Game 120: Taking the series
ByNothing like a day game right after a four hour and 22 minute affair the night before. It’ll just make tomorrow’s day off feel sweeter. That is, if they can pull of a win and take the series from the Twins.
They’ll be without the captain, who will sit out the game after fouling a ball of his foot last night. It makes enough sense. Might as well give him a full two days to rest. They will miss has bat, though. He’s 15 for 47 in August, adding up to a .319/.370/.404 line. In his place is Wilson Betemit, who is having yet another ugly month, despite his slightly increased playing time. In 27 plate appearances, he hasn’t drawn a single walk.
Rasner takes the mound again, looking to redeem himself. Phil Hughes is getting closer, and could take Rasner’s spot in 10 days or so. Here’s to hoping Ras puts up a fight to keep his spot.
Your lineup:
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Bobby Abreu. DH
3. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
4. Jason Giambi, 1B
5. Xavier Nady, RF
6. Robinson Cano, 2B
7. Ivan Rodriguez, C
8. Wilson Betemit, SS
9. Melky Cabrera, CF
And on the mound, number forty-three, Darrell Rasner.
209 Comments»
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according to espn carl crawford elects to have surgery and is out for the year. couple that with longoria’s wrist and the state of boston’s pitching (17 runs and they win?!!?!?!111?!!?) and we are in pretty good shape. let’s go YANKS!
I was curious – what the heck is our rotation at the moment?
And of course PA just updated it – though we only have a four man rotation at the moment.
Pettite
Ponson
Moose
Giese
Rasner
That’s some scary stuff right there.
you’ll see Hughes in there soon. plus, i think you really dont need a 5th starter for the next week or so because of the off days coming up.
So far this year Hughes has not proved he can do any better than Rasner. We need Joba back and pronto.
Amen.
according to olney on sportscenter a min ago someone put in a claim on washburn…maybe us? dont see why we wouldnt
i thought Washburn had already cleared waivers…
Last night, did we start a trend…like winning? Damm, I hope so! It would be nice if we could get Moose his 20th win. Good luck you ‘all, don’t have any heart attacks if it gets tight. 27/09?
Give me one reason why giambi is a better clean up hitter than Nady(right now)
I guess thats a reason.
because he’s left handed and that way the lineup goes RLRLRLRSS instead of RLRRLLRSS
and that’s all the reason joey joe joe jr needed.
Giambi is 8 for his last 19 or something…
Give me one reason why giambi is a better clean up hitter than Nady(right now)
holy shit, you are annoying.
what’s the difference between 4th and 5th?
A-Rod really looks like he could be breaking out
stupid webbing.
Wow, get a functioning glove BigG
really Michael Kay? E-glove?
Rasner is hitting his spots pretty good, I like…
I agree. His velocity is a tad higher as well.
Damn – great throw by Melky!
The throw was ok – but mostly very bad baserunning on a judgment error by Ruiz…
This team is fast but not very smart.
I meant twins.
yes because the yankees aren’t really that fast… but equally prone to bad baserunning
Another hard ground ball to third by Arod.
hey guys. been busy had to go to a wake last night so i wasnt here for the gamethread. but i did see ALEX RODRIGUEZ SLAMMM ONe. followed by nady. that was something lol. i think a-rod is ready to get his head out of his ass and start contributingg. that was a boost that he needed for sure.
damn man we needed that
Loweel haded to the DL !!!!
Nice to see cano came to play today…
Classic Cano.
Great…CONCENTRATE BOYS. Unbelievable…
What did he do now? I’m a Cano supporter, but it has to be drilled into him that he can’t pull this lazy/too cool for school crap anymore.
He anticipated a double play and was already off the bag when he caught the ball from A-Rod, and then it was also already too late to get the runner at first. No outs, error charged to Cano.
Although the runner might have been safe at second anyway…close call.
He basically stepped off the bag at second before recording the force out, runner ended up being safe on the correct call by the umpire. Scored a fielding error on Cano.
Was it worse than every other double play? I can’t remember the last time I saw a second baseman actually touch the bag while holding the ball.
Yep, it was too obvious this time
uhoh
Ouch…with our offense right now it’s gonna be tough to come back from that. Let’s go!
ouchie
Well that should do it, for the Yankees and their amazing offense.
faith?
realism… how many times have they scored 3 or less this year?
faith ?
We will see won’t we but I like being wrong so who cares.
But the answer is 48 of 120 for 40%.
Scratch that its about to be 49 of 121.
Excellent work all around dropping another game in the standings — always helps when you are “supposedly” challenging for the Wild Card.
