Robbie Cano powers Yanks offense to 4-3 win in extras
ByThe Yankees got beat up today. It started with their first batter of the game. Ricky Romero tossed a curveball inside, and it bounced right off Jeter’s right instep. He staggered in pain, but somehow convinced Joe Girardi and Gene Monahan that he was fine. After limping to first in his next at bat, Jeter left the game. X-rays, thankfully, were negative.
Then in the eighth, Jorge Posada took a foul ball off his throwing hand. How he stayed in the game after that, I have no idea. He’s insanely lucky that it didn’t break his hand — it’s happened to plenty of others. The problem is that Jorge doesn’t hide his throwing hand like catchers are taught in little league. Most guys won’t put their hands behind their back like in the old days, but they at least hide it behind the thigh. Jorge rests his on top of the thigh, and it almost cost him the rest of the season today.
Perhaps the worst incident came in the bottom of the 11th. On an 0-2 pitch, Shawn Camp came inside on A-Rod — a bit too inside. It hit right off his pad, but it was a direct hit. A-Rod went down, and if it wouldn’t take a tough defensive rejiggering (Tex to third, Jorge to first, Molina catching), he might have left the game. He ultimately stayed in, but there’s certainly a fear this could be worse.
They might have been beaten and battered, but the Yankees played through it all (without charging the mound). They didn’t look bad, either. After the leadoff hit by pitch, the Yankees put together a first inning run. It wasn’t the prettiest — if not for Aaron Hill bobbling his first of about four grounders on the day, it might have been a double play. And if Jeter hadn’t strayed off the bag on A-Rod’s grounder to third, they might have never had the chance to plate the run.
Things were going swimmingly through five. Burnett had surrendered just one run, the second in as many days by rookie Randy Ruiz. The seven baserunners through five, six hits and a walk, might seem like a lot, but he used six strikeouts and a ground ball double play to work out of a few jams. With the Yankees up 3-1, it looked like another victory. But, like Joba the night before, A.J. ran into a tough inning.
The boxscore notes that all three Blue Jays runs were charged to A.J., and technically it’s not wrong. He did throw two wild pitches in the inning, which first moved runners into scoring position and then allowed the tying run to score. It’s known that A.J. has a bit of a wild streak — he does lead the league in wild pitches, after all. But Jorge has to get to at least one of those, preferably the one that bounced between his legs and allowed Encarnacion to score. So yes, A.J. and his inherent wildness were at fault. But Jorge certainly was, too.
The bullpen did a good job of holding down the fort, allowing no runs on three hits and two walks through five innings. Chad Gaudin was a pleasant surprise in his first pinstriped appearance, tossing two innings while allowing one hit and striking out three. That should serve as a nice tune-up for a Sunday start, should the Yankees opt for that scenario.
In the end, the day belonged to Robinson Cano. His homer to lead off the fourth gave the Yankees a two-run cushion. But then, in the bottom of the 11th, in a dreaded runners in scoring position situation, Cano delivered a liner to the gap in right center. It looked like a homer off the bat, but it bounced off the wall, allowing A-Rod to score the game to mercifully end.
That capped a 6-1 homestand for the Yankees, about as good as they could have asked for. They even had a chance at a double sweep, losing the first game to Toronto by just one run after having them on the ropes early. Still, no one’s complaining about 6-1. The Yanks head westward for seven games on the coast. This will include six 10 p.m. starts. Anyone up for an RAB meet-up for Saturday’s 10:00 affair?
It’s 7:00, so that means it’s open thread time. Talk about the game, talk about the upcoming road trip, talk about anything. Just don’t be a total dickbag. That’s all we ask.
242 Comments»
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The Tyler Austin Watch
I really, really fucking love this team.
If you’re not charging the mound, you’re not trying to win ballgames.
That Youk just brings raw emotion to this game, unlike Joba Chamberlain who plays for the money since he is a Yankee.
It’s the whole reason Joba fist-pumps. It’s how he suppresses his emotion.
No his fist pumps are a disgrace to the game. He does that to try and intimidate people. The Yankees are a joke and every team should be like the gritty Red Sox.
Our future SS has been sent down to the minors (Hardy). Whatre we ever gunna do now?!
Wait an extra year for him to hit free agency apparently…
Nah i want tulowitzki. Tulo!
His splits are pretty bad. No thanks.
Yeah but we do kinda play in a bandbox now, plus very good defense. Better than hardy anyway.
doubt it, he’s loved here Colorado
about Tulo…my friend (who knows nothing about baseball) went to a Rox game (first game ever) claims that the Tulo chants were started when he went and from a guy sitting behind him.
