallucinogenics are you on? He’s going to have the most hits in Yankee history. “Wack” player – if you don’t like Derek Jeter, maybe you should find another team to root for
If we can get out of this, we’re inperfectly fine shape, I just don’t want to see another 2 runs come across
So why did Girardi leave Pettitte in again? Oh that’s right, he’s a proven veteran.
Better than bringing in Farns, IMO. I wish Britton would get a shot in these situations
He gave up a grand slam, Farnsworth couldn’t possibly do any worse. At least Farns gives you a shot for a strikeout.
plus britton is on the dl…
Good call, I’m slow. Saying nothing could be worse is convenient with hindsight. Farns has a better show giving up a homer than Pettite, it just happened that Pettite gave one up this time. I agree he should have been pulled though
Britton’s on the DL
I hate Jose Guillen
Wow
This is a pathetic performance by this Yankee team. I really thought that game Thursday could set us off, but to lose 2 straight (if they lose today) to the hapless Royals at home is just embarrassing. It’s no wonder at all that we are a .500 team right now
The team? The offense came back after down 5-1 and gave Pettitte a 6-5 lead that he coughed up. This on Pettitte, again, for the second straight start.
Yes it is Jamal, but what about last night? That one was certainly on the lineup, that’s what I was referring to when I said the 2 games
LOL, Guillen 7, Yankees 6. Good job General Joe.
You have point, I don’t know what the fuck was the wisdom in leaving in Andy Pettitte. Jose Veras has had one bad outing and the same for Edwar Ramirez. They both give you K opprotunities like Mike said, I really want to know what the fuck his deal was.
Jose Guillen:
.311-.344-.541 vs LHP
.233-.258-.390 vs RHP
This information is readily available to Girardi.
This is a pretty frustrating team to watch right now.
That was some inexcusable managing by Girardi there. THis team is bad enough without their manger making boneheaded decisions like that. There really is no excuse for Pettitte to be pitching to Guillen, let alone a few batters earlier.
This is not a case of hindsight, I don’t see how anyone could justify keeping Andy in there. What the hell is Girardi doing??
This team is really unwatchable. When your hitting, defense, pitching, AND managing is screwing the pooch and doing infuriating things, AND getting beaten by the Royals, then there is just no reason to watch anymore…
Suzy Waldaman just blamed this season on Hughes and Kennedy, saying that Wang and Pettite carried the team for the first part of the season. It seems her logic is that Hughes and Kennedy should be pitching well now so that Wang and Pettitee can suck.
She’s an idiot. Wang and Pettitte are SUPPOSED to be carrying the team all season. besides, Rasner and Moose are carrying them now, yet Wang and Pettitte still suck.
But thats besides the point. Girardi sucks just as bad…
10 runs to the freakin’ Royals. I can’t believe this.
These mother fuckers don’t want to lose, eh?
Ok, there’s still time to make this interesting.
Wow left field bleachers for A-Rawd – that was an absolute monster shot
oh.my.god.
wow even tomko was smiling at that one. Jesus.
That is why I like Brett Tomko.
Very interesting, keep in mind Matsui is still on the bench too. Hopefully we can keep them from scoring anymore. At least they were kind enough to pull Guillen out even when it’s debatable whether that helped their defense much
i wonder when they will stop giving managing jobs to former baseball players only. honestly i think there are more than a few guys here alone who could do a better job
Well at least A-Rod comes up with 2 outs in the ninth if anybody can get on
I know we are all Yankees fans, but I would like to take a poll. Who thinks that Giambi might be back on the juice?
No juice, all ‘stache.
I don’t know Giambi has gone from hitting these lower deck HR’s to hitting these shots into the upper deck. He also looks a lot bigger even from spring training.
We all know they can beat the testing with HGH.
I don’t know?
Hope not just asking.
You know what at this point the whole juice thing is a joke anyway God know how many are on it.
If he is, he should start giving some to Shelley Duncan and I’d argue he’s putting it in Betemit too. I’m alright with that as long as only the Yankees are doing it
I think Giambi is all natural. It helps to have the thong and pornstar ‘stache.
