Aug
16

Game 118: Fister? Hardly even know her

By

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

The Yanks go for the sweep today up in Seattle after riding some quality pitching (and a little bit o’ offense) to victories in the first three contests. Things just seem to be falling the Bombers’ way lately, and they’ll look to continue that today against rookie Doug Fister. They’ll send their young, controversial phenom Joba Chamerlain to finish the job.

Like Chamberlain, Fister was selected in the 2006 draft, in the seventh round by the Mariners. The 6’8″ righty wasn’t especially impressive, by the numbers, in college or the minors, posting ERAs around or above 4.00 most of the way. He did demonstrate good control in the minors, though, and likely earned his call-up due to his 0.9 walks per nine at AAA Tacoma this year. Yet that’s not without side effect. Fister has averaged over 10 walks per nine most of his minor league career, so perhaps it’s a case, as the cliche goes, of him throwing “too many” strikes.

This will be Fister’s second major league start. His first came on August 11 against the White Sox, in which he allowed no runs and one hit over six innings. That sounds impressive, but he did walk four along the way. That would seem to run contra to his minor league track record. He also had one relief appearance earlier this month, in which he allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out one in a scoreless frame.

Fister, according to the limited data in his FanGraphs page, is a fastball-changeup guy, tossing the fastball at about 88 mph and the changeup at 80. He also has a slider and a curve, which he has broken out less often. Still, even an 88 mph fastball from a dude that high can sneak up on you. We’ll see how his delivery affects a hitter’s perspective.

Joba had a hot and cold start last time out, pitching well most of the time but succumbing to the big inning. His control seemed a bit off, something we’ve seen from him this season, but he recovered to pitch a decent six innings, which set up the Yanks to take the game with a few big late hits.

What followed was a week of Joba. We discussed the Joba plan, though we don’t know exactly what it entails beyond spreading out his starts and keeping him active for the playoffs. This will be his last start for eight days, as the Yanks will use their two off-days this week to skip him completely, lining him up to pitch Tuesday at home against the Rangers. And no, the Yankees are not babying him.

Matsui’s day to day with fluid in his knees. This was inevitable at some point. Might as well DH Hinske in two out of three A’s games and give Matsui a little break before heading to Fenway.

Lineup:

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, DH
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jorge Posada, C
6. Nick Swisher, 1B
7. Eric Hinske, RF
8. Jerry Hairston, CF
9. Ramiro Pena, 2B

And on the mound, number sixty-two, Joba Chamberlain.

Categories : Game Threads

337 Comments

  1. FL Yank says:

    Gotta love those puns hehe.

  2. Bugsy says:

    fister? he’s just asking for it.

  3. Drew says:

    Sweep plz. I love me some Joba starts.

  4. Ant says:

    Yanks signed 14th round pick Graham Stoneburner.

    http://www.nomaas.org/draft/?p=265

  5. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    Let’s go Yankees

    Also, we apparently signed Graham Stoneburner. Caleb Cotham and Heathcott appear to be getting ready to sign, Tyler Lyons may not sign however.

    • Salty Buggah says:

      Really? Awesome, I wanted Stoneburner

    • Januz says:

      Assuming Heathcott, Murphy, Cotham & Stoneburner are added, and Lyons and Meade are gone. I really would like to see at least two more signs between Mitchell, Thompson, Bruno, Deluca & Stiles. That would give them 26 out of 49.

  6. ShuutoHeat says:

    Feel sorry for Fister, I bet he was tormented when he was a child.

    On a side note, my first time watching a game on the NESN… and man the life is sucked out of everything. I was nodding off after 20 minutes (partially due to the heat in nyc). But man, it is BORING.

    • Thomas says:

      He probably was teased, but at least he was awesome at a sport and thus, was also probably loved by his school/teammates. That was always my thought process with Rudy Gay.

    • Jersey says:

      I would change my name to Harry Ballzagna in exchange for being a MLB pitcher, making the MLB minimum.

