Game 15: Lefty v Lefty Part Deux
ByFollowing last night’s lefty vs lefty matchup, we get another one this afternoon. CC Sabathia will be making his fourth start for the Yanks and second at home, but the A’s have kinda owned CC throughout his career. He’s 3-7 lifetime against Oaktown with a 6.12 ERA & 1.63 WHIP in a not small sample of 85.1 IP. On the bright side he’s pretty much pwned the current A’s hitters.
Sabathia will be opposed by rookie Brett Anderson, the best lefty pitching prospect in the game not named Price. The A’s acquired him in the Danny Haren deal, and he’s very similar to a young Andy Pettitte in that he’s a four pitch guy with outstanding command. He’ll be making his third career start and his first on the road. Welcome to the bigs, kid.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but when I’ve done the game thread this year, the Yanks are 0-3 and have been outscored 27-12. Let’s hope they buck that trend today. Here’s the starting nine:
Jeter, SS
Damon, LF
Teixeira, 1B
Posada, C - I could be wrong, but this is his first time he’s catching a day game after a night game this season
Cano, 2B
Swisher, RF
Matsui, DH
Melky, CF
Ransom, 3B
And on the mound, number fifty-two, CC Sabathia.
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They’ve been 0-3 after your thread? I’d say they’re due to help you out.
Mike: How many game threads have you done during CMW starts?
Just one. I did Opening Day, the second game of the year, and the home opener. So this will be my third CC start.
Damn, you are cursed.
You are one pathetic loser, Mike. No offense…
No, none taken.
The Axisa of Evil
over/under: how many times have you heard that before. Bar set at 7.5
I’ll take the over
Nah, definitely under. No more than 4 or 5.
*groan*
They can’t all be winners Rebecca.
The Axisa of Evil
That reminds me: How is “Axisa” pronounced?
Aks-ISS-ah?
Aks-EE-sah?
Aks-ee-AY?
AH-shee-ah?
Mu-LAN-sin?
Aks-EE-sah
Good. I’ll pronounce it “Smith”, then.
That’s how Joe pronounces his last name.
Damn, I would have guessed Mu-LAN-sin, but that’s why I suck at multiple choice
mlb.com headlines are great
Sabathia seeks first win while wearing pinstripes
apparently CC is so large he needs 2 wins for to get a real victory
although i guess he wasn’t wearing pinstripes on the road
Wait, I’m about to blow your mind:
http://media.signonsandiego.co.....ap.org.jpg
BOOM. THAT JUST HAPPENED.
Granted, I’ve missed the better part of a week, but has anyone else noticed that Matsui doesn’t look quite so helpless at the plate?
I think it’s to be expected – the man did miss just about a year (except for about one month in between where he struggled mightily), and it takes a little time to get back into it. Especially with knee issues, hitting is a lot about confidence, and in his case, the confidence to properly utilize the lower half of his body. I just hope his knees don’t creek up any more than they already have, between him and Nady’s elbow, they’ll probably need as much health in between them for the DH spot as possible.
no no, he should have been cut after 5 games.
He had his knee drained a couple of days ago, and has been playing well since then.
Finally they pulled Swisher out of that cleanup spot…sheesh. Posada has been consistent all year so far…Swisher was always going to be a streaky guy…had to end sometime.
The Yankees aren’t very successful against soft tossing lefties…and when you add in the fact that we’ve never faced this kid…that doesn’t help either. Our statistical history against new young pitchers we haven’t faced before isn’t great. Although, Eveland I dont think we’ve faced so who knows…but this kid is suppose to be far better.
Sabathia is due for a decent start. He’s done one real bad one…then one good one…then one mediocre one (that could go either way). The A’s haven’t been hitting that well so hopefully the key is to do the same thing Andy did last night and DON’T WALK ANYBODY!!! I don’t care as much about the K’s if we’re getting outs. Just don’t give free passes to people. Especially to a team who hasn’t been hitting well.
