Game 68: Mentor vs. Protege, kind of
ByChances 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
307 Comments
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this should be a great game.
i’ll also be keeping an eye on weaver versus weaver in anaheim
Remember when Jered replaced Jeff in the Angels’ rotation?
Ouch.
haha yeah that was quite funny
That was a real Michael v. Freddy situation, huh?
AVP
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?
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)
For some reason I feel like were only getting
$latex \frac{1}{2}$ of the story
Formatting=Fail 1/2 of the story*
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?
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.
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.
Apparently, the Yanks signed to a $2.5 million contract with Gary Sanchez according to the NY Post.
linkage?
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06.....175236.htm
We trust GAK III?
That is an exciting and reasonable deal. Some were saying that Sanchez may try and push past the $3 million mark. I’ll still wait until after July 1st when the deal becomes official though.
http://mvn.com/pendingpinstripes/
Get the report on Sanchez here
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.
“they got to look at him however they wanted to”
anyway they wanted to huh?
Yes, they even took shots of him bent over in a speedo wearing a dog collar.
Sounds like Teix got hit with a ball in the cajones. Hope he’s recovered.
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.
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.
What happened to Pena? He get sent down??
Probably saving him for a double switch and defense for the late-innings if needed
that would be my guess
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?
Kid is 16-17. Who knows what position he’ll be playing by the time he gets higher up the ladder.
Thats not necessarily a bad thing considering one or two may have to switch positions and they can be valuable in a trade.
Better stuff: Josh Johnson or Joba?
i say johnson
Right now, Josh in a landslide.
Absolutely. I meant “good” Joba.
Now that Joba’s sitting at 91-93mph… definitely Johnson.
He’ll throw 96-98mph all game, good cut fastball too really keeps lefties off balance. Although I think Joba’s slider is 2nd to none.
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.
Ouch.
Uehara’s holding his own, no?
Jeez, If smoltz comes in a does well…watch out. That could be a real bad situation for us.
I’ve read he’s sitting at 85-88mph.
“But he’s changing speed and location well”
he’s 10x smartert then the guys in the minors. he faces Washington on Thursday, so we’ll see
Yeah, I put ZERO stock into his minor league rehab numbers.
Exactly. He’s 42, coming off shoulder surgery, and switching leagues. Don’t expect much.
Here comes the phantom DL stint! At least Wang had a legitimate injury in the past.
*ahem*
Yeah, those hip injuries are spreadin’ like wildfire, aint they?
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.
Correction – $78 million
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.
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
Yeah it seems the ump is giving the outside corner. Good news for AJ.
Aw man, I wanted a run there
Random Question: If Pujols retired at the end of the season, would he be in the hall of fame?
no
Why don’t you think he could get in? He compares favorably to guys with short careers who are in the hall of fame. People like Roy Campanella and Ralph Kiner.
you must be on drugs
yes he is a HOF
Yes.
nope because he still has not reached the high milestones
I change that, he gets in because Koufax got in too.
yea a career OPS+ of 171 = HOF
Remember the beginning of the year where people were wondering if Good Face was Honus Wagner Jr.?
What a play by Berroa. Pena who?
yes
koufax style
re pujols
Wow, great play, Angel!
Angel Berroa wins games.
He’s a gamer.
Missed the ball more — Hanley on the first pitch there, or Teagarden against Hughes in Tejas?
angel berroa is amazing
Thought that was the third out off the bat.
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.
!!!1!1!!!!
right?
nope.
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.
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.
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.
PEACE Hanley.
Did Jorge Posada just throw out Hanley Ramirez? I love it.
That was Cervelli. We all know AJ Burnett refuses to throw to Posada.
We all know Ramirez was only on base because of Posada’s terrible game calling anyways.
Cervelli must have taught him something since he’s been up.
Posada getting Hanley out.