      • Johan Iz My Brohan says:

        Rusty Kuntz approves.

      • Salty Buggah says:

        Which reminds me. My best friend in middle school went the main rival of my school. He claims that his teacher (who was named Mrs. Balls) named her son Hairy. Everyone I had asked agreed with him. Also, the best swimmer on that school’s team was coincidentally named Michael Phelps.

        • Johan Iz My Brohan says:

          I’ve heard about somebody named Harry Balls too… you don’t happen to live in Ridgefield, CT or anything, do you? That’s where I heard it from…

    • Joey says:

      He’s 6’8″

      I feel bad for anybody that teased him…

  7. Salty Buggah says:

    Kinda weak bottom of the lineup. I want a good Joba start again as we won’t see him again for a bit.

  8. JobaWockeeZ says:

    Woot Sox losing 2-3. I think Rangers would take WC lead if they hold on. I also wouldn’t mind 8.5 games up assuming of course the Yanks win.

  9. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    Texas has balls to keep putting Nippert out there.

  10. Mike Axisa says:

    Also, the Yanks drafted Fister before. 6th round, 2005.

  11. Drew says:

    I wonder if Strasburg will claim residency in another country if he is not signed. That’s probably the best business decision considering he will be in a similar position next year if he just re-enters the draft.

    • Joey says:

      While renouncing his American citizenship? I don’t care how desperate for $$$ I am, I don’t think I could do that…

      • PinstripesForeverDougie says:

        I rather pitch on the Dutch national team than play for

        “the Natinals”.

      • Drew says:

        Eh, it’s not about being desperate for money. It’s about making a good business decision. His arm is his livelihood, gotta milk it for what it’s worth while he can.

    • Thomas says:

      He actually might end up in better position next year. Originally, I thought he would lose a lot of leverage as well, but he may end up with the Royals. As it currently stands, if he doesn’t sign with the Nats, the Nats would have the first pick (worst record) and the second pick (comp pick for not signing Strasburg) and the Royals would have pick three for the second worse record. Assuming Strasburg doesn’t consent to be re-picked by the Nats he would go at number 3.

      The Royals have in the past shown a willingness to draft difficult signs (Tim Melville, Aaron Crow), especially Boras clients (Moustakas, Hosmer, Hochevar) and sign them for high amounts (except Crow). Of course, the Royals seem to be a little more conservative with the bonuses this year with Crow, but Strasburg is in another league above that they would probably pay extra for.

      Also, even at pick three he can make a ton, since Teixeira got like $9.5M at pick 5 and Prior got $10.5M at pick 2.

      I guess what I am saying is if Strasburg returns to school and pitches well, he will probably get at least the amount the Nationals are offering (I believe around $14-16M).

      • Drew says:

        I still think he’d earn more as a IFA. He’s more polished than other IFA’s. He could probably get Dice-BB money with out the posting fee.

  12. Drew says:

    TT ftw! long bomb in Texas, 4-2 Rangers.

  13. Ivan says:

    Lets go Yankees.

  14. Tank the Frank says:

    Funky looking delivery from Fister.

  15. JobaWockeeZ says:

    Jeter just tied most hits as a SS.

  16. Tank the Frank says:

    This guy looks uber-hittable.

  17. Bugsy says:

    what the shit. that was a ball.

    • PinstripesForeverDougie says:

      I guess that made up for the lousy call Bucknor gave us last night. Too bad for Alex, though.

  18. Salty Buggah says:

    OK, we’ll figure him out next time through the order. Let’s hope Joba gets that call too.

  19. Little Bill says:

    Is that CB behind the plate again? Terrible call.

  20. Ivan says:

    Like that Joba Chamberlain commercial.

    • PinstripesForeverDougie says:

      You mean the beyond baseball one? Yeah, that one’s great!
      Although, I rarely see it, I wonder why they show is so infrequently?