If we can do that…we’ll be in good shape. We just need to figure this Anderson character out in the process…
The Yanks rode swisher’s hot bat as long as they could-which is exactly what they should have done.
Nice comment, Axl. There seems to be something different about you now, almost like you’re more relaxed and not so angry.
Can’t quite put my finger on it…
Haha couldn’t even properly type “Not” in my name… : /
Heh, it makes a big difference too.
“Not So Angry Axl” seems like a nice guy. Much better than “NO! SO ANGRY AXL!!!”
hahahaha very true
yeah, i like this Not So Angry Axl.
almost as much as i like Axl Rose. unless you ARE Axl Rose. that would be sweet.
I was guessing he was Axel Foley.
(Don’t forget, kids, Beverly Hills Cop 4 should be in theaters sometime in 2010. Get your popcorn ready…)
sad thing is this is probably true
I like “No So Angry Axl” better. Makes you sould like Solomon Grundy.
Well the Yankees winning games certainly helps. And I’m getting excited that April is ending soon…so that means Sabathia will be transforming into The Destroyer…and Alex Rodriguez will be back to not only smash the ball…but most importantly…take Cody Ransoms place at 3B and in the batting order.
Cano moving up to #5… daddy likes.
Also, let’s see if this is the beginning of more PT for Melky.
At this point who’s bat do you like better in the line up? Gardner or Melky? Setting speed and other attributes aside.
Meh, too soon to give up on either of them, I suppose (unless one of them can be traded for Mike Cameron.)
But you can’t deny that Melky’s been hitting the ball better and Gardner’s scuffling. I guess I’d still let both of them play, split it up pretty 50-50 until somebody really establishes himself.
This season:
Gardner (14 G, 49 AB):
BA: .245
OBP: .288
SLG: .306
OPS: .595
ISO: .061
SO/BB: 10/3
Cabrera (13 G, 18 AB including the 2nd inning HR):
BA: .333
OBP: .400
SLG: .833
OPS: 1.233
ISO: .500
SO/BB: 1/2
Obviously, Melky’s numbers are a lot better right now, but that may just be because he has 31 fewer ABs.
I believe Cano was 5th last night as well. I’m excited for ARod to come back, our lineup will begin to look scary again with Cano 6th and Swisher 7th.
Is there any evidence to suggest that career performance against a particular team is meaningful? I assume not, but I’m not just being snarky, I’d like to know, because that would be very counterintuitive.
You guys also bring up match-up type stats a lot in these game previews. One sees that all the time on tv, but I wouldn’t expect you guys to buy into any of it. Do you, or do you just include it out of convention?
Not that I know of. But it was the last minute and I needed something to write about.
Honesty will get you nowhere, sir.
Probably somewhere if you look hard enough.
I can’t be bothered.
Other than being comfortable on the road in their city or having the confidence knowing he’s been successful against this team. No, there is no other benefit to having particular success against a certain team.
Wakefield is perfect through 1…
and yook smashed another HR
it would be scary if manny was still in that lineup
Yeah, I’m definitely glad he’s out of it. Youkillis is hitting everything in site for some reason. Nobody else is really hitting and they’re still winning games…granted the majority of them against the Orioles who they’ve owned since the Carter Administration…but still. Youkillis has to slow down at some point here. It’s too bad that he’s a cry baby and he premature ejaculates (i have a story) or else he’d be a decent all around player…
It’s too bad that he’s a cry baby and he premature ejaculates (i have a story) or else he’d be a decent all around player…
I am truly and honestly torn about whether or not I want to hear that story. Half of me thinks it would be hilarious and I would laugh my ass off, half of me thinks it would be super disturbing and the story would haunt my nightmares.
Girl from my town dated him a few times when he was first called up to the Red Sox a few years back. She said he was ridiculously nervous and awkward…and she said he premature ejaculated after their first kiss. Needless to say, they no longer see each other.
You mean with Cleveland?
I got nervous for a second and saw the 2-0…I have Liriano pitching today…but I guess it’s tonight. Phew.