I dont believe him because he’s never seen baseball game in his life.
Hahaha i mean i wouldve thought itd be a pretty obvious chant, not all that innovative, but perhaps I’m overestimating the people of colorado
Nah it had been around but my friend isnt even a remotely knowledgable fan. He probably assumed that since the crowd chanted Tulo when he went, that’s when it started.
People here are smart for the most part.
Big fanbase for the rox? Or is it a football town all the way?
meh, not much. The Rocktober shirts were popular but you rarely see much Rockies gear. In fact, I’ve seen a lot,and I mean A LOT, of Red Sox gear lately no matter where I go.
Broncos (my favorite football team BTW) are still popular but people understand that they’re kinda rebulding and don’t expect much (though I kinda think they will surprise everyone this year and be pretty solid but still miss the playoffs) from them. Kyle Orton got booed during training camp because of all the mistakes he was making. And now Brandon Marshall wants out so the fans are kinda angry at him too.
How do they feel about McDaniels?
Willing to give him a chance but he has a short leash (most likely 2 years…3 yrs max?)from what I see from the fans.
I wanna see the Mets implode again. Wright just made an error to start the 9th with a 3 run lead. Lucky for them they scored twice on wild pitches.
I am lucky that I’m central time so it isn’t quite as bad for these games.
Mountain time here
Juan Uribe. WTF?
Let’s all hope the Tigers can somehow win even though the Red Sox took out Miggy yesterday.
I would of started Rayburn if I was Leyland. Have him lean in a pitch to charge the mound, take Beckett out of the game.
I hope we lean on this strategy in the playoffs. Start Ransom @ 3rd, have him lean into one. Bam, their starter is out of the game. Flawless.
good idea…but we also have to take one of their best batters before
Great game today. Cano is so damn clutch!!!
Would like to see alot less hits given up from Burnett, but what can ya do.
Just when I start to enjoy MLB Network, Rosenthal starts working there.
Pop I told u Burnett was gonna be a good Yankee.
That’s right, you defended him the whole time.
I never wanted that bastard of a man.
Me either. I thought he was a moody jerk who wouldn’t play with the tiniest injury, and I was 100% dead wrong about him.
yeah, Pop is so shortsighted, he shouldn’t even be considered a True Yankee© Fan
Yeah, well we all knew that already.
only 2 walks so that’s good
Heh Keith Law’s tweets are funny:
-Youkilis Misses Nap, Throws Binkie at Porcello #fakenews
-Summary of emails from #redsox fans to my mailbag tonight: “Waaaa waaaa waaaa waaaaa”
-Celtics Offer Two-Year Contract to Big Baby Youkilis #fakenews
IETT
lol, anyone see BBTN?
Ravech: We’ll be back and ask Steve Phillips what he thinks of the moves the GM’s made.
Kruk: ‘Snicker, snicker’
Ravech: ‘Maybe not the best guy to ask but we’ll ask him anyway.’
……
…
Phillips: Wait, whattya mean by that?
Srsly?
There has to be a replay somewhere.
Whoa, the starter for the Tigers today has pitched 3 times in the last 5 games (including 2 innings 2 days ago) so he probably cant pitch too much tonight. On top of that, their pen is kinda burnt from yesterday. Sox get lucky again.
The guy who calls the games for the Mets was on the Michael Kay show saying if the Red Sox start winning it was the Youk charge that turned the season around. And he thought it was perfectly reasonable and that Porcello didn’t really throw Youk but rather stepped out of the way and Youk’s size took him down.
I’ve always been jealous of the Mets casters but this was delusional.
Fuckin Lowell, another cheap Fenway shot for him.
He’s really been pissing me off in this Detroit series.
The key is to keep him in the park. he cant run anymore, everythings a single.
Some post-game notes: Mo was not available today because of a sore shoulder. Also looks like tomorrow’s lineup could be a bit brutal since no Arod (already planned day off) and probably no Jeter and Posada. Good thing CC pitches tomorrow.
Also with Joba starting next Wed apparently it means either Mitre or Gaudin starts opener in Fenway. Thanfully AJ and CC pitch that Saturday and Sunday presumably.
Ughh. Not mitre. Please.
For what may be the first time in my life, I’m not terrified of the unspeakable happening. Namely, Mo going down with an injury. I think Phil could do the job right now if we need him, and I have more confidence in the rest of the pen with Bruney looking good lately. D-Rob is doing a nice job as well.