      Great Play by Swish!!

  21. Salty Buggah says:

    Swisher Teixeira-esque!!!

  22. Mike Axisa says:

    Nice clean inning for Jobber.

  23. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    niceeeeeee!

  24. Salty Buggah says:

    I’ll take a 6 pitch inning.

  25. Jersey says:

    6-pitch inning for The Joba. Not too shabby.

  26. Tank the Frank says:

    Yanks might want to consider swinging at these 87mph strikes.

  27. PinstripesForeverDougie says:

    Nice they used the El Kabong sound to announce a strikeout ;) Gotta love me some Quick McDraw music.

  28. Mike Axisa says:

    This is a classic example of “let’s see what this guy has, then go after him the second time through the order.”

  29. Bugsy says:

    message to yankees: please swing at strikes.

  30. Jersey says:

    In TX, Bay grounds into a DP, Texas still up 4-3 after 6 and a half.

  31. Riddering says:

    Hinske to hit a bunt homerun!

  32. Salty Buggah says:

    lets hope we get him 2nd time through

  33. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    tight strike zone today?

  34. Bugsy says:

    i like this joba.

  35. Drew says:

    Oh JOhnny.. lol

  36. Salty Buggah says:

    ah man, I thought he wouldnt get that

  37. AndrewYF says:

    Why does it matter if it’s a fair or foul ball when it’s caught? They always make sure to mention it. Is it just for scoring purposes?

    • Riddering says:

      Well, it puts the catch into perspective for the viewers. I know it was a fair ball so if Johnny doesn’t make that play, there’s a baserunner probably in scoring position.

      Also, they need to say something for 2-3 hours.

  38. Drew says:

    I guess Neftali is available for Texas? No Frank Francisco plz.

  39. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    Holy crap the zone is tight.

  40. Bugsy says:

    joba yelled “fuck”. is he old enough to say that?

  41. Stryker says:

    yankees are close to signing stoneburner but apparently don’t have the money to sign lyons and meade. kinda sucks. those guys could’ve been nice additions. but not having the money? odd.

  42. Salty Buggah says:

    Boo! Joba didn’t have a 6 pitch inning this time! 10 pitches = BUST!

  43. Mike Axisa says:

    Nice bunt Ramiro.

  44. Tank the Frank says:

    That’s beautiful.

  45. JobaWockeeZ says:

    Nice Pena.

  46. Salty Buggah says:

    Nice bunt Pena

  47. PinstripesForeverDougie says:

    Pena is Bunt-rrific!!

  48. VO says:

    Derek Jeter’s a copy cat.

  49. Bugsy says:

    you gotta run, run, run, run, run
    take a drag or two
    you betta run, run, run, run, run
    gypsy death and you
    tell you what to do

  50. JobaWockeeZ says:

    Damn Pena. And nice job Jeter for the record.

  51. handtius says:

    Fuck yeah….Jete the sheet.

  52. Tank the Frank says:

    Again questioning my heterosexuality because of Derek Jeter.

  53. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    JETER!

  54. Salty Buggah says:

    JETER!

    :gives standing ovation:

    nice running Pena!

  55. Riddering says:

    SPEEDY THE SECOND!

  56. PinstripesForeverDougie says:

    New Record Holder… #2 Derek Jeter!!

  57. Salty Buggah says:

    ah damn, wanted another run there but I’ll take one

  58. Bugsy says:

    this is the day cj wilson manned up.

  59. Tank the Frank says:

    Joba’s language is offensive.

  60. Bugsy says:

    i hope that’s the last 3-2 slider i see this entire season.

  61. Salty Buggah says:

    damn, there goes something great…something good is still possible

  62. PinstripesForeverDougie says:

    Good Job Damon keeping that a single!

