Game 84: Bring on the rookie pitcher
ByTonight the Yankees face ::gulp:: a pitcher they’ve yet to see. Thankfully, they’ve dispelled the myth that they can hit these types. Yeah, it happens from time to time, but for the most part the Yanks have held their own against neophytes, most recently against Blue Jays rookie Brett Cecil. Tonight it’s Minnesota’s Anthony Swarzak — whose name isn’t quite as cool as the Jays’ rookie Mark Rzepczynski.
Glen Perkins was the scheduled starter for Minnesota tonight, but he is out with an illness and will not start in this series. That brings about mixed feelings. On one hand, the Yanks bombed Perkins for six runs in less than an inning on May 18. It appears, however, that he was hurt. The Twins placed him on the DL the next day and he didn’t return for about a month. Since coming back, though, he’s been pretty damn good, allowing just eight runs over 27 innings, walking just two. He’s also lasted seven innings in three of those four starts, going six in the other (his first back).
Taking his place is, as mentioned, Swarzak. He’s pitched well in his 27.2 innings this year, allowing just 12 runs, striking out 18 and walking 10. Baseball America claimed that the righty “has the best combination of stuff, youth, and experience” in the Twins’ system, but that might be a bit of overhype. They say he sits 91-93, but in his last major league start, back on June 13, wherein he pitched seven scoreless innings against the White Sox, his fastball averaged under 90 mph, with a max of 92.2. Obviously, he didn’t get up there often. His changeup averages about 83 mph, so there’s not a ton of differential there. His real off-speed offering is the curveball, which sits in the mid-70s.
A.J. Burnett faired well against the Twins last time out, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing just two runs. Of course, he walked six in that span, which is nothing but frustrating to watch. That’s nothing new for Burnett: he leads the league in walks this year.
Finally, as if everyone didn’t know already, Francisco Cervelli has been optioned for Jose Molina. It was a fun ride, Frankie. He’s certainly one of the most-loved sub-.300 OBP Yankees from recent memory. He’ll be back in September at the latest, and since Jose Molina’s contract expires after this year, he could be back to stay at that point.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Nick Swisher, RF
9. Brett Gardner, CF
And on the mound, number thirty-four, A.J. Burnett.
511 Comments»
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The Mason Williams Watch
By Jove I’ve got it!
Mo >>>> Melvin >> Monstero >>>>>>>>>>> Cervelli >>>>>>>>> Everyone else.
(Monstero flew out his first AB)
There you go
NICK SWISHER died inside just a little, which is also known as global warming.
I can’t catch the game tonight but I hope we clinch the series tonight.
Trenton PBP dude “I’m of the opinion that the Yankees need at least one lefty starter in their rotation.”
Trenton CC dude “They have one, CC Sabathia.”
Trenton PBP dude “Oh, right, I forgot about Sabathia…”
Good to hear our organizational depth at play by play guys does not end with Kay…
Still better than Sterling.
Well he didn’t know who Mike Dunn was so apparently they’ve both forgotten different lefties.
Who had no win warble at all last night
poor Andy Pettitte, one of the best pitchers in franchise history. erased from the memory banks.
Well, to be fair, they were talking about what would happen after Pettitte retired.
oh. well, that is fair.
they have Pettitte too
…and once again, i fail to read all the comments on a topic. silly me
It was a fun ride, Frankie. He’s certainly one of the most-loved sub-.300 OBP Yankees from recent memory.
Does Alfonso Soriano and his 2001 rookie OBP of .304 count?
Or Bubba Crosby’s 2004 rookie OBP of .302?
That’s worth a post. The best sub-.300 OBP seasons.
i’m not sure “sub” means what you think it means…
j/k
i submit joe carter’s 1990 season. 290 obp, ops under 700, drove in 115
At least Fonzy stole 40+ bases and actually hit for power.
Im still amazed at that A-Rod for Soriano trade. When you take into consideration how much of that contract the Rangers ate, AND the fact that Soriano was actually only six months younger than A-Rod (not known at the time, but still); that had to be one of the more lopsided deals in recent baseball history.
actually, the Rangers did know Soriano’s true age before they pulled the trigger. we (the public) didn’t know for a while later, but the yankees had just found out and they disclosed it to the Rangers.
You learn something new everyday. Thanks, Steve.
I think you have to have an OBP under .300 to qualify for that sub-.300 OPB award.
Too bad Robbie couldn’t hold his weight as the 5 guy… I really hope it works itself out.
He’ll be back.
He’s got to push through the wall eventually..
yep, he’ll be back like arnold
Heh. Sucks for the Cards.. Derosa
Yeah. They basically traded Chris Perez and a PTBNL that’s been described as a “significant player” for 10 plate appearances of DeRosa and a sandwich rounder if he retains Type-B status and they offer him arbitration.
ouch!
As for Tomorrow, would the yanks go
Aceves 4
Hughes 4
Mo 1
Sounds pretty good right?
Hughes can’t go four.
More likely
Aceves 4
Tomko/Robertson/Coke 2
Hughes 2
Mo 1
Assuming we’re winning, of course.
+9
Hughes can go four if he is throwing 9-10 pitch innings. we can hope
Halladay not coming to NY says Yankee Official:
http://twitter.com/nyp_joelshe.....2538505491
However, like Teix, this could be trickery by Cashman
It’s almost exactly the same situation as Santana, except you get a few extra months of him.
Yep.
Yeah, it’s fun to think about, but in reality, it’s really not worth it.
Nope not at all. Glad the Yankees aren’t making a move. Now hopefully he’ll go to the Dodgers or anywhere as far as possible from here.