Dear Hanley Ramirez,
Get the F**k out of here
Sincerly,
Jorge
NICE PLAY BY CERVELLI!!!!!!!
ietc
ICWUDT
I’m going to call him Cervelli all night.
Run on Jorge and thats what you get
GREAT JOB JORGE!
Oof, ugly AB, Swish.
definitely needs to be traded
That’s the 4th time in the past 3 games I think Cano has hit the 1st pitch. (twice yesterday)
he never walks, but he also never strikes out. So you win and lose some
nope make that 5 times. He did it twice on Thursday too.
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.
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.
Robbie Cano is hitting .366 for his career when he puts the first pitch in play.
misleading stat- he fails 63.4% of the time of first pitch
that was a fast inning.
AJ is gonna have to be brilliant, if the yanks want to win this game. Looks like Josh Johnson is on his game.
Yeah. Yikes.
he’s on fiya
In case you’re all wondering (I know you are) Josh Johnson is a free agent after the 2011 season.
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.c.....h+johnson+
That was a cock shot.
I’d rather have a cock shot than a shot cock.
IETC
Very clever and funny!
that got out quick.
Charles Johnson, the first and only black catcher I,ve ever saw.
Hey I remember him. I liked watching him with the Rockies.
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
Bastard. Ripping me off. We all know he reads this blog.
CALL MY AGENT!!! I WANT A PERCENTAGE!!!!
down the middle fastball to bam bam dan uggla = hrs
Damn, it cannot get more right down the middle than that.
Did Dan Uggla and Jeremy Hermida just do the McGwire/Canseco Bash-Brothers arm thing?
damn it, i didnt think they’d score this quickly
So that HR was totally Jorge’s fault, right guys?
either Jorge or AJ’s effected by pitching in a bandbox
Yes
I blame QuesTec.
I blame the schools.
I blame violent videogames
I blame Marilyn Manson.
No, A-Rod tipped the pitch.
IETC.
I suddenly want A-Rod in this game….
no way. berroa is gonna be a future all-star.
Future? Didn’t he start the first ever All-Star Game?
Think of how different baseball would be w/o TJS.
“I’ve seen guys pitch with NO ligaments!”-Omar Minaya
I can’t, that would mean imagining an ineffective Mariano Rivera.
You mean never hearing of Mariano Rivera.
Hell it seems half – or more – of our pitching prospects have had TJS.
i def agree
Five More Years! Five More Years!
So what is Josh Johnson’s deal? Looking at his stats, only one season over 150ip…seems like a budding Carl Pavano.
Girardi
Yep. Girardi ran him back out there after like, a two hour rain delay, then he blew out his elbow and needed TJ.
That surgery-themed anti-smoking ad is gross enough, let alone when I’m actually trying to eat.
Someone text a vote for Pavano just so Kay can be wrong.
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.
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.
I like to think of them as surveys to discover the percentages of insane fans.
It seems like another excuse to kiss up to a YES colleague (nothing against Leiter).
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.
How the hell did he hit that?
Two hits in two days by Yankee pitchers. I like it.
Our pitchers are RAKING!
Way to go, A.J. Uggla clearly needs to take diving lessons from Joba and Frankie C.
So how many more hits do the Yankees get off Johnson?
I’m hoping for 8+
dont care about the hits, I want 8+ runs
what johnny boy said
Burnett with the Tony Clark special (re: bat flying away).
Yankees Pitcher>>>>>>>>Yankees Hitters
And CC goes tomorrow!
vintage jeter there.
Jeter’s in midseason form with the GIDP balls.
AJ burnett gets a hit!
hey thats awesome!
Thank god he’s batting leadoff or this might’ve happened a bit too much
He had 24 GIDP last year and only 6 this year so far. I love him batting leadoff.
+ 1,000
The pitcher breaks up the no hitter. That has to suck.
Whose bat did Burnett just throw into the stands? I think it looked like Teix’s.
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.
that’s a good stadium to weather a rain delay. awesome food
True. Any stadium with a Shake Shack is worth going to.
anyone seeing the old lady in white with giant chesticles?