BTW-We really only need 1 of 3 in Fenway. Just don’t get swept and have them right back on our heels.
I agree with all said.
No, it means Pettitte starts the opener at Fenway. Pettitte starts Friday, and his next start would be Wed, but he gets pushed to Friday by Joba. That is why they pushed Joba that amount of days.
Thank God. Didnt count on Pettitte getting a couple of days extra rest too but this plan sounds much better. Thanks for the clarification!!
Sure. Basically, they use Gaudin and Mitre back to back, and then skip both the next time through, while getting Joba some time off.
Thats right I just remembered the off day next Thursday. Perfect timing.
Ah damn. Avila had a 12-pitch AB and just missed a HR by like 2 feet.
Damn, Inge first groundout
Uggh ther doing top plays on bbtn and after they did penas catch they go “who won that game?” and mock sterling’s call of yankees win and “jeterian.” Sterling-bashings only ok when we do it you jackasses
We defend our own!
Pedro’s first start back vs the Cubs on ESPN, that should be interesting.
fuckin Bay…another cheap monster shot. Sox can hit at home only.
Red Sox
.276 BA, .361 OBP, .483 SLG, .844 OPS at home
.252 BA, .337 OBP, .404 SLG, .741 OPS on the road
It appears you are correct, sir.
Yanks can do both though
Yanks
.278 BA, .362 OBP, .496 SLG, .858 OPS at home
.281 BA, .357 OBP, .460 SLG, .817 OPS on the road
oh nice thanks for the stats. Yep, the Yanks offense is good. Boston’s offense isnt bad is really helped by Fenway.
*but is helped
Our offense is fucking ridiculous.
Sox is nothing special but is good at home.
Youk out of the lineup tonight, so I guess he’s started serving his suspension. You’d think he’d appeal and try to get it cut down by a game or two.
he tried to appeal, but his agent, tito, and the genius gm said not to waste his time
because it would have been pushed back to the Yankees series most likely
exactly what i was thinking too
save yuckilis for the yanks
Dude Detroit, get a fucking hit.
even with Cabrera their lineup is weak so without him…
does a walk work? perfecto gone
a team that loves to strike out vs beckett?
thats no match
vs. Beckett at Fenway
7-0, 2.58, 1.019 WHIP at Fenway this year. yikes
the phils giving pedro some run support
not bad
i expect pedro to get shelled for some reason though
because when you suck at 36, you’re probably going to suck at 37 too
hahahaha thats about right
Yeah I predicted Pedro to get bombed as a Philly. Even if he has a good game I predict that.
THE TIGERS GET A HIT!!!
HOMERUN!!
3-1 red sox~
sweet
FUCKING YES! Yesterday I traded my Beckett for my friend’s CC and it looks like it’s already paying off!
Oh wait…Nevermind about the Beckett part…read that wrong
Pedro looks pretty good. 92 fastball, 79-80 on the change and curve somewhere in the middle. Mixed in some high-80s 2 seamers as well.
wait until the 3rd time through the lineup
i have a feeling the cubs will figure him out
Hey! Detroit got a fucking hit!
I just noticed something at the top of this blog. In black there are the a bunch of buttons for the basic stuff-
Home/About/Guide to Stats/Depth Chart/Commenting Guidelines/Privacy Policy/Fan Confidence Poll
…but the last button is empty. We should put our heads together to come up with something to help the guys out, since they apparently haven’t been able to think of anything.
Any ideas?
My suggestion would be “Ben’s Shit List”, and I would imagine all of us would wind up on it at one time or another.
Hall of Shame – List of Banned People
Hall of Shame – List of Stupid Posts by Stupid People
ie.)
“it’s the 2nd inning, this team is on cruise control!”
“ball 1?! come on joba you suck!”
etc
How about a LoHud link for the bridge jumpers?
Please no. Lohud is bad enough during games as it is.
If anything they should filter trolls over here. This place is tame.
An RAB meme dictionary, perhaps?
This is good in theory but there aren’t really enough.
I actually REALLY like this suggestion.
Maybe not for just the “memes” but a Glossary for the abbreviations we use might be a good idea. So when someone sees “IETC” for the first time, they’ll have a translator handy.
I agree. That would be quite helpful.
Maybe a weather link, like they can set up an automatic weather thing for Yankee stadium.
Actually, that spot’s reserved for the Draft Order Tracker once the season ends. It’s up from October through June.
thanks for ruining the fun
See below. IT’S STILL ON, BABY!
