For the umpteenth time this season, the Yankees find themselves in a position to sweep an opponent. It hasn’t worked out every time, but it never will. Yet they’ve come through on a number of occasions. It’s one reason they hold the best record in baseball by a decent margin. Great teams finish off the sweep when they have the chance.
If they’re going to do it, they’ll have to get by six foot nine, 280-pound monster Jeff Niemann. He was part of the infamous 2004 Rice University draft class, which also included Philip Humber and since-retired Wade Townsend. Humber was originally drafted by the Yankees, but decided to attend Rice, after which the Mets selected him, and subsequently traded him in the Johan Santana deal. All three pitchers underwent arm surgery, though Neimann’s, which was arthroscopic, was the least severe of the lot.
Niemann stumbled a bit last year in place of the injured Scott Kazmir, though he did only start two games in that span. He went back down to AAA to work on his game, and in 2009 he got another shot. Both he and Jason Hammel were out of options this year, and Niemann won the spot out of Spring Training. The Rays traded of Hammel, and the rest is history.
After some struggles early on, Niemann has flourished in the rotation. His ERA was as high as 5.35 on May 13, but he’s since reduced that to 3.67, and hasn’t been above the 4.00 mark since the beginning of July. Yes, he’s had some struggles since then, but he’s also had some lights out appearances, including a 7.2-inning, one-run performance against the Tigers last time out.
The Yanks will toss out Joba Chamberlain, who figures to go four innings this time around. That is, if he can display some good stuff and command. It’s tough to expect that at this point. He hasn’t been really good since he had those three stellar starts out of the All-Star Break. He’s taking the ball every five days, though, so perhaps he’ll find his rhythm today. That’s all we can really hope for.
Posada and Melky get days off today. Girardi is certainly doing a good job of balancing his roster. He’s making sure to have a good number of boppers in there while giving guys ample rest down the stretch. I approve.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Brett Gardner, CF
9. Jose Molina, C
And on the mound, number sixty-two, Joba Chamberlain.