I’m glad to see Melky get the start just to change things up a little, he’s hitting .294/.368/.647. Then again he’s only had 19 at-bats.
Is it just me who has worked out the YES opening credits riff on guitar lol.
dudes, check out the new roster pages over MLB. its awesome!
Nick Green just homered for the Red Sox. 4-0 already. So stupid. Nick Green homers but Gardner/Ransom/etc can’t.
Meh, Ransom was hitting freaking grand slams last year. It happens, it won’t last.
Give Green another few weeks and watch him burn up on re-entry.
he had a throwing error if it makes you feel better
The Sox are just correcting to their ability. They are neither as bad as they started nor this good. Especially considering what they are actually throwing out there.
Just makes it worse that the Yankees are struggling early yet again…
are they “struggling”? they are 8-6. if they win today, they are on pace for 97 wins.
sure, we’d like them to be 10-4, but 50% of their losses can be pinned on ONE player.
it’s not like previous Aprils when the entire team has come out sluggish and slow.
10-4 would still be struggling. They should be 14-0!
You think they aren’t struggling? Saying they are on pace for 97 wins when they are two games over .500 is kind of silly. This team SHOULD be 10-4, not “it would be nice.”
I’d take 97 wins. It’s hard to be much more than 2 games over .500 at this point. Only a few teams are there, and most are predicting they fall back to earth. I’m fine with us being where we expected (minus CMW)
Saying they are on pace for 97 wins when they are two games over .500 is kind of silly.
Well, he actually said we’d be on pace for 97 wins if we win today, which would be three games over .500 (9-6), and seeing how 97 wins is 32 games over .500 and we’ve currently only played about a tenth of the season, if we go 9-6 ten times, that’s 30 games over .500.
So… I don’t get how the statement is that bad of a statement. If we win today, that means we’ve been winning 60% of our games. A 60% winning percentage is damn good… and we’ve been winning 60% of our games despite the fact that one of our starters has looked like an utter trainwreck and that we’ll either fix that or replace him in short order.
Man, those seats behind HP are EMPTY!
I like how Giambi gets applause from the fans, but Arod gets booed while still on the Yanks…
apples and oranges
giambi is one of the nicest guys in baseball
And A-Rod is one of the best players. They both did roids, they both say stupid sh#t, but A-Rod has been the better player for the Yankes…
giambi is one of the nicest guys in baseball
So is ARod.
You gotta love technology- taking notes in class and watching the game at the same time.
Heh, I’m watching on Gameday, wish I had MLB.Tv though ;(
You should invest in it. It has glitches, but the quality is much better than in the past. Great picture.
Unless you live in NY, bc then you would be blacked out anyhow.
in class. no notes. just gameday.
seconded.
Ahh, its students like you that drive teachers like me nuts! I have literally caught my students watching Padres games multiple times. Sigh…
Hey, in the laptop age, everybody is playing around on the computer- who cares what they are doing?
last year I had MLB.tv in class and watched every night Yankee game on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the class. Everyone around me seemed to love watching it too.
Why no Joba today? Why not pitch him today and then go Sabathia, Burnett and Petitte in Boston
They want to keep Sabathia on regular rest.
You know, as a lead off guy, Jeter doesn’t get on base all that often…
Based on 14 games? His career OBP as a leadoff hitter before this season was .389.
point taken.
This guy really pounds the strike zone huh
Come on, Cano. What ya swinging at?
I hate free passes, especially leadoff free passes. Find the zone CC, work ahead.
I hate homeruns
Suzuki is the Yankee killer
What a fucking idiot.
CC still seems a bit off with that fastball
Ayayay CC…
3 2-run home runs for the Sox…meanwhile Sabathia has 2 on and nobody out against the A’s??
fuck
What an idiot.
homerun – 3 nothing oakland
what happened?
Ahh, WTF. Like I said, struggling…
That was gone anyway. No need to review.
why are they reviewing it?
Fan reached over the wall. It was gone anyway, no OFer could have jumped that high.