Something for Girardi to focus on in Sriping training would be fundamentals of fielding, bunting and baserunning. This team of “superstars” needs to learn to do the little things right first.
This is the first time since the Stump Merrill days that I have wanted the season over in august.
So your faith got you one run… nice work!
we getting the w dont worry.. this guy isnt that good
Slowey is a solid pitcher.
Nevertheless a guy who doesn’t throw a Power FB and throws it alot and have a scary GB-FB ratio, yankees should hit.
Cabrera will never, ever, ever learn not to swing at pitches in his eyes. He’s got an enormous hitch in his swing, and that pitch is a mile outside the zone.
He’s such a worthless hitter. It’s unreal that he continues to play. I realize that Jeter’s out, but then at least Christian should be in there. The lefty/righty thing is worthless when you’re as bad as Cabrera (and often is regardless), and at least Christian hits sporadically and can steal bases.
they both suck.
when Jeter comes back, Damon should play CF.
Absolutely. When Jeter’s in, Damon in center. Just meant that for today, Christian was the better option. But I def agree that neither should be in there at all on a regular basis.
This is sad, they don’t even throw to Melky below his hips. He swings at everything up and can’t touch most of it
bring bowa back -OR- get rid of cano
I think he will bounce back next season.
get rid of melky, he’s a drain on cano’s career lol
slowey man we gotta hit this guy
The Yankees offense sucks, and they make mediocre pitchers look good. Even worse, they make good pitchers look great.
How is it that Young has 6 hrs all year, and gets 2 three run shots off the Yankees in 1 series…
we will not deal cano unless he sucks next season also
Wow…is there anyone on this page today who has a primary sector job?
In between the bar exam and the start of work at my firm. So… not right now.
Primary or private?
working right now at my 9-5 salary job, just so happens this is the only blog not blocked and gamecast on epsn works
wow abreu got benched
o wait nvm
Giese now = Hughes next week?
giese now = not scheduled to pitch til tuesday possibly and he needs to get work in caus ehis spot was and is being skipped and the bullpen has been beatup lately i would think….
id like to hope youre right but it doesnt mean anything i dont think….yet…
and so far he looks……..terrible
Oh dear heavens. As if we needed one more thing. Talk about not our year. Unbelievable.
Giese limps off the field with the trainer may = Hughes next week
so like 13 straight balls THEN he limps off? he couldntve limped off after maybe 4 balls?
Sweet, thats what we needed.
Phil Hughes, welcome back
Is Giese hurt
Looked like he was limping as he came off.
wow. just wow. what in the hell.
lil davey’s in a jam
You know we’re screwed when even our bad pitchers start getting hurt
lol. im crying while i’m laughing nonetheless
It’s just one of those years man
Wow
wow man wow
time to put on your seat belt and get ready for a wild ride
and pray to whatever god you believe in, god, buddha, flying spaghetti monster
well that could have been a lot worse… thank you flying spaghetti monster!
here comes tha hook
Nasty.
I just heard on the radio a caller said he would trade Cano and Hughes for Carl Crawford.
He’s a radio caller, need I say more?
Ya right.
I’m sure there are callers who would trade Wang, A-Rod and Jeter for David Ortiz as well…
he is an idiot
You would think the caller would think about it and do his research.
if someone thought and did research they wouldnt be calling a radio show
Wow this is a strange inning!
It would be stranger if they got out of it allowing no runs!
what happend to the ump? Missed it.
what’s the on field delay?
ump caught a foul ball off the chin, gotta wait for another one to put on the gear
thanks, just turned on radio, Minny announcer saying umpire trying to find pants that fit.
this could potentially fuck robertson with this delay.
But Slowey even more
Per Peter Abraham:
Let’s hope it works out, he was really good this season…but more importantly we need him back to 100% next season!
He can certainly help.
Seriously this has been a really tough year for the yanks. I mean just looking at Geise leaving, was just like come on man.
frickin redonkulous man
Why was Geise pitching after starting on Saturday? If he’s a starter let him be a starter. I gotta blame Girardi for that one.
The bullpen is already burned man, Giese had to take one for the team
Hmmm – you think Britton gets another chance now?
For about 1 game in which he will throw 59 pitches.
HAHAH pudge held that for so long
I think that has to be a strike call.
New ump doesnt want to put his stamp on the game immediately
that pitch before was a strike.
thats the one I meant it was pudge saying hey dickhead this was a strike all game
Phew. Credit to Robertson. Really tough situation to come into and he did extremely well, all things considered.
