Game 44: Lefties battle in rubber match
ByToday marks the final game of a marvelous homestand. The Yankees have taken eight of nine games, and look to take the final one against the Phillies. They’ll send out their best to take care of it, as CC Sabathia will take the mound. He has started two career games against the Phillies, none of which came last season while in the NL with the Brewers. Well, except in the NLDS, and that wasn’t a pretty start. Otherwise he’s allowed seven runs over 12.2 innings, something he’ll look to improve on today.
The Phillies will counter with their best, sending out young lefty Cole Hamels. He is a Verducci Rule candidate this year, after tossing 227.1 innings last year before pitching through the playoffs. He’s been off to a slow start this year, pitching to a 4.95 ERA over seven starts, though that’s mainly a product of his first two appearances. Since then he’s been just fine, as he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any start since April 23. The Yankees offense, however, is better than any he’s faced so far this year.
Nick Swisher gets a much-needed day off today. He showed some signs of life late in the week, but has looked pretty terrible over the past couple of games. He still has only four hits since May 12. Hopefully getting the day off and then hitting the road will get him back on track.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Melky Cabrera, RF
7. Hideki Matsui, DH
8. Francisco Cervelli, C
9. Brett Gardner, CF
And on the mound, number fifty-two, CC Sabathia.
322 Comments
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I think Joe’s doing a good job by moving down swish yesterday and matsui down today.
it’s probably more about stacking lefties than any sort of message to matsui.
still, Swisher needs a day off. he’s sucked for a month.
i totally have a raging clue about this game
??
IETC.
Teixeira’s average is already back up to around .265. Considering the slow start, he has really turned it on and let’s see how much better he can do.
One more thing, it really bothers me how the defense sets him up like a dead pull hitter. Once he slumps on the left side, he won’t get any hits because hitting to a part of the ballpark with an extra defender just makes it even harder. That killed Giambi because it is already hard to hit .300 but hitting .300 with an extra defender is downright impossible.
Use the whole field and it wont be a problem?
of course, they stack the left side because they pitch him in such a way to force him to hit to the left side.
if he can go the other way on the pitch, it’s because they made a mistake …
But those mistakes are inevitable. Pitchers aren’t going to be able to throw every pitch inside.
That would mean that you should use the shift for every left hander and that doesnt happen
It’s so nice to have a legitimate ace.
Seriously.
Good start for cc.
C mothafuckin C
jeter is so suave. even though he has no range to left
But I thought based on his first start CC was teh bust?!?!?
i expected him to go 34-0
41-0. I expected him to make every start on three days rest.
Time to jump on Hamels please
great job jeter!
You know when Jeter pulls the ball, you’ve done something wrong.
true.dat
Does Johnny shave down his handles or something? Or is it the awkward swing?
we need this arod, lets go
lol melky.
Three swinging strikes in one at-bat. Gorgeous.
jason werth just enjoyed the platinum ownership experience
DAT C.C.
CC dont likes periods
cuz he doesn’t have a ____________
Fuck. And again. Double fuck on that one.
Wow, Matsui, what was that swing??? That was ball 4 you idiot.
I was expecting that at-bat to end in either a K or a DP. I got both.
matsui looks like shit right now strikes out on ball 4 AGAIN
At least it was a good AB.
Well here’s the Matsui is teh suxor comments above that I’ve been talking about last time.
Oh and I wasn’t referencing your comment btw Drew. the comments above you in case I made that confusing -_-
haha true. I was like what the hell!
Damnit CC! Can’t even keep the perfect game going!! teh bust
Crap that was suppose to be a new comment
What are you talking about bro, I said it was a good AB?
If there was any question on whether or not this is the last year of his career, Matsui is quickly answering it.
Probably his last year as a Yankee, unless the Yankees would be interested in him as a DH on the bench/pinch-hitter (unlikely).
I doubt it’s the end of his career, though. He’s incredibly streaky. I just hope his power comes back.
I dunno, he’s a DH exclusively nowadays, how many team’s need a DH?
Besides teh sox?
3 friggin jackasses up in the boothe.
snort
cc is fun to watch
Charlie M,
Thanks for playing Bruntlett over Utley.
al leiter is the man
Eh, dinky little nubber back up the middle.