Ouch
Well… Lets hope for more rain.
Dude, it’s the second inning.
lol, and we’ve scored at least 4 in each game.
Yeah, they weren’t against rookie lefties we’ve never seen before though…
i’ll take my chances.
Sabathia in April = Useless
Well, looks like the Red Sox are going to pull ahead of us for the first time this season…
Okay, so what? Also, CC in April-useless? Okay, I’d much rather have Ponson too.
Who cares what the Red Sox are doing? The Yanks can’t control it.
It’s freaking April. There are far more important things to worry about.
Seattle & KC are in 1st place, it’s going to be okay.
Damn you, Kurt, you freakin’ homewrecker.
Also, check out the name change…
Axl, I say this with the utmost care and concern:
You need to see a mental health practicioner. You suffer from manic depression.
That’s a homerun, unfortunately.
Those cocksuckers.
I’m getting my trident out.
DOES MIKE POP HAVE TO SPEAR A BITCH!!?!?!?!
Imagine paying 2500 per seat to sit in the rain. HAHA
Ahhh nothing like the security of a staff ace pitching on a wed afternoon.
Leadoff walks always seem to hurt, huh? Alright CC, get outta this inning. Our offense needs to pick him up.
Holy crap guys, it’s the second inning!
Rebecca – you visit here too?
How is the rain affecting CC’s pitching? I don’t get why you don’t just throw pitches right down the middle instead of walking the leadoff guy. It ALWAYS comes to bite us.
because throwing pitches down the middle leads to home runs.
Yeah. I’ve been otherwise occupied the past week, but yeah.
Don’t you know when the Yanks don’t have the lead in the early stages of a ballgame, that its over?
CC does have no control and is leaving his breaking stuff over the plate. Doesn’t mean he can’t figure it out this game though.
It seems like we either win games…or we get absolutely massacred. No normal losses yet…when we’ve lost it’s been by the team scoring around 10 runs or more. The average of runs our opponent scores in our losses compared the amount we score in them would be interesting to know…
So we are already being massacred? In the second inning? After we put two on in the first?
Yes…
I don’t make the rules…I just enforce them…
WHY THE FUCK IS MY BURRITO TAKING THIS LONG TO COOK IN THIS MICROWAVE!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?
Finally, gameday audio for iphone came back.
Ugh, its out again. Anyone having similar problems or even regular gameday audio problems?
What did I say before the game? I’d be happy if he didn’t walk anybody. He’s pitched 1.1 innings and already walked 2. 1 already came around to score. RRRrrrrrrr
Man, where would we be without Pettite?
Can’t believe we lost today.. Wait, oh shit there’s 7 and a half innings left
“Can’t believe we lost today.. Wait, oh shit there’s 7 and a half innings left”
I can’t believe it either. There’s always tomorrow.
In all seriousness though we will probably score 2 runs then the game will get rained out in the 6th and we lose lol
Bandbox, obviously.
Bandbox. Matsui’s toast.
GODZILLA
See, now it’s only a two run game!
One run game!
Coors Field East.
….someone is getting warm
That was hot
There is one run back… Nice shot Matsui. Nice to see him back on track these past few games.
Bandbox, duh.
Melk!!!
Wow, that’s a great two-pitch swing
back to back! belly to belly…yum
Bandbox. Melky’s useless.
I told you Melky’s the man!
Ooooooooooh no… They say he’s got to go…
Oh no Godzilla!
Were they legit or wind induced?
Melk Man taking advantage of the start, nice shot kidd.
So COdy shows bunt…
Must be the wind!
Heh, wanna talk about an oxymoron? How about witnessing back-to-back homers then seeing Cody Ransom come to the plate.
both of those were gone in any stadium
And in other news, Ransom still sucks.
Nothing like a Cody Ransom at-bat to bring back a pitcher’s confidence after giving up back-to-back jacks.
