Game 99: B-Day-Rod
ByIt seems like just yesterday that 20-yr Alex Rodriguez stepped in as Seattle’s everyday shortstop and posted one of the best offensive seasons of the last 15 years (.358-.414-.631, 54 doubles, 36 homers, 123 RBI), but 531 homers later, that young hot shot prospect is turning 34. Now hitting cleanup for the Yankees, A-Rod‘s career has had far more ups than downs, but he’s still looking for that elusive World Championship.
Tampa Bay, the team that fell short of that World Championship just last year, comes into tonight’s game 6.5 games back of the Bombers for first place, sporting one of the best home records in the game. Their run differential (+73) isn’t far off from the Yanks’ (+77), and they’re 24-14 in their last 38 games. The Rays are an excellent ball club stuck in a brutal division, and this three game set in Tampa is clearly the biggest series of the Yankees’ season to date. It’s time for the boys to start distancing themselves from the pack.
Primo pitching matchup tonight, as the streaking AJ Burnett (2.31 ERA in his last ten starts) takes on the steady if unspectacular Jamie Shields. Here’s the starting nine:
Jeter, SS
Damon, LF
Teixeira, 1B
Birthday Boy, 3B
Matsui, DH
Posada, C
Cano, 2B
Swisher, RF
Melky, CF
And on the mound, Allen James Burnett.
372 Comments
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was that thing on lohud about the beat writers taking arod out for dinner true? Or was it a joke?
Why would A-Rod be caught dead with beat writers??
it was fat abe trying to be funny.
PeteAbe couldn’t get a table in the same restaurant as A-Rod, let alone take him out to dinner.
The Yanks could completley shit the bed tonight and the Mets would still be on tomorrow’s back page…
A-Rod could take a birthday shit on the plate, and the Mets would still be on the back page
*Fixed.
Happy Birthday A-rod! Hope he has a big day today and that the Yankees win another game for him!
happy birthday man, i hope you hit a big HR to celebrate
oh and go crash in one of Jete’s mansions in tampa
a sweep here would pretty much take Tampa out of the division race. I like the thought of that
A lineup with burnett on the mound. i like it.
I mean “A” lineup
bah! and this is supposed to be a reply to my comment above
double fail!
I’d be happy with 2 of 3 ovbiously, all the while, the redsox winning 1 of 3.
Well they are at Fenway, but the AL West has ripped them apart this season. Hopefully, the same happens today.
Matsui career off of Shields:
7/16 for .438/.471/1.125
Then I’m glad Matsui’s in the line up!
RT @jamalg @mlbtraderumors says that Bronson Arroyo IS scheduled to start tomorrow; TBA listed for tomorrow’s Reds starter was an “error.”
yuck on arroyo
That makes me feel a bit better
step in the right direction.
My hopes on Arroyo are comforted by last season when the Yankees were certainly going to get Washburn, they just needed to agree on the money included. Of course, that deal never got worked out so maybe this one won’t either.
Antonio Pierce could face charges in the plax case
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07.....181537.htm
imho, he did what a normal person would have done given the circumstances, leave him alone.
If you’re boy gave you a recently discharged gun to “hide,” would you take it? Maybe, I probably would tbh. Does it mean you have committed a crime? Yes.
you’re?
i understand they want to bury plax, but come on NY! he is in shape, too!
drive across state lines to try and hide the gun?
It’s both funny and sad that Plax may singlehandedly ruin both the Giants offense AND defense two years straight.
anyone else not hearing the people in the booth?
Birthday rod! woot woot. hr please!?
nice hit TEX!
Wow.. what a bizzare news conference at Queens… Omar accusing Rubin… so sad… Mets fans deserve better
“Mets fans deserve better”
I wouldn’t go that far.
Yeah… maybe got a bit carried away… but to witness a Gm accusing a reporter.. i hope they an inch of space left for the Yanks in the back page tomorrow.
agreed.