  63. Salty Buggah says:

    cmon Joba, one mo out, get out of this

  64. Salty Buggah says:

    nice A-rod

  65. PinstripesForeverDougie says:

    Air Jordan meets Air-Rod

  66. Salty Buggah says:

    Gameday cant believe Alex did that…it says lines out to Jeter

  67. Bugsy says:

    hey, don wakamatsu kinda looks like coach taylor from friday night lights.

  68. Bugsy says:

    my god. predictable shit. 3-2 slider.

  69. Tank the Frank says:

    These 3-2 sliders are brutal.

  70. Salty Buggah says:

    cmon Joba…one mo

  71. Bugsy says:

    shame shame shame.

  72. V says:

    STOP THROWING SLIDERS YOU FUCKWITS

  73. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    Ugh

  74. Salty Buggah says:

    fuck…cmon Joba, no more runs

  75. Bugsy says:

    jesus christ. that was the same sequence. 3-2 slider followed by a hanging slider. neither pitches worked. hmmmmm

  76. The Evil Empire says:

    Well, why is he shaking Posada off?

  77. Drew says:

    C’mon Jober, go get em.

  78. whozat says:

    He had Branyan 1-2, started to nibble to a guy that you can strike out pretty easily. Young pitcher fail. Joba seems to really be worried about giving up ANY runs, so he nibbles and gives up a bunch of runs.

    • Riddering says:

      I wouldn’t consider 2 runs to be a bunch. That’s a pair. I know this because I just went to the store and bought a bunch of bananas.

      Waaaaay more than two.

    • Salty Buggah says:

      yea, that sucked as I thought he had him. Didnt like the 2 sliders called twice after he walked a guy before on the same pitch.

  79. Bugsy says:

    remember how he pitched a 6 pitch first inning? i dont either.

  80. Salty Buggah says:

    finally got the slider to fall in

  81. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    Hold your breath Frank Francisco is closing…

  82. Bugsy says:

    oh crap. frank frank on the mound.

  83. Mike Axisa says:

    Pass the damn baton.

  84. Salty Buggah says:

    SWISHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  85. pat says:

    GREEN LIGHT BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  86. PinstripesForeverDougie says:

    Swish has Marvin Gaye on his IPod. He tough. He hits a bomb!!!!

    SWISH WITH A 2-RUN DISH!

  87. Drew says:

    Why is Swisher such a beast on the road!!??

  88. Riddering says:

    Nick got it on!

  89. Bugsy says:

    aawww crap. i missed the swish homerun. bah humbug.

  90. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    Swisher Smash!

  91. Salty Buggah says:

    I never thought I would see Swisha swing on a 3-0 count

  92. Bob Stone says:

    BoSux lose!!!!!!

  93. Bugsy says:

    haha. frank frank dominates. rangers win.

  94. Drew says:

    Texas wins!!! :)

  95. JobaWockeeZ says:

    Ranger take Wild Card lead.

  96. Johan Iz My Brohan says:

    Rangers win!

  97. Tank the Frank says:

    I smell an 8.5 game lead.

  98. Salty Buggah says:

    Hinske fists it out to left for a single…we’re seeing him better now

  99. Bugsy says:

    ramiro needs to you his reserve of grit to get on base. i think he used up like 30% for that bunt single.

  100. JobaWockeeZ says:

    WTF. I would miss the Swish homerun. Sigh. And 3-0 too? Pretty awesome.

  101. baravelli says:

    AND the Sox just lost!

  102. Bugsy says:

    we extend our lead to 8 games, woo hoo.

  103. David A says:

    this is awesome sox just lost.

  104. Drew says:

    C’mon Jober, bounce back inning.

  105. pat says:

    If Eva Longoria asked me for a free beer I’d tell her to screw off.

  106. V says:

    STOP THROWING SLIDERS YOU FUCKWITS!!

  107. Bugsy says:

    sommamabitch.