And if Cashman didn’t trade for the younger LHP of Santana, what makes the yanks trade for the older RHP of Halladay.
yeah, but those “few extra months” basically double his value. it gives you twice as many Octobers with Roy F’ing Halladay.
not saying they should empty the farm for him, but having Halladay for the rest of this season is worth a LOT.
I believe it. They would have to give up too much. It would be nice to have him though
We need to add a starter if we’re serious about making a run for #27 this year. It doesn’t have to be Halladay but he would certainly better our odds more than any other pitcher that we can pickup midseason. By Spetember, the rotation looks very iffy after CC and AJ
Eh. Andy usually pitches better in the 2nd half.
Another starter would be okay, but only for the right price. I’m not giving up major prospects for a three month rental.
When people talk about Halladay, why doesn’t anyone mention his injury history?
b/c most of them are flukey and the guy has been a horse?
So trade for someone we don’t need to give up much for.
And Pettite was worse in the second half last year…
Pettitte was hurt last season. Just wouldn’t admit it during the season.
He seems to be having the same problem again this season…
Such as…? Who’s selling and who’s available?
I guess as a Yankee fan, I’m spoiled and used to Cashman making trades appear out of nowhere to fill holes midseason. But I agree, very few pitchers appear to be available this season. I’m just afraid we’re going to have another season where we make the playoffs and get outpitched and outplayed in the first round…
I’m pretty confident in CC/A.J. being better than whatever team the Yankees face’s 1-2 punch in the rotation.
Hence the word “usually.” It’s been pretty well documented that Pettitte pitched through shoulder issues the second half of last year.
I don’t think a move for a starter needs to be made but can we really expect Andy to pitch all that well from here on out? Considering how many hits he’s given up, Andy’s pretty lucky to have his ERA where it is, especially considering his 5.56 tRA.
By iffy… you mean CC AJ and 2 solid starters plus whatever Wang is and Hughes.
I think Hughes will remain in the BP the rest of the season unless Cashman can’t figure out a solution for the 3-5 spots in the rotation.
Wang is back on the DL. I doubt he’s going to be reliable enough to help in October when he returns.
Ace, Pettite, and Mitre are iffy at this point. Joba will be back in the pen by October.
I’m not saying the Yankees desperately need another starter. They just have a lot of question marks after CC and AJ. In past seasons Cashman would make a trade for a Corey Lidle type or bring back Roger Clemens from retirement when they were a little short on starting pitching depth…
So I totally didn’t realize that the Bulgarian Seeker had speed…reached on bunt and then just stole second…
…+42 if you can figure out to whom I’m referring.
Driving me crazy that I haven’t figure it out yet
Well I know fictionally you’re referring to Viktor Krum but for real life I have no idea =/
Wait is it by any chance Austin Krum?
BING BING BING!!
+42
Love those leadoff hits.
Vazquez now has 51 RBI in 51 games, I think.
jeter must have been really hurting last year. 2008 is starting to look like an aberration
I still Cant believe Damon didnt get to be an alll star and Hamilton did.
You mean Torri Hunter?
No Hamilton hasnt even played that much games this year and he was voted as the startin center fielder.
I meant Hunter should be starting over Hamilton.
GAHHH DAMON!
Monstero grounds out to 3rd. 1-last-19. Is it safe to say he’s slumping yet?
Monstero doesn’t slump. He decides to take some time to let the mortals succeed.
Blasphemy! “Montero” and “slump” do not belong in the same sentence!
Bert had the “Why the f*** am I not in the HOF?” look there.
I wish I knew the answer.
I <3 Bert (despite being 5 years old when he threw his last pitch).
that’s a good looking change-up
What a peckish hit. =/
Gah, that was unfortunate.
Blake just missed an easy grounder after Sutcliffe was talking in the 1st inning about how he should get a gold glove……
I love it when that fucktard is proven wrong.
Yeah, when I think Gold Glove, I think “Casey Blake”. WTF?
Guys, Blake has a grit-beard. Therefore, he must be good at fielding because he’s gritty and scrappy. It’s indisputable.
MLB.TV for the win. I live in Bettendorf, IA and they are saying the game is blacked out even though no one around here ever shows the games. Kind of ridiculous, no?
Well what, you’re like 2 days drive from Minnesota, so you’re definitely in their home market!
/sarcasm
The blackout restrictions are completely infuriating. I think there must be an error though in your case. Call MLB.tv and bitch ‘em out.
So we have Coker for Mauer and Morneau and Hughes for the 8th? Bruney is the 8th inning guy though…
Oy AJ, stop it.
Was that ball moving too quick for Jorge to block?
DenFAIL Span.
Wow a pick off for Burnett?
NICE AJ!
Span fail.
Get out of there, Span.
wow he didnt even slide.
lol
Span=Cano
My how things change so quickly, it goes from looking like a bad first to a 1-2-3
Good AJ is back YAY!
maybe it’s wishful thinking, but i think mauer stays in minnesota
yeah, especially since they have morneau and many of their young pitchers for a long time
Wouldn’t wishful thinking be him signing with the Yanks?
my wishful thinking is montero turning into johnny bench
Really, I was thinking more of a Babe Ruth.
It’s not.
Oh wow, really young A-Rod.
‘Sui’s got legs.
but no knees
Hear that, HoF voters? David Cone knows it – A-Rod is feared.
haha
Hey another hit from Cano with RISP.
i’m tellin you baseball gods are now being kind to him
GO CANO!
I would pay big money to see Cano get 20 more consecutive hits with runners in scoring position.