Really?
I guess no one deserves this, but still… Mets fans aren’t the best bunch in sports.
Not the greatest start but I hope AJ can hold them
???
I wanted a good start like a run, but that’s me being greedy
very greedy.
What are people’s thoughts on BJ Upton? He’s been a lot less than I expected of him this season
He’s had a bad 90 games, no doubt. It’s surprising.
didn’t he have shoulder issues last year?
yeah and then had 7 HR’s in 66 postseason AB’s
Much better:
http://twitter.com/PeteAbe/statuses/2879489096
God bless America
i have never been so pleased w a pete abe post.
same here
Thank Mo.
Good. Now I feel bad for having vomited all over all those people.
If Tampa picks up his option what would you be willing to give up for Carl Crawford?
Just wait till he hits the market
Agreed. There are other ways to fill our LF position besides trading valuable prospects to a competitive division rival. Be patient.
Anywho, Crawford probably won’t be worth whatever he demands in his contract.
and that pitch was where?
Ummm that was a strike
Boston 1-0 on a Pedroia Homer…
that little bugger really pisses me off sometimes.
TEH POWER IS BACK!!1!! BACK 2 BACK MVP
Fantastic.
Son of a whorebag.
Haha, longo must HATE facing Burnett.
can’t think of many players that would.
Very true
what a terrible throw
lol YES’s gun ain’t even trying today.
‘UGE strikeout.
whats up with our pitcher throwing errors lately?
I hope there arent any wild pitches today
I started playing this stupid mousehunt game on facebook, now I’m addicted, awesome.
Interesting tweet:
@metsgrrl: wilpons were apparently not live, folks. sorry. but jeff w. said that adam was not the first person to ask a general question.
If the Wilpons are siding with a reporter over their own GM, Omar is cooked.
Good. I don’t like seeing a team so routinely decimated year to year, unless it’s a team in the AL East.
the situation is getting more and more interesting by the minute
Swisher is smooth as hell out there… ugh
a catch’s a catch
best Kay line ever. Swish, a thrill a minute out there.
Dont like the 20 pitches too much but I’ll take the getting out of a jam. Cmon offense, score some runs
you are seriously too greedy. relax a bit.
hehe I dont know why today. I think its probably cuz I wanna beat the Rays so bad.
Why is Swisher such a spaz in RF? He’s essentially league average according to UZR. Maybe they need to include a “spaz index”.
UZR wise that’s the another out that the RF should have got to, and did.
did he get the out? ok.
Don’t need to make the outs pretty
Dude, they’re the Yankees, they get paid to look good!
exactly, just need to make em
Man, Matsui kills Shields.
Matsui is such a base clogger.
‘Sui is gonna need some oxygen
Hope Matsui still has knees after that.
My god, that was the longest first-to-home I’ve ever seen. Poor Matsui.
Hideki and Jorge, what a combo.
Woot
HIP HIP JORGE!!!!!!!!!!!
And I guess good job Matsui for going from 1st to home with his knees.
man playing matsui was brilliant
he owns shields
Another good thing about Posada’s rbi is there was no one shouting “Hip Hip Jorge!” through the entire at-bat.
+20
I was sitting in that dude’s section yesterday. Talk about stamina.
cmon matsui!
get hideki an oxygen tank and a massage so he doesnt need a dl trip after that.
Who was that speedster running for Matsui?
Mastui runs like the whispering wind.
I miss your whispering eye
Moves so gracefully
Hideki: whispering wind
Stirs cherry blossoms
Veeeeeeery nice…
Uh Oh…Shields is on the ropes. The Yankees need to pound him over the next two innings.
lol Kay sucks
whatthefuckwonderful.
Canó with a triple?!
Okay, Four Horsemen, you can come out now…
he’s usually too lazy to run to third
Eh, he’ll do that from time to time.
White men can’t jump.
fuck yo couch tampa
Heh.
Cano with the “men in RISP” correction.
