Jun
20

Game 68: Mentor vs. Protege, kind of

By

Chances are that by the time you read this you’ll already have learned of the connection between A.J. Burnett and Josh Johnson. Burnett ripped Marlins management on his way out the door in 2005, and the team suspended him. A.J.’s final start of the season went to Josh Johnson, who picked up steam as a big-time pitcher for the Marlins.

Then there’s the Girardi-Johnson connection. Joe Girardi took over as manager of the Marlins in 2006, and Johnson was one of his best pitchers. The then-22-year-old was showing signs of tiring late in the season: he had allowed four runs over six innings on September 2 and five runs over 4.2 innings on September 7. During his September 12 start there was an 82-minute rain delay. He lasted five innings total and pitched well, but left the game with forearm tightness and missed the rest of the season.

Elbow troubles plagued his 2007 season, until he finally had Tommy John surgery that August. He returned in early July of 2008 and pitched 87 innings through the end of the season. It seems he’s regained his form this year, throwing 98 innings with a 2.7 ERA.

Burnett has struggled at times this year, but was great against the Mets last Sunday, striking out eight and allowing no runs over seven innings. He worked in and, more importantly, out of trouble, as will usually happen when you walk four guys. The Marlins don’t appear to have the most patient lineup, so perhaps A.J.’s style will work on them.

Notes: Angel Berroa gets another start in place of Alex Rodriguez today. With Cody Ransom and Xavier Nady ready for return, it would appear this is his parting gift…Speaking of Nady, he played the outfield today, and could start a rehab assignment next week…Question on this article: Why wasn’t Girardi in the meeting? Seems like something he should be privy to.

Lineup:

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Jorge Posada, C
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Melky Cabrera, CF
8. Angel Berroa, 3B
9. A.J. Burnett, P

Categories : Game Threads

307 Comments

  1. dkidd says:

    this should be a great game.

    i’ll also be keeping an eye on weaver versus weaver in anaheim

  2. Joe M. says:

    Can someone please explain the Girardi/A-Rod/Cashman off day discussions? Why are the GM and the execs making off day decisions over the head of the mananger? (Heyman said Girardi wasn’t in on the conference call). What is going on exactly? Are they all pissed at Girardi?

    • dkidd says:

      the strangest thing to me was a-rod asking for a day off and girardi not giving it to him (requiring cashman to step in)

      • Henry says:

        For some reason I feel like were only getting
        \frac{1}{2} of the story

      • Joe M. says:

        Yeah I didn’t understand that at all. In fact, I don’t believe it. I can’t believe that A-Rod would ask for a day off and Girardi would refuse him one. And why would A-Rod ask for a day off in Miami, when he has so many friends and family there to see him? I’m inclined to give Girardi the benefit of the doubt there, no matter what A-Rod said.

        My concern is why Cashman and Steinbrenner are involved in any of these manager decisions, without involving the manager. Are they trying to undercut Girardi?

        • SouthernYankeeFan says:

          To me it the meeting seems like it was done to try and gauge how alex was feeling. If he asked for day off and said he was tired to me maybe they wanted to make sure he wasn’t hiding anything like bruney was with his injury.

    • The Artist says:

      I love Mark Fiensand as a writer, but I dont know where he got this from. Everyone denied this, including Alex. He was on Seth Everett’s show today, and was back tracking somewhat on the story.

      I don’t doubt MF’s credibility for one second, but I think there was a misunderstanding of some sort here.

  3. John says:

    Apparently, the Yanks signed to a $2.5 million contract with Gary Sanchez according to the NY Post.

  4. Sean p says:

    http://mvn.com/pendingpinstripes/

    Get the report on Sanchez here

    • The Artist says:

      That stuff about him being a primadonna is overblown. There are times when top players have workouts for teams they know they’re not going to sign with, as a courtesy to the team. The player will visit many teams in a short time, and the agent doesn’t want to burn him out for those teams in advance of showing him to the big market types.

      I’ll guarantee if the Yanks are handing him 2.5 mil, they got to look at him however they wanted to, including game situations.

  5. Drew says:

    Sounds like Teix got hit with a ball in the cajones. Hope he’s recovered.

  6. Andy In Sunny Daytona says:

    Got to admit, if the Steinbrenners did something stupid, like sell the Yankees to James Dolan, I think I could be a Marlins fan. The Rays, of course, are dead to me. But the Marlins? When they get their new stadium? Not so bad.
    I just pray that the Steinbrenners hold on for a long, long, long time. At least until James Dolan dies or goes broke.

