After leaving everyone on base, Yanks hit (by pitch) their way to a win
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So that game was pretty ridiculous. Or as John Sterling kept saying on the radio, it was “nutty.” In fact, he just kept saying that over and over and over again.
For the Yanks, this game started off promising. They plated two in the second and had runners on second and third with no one out. But Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez struck out thus initiating an offensive malaise that would last until Jose Molina’s clutch two-strike bases-loaded HBP in the 12th to give the Yanks their second win in two games after the break.
For the Yankees, much of this game rested on the top of the lineup. A-Rod went 0 for 5 and left seven runners on base. Jeter didn’t pick up his two hits until the innings of free baseball kicked in. While Robinson Cano continued his hot hitting with four hits, and Melky and Brett Gardner each had a pair of hits, the Yanks left a whopping 21 runners on base. That they won is a testament to good luck, their bullpen and the A’s anemic offense.
On the pitching front, Joba was again stellar as a starter. He threw six innings, allowing a run on six hits and one walk. He also struck out eight and needed just under 16 pitches per inning, a far better mark than he had seen recently.
The bullpen was a little unsettled at first. Jose Veras pitched himself into trouble and couldn’t pitch out of it. Mariano continued to struggle a tad in non-save situations. But the bullpen struck out 10 in six innings of work.
In the end, the Yanks won a game they could have won many times over and did it in the oddest way possible: a hit, two walks and an HBP in the 12th. I’ll take it. A win is a win is a win.
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Instead of a “walk off win” I think we should call this one a “Limp off win”
For more reasons than one.
3 in the loss behind the Sox for the Wild Card and the Rays are facing Halladay.
Were getting there.
a Win is a Win. Sox lose late in the game and Rays are destined to get owned by Holliday. Things look good so far.
You mean Halladay.
No, I believe he means Matt. I hear he has nasty knuckleball.
He pitches with his bat. He just throws bats at people. It’s horrible. He’s so vicious!
Yeah sorry, I spell at a 3rd grade level.
Absolutely, I guess we have to limp before we can run.
Baby steps. They’re getting there.
No one really expects this team to just roll over a fade out of it, do they?
Owned by Halladay, you said? Mmmmyes, good job.
Who is the this Kyle Farnsworth and what has he done with the real one?
Careful, we said that about Melky at the beginning of the year and look what that got us.
Somewhere I heard Whitey had a 17 LOB (shutout?) win once. This one was close. But I’ll take a walk-off HBP win anytime.
It wasn’t a pretty win, but good teams win ugly games. The mere fact that the Yankees did not mail the game in after the Christian baserunning error speaks volumes to me.
I am really loving our relief pitching this year. It’s funny how all the Cashman detractors fail to mention the pen when they’re calling for his head.
The homegrown elements of the pen are the first real signs (along with Joba) of Cash’s plan bearing fruit. Think about how sick this pen will look when we replace Hawkins with Melancon, and Farnsworth with Bruney. We’d run out Mo, Veras, Ramirez, Bruney, Robertson, Melancon & a long reliever. That is a championship bullpen, and it’s nearly completely homegrown.
This is just the tip of our young pitching iceberg. The next wave will be an equally-impressive core of starters. Did I mention how much I’m loving this plan?
Anyone out there still think we should have kept Joba in the pen?
Goose.
As much as I love the Goose, it was obvious he was seeing himself when he looked at Joba. For whatever reason, Gossage didn’t make it as a starter, but he was a world-class reliever. Why he didn’t even want to give Joba a chance as a starter is beyond me.
In Goose’s defense he isnt a talent evaluator or someone that has ever put together a team. He is a player from a different generation and he likes the sound of his own voice. Goose has always commented on how the use of relievers today is completely different to the way they were used in the past. There are some people who say some of these starters should be made into what Goose used to be. Guys who pitched 130 innings out of the bullpen and served a much bigger role going 3 to four innings at a time. I think Keith Law actually said he thought Lincecum should assume that sort of role as a way of extending his longevity considering his size and windup and the thought that he wouldnt be able to maintain his effectiveness over 200 innings.
All that being said I think everyone has to stop ignoring the comments about Joba in the bullpen. Let it fade into the ether, with each start its going to fade away and for anyone with any common sense at this point would let that one go.
Goose has A LOT to say lately. Some guys get elected to the HOF and they start telling everyone how they should act, run their team and how the game is supposed to be played.
Or maybe he was always this way, but no one ever gave a shit before he had the credentials.
I suspect its a little of both.
no, he’s been running his mouth for a long time.
he’s a jackass and if he didn’t play for the yankees, everyone here would hate his guts.
The Goose comments could only make sense in Goose’s era where closers pitched 3 innings a night, then I still don’t think a closer is better than a top line starter, but there could at least be a case if your closer is throwing 100+ innings a year
I think that Goose has a point that it’s not comparable, this era and his era. Guys today do not do what he did. And that is great and commendable that he did it. When he did it, he was the best. Gator and Goose in a game was end of story. It was nice and predictable. You’re not shuffling bp guys in and out of a game. Bullpen managemnt is a no brainer. There was some upside to the way things were. But they’re not that way anymore.
But to then say Joba could be what he was is to mix the whole thing up. You’d have to change the game completely to go back to the way it was.
We appreciate Goose and what he’s done as a Yankee. I even appreciate his grumblings about how Mariano couldn’t do what he did…but he can’t keep trying to insert his opinions about how he did it into today because it’s not that way anymore
Wins a win, and in reality these are the wins the Yanks could use, that they haven’t been getting, thats keeping them down after the first half.
The beat a guy they had never seen before (he didn’t get the loss but they did win), in a game they made mistakes, and trailed late. Essentially the evil trifecta that any single one of these they usually loose on
it was one the way to being the THIRD game they lost the exact same way:
2-2 in the 9th, Mariano gives up a run. the other 2 were KC and Texas.
it’s great they rallied. and they did it against a good closer.
DotF?
Trenton had a doubleheader, waiting for the second game to end. Half hour or so…
K, just making sure there was going to be one, take your time. Figures that ESPN is going to make fun of Christian for tripping. they are showing the top embarassing moments
Does anyone know what’s up with Ian Kennedy?
I mean, if Darrell Rasner keeps struggling, will Kennedy be called up?
IPK pitched tonight, and well. I think they’ll stick with Rasner a little longer, at least until the wheels completely fall off.
As the likely final game I attend and the first for my sister at the ole park, the Christian baserunning “error” will last a lifetime.
It seems the older players have trouble with day games after night games. It might be coincidental, but it could the effects of a new “clean era” in baseball. Teams will be wise to keep getting younger.
Bring back “greenies”. The numbers the players are putting up are skewed, because they don’t have the added benefit of being amped up like their counterparts of the last 60 years. (toungue in cheek)