Cano triples!
check out Robbie hitting with RISP…Im hoping the statistical correction has started.
Swisher is just a bad situational hitter. That’s a fact.
yea those rbi groundouts are so inefficient
selfish, he just wants his RBIs
Just curios, have you ever said anything negative about Swish?
crap, curious
Why don’t you go back where you came from, Drew.
lol what?
You heard me. I don’t want to hear those snappy retorts. This is a serious site where your lip is not appreciated.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sLS8.....t+pear.jpg
Why don’t you go back where you came from, Drew.
Whore Island?
Wow. You’ve gone too far. I am disappointing.
Yeah, definitely. Last week I commented negatively on his slump’s peripherals.
what a sucker, couldn’t even get a hit while getting that runner in.
ROBBIE CANO!!!
3-0!
Again… white men can’t jump. (except Jeter)
Cody Ransom says hi.
and then jumps over you.
he is half black
true, true.
/Sheffield’d
This team just has that dynasty Yanks feel about it right now. They’re a machine and even when they fall behind, you feel like they’re never out of a game.
It does. It really, really does.
Agreed
great offensive inning there
Wasn’t Burrell’s signing touted as one of the best by *ESPN.
Fail.
*redsox nation
I actually thought that was going to be a great signing for them. I’m shocked Pat the Bat’s doing this poorly.
It was supposed to be the Burrell signing good and Ibañez bad, but it’s been the reverse.
It was supposed to be the Smoltz signing good and the AJ bad too.
Ibanez is in line with his 2004 numbers. Except he is at Citizens Bank so the slugging looks better.
i wouldn’t go adding 200 slugging points to a player because of citizens bank.. That’s a bit extreme
seriously? 2006 was a better year first.
in only 74 games played
26 HR (7 short of career high)
.305 AVG only stat that resembles 2004
73 RBI (50 needed to match 06)
slugging up 140 pts from 06
OPS up 150.
I know. aren’t you happy he’s not doing so great now?
God how I hate 3-run-lead walks. You just knew they weren’t going to retire Burrell once Kaye said “Burrell has not been what the Rays expected”
Kay IS the ultimate jinxer
I am the ultimate jinxer… every time I watch the game on gameday the Yankees win. I have watched them on gameday the past 10 games. When I turn on the TV to watch they lose. I missed the first inning and turned it on this inning. You guys should tell me to go for a run or something lol
Hehe I have similar superstitions. I cannot miss the 1st pitch or else we usually lose.
I’ll feel better if you tell me that you caught the first pitch today. I am actually going for a run in 10 minutes
I did
he literally said (on sunday) “mark ellis has been struggling this season” and then he golfs a homerun and ruins sergio mitre’s win
yea thats just one of many jinxs though.
You can’t possibly think it has any effect, do you? Superstitions controlling the outcome of a game is ridiculous. I could never understand that.
AJ is going to walk people regardless of whether he’s ahead 3-0, behind 0-3 or tied 0-0. He walks folk. It’s his one bad peripheral.
How about one of Ricciardi’s fake goons saying they want “every last good guy” out of a team’s system? That’s funny.
what a joke
Great location on that pitch. No way you can hit that.
AJ’s velocity is kinda low today. 93-94 mostly with a 92 and 95 in there.
93-95 is just fine.
Yea it is but he hit 95 once I think. I’m just saying, not being greedy.
Tampa’s gun has had him hit 97 3 or 4 times already.
Im talking bout Gameday
A.J. Burnett is the pinnacle of athleticism.
I heard Lance Armstrong calls him for advice
enjoyable.
Wrong. See Sidney Ponson.
AJ FUCKING BURNETT!
This game is going slowly.
I don’t care as long as the Yanks win.
Every AJ game goes slowly. I only mind a little bit… whatever it takes.
Hey Rebecca – do you ever have problems every now and then on LoHud where your posts dont go through? Mine rarely go through.