  108. Salty Buggah says:

    fuck…seriously cmon Joba

  109. V says:

    So, you’re a guy who throws four pitches. One pitch is getting absolutely MURDERED. No one is swinging and missing at it. It’s either taken for a ball, or, when in the strike zone, drilled.

    Why would A) the catcher call the pitch, or B) the pitcher throw the pitch?

  110. Mike Axisa says:

    Time to stop throwing the fucking slider.

  111. Bugsy says:

    unbe-fucking-livable. he was out.

  112. Giaqueomo says:

    Nicholas is playing a good 1st base… but i still miss cody over there.

  113. Drew says:

    Jete’s what kind of tag attempt was that?

  114. Salty Buggah says:

    ah man, Jete could have had him

  115. whozat says:

    back to trying to pick off the outside corner all day.

  116. Giaqueomo says:

    Rather than tagging him again once the dude got back on the base, Jeter should’ve just showed the ump his glove after the 1st time he skimmed him. He would’ve been out.

  117. Bugsy says:

    phew. 2 more innings of this junk is all i can take for the day.

    • handtius says:

      So, they still aren’t winning enough for you? we won’t go undefeated the rest of the year and we’re still winning today. I would refrain from complaining till we’re, at least, losing.

      • Zack says:

        dont you know that if they dont score every inning that means they’ve put it on cruise control

      • Bugsy says:

        well a baseball season usually break up into subplots. and this joba subplot is annoying to watch. that’s all i meant.

      • V says:

        Hey, I’m totally happy with how they’re doing, and Joba’s been more than solid this year, but I’d REALLY like to see him progress past the ‘I’m in trouble so I’m going to nibble and throw 3-2 sliders’ kid we’re seeing again.

        The first two innings were nice. What happened?

        • handtius says:

          Most starters don’t come up amazing. We haven’t dealt with much growing pains in young players. The Yanks haven’t really had any pitcher, minus Wang, come up through our system in a while. Some pitchers struggle for a few years, some come up and dominate. Joba’s kind of in the middle. He dominates, then he scuffles. Still, he has an era under 4. that’s damn good for a young pitcher.

  118. Salty Buggah says:

    phew, we got out of it

  119. PinstripesForeverDougie says:

    Damn, I love/hate that Corona commercial with the hot Blonde woman. The man has no chance in resisting to stare at such a hot babe and then suffering stinging lemon from his wife. Thoughts?

  120. acb says:

    joba the nibbler chamberlain

    definatly want andy pettite as our #3 starter in the playoffs

  121. Giaqueomo says:

    JESUS FUCKING CHRIST KEN SINGLETON ITS BEEN GOOT-EE-EREZ forever, why the fuck do you have to make it Goochy erez all of a sudden?

  122. Riddering says:

    EFFING BALLS.

  123. Bugsy says:

    joba, please stop walking your strikeouts.

  124. Salty Buggah says:

    cmon Jober, you’re not going to be lucky everytime with runners on…need a DP here

  125. pat says:

    jobber wtf man

  126. Jersey says:

    Branyan is 3rd in the AL in strikeouts. Let’s walk him!!

  127. Giaqueomo says:

    I think that was an intentional hit

  128. Lanny says:

    Joba is the king of the nibblers. Having and using so many pitches is in his head. Throw strikes. Dont impress us with curves and change ups.

    • whozat says:

      Yes. That way, when the slider sucks (like today), he’ll have one pitch to use.

      Great call.

      And, look, he just got beat throwing a meatball of a fastball in an 0-2 count.

    • handtius says:

      wow lanny. you’re impressive. they lose the lead and you’re the first one to post. very impressive. very.

    • ShuutoHeat says:

      Yes, fastballs is all you need… because no one will guess that the fastball has a simple trajectory.

      No one will realize that it’s the same pitch over and over in the strike zone, because all major league hitters are dummies.

  129. V says:

    I hope Joba faces Gutierrez with two outs and nobody on sometime this game so he can dust him up and in with this stepping out of the box shit.