You going to have a Fan Confidence Poll for the off season?
Ugh, Nolasco.
AGHHH my fantasy team!!!
anyone else think the Rays just buried themselves out in LA?
they have 6 games with Boston in Sept, so not yet
True and they have dominated the Sox.
I think the Rays are done with the sweep in LA.
I don’t know if I can take 9 innings of Rick Sutcliffe.
I have to finish this paper tonight. Have to. I’m on page two.
Can someone fucking shoot me?
Maybe Youkilis can drop by and charge at you…
wait.. sorry you’ll need someone more competent to kill you
What’s the topic?
+`
ka BOOM
The Flyin Hawaiian!
4-1 Phils
damon is having a great season wut u think they should do wit him
One and one or a two year deal at most.
Damon is hitting way better in the stadium than elsewhere, and is playing the worst defense of his career.
At most a one-year deal like Bobby got from the Angels this offseason.
still slugging 460 on the road, not bad for a #2 hitter. Also, in the playoffs, we play half our games at home.
Jeff Samardzija: Better WR or pitcher?
WR
WR
not even close
Yea definitely WR, but you can’t knock him for choosing baseball over football. Even as a mediocre starting pitcher he has the chance to earn more than he would as a WR.
This.
That dude should’ve entered the nfl draft. He was good. Pitching is still a work in progress though.
More money in baseball though. Mediocre starter makes probably twice or three times as much money as a good NFL player. Plus you can play alot longer.
Word. One you play for 210-220 days, one you play for 140.
That’s splitting hairs though. Also, I think you’re more likely to succeed as a high draft pick receiver than any MLB pitcher. That’s just a guess though. NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed. Pros and cons for each.
No, he menat longer in terms of career. Til you’re 37 vs til you’re 30
Yeah I know that. I’m just giving reasons why a salary might be lower.. nfl, with no playoffs but with camp/preseason is about 20 weeks, 140 days. baseball, with ST is well over 200 days.
More life expectancy too. NFL players are definitely unhealthy when they get done.
38 homers for the King.
He’s just Albert.
That man is fucking ridiculous.
As to Jorge’s hands, they are really mangled. I saw those hands close up a couple of times and almost every finger is a bit crooked. Both his middle fingers were bent real badly. He is legitimately tough.
Some funny Francesa stuff from Tirico Suave
YOU’RE NOT GONNA TRICK ME!!! hahahaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....annel_page
Wow, a cheesy Manny’s commercial with him and Parcells from 20 years ago.
SHit, this can not be good.
http://www.nj.com/yankees/inde.....ue_to.html
yeah saw it on lohud, from what they are saying it’s not due to the sore shoulder. Hopefully nothing bad is going on in Mo-ville.
I won’t be worried until I definitively hear that he’s seriously injured. No point in worrying before then.
Dave O’Brien just gave the most unenthusiastic homer call ever.
Dr. Cox and Lloyd Dobler in the house!
Samardzija = sucks as of now
10 mil for 5 years… wow
Oh sweet Lou. Sorry about this.
This game has “position player pitching” written all over it.
Soriano?
Pedro made 2 outs in that inning lol
pat, you have a softball game tonight?
nah, season’s over, sadly.
Yeah, I think tonight was our last game. We played a team that was 8-1, we stayed with them til the bottom of the fifth and they ended up ten running us, 15-5. It was 8-5 going into that inning. I was 3-3 w/3RBI, though.
Slow pitch?
Oh yeah.
I played in a league last year, enjoyed it.
I’m still a lil’ kid though. Wiffleball baby!
Dudebro. You ever play junkball? It’s like wiffleball but with a “junkball.” You can do all different types of pitches. It’s legit as hell.
Ya, haha.
I use the junkball bat for wiffle.
Junkballs are so much easier to throw but you can throw a wiffleball pretty nice, it just takes so much time to practice and learn if you really want to throw it right. I can throw a “slider” and a “riser” pretty well with it. Not much else.
Not to mention, you can have some fun with dizzybat once in a while too!
ha dude I got the knuckleball on lock with the junkball. it’s sweet as hell.
Hahaha.
It is alot of fun, we played alot of wiffleball back in the day in my neighborhood.
Being able to make a plastic ball move like I was never able to make a real baseball.
I was a decent pitcher in Lil League though
Word, what position?
LF and 3b.
I refuse to pitch, so bad at it.
You?
LF.