Yep. The filter doesn’t allow odd words to get through.
Ahh – hate all the limitations in a free country!
Just wanted to comment on the Sabathia post from earlier — good work.
I’d been meaning to look up his pitchFX info, didn’t realize it was on the Fangraphs player page. Having seen no major changes from 2008, I’m confident he’ll be better moving forward.
A-rod, passing the baton again…
Swinging at all the 1-0 counts is killing us. I wish they would work the count and get Shields out of there.
it’s killing them? winning 3-0
It’s killing the pursuit of winning 32-0
cut them all
Haha, you can say that. I don’t mind swinging first pitch to start a rally but with no one on and a 3-run lead I would like to knock the pitcher out. Ugh, stolen bases galore coming with Upton on.
Swinging at the first pitch got them 3 runs.
cano didnt swing at the first pitch
eh, as long as we score. We are the most patient team so if we swing, it must be something hittable usually.
you think Al just invited Pena to his b-day party?
his party was over the weekend
Nawww son, that was his NY party.
GEORGE IS GETTIN’ UPSET!
Haha, I like this.
LOL at Madden whining for people to come to see his team play after criticizing YSIII.
What did he say about YS3?
On their first trip to the stadium he said it wasn’t the same and the fans aren’t as good, not as intimidating blah blah…
yeah because no one knows real fans like someone managing in tampa
COWBELLS FTW
He also said the smell didn’t make him feel as ill. :p
I understand it. They have a good team. They should have some fans, but it just takes time to build a fan-base, like 100+ years.
The Mets are losing… whew. I can’t take all the “Mets are still in it” chatter on the radio because they won 2 games in a row.
Have you ever thrown a match into a gasoline container? That is how the Mets front office is going to look shortly.
I wonder who the Boston fans are rooting for? Root the Yanks, so TB doesnt catch up to you in the WC race. Or do they root for the Rays, so they can catch up to us. It’s a win-win for the optimists and a lose-lose for the pessimists.
Well, have you ever rooted for the Sox? I haven’t.
I did once in the late ’90s, when they were playing the Orioles.
don’t watch the game and figure if your team wins, then you are gaining on someone. At least that’s what I did last year when Boston and Tampa played each other.
Holy Mark Teixeira, Batman
Wow for Tex. That was beautiful. That goes for a triple with Giambi lol
92, 93, 93, 93, 93, 95 on that AB
what’s your point?
UPDATE, 7:56 p.m.: The Reds just shot down the Arroyo rumor, too. Mike Francesa said to be furious.
More good news.
great minds.
Yeah, Mike Francesa furious is good news.
Thank god. Arroyo is awful.
May be late but still thank Moe!!!
Yankees And Reds Talking Arroyo Trade
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 27 at 6:17pm CST]
6:17pm: Peter Abraham of The Journal News tweets the Yankees have shot the rumor down.
And just shot Francesa’s hopes up.
my gut feeling tells me we arer getting a pitcher. And my gut also tells me it wont be Lee or Halladay, which is cool…but Arroyo? I think we need to make a strong push for washburn.
Teix is that dude.
Ken Singleton basically just said Michael Kay is lonely.
that was hilarious, “you’ll learn one day Michael.”
We have a 3-run lead… don’t worry about the guy stealing just throw your nasty pitches to Crawford.
man kay talked about this last time too ..fuck off
Francesa just cause suicide by drowning himself in Diet Coke.
Note the little grinding of the cleat with Upton at first. They are messing with us. This is good practice for when we face the Angels. Lets stop worrying about the guy at first please!!!!
All they have to do to beat the Angels is pitch well, which they just haven’t been able to do.
Those little slap hitters just keep blooping the ball over Jeter’s and Cano’s heads until our pitchers get tired, it seems.
Is anyone else have cable issues on TW?
Digital Cable? If so, yes. Regular cable is fine.
I am having issues too…. do you know what happened?