    • The Fallen Phoenix says:

      That’s…like a nightmare scenario. I couldn’t even begin to attempt to imagine that.

      …I would like to think that, after the money invested in the new Yankee Stadium, the Steinbrenners aren’t going anywhere for a goodl, long time.

  7. SF Yanks says:

    What happened to Pena? He get sent down??

  8. Dave says:

    Man, whats with the yankees getting so many catchers, trying to stock up so much…at some point isn’t there going to be a logjam somewhere?

    • Accent Shallow says:

      Kid is 16-17. Who knows what position he’ll be playing by the time he gets higher up the ladder.

    • RunnerS122 says:

      Thats not necessarily a bad thing considering one or two may have to switch positions and they can be valuable in a trade.

  9. Accent Shallow says:

    Better stuff: Josh Johnson or Joba?

  10. The Artist says:

    Dice-K out of the Sox rotation, Smoltz in:

    http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4274806

    Bad year for Asian pitchers in the AL East.

    • Tank the Frank says:

      Ouch.

      Uehara’s holding his own, no?

    • Dave says:

      Jeez, If smoltz comes in a does well…watch out. That could be a real bad situation for us.

    • Accent Shallow says:

      Here comes the phantom DL stint! At least Wang had a legitimate injury in the past.

    • Bob Stone says:

      Will the performances of Matsuzaka this year and Igawa every year take the bloom off the rose for paying big posting fees for Japanese free agents? Those two players cost the BoSox and Yanks about $58 million just in posting fees alone. The risk/reward factor may be shifting.

      • Bob Stone says:

        Correction – $78 million

        • The Artist says:

          I dunno about that, but I bet Theo would like a do-over on the Dice-K deal. $100 mil for 2 OK seasons, he could have signed Ted Lilly for less than half that and been better off.

          But then again, we could have signed Lilly for the same money we gave Igawa.

  11. John says:

    those strike one and two to Tex were outside on gameday, as was strike 1 to Johnny

    Let’s see if AJ gets those calls too

  12. John says:

    Aw man, I wanted a run there

  13. Jose says:

    Random Question: If Pujols retired at the end of the season, would he be in the hall of fame?

  14. Accent Shallow says:

    Remember the beginning of the year where people were wondering if Good Face was Honus Wagner Jr.?

  15. Mike Axisa says:

    What a play by Berroa. Pena who?

  16. dkidd says:

    yes

    koufax style

  17. Wow, great play, Angel!

  18. Accent Shallow says:

    Missed the ball more — Hanley on the first pitch there, or Teagarden against Hughes in Tejas?

  19. Dela G says:

    angel berroa is amazing

  20. Accent Shallow says:

    Thought that was the third out off the bat.

  21. Drew says:

    I’ve been of the camp that Berroa is not nearly as bad as many of you have proposed. Who knows what he may do in the rest of the game and season but I think he may have a spot on this team. That’s if we want Ramiro down in the Minors working on things.

    • J says:

      !!!1!1!!!!

      right?

      • Drew says:

        nope.

        • J says:

          lol i can see berroa being worthwhile if tony pena can get something through to him again. he seems to be really enjoying his time on the yankees getting free money… but who knows. he’s shown a steady glove and a rocket arm but little else.

          • Drew says:

            IMO, it’s him or Ransom. I think we want Ramiro working on hitting/stealing/bunting/blahblah down in the minors. We know what Ransom is (who I like BTW), Berroa has shown that he’s a good player (in the past), I’m really confused as to who I’d prefer, the one thing is, we know Ransom can play ANYWHERE, I’m not sure where Berroa could legitimately play.

            • J says:

              I honestly don’t believe Ramiro needs to be sent down. He’s provided better defense than anyone I can remember in the past few years and has done all the little things well. He’s even gotten some good clutch hits for the team and provides speed.

              If it became a choice between Berroa or Ransom, I’d take Ransom. He has average tools everywhere except for the ability to hit a breaking pitch. Maybe Nelson Cruz could teach him something.

  22. Tank the Frank says:

    Did Jorge Posada just throw out Hanley Ramirez? I love it.

  23. J says:

    Posada getting Hanley out.

  24. SouthernYankeeFan says:

    Dear Hanley Ramirez,

    Get the F**k out of here

    Sincerly,
    Jorge

  25. The Artist says:

    NICE PLAY BY CERVELLI!!!!!!!

  26. John says:

    Run on Jorge and thats what you get

  27. Dela G says:

    GREAT JOB JORGE!