Seriously, Pena CAN’T be worse than this. Maybe he’ll at least survive to see the 4th pitch in an at-bat
2009 Cody Ransom = 2008 Melky Cabrera
Hopefully, Pena starts getting more starts soon
Melky hit 250…
With good D.
True, but Melky played the entire year and Cody is gone in a few weeks
Hey, at least Melky was red-hot last April. Ransom would kill for Melky’s 2008.
the melk man just delivered…right handed?
Melky is such a c@cktease.
He did this last year and then fell off a cliff…
For those of us at work, were those legit shots?
Super legit.
la-git
But…but…Axl said the game was over, so I turned it off!
It is over…this is all a mirage. Now go get me a coffee
Well, it’s a good thing for Landon Powell that he can hit.
Fielding error. Lets get one over before its called in the 6th
Cody “The Buzzkiller” Ransom
I’ve come to the following conclusion….either:
(A.) Ransom is dating a family member of Girardi.
or
(B.) Ransom has compromising photos of Girardi.
In all seriousness though, why the FUCK is he still playing on a daily basis? It’s comical.
Matsui and Melky, bravo.
Axl… CALM THE FUCK DOWN.
I’m sorry, if you’ve noticed I’m “not so angry again”…
I did. Hopefully you’ve learned your lesson.
Try to freak out LESS going forward. Our team is still the balls.
How is the weather looking in NY? I go to college in Pitt and it is clear here. If it is clear in Pitt, I am usually positive that it is clear anywhere.
Oh for a second there I thought you were just Brad Pitt’s younger brother…or Mr. Pitt from Seinfeld…
That would be nice.
Gotta squeeze Johnny. Pick him up CC.
How is the weather looking in NY? I go to college in Pitt and it is clear here. If it is clear in Pitt, I am usually positive that it is clear anywhere.
Good thing the meteorologist from the other day explaining the wind effects came from Penn State and not Pitt, eh guys?
http://www.instantrimshot.com
It’s disgusting right now. Misty and rainy and just really ugly.
You know what strikes me as strange? The Yankees saw enough in Ramiro Pena to take him over Berroa and put him on the 40-man for the foreseeable future, but they apparently do not believe that he can hit better than .156 we are getting from Cody.
and they found it necessary to cease his development by gluing him to the bench. no experience above AA and everyone speaks so highly of his glove, but lets bring up to the majors and not play him
And lets hope for a nice shut down inning for CC here. Get our offense back up quickly and keep the bats going.
Over/Under on walks this inning? Runs scored?
A-rod gets standing ovation in his first at-bat back….and booed in the second
…It’s like the curse of the pop up!
lol damon.
Lame.
Bah.
Nice job, Damon
No Johnny no
Ups!
I think it’s about Pena time
Um.. Wtf
Whoops, that wasn’t suppose to be a reply.
Ha COdy jumps so damn high.
Ransom saved a run right there. But he still sucks.
Love the vertical though.
But the UZR on Damon says he’s the 2nd best!!! The world is coming to an end! Dogs and Cats living together…MASS HYSTERIA!!
Only your world is coming to an end over a dropped pop up in the rain during the 3rd inning of a mid-April game.
how did he committ that error?
Damon or Jeter?
Damon dropped a pop up after calling off Jeter.
Jeter through the ball home to get the lead runner, but no one was there. No one even close, really
Nice one by the Cap’n.
…Defense FTL!
WTF
The Yankees are annoying me today.
Good throw Jeter. How about checking to make sure someone is within 50 yards next time
This is ridiculous.
GAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!
Error comes back to haunt us.
retarded
If the Yanks lose this game then Giradi better lay a People’s Elbow on one of these assholes.
Well at least they finally got Kurt Suzuki out. That’s a positive right?
Question: While Posada should stay at home, should not CC have been backing up at home once Posada went to first? Or is there simply too much risk of injury?
He just threw to Jeter. How fast do you think he is?
Posada should be at first backing up the throw
when can we officially start getting worried about cc? 55 pitches for 3 inn??