LF is where all the gangsters at. At least u got your arod on in a losing effort.
Haha, word. They were all singles, though. I also made a ridiculous throw to 2B that got a guy out. There was a liner that fell right in front of me and took some funky bounce so I lunged for it, fell, and threw all in one motion. It was Swisher-like.
And the end of softball season is depressing as hell.
Hahah, swisher-like. One of the worst feelings is charging a line drive in left getting ready to field it on the first hop then it hits a divot in the shitty ass fields you’re playing on and the ball bounces like three feet to the left or right.
Infielders have it so easy because nobody expects them to make a play on a hard hit ball, and they have 4 outfielders backing them up. OF gets the shaft because everybody thinks catching fly balls and line drives and crap is easy. Then should you misplay a ball you have that lonely sprint to go chase it down while the batter trots home.
So I’ll take it that the Tigers are losing right now?
yeah 8-2
Shit.
Thanks’ to Youkilis’s underhanded stunt to get the Tigers’ starter removed esterday, they’ve guranteed a series win. That’s just not right.
*yesterday*
man this cubs team is sad to watch
I’d actrually STILL pick them to win the division if the Cards didn’t go out and get Holliday and DeRosa to back Pujols. That’s how sad their division as, at least before those moves were made.
*actually*
the cubs are going to fall back to the cardinals
Pedro topping out at 92.2
also throwing a 2 seamer at 91ish.
not bad at all..
http://brooksbaseball.net/pfx/.....evDate=812
well, some of those just look like categorization errors.
It seems he’s throwing an 89-90MPH 4-seam fastball, basically. With location and a good change, he could succeed.
Word, plus, Pedro doesn’t throw anything straight, it’s hard for pitch f/x to know exactly what it was. Topping out at 92 is great for him.
Here’s an all-time Francesa classic, and the one I was looking for
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....edded#t=30
ANDY PETTITTE IS A STAHTIN PITCHAH!!
ATROCIOUS!!!!
That clip has become an all time Francessa legend in a very short time.
He did add to his catalog with the Jason Hirsh thing this week.
heh. I bet his knowledge of Jesus is that he plays catcher, and he’s a highly touted prospect.
Think that was worse than Sterling not knowing who Mike Dunn is?
A little. Hirsh was newly acquired and is in the mix for the 5th starter, which is a big issue right now. Dunn is way down on the depth chart, and the bullpen is fine.
lol EPIC
I was pretty pissed today with all the Jorge hate. What’s the deal with that?
did you watch the game? the guy couldn’t stop the damn ball to save his life
Believe me I watched. One of the wild pitches was a fastball that hit the dirt and bounced through Jorge. One was a curve(AJ’s sicknasty curve) that seemingly, to me, hit the plate, then later D-Rob let a FB fly. Look, we know Jorge isn’t the best defensive catcher in the world. We know JoMo is better at defense. The fact that people would suggest that JoMo should be out there rather than JoPo is what rubs me the wrong way.
Jorge simply can’t handle certain pitchers, and AJ is one of them. His stuff is too nasty and moves too fast for him to deal with at his age.
You really believe he cannot handle AJ? I really can’t fathom how quickly Yankees fans decided Jorge needed to be put out to pasture as a catcher.
especially after he killed it with AJ in the Sox series.
I watch the games, and have all year. He hasn’t handled him all year.
the red sox game? One of AJ’s best starts.
+1.
+1 more.
i disagree with that statement about how he can’t handle him
not that i want JoMo at all (i don’t), but JoPo had a bad day at work. Nothing wrong with that, shit happens
It’s all the wild pitches, and today it directly cost AJ a win. He has to block some of them, and he just doesn’t. Kay even mentioned it on the broadcast. If he blocks just that last one, AJ gets his win and the entire team doesn’t have to play extra innings. AJ himself didn’t want to discuss the WP after the game, which tells you it annoys him.
Personally, his pitch calling drives me nuts as well. He will keep calling a pitch over and over that the pitcher obviously can’t get over for strikes, in the hope that he finds a feel for it. He’s just hard headed and that’s why you haven’t seen him catch CC much (if at all) all year.
His days of catching everyday are coming to a close, and it’s long overdue. We all like his bat, so let him DH and catch a few times a week.
Still think that is a bad idea, but we are never going to agree on this issue. He isn’t the greatest catcher, but he still provides more value to the team as the everyday catcher and having someone else DH. Having that kind of offense at a defense-first position is the kind of comparative advantage that drove the dynasty.
“a defense-first position”
You said it for me.