Kim Jones?
He said “giant chesticles”.
No mention of Yovani Gallardo tossing a CG SO this year and winning 1-0 on the strength of his own solo homer?
i watched that game. Gallardo was ILLY
How cool is that? I think CC did something similar last year for the Brewers.
So, Burnett is still nasty.
Bottom third and AJ’s getting command of his curve… just in time.
lol that torre is destroying more bullpen arms in los angeles
Andrew McCutchen begs to differ with that statement, Kenny.
AJ’s got the bender workin’ tonight.
He is dropping deuces on these guys at will.
Do we have a clip of Kay saying this? Apparently it was removed from youtube.
Love it, A.J.
Bats…wake up. /Cerrano.
That inning was FILTHY.
9 pitches, 3 K’s. nice.
Sweet, he struck out the side in nine pitches.
AJ to the history books!!!!
stuck out the side on 9 pitches
new hillside honda ad!!!!!
Loooove it.
1st Yankee to do that since Ron Guidry August 7, 1984 against the White Sox
Out of the current pitchers on the staff, it wouldn’t surprise me to see CC, Joba, Hughes, Rivera, or Bruney do it.
Ok, Joba and Bruney might surprise me, due to command issues. Robertson as well.
BTW thank you Wikipedia
I’m surprised Mo hasn’t done that at some point.
yea I was too
Trivia answer: the bad Matsui?
Holy shit, Burnett just had an Immaculate Inning.
Little late to the party I see.
Is that the Official Name for that feat?
Quick!! Update wikipedia!
Ugh, of course. Typed Immaculate inning into The Google to check it out. Guess who is being heralded on http://www.immaculateinning.com/
Dammit. Johnson is pretty nasty today.
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?!
Hope for a rain delay so Johnson gets pulled?
1-0 final would not be surprising
might need a walk/brett gardner pinch runs/steals 2nd and 3rd/sac fly type of run…
Cumon Offense, you’re makin him look like Cy Lannan out there
ICWUDT, but John Johnson is actually really, really good.
aj not happy with melky
Damn it POsada’s back in. It was all Cervelli last inning.
It must’ve been Cervelli there ’cause he blocked it with his body.
Why does Hanley, look like Gucci Man to me.
haha my brother told em the same thing last week
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
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
Well, Burnett has had several matchups against opposing aces or quality pitchers. Could have something to do with it.
D’oh, Berroa.
I love the fact this clown is still on the team.
nice very nice giving em more outs.
damn. saw that as soon as it came out of berroa’s glove.
That was bound to happen at some point.
Eek, pick him up AJ.
pick him up, aj!
Vintage Berroa
And Berroa gives the good play right back.
cody ross looks like rob coordry
wow. 6ks in a row.
See, Berroa just wanted to give him a chance to keep the streak alive.
aj should throw a pie at him as thanks. berroas gotta be at least good for a laugh.
BUSH League fist pump from AJ.
That sort of emotion belongs in the ‘pen.
(Not to get too meta, but what percentage of comments on here are such sarcastic cracks?)
98.7%
The rest are asinine bullshit from GraSaLannyBo and Axl.
hmmm i was gonna say that same exact percentage until i decided to make it sarcastic
I bet Bruney is embarrassed.
(A lot, that’s why I love this board)
100%!!!!
0%
For cosistency’s (sic) sake, I hope to see at least fourteen articles and blog posts fighting to be the first to chastise AJ for his behavior.
the yankees play under more pressure than other teams, so they’re allowed extra fist pumps
Burn Baby Burn!!!!!!!!!!
Derek Lowe is handling the Sox
JINXED IT!
Damn it. I paused halfway through typing that too, but then threw caution to the wind. My apologies.
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.
AJ burnett is obscene
Love me my pitching duels; this looks like a good one. I just hope the Yankees come on the right side of it.