Cano hit that too hard.
/nitpick
That’s a successful AB. All you can do is hit the ball hard. If you do that all the time, you will have a great season.
Bloops off the end of the bat that fall for a hit are great, but you can’t make a living on them.
I want Mr Joe Joseph Pawlikowski to tell me how to pronounce Mark Rzepczynski.
I dunno about Rzep, but czynski is “Shinskee”
zep-shinskee?
DING DING DING
You win this
http://pictures.polandforall.c.....rogies.jpg
http://www.drunkjaysfans.com/2.....lling.html
This tells you how to pronounce it.
My guess is “Repchinski.”
Gets the job done.
Not pretty but that got the job done.
BG for ROY!
Boom.
I *heart* white Dave Roberts.
I LOVE GRIT GUTNER
So does UZR, incidentally. Dave Cameron had a post at Fangraphs which pegged Gardner with the fourth best ARM rating in baseball since the 2006 season, and generally other-worldly range. I think he’s almost been worth a win this season on defense alone.
Jason Bay WAR: 1.8
Brett Gardner WAR: 2.2
That is so cool.
That is really cool, but I was under the impression that we can’t fully trust UZR data until we get towards the end of the year.
(Does UZR adjust for the Green Monster? Because while Bay isn’t a Gold Glover, that would make him look even worse than he is)
That’s supposed to read since the 2008 season. And yeah, I was going to bring up that WAR beauty. But Jason Bay is teh All Star!!1!
ROY! ROY! ROY!
Grit put a whoopin on that ball.
GRIT GUTTNER!!!!
He gritted that one for two RBI.
ROY
Shout out to Matsui for playing so well since inter-league ended.
Anything is possible!
Well except convincing people hughes/Joba belongs in the pen but other than that anything is possible!
belongs in the
penrotation.Fixed
I understand Ken’s thinking here, but even up 3-0, I’d prefer not to risk making the last out of the inning on the base paths.
rare fail for mauer
Awsome
BJ Ryan anyone?
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....-ryan.html
maybe for batting practice pitcher…
I like it, if for no other reason we would be cornering the market on pitchers who go by their first two initials.
CC, AJ and BJ. Now if we could only get JP Howell, we’d be fucking unstoppable.
Two initial pitchers + all the Duncans and Sanchezes you can find is as unbeatable as a rotation with Roy Halladay in it.
And Austins
can we get R.A. Dickey and J.A. Happ too?
YES!!!!! NEXT WE RULE THE WORLD!!!
MWA-HA-HA-HA!!!
hahaha you made me crack up man
tj hooker?
What’re his splits? Could he be a LOOGY?
If he costs the pro-rated minimum and his splits are decent, I’d give him a shot.
’08 vs. LHB: .230/.373/.393
’09 vs. LHB: .250/.378/.389
That’s not pretty.
I’ all for getting him in the system. Not sure he’d accept a deal though. At this point, Tomko is more reliable than him, but, if BJ picks up his velocity and can mimic his year last year, he’s a great pitcher. So, minor league deal is all I give, maybe with an out for him if he’s not up in a month.
Thanks but no thanks. The stuff is gone.
That’s at least the second time Gardner’s gotten a successful steal on a pitchout.
Kid’s got wheels. Gritty, greasy wheels.
GRIT IS MY FAVORITE ROOKIE FO SHO!
Did gardner just beat a pitchout?
Jewish American Heritage night in Trenton
Why am I not there?
I guess you missed Ben’s post from yesterday, but it’s Jewish-American Night at RAB tonight.
Here’s the link
http://images2.cafepress.com/p....._Front.jpg
3-0 Lead with AJ on the mound, I feel pretty confident right now.
5-0 against boston awhile back…
shh….
Somebody throw something at Ortiz’s wrist right now, he homered again.
I’ve said this at least twice before: It was so much fun when he was sucking, but did we really expect him to stay that shitty all season?
haha CC and Johan subway commercial.
great inning for the yankees!!!
3-0 yankees
I don’t know why Swisher feels compelled to jump and catch, but it’s funny to watch.
he had to jump over an invisible stream.
swisher being swisher
I think Swisher is the only player on the Yankees who consistently uses two hands on fly balls–maybe Jeter, too.
Fucking Comcast. Screen turns black during a Teix AB.
he popped out
Well, at least Punto’s sporting the over .100 IsoD.
Talk about a strange triple slash line.
Why do my parents feel compelled to call when I’m in the middle of watching one game and listening to another?
Because Syracuse sucks.
Dude, I haven’t lived in Syracuse since May 08.
where in syracuse?
University neighborhood
nice-i grew up in cortland (and you thought syracuse was bad)
For Communications?
Does this explain those late night WFAN calls?
You still went there. It counts.
we still beat you. 6 OT baby.
Ugh. That game still hurts.
(Drink up, people)
Damnit. My liver is trying to rest from the past weekend camping…
all parents are psychic-they always know the worst time to call.
Because Michael Kay is Fordham’s most esteemed alumi
is span willie tavares or is there more upside?
He’s Willie Tavares, unless the Red Sox trade for him.
Then he’s a combination of Kenny Lofton, Ricky Henderson and Lou Brock with Paul Blair’s glove.
until they trade him to kansas city and he goes back to being coco crisp
Well, so far, he’s shown much better on base skills than Wily T.
I think he’s better than Taveras now, solely because he can walk.
You know when you think about it, between Melky and Gardner the Yankee really have caught lightening in a bottle.
…or we can give Girardi credit for putting them in spots where they’re likely to succeed. In other words, getting the most out of his players.