No, that is exactly my point. It is traditionally a defense-first position, because they are not many players who can hit and handle the position. If someone can do a decent job at the defense and can hit, it gives you a huge advantage. As long as he is not abysmal as a catcher, he gives great value.
I’m with you Moshe.
But he was abysmal today. The WP allowed 6 TOR baserunners to advance, 2 of whom scored. That’s just brutal, and he almost cost us the game.
Jorge would need to hit a 2 run HR and a double just to break even. He didn’t, he was a net minus for us today even after you factor in his offensive contributions.
C’mon man, do you really follow “net minus?” Guys make errors. Guys leave runners on base. Guys give up homers to the 9 hitter. Guys walk the 9 hitter. I’d be hard pressed to find 24 guys on our roster that would like for Jose to start, even AJ. He knows what Jorge does for him on the offensive end.
What exactly would Posada need to do for you to consider he had “a bad game”? Kill somebody?
Be honest, how many of those WP does Molina block? At least 2, and probably all three. Are you saying that had NO effect on the game when it led to 2 runs, the last of which tied the game?
Oh today was a bad day behind the plate. I don’t deny that. I agree, Jose may have blocked all three of the WP’s.
But, when Jose is 0-4 at the plate, and gives up one passed ball, people will complain. My whole point in addressing the Jorge hate, is that some people will never be happy.
When my option is Jorge and Jose, I choose Jorge.
He said Posada had a bad game, he’s just saying that it happens sometimes and more often than not Posada is more valuable than Molina.
You are talking about his worst game of the year. further, you will notice that they were WP, not PB. Let’s not make it like he was missing easy pitches- I highly doubt Molina blocks all three.
He doesn’t have to. If he blocks just one of them in the 6th (and he does) it’s an easy 9 inning win for AJ. Instead, its extra innings at a time when we have no days off.
On April 19th, Burnett had 3 WP. Molina was the catcher. On May 17th he had another 3. Kevin Cash and Cervelli split the catching. On July 8th Posada allowed 3. Coming into today, 6 of his 14 WP were to Posdada. This is not so scientific, but it suggests that maybe the problem is not Posada.
Maybe there is no problem. The dude is going to be wild. Anyone that watched the first inning, he didn’t hit his spot once. He walks people, he throws wild pitches. I thought we got passed all this madness a couple of months ago.
Excellent post Moshe.
Come on though, I know you don’t think AJ will never have a wild pitch if the black hole of Molina was catching. Is AJ mad at Jorge when he singles in the 11th inning? Or yesterday when he put us ahead? I doubt it. The best lineup we have includes Jorge as the catcher. Next year will be no different.
I still say that the pitch that led to the tying run bounced off the plate. YES(because they suck) didn’t show the right angle so we could tell for sure, but from the views I saw, it looked like that curve hit the back of the plate, making it even harder for Jorgie to block.
No, of course not. But he won’t have 3 per game, and I bet his BBs go way down as well. Things like that make a difference as well, and cancel out Jorge’s bat unless he has a HUGE game every time he pitches.
Baseball is all about scoring and suppressing Runs. Runs are generated base by base. Jorge added SIX bases and a Run scored on the TOR side of the ledger with his fielding today. Look up the WP and total it up.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....=290812110
He’d need to Hit a HR and a double just to BREAK EVEN with a Catcher who could field his position. (and BTW-he didn’t)
People think fielding doesn’t add up, because hitting numbers are much easier to look up. But if you watched this game and know Baseball, you know Posada KILLED us today.
IDK. Sports Illustarated had a study where they said that fielding was worth only half as much as hitting.
Posada over Molina, please.
Since when was Molina some brilliant defensive catcher? He has a god arm…and that’s about it.
Last year he was amazing behind the plate. This year has not been the same. I know why people love him, but, give me Jorge any day of the week over Jose.
Take Jorge out of the lineup, we go from Melky in the 9 to JoMo. No bueno.
Jorge is a better player than Molina, that’s just how it is. 2 sides to the game of baseball.
Anyone else watching the game? Some fucknut just threw a beer on Victorino as he was making a catch on the track.
He’s going to get the IRL banhammer from Wrigley.
In Chicago that doesn’t get you ejected, but actually gets you a seat upgrade.
That was unnecessary from that Cubs fan.
LOL some idiot Cubs fan just poured a beer on Victorino’s head as he was settling under a fly ball.
Stay classy, Northsiders.