No. I know that they have been having problems since they have been adding more channels lately.
We know Crawford is mad good. Lovefest over please
Just wait til next year when he’s (hopefully) in Pinstripes.
The lovefest will be more than okay then…
man AJ was a lot of pitches for only giving up 1 hit so far, hope he can make it through 6
Again, I want some more efficiency from AJ so he can give us at least 6 innings.
I’m venturing a guess of Jimmie Foxx.
AJ only going 5 at this rate.
good job AJ
lets throw less pitches per inning
Wait. Canó has a triple AND a four pitch walk? BRB, checking weather forecast in Hell…
32 and sunny.
With 100% chance of blizzard at 11 EST.
You just can’t predict baseball.
/Sterling’d
IETCVVVVVM
If we go by Dante, hell is already cold.
Depends which level you’re in.
I’m probably south of the City od Dis.
4 pitch walk to Cano?
Cano hits with RISP and now walks…is it 2012 already?
Does Cano lead the team in 4 pitch unintentional walks? Seems like it doesnt it?
He leads the team “in what the fuck was that, melky?”
IETC
..Bow..thank you very much.
be nice to my boy melky. I blame thomson
I’m a Melky supported, but that was a serious brain fart, like clear the room kind of brain fart, like holy shite, i need a face mask kind of brain fart.
Bad Robbie, thats the 5th CS for him this year?!!!
You;d think by August we’d all be in sync.
Robbie is a friggin air head space cadet
So Melky and Cano walk but Swisher, who is known for walking, doesn’t…that’s baseball for ya
Robbie leads the team in dumb shit.
Good thing he’s a quality hitter.
Maybe Melky missed the sign, but Robbie could have done without gesturing on his way to 2nd. Then there’s oversliding the bag yesterday too …
http://riveraveblues.com/2009/.....ent-497818
I rule.
You mean you know how to use Baseball-Ref?
Psh, I’m better than that, Jose.
Yeah and so am I… *shifty eyes*
Show off much.
Yes.
I would love to see a quick efficient little inning here by AJ
Robbie wants to beat Babe’s record for CS.
Beckett has throw 53 piches, with only 9 fucking balls
Beckett has throw 53 piches, with only 9 fucking balls
One for each blister
He’s pitching against minor leaguers. He just has to throw strikes.
i dont care, thats pretty sick.
Hank Aaron is 75? He does not look that old.
Is it me, or is Goose Gossage an ass?
Baseball players ? smart
Gossage seems to be the kind of person that has trouble accepting the fact that times change and everything can’t be as it was when he played.
/fistpumps
That’s a fair assessment of Gossage.
Exactly right. You nailed it. That’s Gossage.
The Hall of Fame is for the great, great players…and Jim Rice.
well, Rice isn’t the only undeserving member of the hall
Haha, I know but I just wanted to take a shot at him since I wasn’t around this weekend.
he’s the latest so he gets bashed until the whole 2007/2004 Boston team gets in
+14
And Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, Frank Chance, etc…
*cough* rizzuto *cough*
…sorry
Rabbit Maranville.
Aarky Vaughan.
(I’m kidding about one of those, but I bet you had to look it up, didn’t you?)
Isn’t Arky Vaughan one of the five greatest shortstops ever?
What’s IETC stand for?
I Enjoyed This Comment.
I enjoyed this comment.
it stands for SHUT UP.
I enjoyed this comment.
I enjoyed this comment
Kay was so excited to say that that he said “shea.”
yea Tex! beat the shift
no DP Alex…
A-Rod is so unclutch. And now he’s gonna get himself tossed…
Or not, but that was close.
Well that was disappointing.
: /
OK, that was inside!
Pick em up Hideki
Dang… good shit though.
“He’s just not as consistent as he used to be.”
/Morgan’d
The most important thing to being consistent is doing the same thing day in and day out. If you can’t do be the same everyday then you won’t be consistent. Consistency requires you to maintain a level of play. That level of play has to be consistent.