We just need to get to their bullpen.
nancy newman is grotesque
cano’s at-bat was grotesquer
+715
Hey so, um, hits plz?
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?
Debatable, I think Cain, Lincecum, Carpenter, and Haren are better. He’s definitely in the conversation though.
Mmmm, Dan Haren. I love him. He is quite possibly the most underrated pitcher in baseball.
I miss his beard.
i would put him top 10, not yet in the top 5
My Top 5?
Santana
cueto
haren
Matt cain
Lincecum
i would put him top 10, not yet in the top 5
My Top 5?
Santana
cueto
haren
Matt cain
Lincecum
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.
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.
At least they arent being no hit.
Swish has been chasing a bit lately.
What was that? Maybe I’ll bunt, but maybe not, oh crap the pitch is by me?
Michael Kay promoting the myth that Tommy John makes you throw harder.
*facepalm*
and pitchers get it done for fun, because 18 month rehabs are just peachy.
Don’t worry Angel Berroa is on deck.
Great inning for Johnson; this dude is just filthy.
Damn, Johnson is straight filth with that cutter/slider.
Johnson’s dealin’. Hooray for my fantasy team.
fuck the fantasy team. That sucks for my reality team!
Dude, whatever. This is a BLOG. No one here cares about REALITY baseball.
Idiot.
sarcasm right?
Yes
I wouldn’t call you an idiot in seriousness.
heh thought so but just wanna make sure
Good at-bat by Melky, even if it did end in a K. 10 pitches is valuable as hell the way Johnson is throwing.
Nice work by O’Neil to regulate on Singleton’s willy-nilly cutter comparison
Nice AB Melky…working the count a lot lately
I’d drag Arod’s tired corpse out there to strike out IN STYLE.
Willing to bet we’ll see A-Rod in the late innings if it comes down to it.
the melk-man is fouling off everything
good at bat
Not a strikeout? A.J. what the fuck is wrong with you?
I know. Tex should’ve booted that. He’s so selfish, taking that putout for himself.
hahaha you guys make me laugh
Burnett is dealing tonight, this is a damn shame.
I love the high heat. It’s probably my favorite pitch in baseball.
Maybe if Papelbon’s shoulder explodes I can enjoy it again.
well you are acting like he is facing ian snell or something
josh johnson is legit
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.
Every time Michael Kay makes a bad joke, Mo kills an angel.
There’s the family reunion reference. Surprised he didn’t break that out sooner.
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.
he has like a 3.6 ERA against non-red sox teams
Alex Rodriguez?
sorry, saw you mentioned starter… but you get my point
Psh, c’mon. I’ve loved A-Rod since day 1.
Seriously, 2 MVP’s. But yeah, I did say starter.
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.
can someone tell peteabe to chill on all on the berroa/age jokes? they’ve been played out from the start.
The thing about those is that I don’t even think he looks particular old.
Agreed. It’s not like he’s been around in baseball forever, either.
God AJ looks like a rough character. His demeanor reminds me of Randy Johnson, minus the giant bag of douche.
Pinch hit A-rod?
Bitch-tit A-Rod?
Sigh, looks like this might make AJ the league leader in criminally unsupported starts.
CARL PAVANO GOT MORE VOTES THAN KEVIN BROWN?!?!?!?!?
I’ve failed humanity.
97% of people apparently have no clue what they are actually watching when someone is pitching. Brown got 3%, there is something wrong with that.
But how many of those were “ironic”?
That’s facepalm worthy.
Carl Pavano better than Kevin Brown? Seriously?
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?
A.J. with the big cut. I like it.
Any looked like a beer-league softball player kneeling on second like that.
Why isn’t Ramiro Peña playing anymore?
Burnett makes Johnson use 6 pitches to retire him?
I can support that.
AJ’s the only Yankee who can reach the outfield…except for one fly out by Cano.
What the hell kinda swing was that, Derek?
national league baseball. nothing like a good 8-9-1 inning