Holy cow, there’s a deluge of biblical proportions at Fenway!
WOW
Well that escalated quickly.
ugh why
Brett Gardner should not be playing CF.
BS.
WTF just happened?
Ugh.
Brett Gardner is not a major league outfielder.
Eh, with two outs you really shoulda fielded that one on a hop, Brett.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Especially with CC dealing.
GOD DAMMIT
Blegh.
Craptasticnessly
shit
That shows you how much of a dck Gardner is
brett gardner isn’t a good defensive CF, no matter how people put it. He has never been one, never will. Plus he has a SHIT arm
Agreed. I have no clue why Gardner gets CF and Melky RF when they both play. Melky is superior to Gardner.
Because Melky has the arm to play RF?
but he’s so fast
And that Ruiz single pisses me off, lol.
should be an single+error not a double
They called that a double??!
yeah, according to gameday, fucking retarded
MAKE SOME WEBGEMS
BE CONSIDERED AWESOME CF
we’re winning this game
9-1 homestand
let’s hope so
Wouldn’t surprise me. Hamels has looked just a little off, so if they can prevent him settling down, we could have some runs.
Jimmy Rollins doubles(9) on a line drive to right fielder Melky Cabrera, deflected by center fielder Brett Gardner. Carlos Ruiz scores. Two out.
LOL
Brett Gardner will redeem himself.
doesn’t matter, doesn’t change the fact that he isn’t a good CF.
He’s a fine centerfielder. One missed dive doesn’t speak to his defensive abilities.
its not just “one missed dive”
uzr statistics don’t lie
http://www.fangraphs.com/stats.....osition=OF
Isn’t that a pretty solid UZR?
Per Fangraphs, he looks pretty solid.
http://www.fangraphs.com/stats.....osition=OF
That said, what we’ve heard from scouting reports is that his routes could use some work. Certainly with his speed, he could be great.
Dat a boy, Cisco.
Should’ve bunted!
cervelli!!!
Cervelli SHITS ON cash in every which way.
If Cash was Trot Nixon, he’d like that.
I’m impressed by how quickly Cervelli turned on that. Well done.
CERVELLI! cmon Gardner make up for your mistake
After that double by Cervelli, Cash will start the entire series in Texas.
Don’t even joke…
Johan is pretty good
Hilarious text poll.
Lee if up there with Santana, Sabathia, and Hamels? Really?
1) Santana
2) Sabathia
3) Hamels
4) Lee
Agreed.
One of these is not like the others….
MUCHOS better AB’s we’ve seen from brett compared to the beginning of the year.
yankees need to jump on this gay cowboy
Good job getting back Cervelli.
The poll question is so stupid. Cliff Lee over Bedard?
What about Lester?
Shouldn’t he be E?
Heh, true.
1) Santana
2) Sabathia
3) Hamels
4) Bedard
5) Lester
6) Lee
If ESPN asked about the best lefty in the game, he would be on the list.
A: Jon Lester
B: Johan Santana
C: Jon Lester
D: Hideki Okajima
E: Josh Beckett
That’a boy, Damon!
ICWUDT.
Haha jackass
Nasty changeup from Hamels.
why are home plate umps so stubborn with not checking with another ump who has such a better view?
Egos.
Can’t let the players dictate how you do your job.
shouldn’t even have to involve the player there
its retarded same with having a five minute meeting before replay like in Boston last night just get it right screw your ego’s
damonic
attaboy damon.
lets go teix!
Damon FTW.
we need to get CC those runs back since it was barely his fault
try that again, hamels. i dare you
It’s still 2-1. This sucks! I can’t believe we’re going to get swept by the Phillies.
/quaid’d
Blergh.
goddamn it
not again…what the fck was damon thinking there
Jeez he tried to tie it. Most cases a single is enough to get you home and Damon has speed. Damn, seriously?
Damn, man.
That’s twice this series Damon’s been thrown out at home. I think someone needs to tell Rob Thompson it’s okay to hold him up at third when A-Rod’s due up.
I guess Thompson has been talking to Bobby Meacham recently.