That would suggest Girardi is a…good…manager?
But that would go against everything the media’s told me for the last year!
HERESY!!!
We all know managers make no difference!!
Bad walk. :X
Yep. Brendan Harris has no business being walked by Burnett with dynamite stuff in front of Mauer.
And it comes back to haunt him.
You wish AJ would think, you know, Harris has a .306 OBP for a reason. I should make him hit it instead of pitching to Joe Mauer. Oh well. The Yanks are still going to win, but it’s frustrating to watch a guy with awesome stuff walk a crap hitter to pitch to the MVP.
Holy crap those balls can bounce.
This is getting to be ri-goddamn-diculous.
this is pathetic
what the fuck posada. i learned in fucking little league how to block a ball. holy shit its not that hard
Calm down.
This has been Posada’s problem since… forever. Burnett going forward has 0 confidence that Posada can catch a ball in the dirt.
That last one was a fastball that looked like it was going quite hard. I don’t think he had time to bounce over and block it. The others, though….
Burnett is also throwing 95+ and slinging to the opposite side.
Posada better make up for his ineptitude at catching.
lol, it actually is that hard.
it shouldn’t be that hard for a major league catcher to block an offspeed pitch
last one looked like a fastball to me.
fine, but the first two weren’t and they were pretty blockable
second one hit the plate and took a wild bounce. Of course, I’m not really defending Jorge because he should get down and block it, just saying, they weren’t the easiest to block.
Wow.
Posada = DH. Damon = not on this team next year.
That wasn’t Damon’s fault. That was a rocket.
Melky or Gardner flag it down.
This isn’t a kneejerk one play reaction. He’s been atrocious in LF for over a month.
I agree. His defense has tailed off significantly since last year.
who do you want there next year? holliday for 8/180?
You really think he’s getting 8/180?
And no, I don’t want Holliday.
I don’t know about that, but if Damon isn’t an above average defender in LF, I’m not sure if he’s worth re-upping. Hell, he hasn’t even been average this year. Yikes.
I don’t think he gets that much, but I know I don’t want him for whatever he gets. I bet Damon comes back on a 1+1, maybe 10 mil.
And I’m ok with that if he plays defense like 2008, or at least better than this year.
Can’t stand Posada’s catching
This is why you don’t walk Brendan Harris.
Run to the spot, Johnny. Run to the spot.
ok who the f*ck said they were happy being up 3-0 with burnett pitching!?!?!
Me and…….
i’m hoping that was the “one bad inning”
Let’s hope Posada’s inability to catch a ball doesn’t affect how Burnett throws. ie. balls higher in the zone
How could it not?
Sorry, but Jorge can’t catch AJ anymore. This is getting brutal, and they’re ALL not wild pitches, I’m sorry. You could block one out of three, Jorge.
Well Molina is coming soon…
Molina is hereeeee
Oh then well next start hopefully he’ll catch AJ.
Sorry, but I can’t remember the last time I have seen Molina OR Posada get down in the dirt to block a ball. I don’t expect anything different with Molina except he might catch more balls with the swipes.
Thank You.
agreed, its pretty ridiculous that those are not considered passed balls.
No it is not. You want to make the point that Jorge cannot catch, so you think they should be passed balls. However, as the official scorer noted, those have been wild pitches since time immemorial.
Based on one game? They’ve been good together since Boston.
Or one inning.
Can people quit the Posada bashing? He is a complete asset as a catcher. Those wild pitches were not all on Posada. Are people really hoping for a world where our catcher has a .300 OBP? AJ got himself into that mess by walking .306 OBP Brendan Harris.
We aren’t calling for Cervelli instead of Posada. We are just complaining because Posada does nothing to protect his pitchers. Not once did I see him get done in the dirt in an attempt to block the ball. What are we supposed to overlook that?? No, I don’t think so.
now you saw him do it and nearly broke his hand. happy, pappy?
People will only be happy when he’s hurt throwing himself from one batters’ box to another and hurting himself. Then we can have a repeat of 2008 where the dropoff from a borderline HOF catcher to a replacement level backup played a large role in submarining the season.
AJ was wild. That wasn’t Posada’s fault.
What about all those other games he has caught? it hasn’t been an issue. that barely ever happens. I’m more inclined to blame the pitcher in an inning like that. AJ seemed to lose the plate and throw hard. And the wild pitch offspeed pitch was a hard slider that comes in around 89-90.
He blocked a pitch that inning. Do you really think that Posada hasn’t blocked a pitch in the dirt once? The 3rd one was a fastball in the LH batters’ box when Posada as setting up just inside the RH batters’ box. In no conceivable way is that on Posada.
That inning was on Burnett. If he’s going to walk Harris, who sucks, in front of MVP Mauer, that’s completely on him. And I like AJ. But he has to realize that he has dynamite stuff and he has to challenge shitty hitters. Especially if the guy behind him is the MVP.
I agree, but I think AJ just lost the plate. He’s not thinking, hmm, maybe I’ll walk this shitey hitter to get to the MVP type hitter. I think he’s thinking, Where the fuck is this ball going!?!?
Another chance for cano
maybe not…
At least that wasn’t his hands.
Anyway you get on base, man.
So catching up. tough game for Posada or bad pitches by Burnett?
A little bit of both.
Both
Burnett bounced a couple WAYYYY short. Jorgie could’ve done something more than he did but…
JoPo doin his thang on offense.
thank you.
Damn, nice rip, Swish. Just a little short.