  130. Salty Buggah says:

    96-97-97!!!!

  131. pat says:

    Fuck 0-2

  132. V says:

    Actually, I wish Joba had drilled Gutierrez there rather than throwing a meatball. Ugh.

  133. handtius says:

    Ouch. Down the middle.

  134. Salty Buggah says:

    fuck, he was ahead 0-2 too

  135. Bugsy says:

    sonnavabitch.

  136. V says:

    Goddamnit.

    Great start for Joba before his 8 games off :ugh:

  137. It’s official. Joba hate leads.

  138. Salty Buggah says:

    fucker…no more runs now Joba

  139. pat says:

    Fuck, looks like no 6th inning.

  140. handtius says:

    oh balls.

  141. Drew says:

    I wish J-Hair got the throw off.. He had a shot at Branyan.

  142. fhf says:

    Joba needs an attitude adjustment.

  143. Jose says:

    No way he makes it to the 6th. We all know that with the front office babying him, they won’t want him to pitch much deeper into the game. I miss the days of Torre bullpen management.

  144. PinstripesForeverDougie says:

    Hey, it’s still early River Avenue..

  145. Jersey says:

    You guys are nuts. I’d be stunned if he didn’t come out for the 6th, albeit with a short leash.

  146. Salty Buggah says:

    Joba was fine in the 1st 2 innings as he was working fast. The M’s are now calling time a lot and he’s struggled since

  147. Lanny says:

    These types of performances are becoming typical Joba starts. Nibbles. Gives up leads. Lets .200 hitters beat him. Puts on too many base runners.

  148. Jersey says:

    Well that was a thoroughly uninteresting half-inning.

  149. pat says:

    HINSKE GOT HOPS YO

    • Salty Buggah says:

      Swisha would have gotten there without having to jump but nice play nonetheless by Hinske

  150. Bugsy says:

    swisher makes that play without looking foolish

  151. charlespoet says:

    catching up. Looks like pre all star Joba is back. That can’t be good. Right now he is a 5 inning pitcher.

    • pat says:

      Well he only pitched 5 innings so I guess that makes him a 5 inning pitcher for today.

      • Jose says:

        Once a 5 inning pitcher, always a 5 inning pitcher. Except the 23 of his 35 game starts where he went more than 5 IP. Ignore those though, move along.

      • charlespoet says:

        I guess. He has had 12 starts where he has made the 6th inning or longer. Today was his 23rd start.

    • whozat says:

      It was more the sucking that was the problem. He threw 90 pitches, he likely _could_ have thrown another 20 pitches. But he probably would have given up more runs. So they went to the pen. He wasn’t getting “babied”…he was pitching poorly.

  152. Bugsy says:

    i’m not having fun.

  153. Salty Buggah says:

    the fuck? where did ball 1 to Ichiro miss? Fister got that all day.

    Anyway, cmon Ace, need a DP here.

  154. Salty Buggah says:

    huge K

  155. Salty Buggah says:

    whoa, a lot of stat-padders in Anaheim playing in Baltimore

  156. whozat says:

    ::exhales::

  157. Pasqua says:

    I know there’s a lot to pick on with Sterling and Waldman, but one of the things that drives me insane is when they bitch about their travel schedule. They complain about having to arrive too late, or too early, on any getaway day. Just now, they complained that they’ll arrive in Boston on Thursday “just in time for morning rush hour traffic.” Oh BOO HOOO! First, it’s an off day. Second, you call Yankees games for a living! Shut up and stop sounding like ungrateful children.

  158. baravelli says:

    Whoa, the Angels just scored 9 runs in the top of the 13th inning? That’s crazy…

  159. Giaqueomo says:

    Anyone smell a dump hit coming?

  160. Salty Buggah says:

    get Lopez out Ace…we need you for next inning to

  161. Jersey says:

    Crazy AB by Lopez right here

  162. Bugsy says:

    aceves should be starting.