Bah. Shouldn’t have done that with ARod up.
damn Damon gunned down twice this series.
that was just dumb baserunning
Fucking 2nd time this series Damon gets fried at home.
good play by ruiz
thompson got some lessons from windmill meacham
…JD just isn’t that fast…
Thompson has been great so far, but that was a rough send.
I am not watching the game. Who’s fault was it? Did Thompson wave him in or did Johnny run a stop sign?
I don’t think it was anyone’s fault. Werth made a great play and Ruiz did too.
Ok. Thank you.
trying to score from second on a hard single to werth who has a great arm?
hardly a smart play
So have you ever seen a baseball game or in particular this baseball game? Because I’ve only seen you complain about this play but not caring when we scored our first run.
Hardly a smart play? Most of the time IT’S A RUN.
what the hell was damon trying to do there? thats sad
LMFAO. We get like 15 comments on how Damon sucks at baserunning. And we get THREE comments on how he scored Cervelli. Sometimes I really really hate the Yankee fanbase. I don’t even think Sox fans do this with ortiz.
who said he sucks at baserunning? just stated the obvious, that play was dumb.
And again most of the time that is usually a run.
how? werth has a GUN for an arm. don’t even need a scouting report to know that. it was a bullet hit directly at werth
In general a single can get you home from second. Damon tried it but he got gunned down. It isn’t the end of the damn world.
i’m not saying its the end of the world, but you keep saying “in most cases”, “in general”
theres a reason there are scouting reports, werth doesn’t have a “general” arm
Alright I will agree. He does have a great arm. But trying to tie the game is not the worst thing in the world. It’s one run, we’ll easily overcome this.
With two outs, a 3-2 count and Johnny’s speed, I’d take that chance. I don’t think it was a poor play by the Yankees at all, Werth had to make a perfect play and he did.
He got a curtain call after his first homerun.
I dont think Papi has been booed once this season in Fenway.
Oh he has been. Numerous times lately.
he was last night
I’m just guessing :
Cervelli is at least as fast as Damon
Damons hit was better (in terms of allowing a runner to score) than Texs
Arod wasn’t up next
i miss larry bowa
WOW easy question its Fernando Tatis.
I’m getting the game with a time lapse of about 2 or 3 minutes, so Jeopardy style:
“Who was the only player to hit two grand slams in aone inning?”
Another piece of cake trivia question. They’re throwing meatballs this year.
Mayberry worries me here.
fernando tatis
Did they get Mayberry Sr right this time?
Are we sure that’s John Mayberry, and not just some random Phillies fan who happens to be black?
Hopefully CC understands that you shouldn’t walk Happy Pete.
YES: John Mayberry Jr is the son of John Mayberry
FOX: John Mayberry Jr is the son of any black man over the age of 40
Off topic, but they just showed Don Zimmer on MLB network’s Prime 9 and the byline said “Red Sox coach 74-76″.
WTF!?!?!? Seriously!?!?
….
Hey I’m just wondering is Hamels fastball always 89-91?
Impossible. If that were the case he would be a bust.
I don’t recall seeing him throw much harder than 92
I remember seeing him pump 94-95 in the playoffs last year. Of course FOX’s gun could have just been hot.
so throws 89-91 but can touch 94-95, seems right as I remember him throwing mostly 89-90 in the playoffs.
nasty nasty change up
Off topic but,
Nick Johnson was a late scratched from Sunday’s lineup against the Orioles.
Maybe a trade? But this is Nick Johnson, so it’s a whole lot safer to assume there’s an injury of some sort. Josh Willingham started in Johnson’s place, with Adam Dunn moving to first
I was actually watching that game, they said he just doesn’t feel well today. Although that could just be what they’re telling the media.
“doesn’t feel well”? how is the nephew of larry bowa such a girlie man?
Maybe it’s easier to catch a head cold or something similar when your head is enormous.
lol
brett gardner catches head pneumonia
That was a great change.
When Ortiz strikes out vs. Redding, you know that there is a problem.
He blew a fastball by him right down the heart of the plate too. He’s cooked.
Wow. Really?
Kevin Youkilis the best right handed hitter in the American League?
As Tim Redding strikes him out. Nice.