  28. Oof, ugly AB, Swish.

  29. John says:

    That’s the 4th time in the past 3 games I think Cano has hit the 1st pitch. (twice yesterday)

    • Dela G says:

      he never walks, but he also never strikes out. So you win and lose some

    • John says:

      nope make that 5 times. He did it twice on Thursday too.

    • Jose says:

      That is because Robinson Cano is most effective as a hitter by swinging at the first pitch. Sometimes it can be annoying, but that is where he gets his success from.

      • John says:

        I dont think so (he was 1-5 in the past three days, I know, way way way too SSS). He doesn’t get a lot of hits when swinging on the 1st pitch to me.

  30. SouthernYankeeFan says:

    that was a fast inning.

  31. Ivan says:

    AJ is gonna have to be brilliant, if the yanks want to win this game. Looks like Josh Johnson is on his game.

  32. That was a cock shot.

  33. SouthernYankeeFan says:

    that got out quick.

  34. Ivan says:

    Charles Johnson, the first and only black catcher I,ve ever saw.

  35. Henry says:

    From PeteAbe
    UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: The Journal News has learned that Francisco Cervelli is wearing a Mission Impossible-style Jorge Posada mask and has caught these last two games. What else could explain why the Yankees have allowed one run over the last 10 innings and Hanley Ramirez getting thrown out at second. After all, Posada is finished.

    I guess that was written specifically for The Artist

  36. J says:

    down the middle fastball to bam bam dan uggla = hrs

  37. John says:

    Damn, it cannot get more right down the middle than that.

  38. Did Dan Uggla and Jeremy Hermida just do the McGwire/Canseco Bash-Brothers arm thing?

  39. Dela G says:

    damn it, i didnt think they’d score this quickly

  40. So that HR was totally Jorge’s fault, right guys?

  41. Tank the Frank says:

    I suddenly want A-Rod in this game….

  42. Think of how different baseball would be w/o TJS.

  43. Eirias says:

    Five More Years! Five More Years!

  44. Dave says:

    So what is Josh Johnson’s deal? Looking at his stats, only one season over 150ip…seems like a budding Carl Pavano.

  45. That surgery-themed anti-smoking ad is gross enough, let alone when I’m actually trying to eat.

  46. Someone text a vote for Pavano just so Kay can be wrong.

    • VO says:

      I am proud to say, I already made all of my friends and family vote for Pavano. I hope he wins, just for a good laugh.

  47. Mike Axisa says:

    What kind of questions are these text polls? That’s not an opinion question, it’s a fact that Kevin Brown was the best pitcher to pitch for the Yanks and Marlins.

    • Jose says:

      I like to think of them as surveys to discover the percentages of insane fans.

    • Evan says:

      It seems like another excuse to kiss up to a YES colleague (nothing against Leiter).

    • whozat says:

      Well, yes…but if you ignore the time spent in non-marlins-and-yanks uniforms, is the answer the same? That’s how I read the question.

  48. How the hell did he hit that?

  49. Mike Axisa says:

    Two hits in two days by Yankee pitchers. I like it.

  50. Tank the Frank says:

    Our pitchers are RAKING!

  51. Way to go, A.J. Uggla clearly needs to take diving lessons from Joba and Frankie C.

  52. Accent Shallow says:

    So how many more hits do the Yankees get off Johnson?

    I’m hoping for 8+

  53. Evan says:

    Burnett with the Tony Clark special (re: bat flying away).

  54. John says:

    Yankees Pitcher>>>>>>>>Yankees Hitters

    And CC goes tomorrow!

  55. SouthernYankeeFan says:

    vintage jeter there.

  56. Mike Axisa says:

    Jeter’s in midseason form with the GIDP balls.

  57. Dela G says:

    AJ burnett gets a hit!

    hey thats awesome!

  58. John says:

    Thank god he’s batting leadoff or this might’ve happened a bit too much

  59. Jake H says:

    The pitcher breaks up the no hitter. That has to suck.

  60. VO says:

    Whose bat did Burnett just throw into the stands? I think it looked like Teix’s.

  61. The Artist says:

    I feel so bad for Rebecca. She must have got stuck in that rainstorm over at Citifield. They suspended play an hour ago in the 8th, and now they resumed play and are in the middle of the 9th. Hope she left early, or hung out in one of the bars or something.

  62. Dela G says:

    anyone seeing the old lady in white with giant chesticles?

  63. No mention of Yovani Gallardo tossing a CG SO this year and winning 1-0 on the strength of his own solo homer?

  64. Accent Shallow says:

    So, Burnett is still nasty.