Are we really surprised by this from Cubs fans?
nothing beats 1 red sox fan throwing a piece of pizza at the othe Red sox fan
That. Was. Epic.
Because I just can’t take another hour of practicing law tonight I thought I’d just write this little legal memo that is largely a debate between me and me, asking–who’s your ace of this team?
Just throwing out some relatively insignificant stats I found enjoyable/amusing.
AJ’s made 23 starts–16 of them have been “quality starts”(disclaimer–I’m well aware of what a stupid metric this is, I’m just playing around). CC’s made 24 starts but subtracting the FL game where he left with the arm injury, of the other 23, only 12 have been “quality”.
AJ has only allowed more than 3 ER in FIVE of his starts. That’s 18 freaking starts of 3 ER or less ball. CC has allowed more than 3 ER in 10 of his starts–though clearly some of that has to do with him pitching deeper into games and being presented extra opportunities to give up runs–same goes for the quality start stat, CC has definitely lost a few by giving up runs in the 7th or later.
But man, A.J. CC and AJ bring different strengths to the club, beyond each being a power pitcher. But I think it’s awfully difficult to argue that Burnett is not at least the co-ace of this staff.
He’s certainly been more consistent (had to channel Joe M. at least once, though in this case its really true I think–it’s likely too small a sample size, but I bet if you actually did the standard deviations, AJ’s outing in Chi, and possibly at Fenway as might be statistical outliers and losing those, he’d cluster closer to his mean that CC for sure) than CC, and perhaps surprisingly, at least equally dominant.
Better K/9, and identical H/9. And just choosing 2 ER as a totally arbitrary measure of a “dominant start”, AJ has allowed 2 ER or less 11 times, the same as CC (technically it’s 12 for AJ, but only because he left that second Boston start in the third, so no credit to him for that and I already tossed out CC’s 1.1 inning outing in Miami). AJ’s allowed 0 ER five times, one better than CC’s four.
Of course, in terms of value, CC obviously gains tremendously in any comparsion because of a much lower WHIP and more innings pitched. And CC’s FIP (3.65) is much closer to his ERA than AJ’s 4.44 (which is one of the big reasons Fangraph’s WAR stat hates A.J., and actually has managed at times to rank Brad Penny ahead of him in this category.)
Haha, funny, no one even was debating this–but I think it’s a fun question. Who’s your ace? Track record says CC–and as a man who embraces empiricism, I should take the track record–but my gut sure says A.J.
If I had a gun to my head and needed to chose one of them to win me one game right now, Burnett’s my choice. Though I caution that–and obviously this is super small sample size-by the fact that AJ’s two starts at Fenway have clearly been the most glaring meltdowns of any Yankee starter (Mitre doesn’t count) this season, giving the circumstances of those games, though the first was by far the worst–the second start in Boston, he was ineffective–in he first he suffered one of the more tremendous meltdowns by such a good pitcher that I can recall seeing recently.
In any case, I’m darn glad we’ve got them both.
With our offense, I choose CC. CC will go 8 innings if he has to, even if he gives up 5 runs in the 3rd inning.
AJ has superior stuff, unfortunately, when one isn’t working, he’s left with only one pitch. If we had a one game playoff, and everyone was available, I choose CC.
I think this is an interesting and valid point, but I think it’s not totally independent of other factors, particularly how many lock outs you think you have in your pen. I agree, that if the question is, which guy is going to more likely to keep you in the game assuming he must pitch 8 innings, the answer is clearly CC. But if you think you have 6 outs from the pen (maybe 9, I’d have to look but Burnett is typically a 6-7 inning guy), I’d argue that the numbers above suggest that so far this year, A.J. has done a better job at keeping the club in the games he pitches for those 6-7 innings. Frankly, they’re both pretty effective in general at always giving you a chance to win, as they should be given what they’re paid, be it Burnett’s run of dominance since around May, and CC’s ability to just be a horse (and of course, we know he can be dominant too, and we’ve seen flashes).
So I would agree, that if you think you want the starter to go right to Mo and you’re pretty confident in a playoff game of scoring 3-6 runs, and scoring however many runs are required by whether it’s the 8 inning/2 ER CC or the 8 Inning/6 ER CC who shows up–because this season at least, CC has had those outcomes at about an equal rate, CC’s the guy.