Is Jose Cruz Jr an upgrade over Shelley Duncan?
Is he still even in baseball? I’d rather give Lane a shot anyway. At least he could play all 3 outfield spots.
Still with HOU. Not only does he have a .426 OPS, but he has a .143 SLG%!!!
No, he was DFA’d.
He has a .426 OPS.
I guess that’s a ‘no.’
Emphatically.
I’m an upgrade over Shelley Duncan right now. I could poke them over the infielder’s heads all day and end up with a higher batting average than Shelley
I hope he’s juicin.
Brett Gardner should be up, he gives us a pinch runner and a defensive replacment in the outfield for Damon late in games.
Replacement and Damon should not be in the same sentence with the way he is playing. He also has the second best Zone Rating (ESPN) in the American League behind Carl Crawford. Also you do not want to stunt the development of Brett Gardner by regulating him to that type of role on the Major League roster.
He’s 25, it’s getting close to now or never time
The only problem exists Betemit were to get hurt while starting in place of somebody who’s DHing in which case you’d be forced to give up the DH but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal to continually have Duncan wasting a spot on the bench. In a pinch, Damon, Posada or Matsui could cover first and that would be a VERY speedy outfield if you rested Bobby, moved Melky over and had Gardner in center
TJ for Westbrook.
Bonderman’s out for the year too with some blood clot. As poorly and inconsistent as the Yanks have played thus far, the wild card will most certainly be there for the taking.
Que pasa con Leo Nunez?
Okay, Newman, I said that I liked Jeter. I mean, I could understand why you wouldn’t believe that, with confusing wording such as, “And I like Jeter.” Either way, that shouldn’t affirm or deny my love of Pinstripes.
Also, can’t say I’m a big hallucinogen fan. But if you wanted to learn about their effects, just listen to Chris Russo.
And yes, I think Jeter’s prime value is from his offense. He was an amazing hitter throughout his Yankee career. But he seems to (from my admittedly untrained eye… I’m no scout, just a sophomore) be lacking plate discipline and bat speed. As a 34 year old, if he can’t hit the way he used to, the Yankees have a serious problem at short.
Chris is right though, he does deserve the benefit of the doubt. I’m just holding in chucking my sneaker or cat towards my TV, so I made a rash and premature judgment about his value towards the Yankees.
Yo, the Yanks may be sloppy, but they are really fighting this perennial last-place franchise. Good going guys!
I’m not big on slang, but I’m fairly certain you called him a “wack player”, which would contradict your liking of Jeter.
Wow, that’s a shame. Jose Cruz used to destroy mistake pitches. .143???
Melky Cabrera has certainly gotten his wood back (hehe), good to see after that horrid May.
Squeeze!!!!!
Never mind, thought we had 9 runs.
Way to go Melky, 5 for 5 now Damon, let’s go!
Uh oh, we’re one pitch from double play Jeter
We really should have traded Johnny Damon a few months ago. He’s terrible.
Win or lose, I am fucking pissed, royally pissed, at Joe Girardi for leaving in Andy Pettitte.
HAIL DAMON!!!! HAIL DAMON!!!
Tie game again. C’mon Captain.
Positively Damonic
Damon is beasting it out there. I really wrote him off…but I think we can thank Girardi for getting him in playing shape at the beginning of the year.
5 for 5
Who the hell is this?
and Where is the real Damon?
This is the real Damon. He’s hitting .320 on the year. Today is no fluke!
I so hope your right because Damon bats .217 in Yankees loses and .307 in Yankees wins.
So I would like to keep this Damon please.
This is the real Damon, the other one was an imposter until this Damon could get a ride from Boston, it just took him this long because he looked like a homeless guy with that beard so nobody would pick him up
Johnny Damon will be smiling for one more reason…
http://farm1.static.flickr.com.....fd19d4.jpg
Now on the mound, Mike A. Prospect Crush Hall of Famer, Jimmy Gobble.
What happened to him? What was his reports coming into pro ball?
Same as it is right now, high-80′s and a sharp breaking ball. Battles himself with his command.