Man, only if the center field and left field wall were a littttttle bit closer…
Darn, I thought Swish might have gotten all of that.
you’re playing on turf, brett. stop swinging for the fences
no no no. he’s swing for the ball. the ball.
I love the recoil in AJ’s arm when he throws the FB.
It’s been flyball madness tonight.
At least he caught it.
Cone: walking on hot coals!
love it.
Johnny, I have something for you
http://www.njeye.com/
Joe Crede has taken some of the weakest looking swings this series.
That a boy. That’s how you block a ball!!!
Funny, I guess he does get down to block balls. Must be the first time in a while, right?
Nice block, Jorge.
I want to be at least tied by the AS break.
You could look at us and Boston a few ways.
-We’re 0-8 against them, and they just seem to have our number this year.
-We’re 1 game behind them, so the fact that we’re one game back means that we’ve played 7 games better against the rest of Baseball, which is a truer measure.
I’ll take being one back. This early on, one game doesn’t mean much.
I know, it doesn’t really matter. Its actually in our interest (somewhat) to be behind the Sox until Sept 1st, so we can block a late waiver deal if they make one. But I’d rather be in 2st than worry about blocking a minor deal.
“But I’d rather be in 1st “
Sure, it’s convenient, but how often does this matter?
I believe this is how Canseco ended up on the Yankees.
Cervelli behind the plate?
nice job jeter!
This Jeter guy is pretty good at baseball.
I know. More people should talk about him.
Jetes seems to be hitting everything hard nowadays
I love the non-hand-injury version of Jeets at the plate.
No, it’s because he’s getting laid again. He had an off year last year.
including those supermodels…
nice
That’s what she said!!!!
Was it me or did that 3-2 pitch to Tex seem kind of strange?
Selfish, tack on, stat-padding RBI right there.
Al FTW!!
We ave the lead so its unclutch
Arod sucks. can’t even get 2 runs in.
He should’ve hit a homer there. He was way too happy to get just a single there.
Yeah, what a punk. singles hitter.
A-Rod loves the dome!
DFA A-ROD, HE CAN’T GET US RUNS WHEN WE ARE BEHIND
Atom ball.
I know the HR is a pretty shot but I would take these bleeder singles and solid singles type of games any day. Keep pounding the pitcher.
Ha these spots just seem to find Robbie.
Cervelli no longer on the active roster.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....p?c_id=nyy
*sniff*
Stevie is late to the pahhtayy.
I knew it was coming (after BP today or something) but looking at that roster made it hit me.
So sad when they go so young like that.
Gone, but the Cervelli era will never be forgotten!
Think he gets a monument in the outfield?
I’ve heard rumblings that at YS the backstop will be referred to as “the Cervelli” now.
it was nice while it lasted, robbie
Come on, A.J. It’s Nick Punto. Go after him.
well it would have been nice if cano came through there, should have saved some runs from last night
Walking Nick Punto – Jorge’s fault.
And a walk to Punto? Argh.
22% of the people think the Twins got fair value for Santana? Yikes.
Those 22% is Omar Minaya.
Those must be Mets fans checking in on the game.
25% believe we never landed on the Moon.
“The one secret that no one ever suspected was that I did stage the moon landings . . . on Venus!”
Posada!!! Why are you so wild??
have a feeling we’ll need more than 4 runs tonight
Good catch by Posada. I will believe he did enough to save a run with that stop. Now Burnett, go get Morneau out!
FYEAH!
Wow where in the hell did that miss?
You mean “ball” 3 to Morneau? Yeah, that really looked like strike 2.
Are you kidding me!!
Yes
that was a f*cking strike
Umpires are bad people. Sorry Al and Matt but it’s true.
How was that 2-1 pitch not a strike?
He needed to tag him.
The ball didn’t beat the bat to the plate.
Hell of a time for your first K of the game, AJ.
Good timing on the first K of the night.
papelbon making it interesting
Papelbon’s been very “Wettelend-ish”this year…
Got lucky- wind turned a double into a sac fly.
Matt Holiday sucks.
What happened?
k’ed in the bottom of 9th against papelbon
f*ck another missed one
Well, the throw beat him.
He doesn’t need to be tagged, just ask Foster.
Haven’t you heard? That’s all you need to be out.
In fairness, if Gardner was safe, it was only just barely, and wasn’t conclusive on the replays, I don’t think.
What else is new, ump, fail.
These freaking UMPS are retarded. Again with the Ball beat the player BS. Do freaking umpires not know how to watch a play to the very end!
you’ve got to be kidding me. another missed tag and the yankee runner is out again.
think burnett can go 2 more?
Suzuki singles to CF.
1st and 2nd, 1 out.
there’s 2 outs
and now there’s 3, fuck. i saw that one coming
3 outs
every time i watch suzuki he seems to get a big hit
What is going on? crazy.
damn Cust
Cust down to his final strike
Jack Cust sucks.
5 straight fastballs…
another 30 pitch inning for papelbon
Burnett is doing his best to give me agita.
aj battled today, another pretty good outing
I don’t know if you call today’s performance “effectively wild” or just “lucky.”
either one works as long as we win today
True dat
Both strikeouts for Burnett have been big ones.
When does the Randy Choate correction come?
Of course fat Abe has the sketchiest colorful laptop skin.
So is Girardi going to have AJ start the inning and then bring in Coke for Mauer and Morneau? Hopefully Hughes is pitching the 8th and not Bruney. Bruney is not the 8th inning guy.