Good job by Robertson to escape this inning with one run. Could have been no run…not very smart Mr. Damon.
the run would have scored no matter where damon threw it
Not according to the Minnesota broadcasters, he wasn’t even running until he saw where the throw went.
At least that’s what they said – I didn’t even look to be honest.
Is it me or has Kay has been sounding like a big time whiny bitch lately.
kay and flaherty/leiter suck
singleton and cone are awesome
I love Al Leiter! He’s my favorite YES broadcaster after Jim Kaat left…
Wouldn’t you sound like a whiny bitch if you had to announce this nonsense for your job day in and day out? especially with the amazing defense of Cano and Cabrera.
This team simply has no heart. No name pitchers and one paltry run through 6 2/3. So weak.
That No heart crap is Bullshit. Hey maybe it just not working this year. Their trying, it’s just going right now.
I have to disagree. I’m not saying that heart = wins. I’m not saying that if they had heart they’d be in first place. The injuries and other problems have just ben overwhelming. That’s not my point, though; they’re just listless out there. They’re undisciplined. They make stupid mental mistakes all the time. That’s what I mean.
Trying? Really?
It hasn’t look like they have been trying for awhile and today’s gold glove defense is just “Exhibit A.” This is a sloppy team that does not execute the fundamentals of the game very well.
No, he’s speaking literally. They literally have no hearts. They’ve got that thing Tony Stark made in their chests. And no team, baseball or otherwise, has won anything when they had crazy fusion technology for hearts.
Lol.
Two hard hit balls to the fielder, what ya gonna do.
not like that 1 run will matter as opposed to 4 runs. the yankees would need to score and that seems to be an impossible thing with popouts to second and groundouts to the pitcher
this is just bad
jesus
That’s Cano Ball AND he called off Melky.
pudge bails out melky and cano
ARRRRRRR MELKYYYYYYYYYYY…
This is frustrating.
BENCH. CABRERA. FOR GOOD. NOW.
NO! When will you people learn that we need Cabrera in the field for his defense!
Lol. Really? Truly? You can’t be serious.
I am completely serious. Cano wouldn’t have known not to catch that ball if Melky hadn’t called him off. Cano was clearly standing under the ball and would have caught it. Thank god Melky was there to save the day!
Lol
He can’t hit, but he can field his ass off that Melky.
until we find someone who is a huge offensive upgrade over leche he is going to see a majority of time in cf bc damon cant play there every day.
Theres no point to starting someone else who doesnt hit alot better because he plays some of the best defense in mlb
Check the numbers. That’s simply not right.
check what numbers.. ZR?
2008 CF Zone ratings-
Carlos gomez .940
Adam Jones .930
Grady Sizemore .923
melky Cabrera .922
with 16 qualified Cf below him, I’d say that can be considered some of the best Cf defense in ML.and ZR doesnt take arm strength into account
If Girardi doesn’t pinch hit right now, so help me.
hahah gotta love the gamesmanship
They say that Giese left with a stiff right shoulder…didn’t he limp off the field?
Maybe they just wanted to take him out and the bullpen wasn’t ready and he’s not injured at all.
Sub in Jeter – please. The black hole of hitting must be stopped.
Amen.
Right…nothing like a good Jeter GIDP to kill this rally
Pessimism FTW!
Oh…Christian is pinch hitting.
LOL…or should I cry.
Oh it’s Sexson. Oops.
Nooooooooo
Time to cry. I hope I’m/we’re wrong.
It says everything you need to know about the ’08 New York Yankees that a huge game in our season rests on a Richie Sexson PH appearance.
Spot on. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Struck out…well…better than a double play. LOL.
word.
Sexson swings threw a hanging slider.
Can anyone tell me why Sexson is on this team? Ridiculous.
I’ll take Montero over Sexson right now.
Come on. Only the yanks. Damon was safe.
NO WAY! He was safeeeeeeee! AAAHHHHHHH…
I guess Girardi didn’t trust Melky to put down a bunt in that situation.
I wouldn’t either.
Catch a break.
Hopefully this isnt the baseball gods teasing us.
Just like last night baby lets go!
This continues to be one of the strangest games I can remember.
Indeed…
iight A-Rod.
Damn, just missed it.
A-Rod just miss it.
OK, did anyone expect Arod do anything but fail there?
Nope.
Yes, I expected Abreu to run, the throw to hit the ump knocking him out, runner scores, Abreu to third, AROD HBP, and Giambi HR to take the lead. A simple out seems quite out of character for this game.
We got a run. A Bloop and a Blast ties the game if the score stays the same.