Considering last April, this is actually a solid first month for him. I would start worrying in June.
didn’t his defense just give back TWO outs?
This shit is bananas. Bee na nanananas
Jeter obviously didnt know how many outs there were, right?
Has to be, its the only logical answer, else the play is absolutely redic
that was a HUYA Jeter
What went wrong:
1. Derek didn’t just complete the double play. That would have ended the inning.
2. Where is Jorge going? He has to stay at the plate.
That’s fucking ugly, ugly baseball.
No, with one out, Jorge’s job there is to back up first. That was all on Jeter.
Jorge has to backup the overthrow to first, I’d imagine that’s where he was
You’d think after fifteen+ years together they’d know better by now…
Do you hear “Benny Hill” music too?
For those of us not watching at home, could someone recap the hijinks of that inning? All I got in the text descriptions was an error by Damon, and infield single, and a fielders choice. That’s not very descriptive…
Damon dropped a flyball for two bases. the next hit was right at Ransom but really high, he jumped and deflected it, but it would have been a spectacular play. Then there was a grounder to CC, he threw to Jeter for one, who instead of going to first for the DP, went home to get the runner, but Jorge was backing up first.
Thankee-sai.
After a dropped flyball by Damon it was 1st and 3rd with 1 out. I forget the hitter, but whomever it was grounded back to CC. He threw to Jeter on 2nd and instead of going to first, threw home where nobody was covering and the ball went to the backstop allowing Giambi to score
I dont think its wrong for Posada to be covering first. There was no reason for Jeter to go home with that in the first place tho.
With a runner on third and a groundball to the pitcher, Posada needs to stay at home. Once he leaves, there’s no one there and you’re just conceding the run.
Theres no wrong or right way to play it. Ive seen more people have the catcher still cover first rather than stay home.
Let’s see Sabathia either walks people in an inning…OR if he doesn’t, somebody else on the team makes sure to get some opposing batters some free passes their way…Interesting…hey, it works at least…
Why the hell is a grown man wearing a Superman shirt?
Because it’s a free country.
comment o day!
Dwight Howard wears one.
Dwight Howard is all sorts of awesome, he does not count. This guy looked like an ass.
Maybe he’s Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em.
IETC.
Because he’s awesome, that’s why.
Let the slumpy at-bats begin!
Be positive, man! Positive!
Axl:
CALM. THE. F%$&. DOWN.
Not So Angry AgainDepressed AxlFixed
Mmmmm, I likeh teh offense.
Now they’re in business.
Tie it up Jorge! Hit a rope in the bandbox!
Here we go, Cano time
Here we go boys. Lets take the lead this inning.
one thing this team has done this year is come back. they’ve done it about 5 times (hasn’t always ended in a W).
you guys don’t have to freak out in the 2nd inning.
Productive out, I’ll take it.
A hit would have been nice, but that works.
The fuck, Swish? All these baserunning outs are kinda lame.
We need more station to station base cloggers, not these fast guys trying to make things happen.
Yup. You know who would be really awesome right now?
Matt Nokes.
Nick Swisher is not fast.
Bah, guys getting gunned down at 2nd
Yah Swisher!
Boo getting thrown out, but hey, tied game!
Is it me or does this team show a hella lot of fight that it didn’t last year?
WTF. That’s twice in the last two games someone’s been thrown out at second.
ESPN Gamecast:
Swisher out stretching at second.
agreed
wtf. wrong reply
I like the baserunning aggression as well.
Ozzie Guillen is rolling over in his grave.
Anderson looking like a rook, forgot to cover first there.
Mark Ellis’s ESPN headshot makes him look like a male Stepford Wife.
http://a.espncdn.com/i/headsho.....5/5086.jpg
CC’s velocity is increasing this inning.
Could we be seeing another no-walk inning like the first?
new thread? i’m getting a little bogged down.
Remember when Bobby Crosby used to be picked to be the MVP of the league? Those weren’t the days…
You know, the first time Leiter was in the booth I didn’t like him much, but he’s grown on me, a lot.