I enjoy seeing Boston lose as much as the next Yankees fan. But to be watching their games that closely, and praying for them to lose is pathetic. It’s July 8th. Like it or not, the Sox are going to win a few more games. Let’s just root for our boys to keep winning.
lol how is it pathetic to monitor the last 3 outs of our rival’s game?
Or we could just let people do what they want. Wanting and rooting a major division rival to lose is not pathetic, it’s being a fan.
“But to be watching their games that closely, and praying for them to lose is pathetic.”
Was it really that important for you to insult a number of posters that you felt compelled to actually type out 3 sentences about it?
Who cares what Boston does? I’m tired of so many Yankee fans being caught up with what’s going on with the Sox. And I’ve heard it all season long, not just tonight. So don’t act like this is an isolated incident.
So what if the Yankees were in 1st place by 5 games right now? Hell, even if the Yankees were 10 games out of it, it’s not like the season is over with.
Just watch the Yankees, and root for them to win. Stop worrying about Boston. When you do that you start to make stupid moves like signing Igawa for $20 million after spending more than that just to negotiate with the guy.
lol, people are going to do what they want. Why are you so worried about what they’re worried about?
Uh, I think most people here care what boston does.
Huh? We are fans. What we do has no impact on the team. I’m not sure why we can’t both scoreboard watch and root for the Yankees, and I certainly do not get why you need to disparage those of us who do care about Boston.
Caring about what Boston does, and getting angry about them winning a game in early July are VERY different things.
Boston is our main competition for the division. So, no.
omg YES is showing us what happened! Pathetic!
How dare they. It’s only July 8th!
Damn you, Gomez.
lets score enough to make tomko the 8th inning guy
Despite knocking out Twins’ starters early, the Yankees haven’t done much except exhaust the back of the Twins’ pen.
As long as they’re winning, I can’t complain too much.
(Here’s a preview of my blog piece for tomorrow, I’d like to kick it around before posting it)
We’ve heard conflicting reports lately about the Yankee interest in getting into the Roy Halladay sweepstakes. It’s hard to know who’s telling the truth, since its in the Blue Jays interest to have them involved, and in the Yankee’s interest to downplay their true motives if they are.
There’s an element to consider if the Yanks truly have a lack of interest in Roy Halladay. The guy is 32 years old, so you’d have to expect him to be declining within the next few years. So even without an extension (which Halladay says he doesn’t want) you would have WAY too much money tied up in players over the age of 30 for the 2010 season and beyond. Lets look at the 2010 roster and the Yankee commitments already on the books to older players, assuming a Halladay deal:
Player’s name/2010 age/Salary
Roy Halladay/33/$15.75 mil
Alex Rodriguez/34/$32 mil
Derek Jeter/36/$21 mil
Jorge Posada/38/$13 mil
Mariano Rivera/40/$15 mil
Mark Teixeira/30/$20 mil
Chien Ming Wang/30/$5+ mil
AJ Burnett/33/$16.5 mil
Damaso Marte/35/$4 mil
Total $142.35 mil on 9 players, 5 of whom will likely be well into their decline phase, if not totally finished as elite players deserving of their pay scale. That leaves you too little payroll flexibility to account for automatic pay raises built into contracts like Cano (6-9 mil) and Swisher (5-6.5) and arbitration raises the young players will certainly receive. I’m sorry, but even the Yanks have their limits.
The good news however, is that much of the old, dead weight on the payroll expires after 2010. Just below 70 mil in payroll comes off the books, although I think its safe to say Jeter will be brought back at some price. Now that means that now you’re looking for a Hughes, Chamberlain or Montero to replace some of those aging players who are coming off the books, and chances are you just traded them away in the Halladay deal. The Yanks could, of course, use some of that payroll flexibility to sign free agents to fill their needs. Looking at the 2011 free agent class, there are some interesting names, but its not one of the better years to be out shopping.
Considering everything, I think the Yanks will be serious players. How much of a premium Riccardi wants in order to deal him in the division will determine whether we get him or not. I’d bet against it happening, but I think Cash will make a serious run at him.
I wouldn’t include Teix since he’s still arguably in his prime. Also, Wang’s 5 mil is kind of irrelevant.
Tex will be over 30, that was the criteria. I didn’t include him with the guys in their decline phase, I think those guys are fairly obvious.
Wang will probably get an increase in Arb despite his horrible year, it has more to do with service time than performance. So 5 mil is probably light.
I hate Coke’s point at the sky when the guy hits a homerun.
Not supposed to be a reply.
Nice work.
I doubt the Yankees or the Sox will go for Halladay (even though the Yankees said they weren’t interested, the Teixiera signing is more than enough to show us that we shouldn’t always take their word).
They both passed on Santana who was younger and left handed and cheaper in terms of prospects. So there ya go.
Santana was never a fit for Boston. He’s a lefty fly ball pitcher, and that doesn’t play in Fenway park. They were a stalking horse for us from day 1 on that deal.
As far as we go, I got the impression that Bill Smith never wanted to deal Johan in the AL and Cash knew it. We would have had to overpay so badly it wasn’t worth it. Our worst package was better than what they accepted from the Mets.
Exactly. It’s the ultimate win-now move, and the Yanks are always a win-now team. But it clearly could hurt us down the road, as I detailed. I could see moving one top Pitcher and one Catcher without any long term ramifications, as long as that Catcher isn’t named Montero. Is Hughes/Romine/A-Jax enough? Maybe, I don’t know.
But if we get 2 WS in the next two years will anyone care about the player we gave up? Probably not.
Depends how bad the team craters, if at all, without the young talent. And of course if said young talent actually pans out.
countdown to frostbite in april
Maybe we can see a little Hughes tonight. The Phil’s are coming in.