Alright…top of the ninth will be Giambi, Nady, Cano(, I-Rod).
It’s not over yet, cross your fingers. Although I don’t have high hopes
I really used to defend him. I can’t anymore. I know he came through last night in the 12th, finally, but one HR in a tie game doesn’t come close to accounting for the repeated failures when it counts (this year). We all knew he wouldn’t come through, no matter how much we hoped we were wrong.
As amazing as he was last year when it counted…he’s not been the same this year. Let’s hope he gets it back at least next season because his contract is loooooooooong…
thoughts on maggs for next year? He’s no spring chicken but he can still hit.
http://blog.mlive.com/cutoffma.....ade_o.html
traber is giving up a HR to a lefty
CJ I checked those numbers for you:
2008 CF Zone ratings-
Carlos gomez .940
Adam Jones .930
Grady Sizemore .923
melky Cabrera .922
with 16 qualified Cf below him, I’d say that can be considered some of the best Cf defense in ML.and ZR doesnt take arm strength into account (i think)
You do have to apply the bonehead coefficient.
hahaha very very true which unfortunately for the melkman is off the charts
Fair enough, Pat. I have to admit that I don’t have the number handy. A previous poster listed a number of different stats in another thread, hence my statement.
Personally, though, I still don’t think it’s enough. To me, the question is whether whatever defense we lose by replacing him is compensated for or overcome by a superior hitter. With Christian, you could possibly argue that it’s a wash, since Melky’s arm is stellar, and Christian adds a quantum of hitting and some base-stealing ability. But if you put Damon in center, w/ Nady and Abreu at the corners, you lose a ton in arm strength, but gain, I think, far more at the plate. I realize Damon’s arm is awful (and I’ve always been one to criticize it; I think I can throw better) and gives up extra bases, but I just don’t think it compares to the tactical and emotional baggage that Melky’s complete cluelessness adds. The bonehead coefficient is huge. We KNOW he’s getting out and we know he’ll make stupid plays. He’s not a smart ballplayer. He’s not an average (mentally) ballplayer. He kills this team.
thats all i was sayin before is we need someone who is much better offensively to make up for what would be a drop off defensively. Christian would be a wash and damon’s offense would easily make up the difference but unfortunately he cant play center on an everyday basis.
we agree
Why is Traber in this game? Girardi is throwing in the towel
well he got 1 out of 2. Now he will bring in Brian Bruney.
Girardi’s thought process:
Must play lefty v lefty
Must play lefty v lefty
Must play lefty v lefty
I want a hot dog
Must play lefty v lefty
wow robbie
IS THIS LITTLE LEAGUE?
This game is getting weirder and weirder. Mauer steals the first base of the season and Betemit gets hit by Pudge’s throw in the knee!
Does anyone else think that Robbie might have a serious case of ADD? But that it hasn’t been diagnosed?
I wonder if A-Rod’s contract has anything to do with his play. He now has every incentive to swing for the fences with every at bat. I wonder how he’d adjust if he was chasing, say, the RBI record or something similar.
Wow – can the Yanks embarrass themselves any more in the field. How about an infield pop up where all four infielders run into each other and the ball falls for a double?
Just when I didn’t think it could get better . . . was the big G just thinking about bunting for a hit?
I think the Yankees have proven today that they DON’T think…;)
I don’t have a problem with that. If he hits one out they’re still behind – if he could lay a bunt down the 3rd base line that’s an easy single.
I agree I just never believe I will see it. As it turns out that would have been a better plan.
Too much blame to go around.
That’s it. It’s official. I have now reached the point where even my blind optimism wont let me believe this team has any chance. If I’m managing, I’m no longer in a win now mentality. Of course, that’s why they didn’t hire me.
Anyone else think it is time to end the Richie Sexson experiment?
Absolutely.
i cannot be positive anymore.
Girardi doesn’t even trust Melky to bunt over the runners so he uses Sexson to pinch hit for him. That’s just sad.
I know I’ve beaten the optimism bit to a pulp, but in ’05 on this date we were 5 games in back of Boston, and we were 4 games behind them as late as September 10th that year. We all know how that season turned out. And if we don’t make the playoffs, can we at least get some meaningful baseball to carry us to football season?
Are they talking about bringing Joba back to the PEN? because I will freak right out if they are. He needs to be back in the rotation
!
I’m not going to give up until we are out of it. Tampa still has a really hard schedule a head of them and I just don’t believe in the Red Sox. All they need to do is get within 2 or 3 games of the Sox before 9/1.
I don’t know why and for once I have no facts to back this up, but I believe something amazing is coming.