/Morgan’d
wow bullshit strikeout on alex
Hideki looked like he was going to crupple on the faul ball.
damn.
cmon Jorge
Guess it’s too much to ask for Gross to misplay two hard-hit balls?
Doesn’t seem like shields is fouling anyone except the umpire.
FAILFOULING = FOOLING
fail again.
Handtius = DFA’d.
IETC
I except it with grace and fortitude.
fail again
hahahaha
that’s the point smart guy.
A 2-out rbi would be nice.
I am so tired of the “Matsui stepped in the bucket on that one.” Matsui has been stepping in the bucket for six years. That’s how he swings. He hits it or he doesn’t,
What? He ripped that ball.
Michael Kay being an idiot.
Yeah. He’s a great hitter who looks like a Little Leaguer 85% of the time he makes an out.
Matsui has looked 50 since he was 5. he never looked like a little leaguer.
IETC
I meant in terms of how he looks at the plate. Because he steps in the bucket, he usually looks awful when he makes an out. That was not one of those times, as that was an absolute frozen rope.
I’ve got a fever. And the only prescription is less cowbell. Shut the hell up, Tampa fans.
Have to get Shields out next inning, someway, somehow. At 86.
Get through this inning quick….
6 hits and 3 walks…it feels like we should have more than 3 runs.
Ok, now im kinda concerned. 92-91-93 to Gross
now he’s 92 mostly with a couple of 93′s
He is at 93.4 tonight, while his season average is 94.3. Not a huge deal.
thats good I guess
He got through the inning fine. Velocity will fluctuate over the course of the season.
AJ should be good to get through six, no?
Maybe seven, if the sixth is quick.
yep
A triple, a walk, a bomb.
I freakin’ love Robbie.
Holy fuck Canó, what the flying fuck did you put in your cornflakes this morning?
DONT SWING AT THE FIRST PITCH YOU IDIOT!
Cockshot.
someone call EOD he just hit a BOMB!
Robbie wants to break another Babe record …
Cano > Pedroia
(Oakland getting raped by the Sox)
When Cano has a ring and an MVP award we can say hes better.
No, we can say it now actually.
ring is a team effort, just because you’re on a WS team doesnt mean you’re better than someone who isnt
2003 Cano was just as good as 2008 mvp Pedroia with about 200 less PA
2006 Cano
haha…no. That’s just plain stupid. So, by that formula, Pedrioa is better the Alex?
Funny shite.
By that formula, Eckstein is better than Bonds.
Big Game James, huh?
never had much success against yanks.
NICK. MOTHER. FUCKING. SWISHER.
Holy shit that was a BOMB.
tha swisha
Shieds PWNED
WORK TEH COUNT!
SWISHA SMAAASH
Robbie and Swisha!!!!
*Cano to fans of other cities saying he wasn’t worth shit on the trade market*
“How you like me now… bitches”
Oh wait, I thought Cano was lazy and can’t do well without Larry Bowa riding his ass throughout the season… Guess not.
Launching pad. They need to investigate this place.
It’s a bandbox…a disgrace to the game
wiffle ball park in st pete.
Good time for Cano to start heating up.
Shields is pissing himself right now.
I would be too.
Steve Phillips just said that Posada is a lock for the HOF
I (kind of) agree with Steve Phillips. Ugh I think I need to go shower…
Anyway, Jorge should be a HOFer but probably won’t, which is shitty. He’s been the finest offensive catcher not named Mike Piazza of the last 15 years.
lol at Mo yelling at Al.
WOW BACK TO BACK JACKS!
Let’s kill that bullpen even more today
So Melancon will get some work today?
Especially with the pitch count Burnett has
I hope so, especially if we get a run or 2 more.
cmon unclutch hit! A-rod needs to break out of his mini-slump
I take back everything I said before about the Yankees should not be swinging at the first or 2nd pitch.