  65. J says:

    Bottom third and AJ’s getting command of his curve… just in time.

  66. dkidd says:

    lol that torre is destroying more bullpen arms in los angeles

  67. Andrew McCutchen begs to differ with that statement, Kenny.

  68. Mike Axisa says:

    AJ’s got the bender workin’ tonight.

  69. Love it, A.J.

    Bats…wake up. /Cerrano.

  70. whozat says:

    That inning was FILTHY.

    9 pitches, 3 K’s. nice.

  71. Evan says:

    Sweet, he struck out the side in nine pitches.

  72. John says:

    AJ to the history books!!!!

    stuck out the side on 9 pitches

  73. dkidd says:

    new hillside honda ad!!!!!

  74. John says:

    1st Yankee to do that since Ron Guidry August 7, 1984 against the White Sox

  75. Accent Shallow says:

    Trivia answer: the bad Matsui?

  76. Mike Axisa says:

    Holy shit, Burnett just had an Immaculate Inning.

  77. whozat says:

    Dammit. Johnson is pretty nasty today.

    • J says:

      yeah but the yankees have again not been taking their pitches again. johnson has good control but he hasn’t shown great control today. what the fuck are the yankees doing?!

  78. Accent Shallow says:

    Hope for a rain delay so Johnson gets pulled?

  79. dkidd says:

    1-0 final would not be surprising

    might need a walk/brett gardner pinch runs/steals 2nd and 3rd/sac fly type of run…

  80. Dave says:

    Cumon Offense, you’re makin him look like Cy Lannan out there

  81. dkidd says:

    aj not happy with melky

  82. John says:

    Damn it POsada’s back in. It was all Cervelli last inning.

  83. Ivan says:

    Why does Hanley, look like Gucci Man to me.

  84. John says:

    From Jayson stark:

    It’s time for the first updated leaderboard of the year in our own favorite personally invented run-support category: Criminally Unsupported Starts. This is kind of the run-support version of the quality start. Rather than figure that support on a per-nine-innings basis, this gives us a better feel for individual games in which a starter essentially gets no shot to win. To qualify, a pitcher needs to work at least six innings and have his team score no more than one run for him while he’s in the game. Got that? Cool. Now here are your 2009 leaders (* — record if pitcher won all his Criminally Unsupported Starts):

    AMERICAN LEAGUE
    PITCHER CUS
    (Starts) ADJ.
    W-L*
    Trevor Cahill 5 (in 14) 9-2
    A.J. Burnett 5 (in 14) 10-1
    Cliff Lee 5 (in 14) 9-2
    Dallas Braden 5 (in 14) 10-1
    Edwin Jackson 4 (in 14) 10-2

    • John says:

      that got messed up

      so AJ has 5 CUS starts in 14 total and so his adjusted win-loss should be 10-1 if he got enough run support

    • Accent Shallow says:

      Well, Burnett has had several matchups against opposing aces or quality pitchers. Could have something to do with it.

  85. Evan says:

    D’oh, Berroa.

  86. Jake says:

    I love the fact this clown is still on the team.

  87. SouthernYankeeFan says:

    nice very nice giving em more outs.

  88. J says:

    damn. saw that as soon as it came out of berroa’s glove.

  89. Dave says:

    That was bound to happen at some point.

  90. Mike Axisa says:

    Eek, pick him up AJ.

  91. dkidd says:

    pick him up, aj!

  92. John says:

    Vintage Berroa

  93. And Berroa gives the good play right back.

  94. dkidd says:

    cody ross looks like rob coordry

  95. J says:

    wow. 6ks in a row.

  96. Tank the Frank says:

    BUSH League fist pump from AJ.

  97. John says:

    Burn Baby Burn!!!!!!!!!!

  98. Dave says:

    Derek Lowe is handling the Sox

    • John says:

      JINXED IT!

      • Dave says:

        Damn it. I paused halfway through typing that too, but then threw caution to the wind. My apologies.

    • whozat says:

      Nick Green? Where was THIS Nick Green a couple years ago when the Yankees had him?

      It’s easy to look like a genius when your third string UTIF plays out of his mind all season.

  99. Dela G says:

    AJ burnett is obscene

  100. The Fallen Phoenix says:

    Love me my pitching duels; this looks like a good one. I just hope the Yankees come on the right side of it.

  101. dkidd says:

    nancy newman is grotesque

  102. Hey so, um, hits plz?

    • Dela G says:

      this johnson guy is a top 15 pitcher in the NL. Hits are going to be very very hard to come by

      • Top 15? He’s top 5 this season, no?