Sutcliffe just called Manny, “Manny Rodriguez”
manny takes k-rod deep
love it
just flipped over and saw, oppo field too.
Walks Blake.
Perhaps “pathetic” was the wrong word. But the point is still valid.
Yeah, that’s just a bit too strong. Fans have been scoreboard watching forever, that’s why teams put scoreboards on the outfield walls. In the internet age, you just get to follow the games more closely. Of course on July 8th, its not hugely important either way as you said, but fans are and always have been interested.
Freakin’ Coke pointed at that one, too.
Now just get the MVP pretender.
Has anyone seens Foster’s wikipedia page?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Foster
“On July 6, 2009 Foster erred in the ruling of Major League Baseball rules by calling out New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter on an attempted steal of third base, without the presence of the required tag. He allegedly stated to Jeter, “You don’t have to be tagged out, if the ball beats you, you’re out.” According to MLB rules, if there is no force play, a tag is required, hence, Jeter should have been called safe.”
Coke decided to take strike throwing lessons from AJ. Yay.
Just hold the lead Coke. I feel good with Hughes and Mo in the 8th and 9th and a 1 run lead.
This Joe Mauer guy is pretty good.
The Philthy Boys doing their thang.
Caring about your rival and beating yourself up over them winning a game in early July are two VERY different things.
And I’m willing to bet that if the Yankees weren’t separated from Boston by a game, people wouldn’t be making such a big deal out of it.
And that’s me “just sayin’…”. I’m allowed to speak my peace as well…right?
Who got angry?
I didn’t say anyone was angry. I merely pointed out what could be hypocrisy about somebody saying others are allowed to speak their mind, while I was berated for speaking mine.
It’s sounded like people here, and elsewhere, are too concerned about the standings at this point of the season. So they wanted the Sox to lose even moreso than normally. And since that didn’t happen, they’re even more upset because our boys are in a position that they could have been tied for 1st place.
I’m I wrong to accuse some people of that…possibly. But I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to believe that.
You actually did say someone was angry…
I made a general comment about some people being/acting angry. I didn’t accuse any one person of being angry. Perhaps that’s nitpicking on my part, but I never accused any one person of flying off the handle.
mark loretta may beat adam jones for silliest espn player photo
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....yerId=3343
That’s not that funny, is it?
I honestly cracked up when I saw that.
the ear? no? is this thing on?
/mimes tapping a microphone
Assuming Hughes gets Cuddyer, does he pitch the eighth?
I would think so.
For as good as Coke has been lately he really better start learning how to get out the big lefty hitters. He gives up way too many homers to lefty bats.
And in the late innings that is something you cannot do.
I think his HR problem has quieted down a lot as of late. I could be wrong but it seems like its been a while.
When you’re rocking a .71 ERA in the past month, you cant have given much up.
DFA Swish!!! He can’t run1!!11
Damn not supposed to be a reply
It was Mauer, I can’t blam him that much. He struck out Morneau at least.e
The problem is, as a fastball, slider guy, big lefty bats can sit one or the other, and if they guess right….
Thats true of most relievers, for the most part they only throw 2 pitches, if that many.
Yup. Or they’d be starters.
2 on vs k-rod one out down one. Sorry Bryan, I know this upsets you.
ah fuck. they got the double play.
Ha…ha…ha. *rolls eyes*
Ok Hughes threw 1 pitch…time to take him out.
I don’t get as mad when Mauer hits well against the Yankees.
Gameday clocked that fastball at 94.9. Raise your hand if you were worried about Phil’s velocity at one point.
*probably raises hand*
But he only throws 91!!!!
So if Verlander pitched in relief he’d hit 105?
108. At least.
Moral of the story, does Philip Hughes only throw 91 mph?
Nope.
according to gary cohen, the mets just won the seventh game of the world series
I’ve seen a couple saves now where K-Rod didn’t do his full routine….Did he heed Bruney’s advice?
not tonight
I’m not sure he considered it advice.
he didn’t bend down and spread his arms laterally before pointing to the sky…he just pointed to the sky tonight. I’m being sarcastic about it – kind of…I mean, I’d never seen a save where he didn’t do his full routine and now I’ve seen a couple in the last few weeks. Kinda weird.
whoops – meant to reply to my previous comment. Sorry.
Guess thats what happens when your team is in a semi-free fall
Aw, shucks.
That’s aight Swish, can’t knock his hustle there.
Another error on the base paths for Swisher. Not often you see a second baseman cut off the RF’s throw and still get the guy at 2nd.
how was it an error on the basepaths? He rocketed the ball and hustled to get into scoring position.
How can you defend that? Hustle? it was a bonehead play by a terrible base runner. Never make the 3rd out at a base. Come on.
Eh true, we just disagree. I thought it was a valiant effort and Joe didn’t look to miffed.
*too miffed
It’s not like Cuddyer throws like Damon. Fine aggressive play by Swish.
Anyone else not looking forward to Joba facing the Angels? I figure if he puts anyone on base, they’ll run wild on him. And the way he’s been pitching recently, a lot of them will be on base.
I don’t look forward to the Yankees facing the Angels period.
I gotta tell ya, I see Joba as the starter next to the lineup and assume win. I’m really not worried at all.
+1
Swisher runs the bases like he plays for the Mets.
Swisher, you’re out.
Courtesy of Marty Foster.
Man does Po suck!
Solid D from Jorge.
So it looks like Swisher was safe. I guess tags don’t count in MLB anymore.
Nah throw just has to get there, no tag necessary.