Top 3:
Youkilis
Pedroia
Lowell
I think you have to throw Jacoby Ellsbury in the mix.
no way thats too much grit
and he’s left handed which screws the whole right handed thing up
that’s what makes his point funny part…earlier Mike Pop said the top lefty’s were:
A: Jon Lester
B: Johan Santana
C: Jon Lester
D: Hideki Okajima
E: Josh Beckett
And come on, what about Nick Green!
No no no. Youkilis, Pedroia, then Bay and Lowell tied for third.
Varitek and Nick Green should be in there somewhere too.
Get em in Melk!
yanks should bring in Wang to face Ortiz
How great would Francesa’s show be on Monday if the Mets sweep? He gave them no chance to take one game. Not even one.
In his defense, the Sox are the best team ever assembled.
gritty gutty
Francesa, the Glenn Beck of sports talk.
Well, much calmer today as no yardwork deadline and can watch the game. CC is looking good.
atleast hamels pitch count is up
It’s frustrating. He’s not totally sharp, but so far he has limited the damage.
That’s what separates the best from everyone else.
Tim Redding is rocking a small dead animal on his chin, Youk-style. Eww.
remember redding’s emergency start at fenway as a yankee?
not pretty
**Shudders**
Remember Darrell May? Ugh.
Don’t. Just….don’t.
Didn’t they both come over in the same trade? For Quantrill IIRC.
Yep, I do believe you are correct.
Trivia for you: Who did the Yankees get back when they traded Sterling Jotchcock to the Cardinals?
I can’t tell if “Jotchcock” is a bad attempt at a putdown nickname, or just a typo.
Me = FAIL at typing. Was supposed to be “Hitchcock”
It was one of those hide the women and children starts.
Come on Matsui.
contact baby steps baby steps
dentian hr by castro
Castro ftw!
75 pitches already for Hamels. Good job yanks.
Ramon Castro!
But YSIII is teh bandbox!!11!1!!
Lol, that was probably 300 ft if the wall wasn’t there.
No HR’s so far. Good pitching and good pitch location seems to control those HR’s, which is not the case at Coors field.
we’re winning this game
let’s go!!!
I love this Sabathia character. He’s got a future in this game.
ken rosenthal just broke the story:
cc is john mayberry’s father
Too flashy for me.
And he’s black.
Jason Bay’s Gameday photo really makes me laugh. he really looks just like Canadians in South Park do. It’s scary.
my father-in-law is from trail, jason bay’s home town. the only jobs there are smelting zinc. it’s the scranton of canada
sooooooooooo they sell paper
it’s the allentown of canada? it’s scranton without jim and pam
Ha. David Wright knocked that Fat Sawx Fan™ back in his seat.
Yankees will bring the tying run to the plate in this game.
+1
IETC
And the real Tim Redding shows up in Fenway.
Tim Redding vs. Mike Lowell…yes, that ended as you might expect.
He is fast as a MFer
Sounds like a lot of Phillies fans. Anyone been there for this series?
was there friday. tons of phillie fans, most of them drunken women
Jacoby beats that out
if only Gardner can go on a 18-game hit streak
the key in this game is to get Hamels out of the games as quickly as possible.
And the Yankees somehow bring the lead run to the plate!
unless we have to face Madsen
?
whoops, wrong place to reply.
this team just keeps fighting amazing display almost as much grit as the sawx
Maichael Kay just called it a pitchers duel. The next inning will have at least 5 runs scored between the two clubs.
“Hamels is having a near perfect game. CC is having an almost near perfect game.”
An interesting note in re: Wang’s windup on the LH Yankees Blog.
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/200.....t-yankees/
What on earth made the Mets think signing Tim Redding was a good idea?
Oh wait, they’re the Mets. Nevermind.
When the Sox does something it’s all grit, when the yanks do something, they have amazing talent. Bias no?
Nope, just the truth. Have seen how much eye black the Sox use? That’s grit.
don’t forget the 5′oclock shadows
They got lucky, Victorino should be on second.
See if CC can turn that into a DP.
Eh, didn’t matter anyway.
Last night, the ESPN headline said “Mets edge Sox” when Papelbon blew the lead and when it’s Rivera, it’s always “Rivera blows the game as Yanks lose again.”