        • zs190 says:

          Debatable, I think Cain, Lincecum, Carpenter, and Haren are better. He’s definitely in the conversation though.

        • Dela G says:

          i would put him top 10, not yet in the top 5

          My Top 5?

          Santana
          cueto
          haren
          Matt cain
          Lincecum

        • Dela G says:

          i would put him top 10, not yet in the top 5

          My Top 5?

          Santana
          cueto
          haren
          Matt cain
          Lincecum

          • whozat says:

            Cueto? That’s a bold call.

            Cueto’s doing really well, but Johnson’s got better K/9, BB/9, and HR/9 pitching in a stronger division. He’s also thrown more 11 more innings in one more start.

            • Accent Shallow says:

              Semi on-topic:

              Did you know that post-strike, no one has thrown more than 10 innings in a game?

              I figured that someone, somewhere would have been very efficient going into extras, but that is not the case.

  103. Dave says:

    At least they arent being no hit.

  104. Swish has been chasing a bit lately.

  105. whozat says:

    What was that? Maybe I’ll bunt, but maybe not, oh crap the pitch is by me?

  106. Accent Shallow says:

    Michael Kay promoting the myth that Tommy John makes you throw harder.

  107. AJ says:

    Don’t worry Angel Berroa is on deck.

  108. Great inning for Johnson; this dude is just filthy.

  109. gxpanos says:

    Damn, Johnson is straight filth with that cutter/slider.

  110. Mike Axisa says:

    Johnson’s dealin’. Hooray for my fantasy team.

  111. Accent Shallow says:

    Good at-bat by Melky, even if it did end in a K. 10 pitches is valuable as hell the way Johnson is throwing.

  112. Dave says:

    Nice work by O’Neil to regulate on Singleton’s willy-nilly cutter comparison

  113. John says:

    Nice AB Melky…working the count a lot lately

  114. AJ says:

    I’d drag Arod’s tired corpse out there to strike out IN STYLE.

  115. Dela G says:

    the melk-man is fouling off everything

    good at bat

  116. Not a strikeout? A.J. what the fuck is wrong with you?

  117. AJ says:

    Burnett is dealing tonight, this is a damn shame.

  118. John says:

    I have a question…If you hold your bat out there like in the middle of a swing and say you keep fouling off pitches, does it count as a bunting foul strikeout.

  119. Every time Michael Kay makes a bad joke, Mo kills an angel.

  120. Evan says:

    There’s the family reunion reference. Surprised he didn’t break that out sooner.

  121. gxpanos says:

    It’s funny how one day I will just totally hate Burnett, like the irrational kind bordering on personal hatred (like in both Red Sox starts, especially the second), and then just friggin’ marvel at him the next day (Mets start, tonight). I can’t think of another Yankee starter that I’ve gone to such extremes with.

  122. pc69 says:

    AJ better keep Florida to 2 runs or less to give the Yankees a chance. As it stands now, with the way they are swinging the bats, this is a loss.

    They can’t handle the phenom and are having horrible AB.

  123. Josh says:

    can someone tell peteabe to chill on all on the berroa/age jokes? they’ve been played out from the start.

  124. Tank the Frank says:

    God AJ looks like a rough character. His demeanor reminds me of Randy Johnson, minus the giant bag of douche.

  125. John says:

    Pinch hit A-rod?

  126. Dave says:

    Sigh, looks like this might make AJ the league leader in criminally unsupported starts.

  127. Mike Axisa says:

    CARL PAVANO GOT MORE VOTES THAN KEVIN BROWN?!?!?!?!?

    I’ve failed humanity.

  128. Jose says:

    Carl Pavano better than Kevin Brown? Seriously?

    • Tank the Frank says:

      LOL. Weren’t you all saying you were the ones that were voting for Pavano as a joke? Those probably had some impact… how many people do you think take the time to vote in those things?

  129. A.J. with the big cut. I like it.

  130. Any looked like a beer-league softball player kneeling on second like that.

  131. AJ says:

    Why isn’t Ramiro Peña playing anymore?

  132. Accent Shallow says:

    Burnett makes Johnson use 6 pitches to retire him?

    I can support that.

  133. Jefree says:

    AJ’s the only Yankee who can reach the outfield…except for one fly out by Cano.

  134. What the hell kinda swing was that, Derek?

  135. dkidd says:

    national league baseball. nothing like a good 8-9-1 inning