If you think you can stretch the pen a little bit, and your approach is to use the starter who has the best chance of giving up 0-2 runs over 6-7 innings, based on this season, AJ’s your guy. But unquestionaly sample size plays a big role in that, and that’s why decisions don’t, or shouldn’t be made on one season’s worth of work (not that I don’t think there has to be a judgment call at times in going with the guy who happens to be better right then). I actually think that a pitcher’s standard deviation from his mean result is a stat that can have some use. It’s an expectation stat–obviously all the variation is completely captured cumulatively by WAR. But when we talk about what we expect a pticher’s line to be, you’re really just asking a question about mean and standard deviation from such–and I hink there is some value in having a sense going in of just how much variability in outcome you’re likely to be dealing with.
I haven’t watched CC regularly enough before he came here to have a sense of whether the variation ns in his outcomes have historically been so volatile and nor I am I suggesting that he has even been inordinately volatile, I have no baseline measure at all (my guess is likely no, and that it’s that little extra bit of volatility–which is the symptom, not the cause of course, there’s an explanation for the volatiley somewhere, perhaps, maybe just sample size–that’s resulted in CC havin a “down” year by his own standards.)
Sorry fellas, sitting at my desk the last 40 hours closing this deal has got me rambling incomprehensibly extensively–I have no idea if my paragraph about volatility even makes sense at all and certainly volatility and standard deviation are not identical concepts, but at this moment, I’ve just decided to magically combine the few things I learned in statistics and finance. Oh well
I honestly read all of that. One thing that is for sure, we have two guys that can be a number one at any time. I agree, AJ is more probable(based on this season) to allow fewer than say, 2 runs.
Where I disagree though, is your suggestion that the pen some how effects our decision on a starter. The only reason I mentioned that CC could go 8, is that he keeps us, with our offense, in the game for as long as necessary. I still like CC in a one game playoff, which, at least for this year, seems unlikely anyways..
I certainly agree that AJ’s been better than CC this year.
Yeah…but I’d still trust CC more based on his career.
Really? I don’t know…this year, I just have a better feeling when it’s AJ’s turn, yet I experience some doubt when CC comes up. I guess it’s the severe regression in the strikeouts department that gives me less confidence that he can get outs on his own.
Well, maybe the K’s will improve. He had 9 last game.
Anyone catch Burnett’s refusal to talk about wild pitches? He said, pretty bluntly, “I’m not talking about them.” I can’t help but think that it’s because he thinks / knows that Jorge should have been able to handle at least one of them. The non-comment could be either a veiled shot at Jorge, or a situation where he didn’t want to say the “wrong” thing. Interesting.
In Yankee land, JORGE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>AJ.
He doesn’t want to talk about a wild pitch because he’s pissed. It’s not a veiled shot at anyone. If Jorge doubled in Alex today, Burnett would of hit him square in the face with a pie. Make no mistake about it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to suggest animosity between them or stir up a controversy, but I do find it interesting that most ppl agree that not all of those wild pitches were entirely his fault and it was the one thing he refused to speak about. If anything, maybe he was being courteous and (smartly) not getting into it.
Nevermind. Just read your discussion above. I see others share the thought.
Sutt still calls it the “friendly confines” after what that jackass in left-center did.
Jorge needs an appreciation thread, this is madness.
NO! THIS IS SPARTAAAA!!
Okay, someone with better knowledge of the draft, please enlighten me. The O’s don’t want to pay their 2nd round pick. So, they get an extra pick next year? How does that make sense? It’s not like the guy doesn’t want to sign, he just has demands.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....under.html
Saint Louis is Running away with the central division
4 game lead
Not sure if anyone else caught this in Jim Callis’ chat today. He’s always liked Hughes, but it seems everyone in the world (including Klaw) like Bustholz more than Hughes. Callis doesn’t.
Ryan (Burlington, MA)
Hughes or Buchholz?
Jim Callis
(3:18 PM)
Hughes.
Oh, and I love that the guy who asked was from Mass. Odds are he’s a Sox fan who was hoping/expecting to hear Bustholz.
Anyone know if Buchholz has any options left?
We dodged a bullet missing King Felix this series.
Stop this thank god we missed so and so.
We almost lost the series to Toronto without Halladad
Clayton Richards got traded and we lost 3/4
Okay that made no sense whatsoever.
The Yankees ALMOST lost to Toronto while Mitre pitched the first game. But I don’t know what Halladay has to do with that. Yankees still won and they probably wouldn’t if Halladay pitched.
Same thing with King Felix, not facing him makes winning the series much easier.
No surprise, ESPN says Youk tackled Porcello. Apparently they can completely disregard video footage of the incident and make up their own facts
At least from that viewpoint he seems more like a dick.