As many said last night, NO ONE gave a damn (at least not as much) when Papelbon came yelling out of the dugout as it’s a huge deal when Joba fist pumps to end a crucial inning.
Are you saying there is bias in the media and especially ESPN???
And Ortiz drops below .200
Did Ibanez take offense to everyone saying how bad is contract is?
when exactly does Ibanez cool down jesus
Bad pitch by CC
I started LMAO when I read this from Kim Jones Chat on her blog:
7:13[Comment From D.]
What are the odds we see you get a pie in the face this year?
7:13
Not good. I mean, it’s not like I’ll win a game.
HA! Kim FTW
There was an article on Onion Sports about the bandbox and it quoted a fan as saying she hit a homerun from her seat and she still doesn’t know how it happened. Hilarious.
Those 15 seconds of silence on YES were glorious.
Anyone know what they hell all the booing is about? Fucking retarded.
Ibanez I think
Oy vay, Cervelli has to be careful there. He’s lucky that ball didn’t go into left.
Is the upcoming half inning going to do be the last inning for Hamels.
Depends on how they use him, and how the inning goes- Yankees get a baserunner, and Phils dont use him much more than 105 pitches, and that’s probably it for him.
huge k
Why are people suddenly booing at Yankee Stadium? I don’t remember any years where people got boo’d unless they were cold for weeks or Carl Pavano.
Trying to drown out Philly fans- they were cheering the run, so it needed to be covered.
let’s get hamels out of there and turn this into a rout
Would be nice if Yanks could get going here – the walk-offs are beyond exciting but hard to always save the offense for last-minute magic
GO MUTS!
Bad Wakefield has shown, good the Mets have their #6 hitter up…..Jeremy Reed.
And now I feel pretty stupid.
insane….simply insane
hmmmmmmmmm broke his bat
broken bat HR. wow
Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a broken bat homerun before.
I once saw Brian Downing do it once.
Andruw Jones did it a few years back.
Holy crap. Mark Teixeira just broke his bat and hit the ball out.
WOW. Just WOW.
Alright TEX…let’s keep this going.
Arod will be happy to see Hamles out of the game.
Ouch Alex is getting owned by Hamels.
How bad does A-Rod want to see someone else pitching?
what kind of douche boos Arod after yesterday seriously wtf is wrong with people
Doen’t that make your skin crawl for being in the same fanbase as those douchebags?
On a lighter note, that Tex homerun was absurd. Snapped his bat in half and damn near hit that past the first section of the outfield. Holy hell.
Perhaps the baseballs are being wound a hell of a lot tighter this season that in the past. No ballpark at sea level should have this dramatic an impact in power. I can’t believe the stadium is the only reason for this.
Easy, they’re not Yankee fans even if they root for the Yankees.
Can’t believe Teix is hitting 271 already
You see that kid clapping at the ballboy? What a jackass
He’s just struggling until JoPo returns…but he does have a .431 wOBA
Great AB by Melky. That also makes sure that Hamels is done after this.
B.E.A.S.T.
matsui is not looking good
IETM
I enjoy this Melky
Matsui’s bat looks really slow lately.
you could get him out on fastballs at 92+ that are low and away…. Or for extra fun climb the ladder and the same results.
hideki ugh
OMG, Matsui is making it very difficult for me to like him.
Quien es ese numero cincuenta y tres?
CC Sabathia is pitching in the 7th inning and I’m not worried he’s going to blow up and give up a zillion runs. When’s the last time I could say that about a Yanks’ starter?
Wang?
No, definitely not.
When Wang was pitching in the 7th he was usually cruising.
1998?
How fast is CC throwing as of this inning?
mid ninties
awesome
95
Just noticed on that replay – Ruiz’s back foot is out of the batter’s box. Isn’t that an automatic out?
never ever gets called
Except it happened to me once.
/
Leiter’d
Yeah, Damon does that shit all the time.
That’s one of the rules that never gets enforced unless its really egregious, like touching 2nd base on a double play.
Damon is pretty close to breaking that rule every ab
I love how CC is a horse and all but he is incredibly efficient too. 100 pitches in 7 innings is great and he does this consistently. He is by far the most efficient Yankee I’ve seen in a while.
tell me hamels doesn’t come out for the 7th