Nope. The throw beat him. That means he’s out.
Of course, instant replay would mean that the world would end. Why get a call right?
The Yanks now need to reach base five minutes before the ball in order to stay there.
New MLB ruling.
Girardi not fucking around.
he’s like Posada but not as lazy.
Hughes can’t get the final out?
Girardi over managing again.
fire eiland!
its all his fault
I blame Kevin Long.
Kevin Long? What are you on? It’s obviously A-Rod’s fault.
I don’t think Girardi trusts Hughes, he never let’s him pitch more than 1 inning. While he let’s Tomko pitch 2.
with a 10-1 lead? was this a serious complaint?
don’t u kno? girardi teh suxor!!1
Hughes can’t get this dude out?
Let’s get the W. Mo=Win.
Is Mo really necessary for Morales? This seems like a little overmanaging.
Pitch count was getting up there (13). Don’t want to stretch him out and give teh ex starter thoughts that he may some day be able to go 2 innings
Damned if you do…damned if you don’t.
C’mon guys, if there is ever a reason to take a pitcher out it’s that Mo is ready and you’re four outs away from the win. Lets not “over-criticize.”
+1
Bringing in Mo is never a bad thing.
I would agree if he was replacing someone other than Hughes and the batter wasn’t Morales. It wasn’t like he was coming in for Jay Witasick against Babe Ruth.
Hughes is not infallible. Although the odds are that Phil would have gotten that final out, you can’t say for sure either way. So why not put your best out there in a situation where he can stay in there the rest of the game?
I understand the theory. But it’s Jose Morales. Morales is crap. I trust Hughes against him, and honestly, against pretty much anyone at that point.
It worked out, so it’s all OK for now. However, if Girardi keeps on doing that, he runs the risk of throwing Mo’s arm out. He’s not 26 any more.
Totally agree!
Come on, insurance runs!
It worked but seriously, Hughes couldn’t get the last guy out? It’s not like it’s Joe Mauer.
and what if Hughes didn’t get that out?
no one here criticizes the move but Joe may not notch a win for the Yanks.
Jose. Morales. With a man on 1st. I must have missed the memo where Morales was Albert Pujols.
Yes, it worked out, but Mariano also warmed up earlier and threw in the 8th. He can pitch more than 1 inning, but I don’t think that was the time to do it. I would rather he be fresher for Mauer.
It’s nitpicking, but Jose Morales. Come on.
We know Joe is comfortable with the 4 out Mo save. What’s the problema?
My point is that Mo isn’t that young any more. Going to Mo for the occasional 4 out save is OK. However, it shouldn’t be when Jose Morales is up, with Hughes pitching and the tying run is only on 1st. Those kind of appearances will add up and only add to the possibility that Mo wears down.
11 pitches. 4 outs. Stop complaining!
Listen, I’m not saying it didn’t work out tonight. Anyone can second guess. But Jose Morales? Really? That’s who Mo needs to face? So does Mo come in every time for a 4 out save?
Considering the situation. One run game, 4 outs away from winning the series, 8th inning guy already gives up a hit. I’d think we’ll see Mo in that situation an awful lot.
eh, he threw 11 pitches. That’s the only reason Joe goes to him, he knows Mo will pound the zone and get the quick out. Let’s not make too much of this.
We can agree to disagree. It worked out tonight. Obviously, going to Mo is going to work 99% of the time. The point is that he does not need to be facing Morales for a 4 out save when Hughes is perfectly capable of doing it. Runners on 2nd and 3rd in a 1 run game with 2 outs in the 8th? By all means, bring Mo in.
The argument is not about tonight. It’s about the big picture.
I’m not saying that going to Mo was totally necessary. But Mo’s the man. So why not? Putting your best out there, in a situation he’s been in a hundred times before, seems okay with me.
Let’s close this thing out.
Game over, yeaaaaahhhhh!
I have the title for the Game Wrap
“Mo and the Philthy Boys preserve Burnett’s win”
If Hughes gets Buscher, Mauer doesn’t come to the plate. Ergh.
Let’s go Mo.
this is scary
Mo gets the benefit of the doubt which is good because it was a ball.
Yay Mo! Yay win!
Here’s to winning series. Hopefully Aceves can provide some length and momentum for a sweep.
Ha, Yankees=Win.
Just remember…Mo is a God.
Grit gets the interview.
brett sounds like danny mcbride
One point I want to make, because I just noticed it above.
Lanny, on the Swisher play, you said never make the 3rd out at any base. Hate to tell you this but you are dead wrong. You never make the 3rd out at 3rd base because you are already in scoring position and cannot score on an out anyhow. At second base, it is perfectly fine, if not encouraged, to be aggressive and attempt to get into scoring position with two outs. Basically, he made the right strategic move, and the defense made a great play.
And didn’t actually tag him. Not that Marty Foster and co. care.
But yes, going for 2nd there was the right move.
can’t believe the bitching about using Mo for 4 outs.
he hasn’t pitched since SATURDAY.
OH NO, MARIANO WILL HAVE TO GET 1 MORE OUT ON 3 FULL DAYS OF REST!!! WHAT WILL HAPPEN?!!!
heh. Just imagine if Mo would’ve given up a hit!
Heh, Coke’s new view is much better. “I’m comfortable with it whenever Joe wants me to pitch.”
live and learn I suppose.
Hughes dresses like Al from home improvement. wtf
[...] beloved sub-.300 OBP Yankees in recent memory, which is certainly true. That little remark led to a conversation in the comments about the best seasons by a player with a sub-.300 OBP, and thus the idea for this post was [...]