Boy, that Jeter is wack
With Joey Gathright’s arm and his route to the ball, surprised that Bobby Meachem didn’t wave Damon to third.
I’m not even going to be upset if Bobby flies out or strikes out here. I just want to see Cluch-Rod get a shot with men on
Doesn’t Jeter have a hit streak going?
It wouldn’t kill the Yanks to, you know, try to steal third in that situation with Damon on second.
Still scratching my head on why Damon didn’t go first to third on Joey Gathright’s arm and route to the Jeter 1B.
Joe G. is so aggressive
Here we go, he’s gonna get it all the way to the bleachers this time
I would’ve issued the IBB to A-Rod and make Jimmy Gobble go after the Giambino.
Not in a tie game you don’t. You look really dumb when you get a passed ball to score the runner
Yabuta not fuck with A-Rod!
Oh…
Armando Benitez was DFA’ed. There’s the solution to our 8th inning problem!!!
lol, he was a former closer and is a veteran presence.
Wow.
What the fuck was that? Did Mo just give up a homer?
Ugh, yes
Well, that sucks.
“If you want to feel what shock hears like…”
Nice one Kay.
The way you guys bash him is almost as old as listening to him.
You want to know what idiot “hears” like? Listen to Yankee games on TV.
WOW
I though wasn’t human.
he
Hip hip!!!!
VAYA JORGE!
HIP HIP
HIP-HIP JORGE!!!!!
HIP HIP JORGE!
Well keep in mind he’s 1/4 on the day and his triple slash before the game is:
.281/.335/.389
OPS+ 98
That aint goin’ up much.
Now, he’s 7th out of 11 AL shortstops in Zone Rating, so you know, not as bad as usual, but mediocre still.
Then his WARP 3 is 3.4, which would be his worst ever (and not that great a number period) A bad sign when you’re in your age 34 year.
But you know, continue to use my slang as proof of my wrongness.
Also, unrelated to this debate, but I’d really like to meet anyone (because they sadly do exist) that says that Posada being out for so long was not a big reason the Yankees scuffled.
I’m sure that Cano is putting up his worst ever WARP this year too, doesn’t mean he’s done playing baseball. Some guys just have bad years, it happens. Keep in mind that it’s a long season
We all know Derek Jeter is not The Derek Jeter anymore, but we don’t make a big deal out of it due to respect for the man.
You know what, I take that back. He had a MVP season in 2006 and still put up a great offensive year (for a SS of course) last season with a bad knee. It is not even the All-Star break yet, give him some more time. He did just go through a recent slump.
They don’t care what the fuck its going to take they are going to win this fucking game.
YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!.
Talk about a different offense with him in there
Cano just saw four pitches in that at bat and swung at every single one of them.
I was going to say how Pena made a nice play to grab that single from him, but yeah Ben K. is right. You swing at EVERY SINGLE pitch and you deserve that crap to happen to you.
Yes, Damon up with a chance to walk off with his sixth hit!
here we go is this sit up or what
MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP!
DAMON IS THE MAN!!!!!
6 is the number of
demonDAMONS!Yonny is absolutely en fuego
Holy poop! What a game! This team can look like one of those young underpaid come from behind scrappy teams every now and again….
What a game, maybe there’s a little magic left in that stadium
WOW…is the only word.
Joe Girardi is still an asshole.
General Joe can thank Damon for saving some criticism.
Guys enjoy the rest of the day….. Go Big Brown
Go Kelly Pavlik.
Mo should go give them both a hug too
What a great hit, to get jammed up inside and still hook it fair is really a testament of how good Damon was locked in
Johnny Damon has a .900 OPS from the lead-off spot. Owned.
JOBA!
LoL sorry, just saw him in the highlight. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
Had tickets for tomorrow had to give them up because of a family function.
OOOOOCH!!!!
Joba will probably pitch a no-hitter with my luck.
You know what’s great for tomorrow? Their bullpen was really drained. Can’t wait for Joba tomorrow!
Just got home from the game. It was a special day in the Bronx, definately had that feeling that we would never lose that game. Despite being down 5-1, 10-6, 11-10…Instant Yankee Classic