Pettitte closes out August with another stellar performance
By Joe PawlikowskiIf Jerry Hairston doesn’t let an Adam Jones ground ball go between his legs in the seventh, this recap would be a lot different. Then again, if Hairston didn’t make a good play on a Matt Wieters slow grounder an inning prior, he wouldn’t have had a chance to break Andy Pettitte‘s string of 20 batters retired. It’s a shame that Andy didn’t get a chance to face Nick Markakis with the bases empty in the eighth, but baseball rarely works out how you plan it.
It was an intense six and two-thirds innings. Pettitte looked as good as he has all season, mixing all of his pitches to keep the Orioles hitters off balance. Most devastatingly, he used the curveball to break over the outside of the plate (to righties), and home plate umpire Marvin Hudson was calling it every time. The Orioles hitters didn’t like it, but that’s to be expected. No one likes getting punched out on a pretty breaking ball that skims the corner.
Even without the perfect game, no-hitter, or shutout, Pettitte had spectacular numbers to end the game. In his eight innings of work he allowed just two hits, the grounder to Markakis and a solo homer to Melvin Mora leading off the eighth. He struck out eight, keeping up with the torrential pace he’s set in the second half. Since the break he’s pitched 59.2 innings and has struck out 62, to just 15 walks. Andy added none to the latter total last night — it’s tough to walk guys when you’re throwing 70 percent of your pitches for strikes).
The Yankees have been on an incredible run in the second half, and much of that can be attributed to Pettitte. The Yanks are set atop the rotation with Sabathia and Burnett, but after that things were looking a bit shaky. Both Pettitte and Joba limped into the break, and there were plenty of questions about the pitching staff leading up to the trade deadline. Pettitte has stepped up over the past month and has been an absolute rock in the rotation. The way they’re pitching now, CC, A.J., and Andy are as good a 1-2-3 punch as you’re going to find in the league.
On the offensive side, the Yankees continued to pick up runs late. They’ve seemingly been able to do this all season, whether it be to come back from a deficit or to put some distance between themselves and their opponents. Nick Swisher provided the early runs, homering to lead off the third and doubling in Robinson Cano, who led off the fifth with a double of his own. With the way Pettitte was pitching, that seemed like all they’d need.
After the no-hitter bid ended in the seventh, the Yanks responded by extending that lead a bit, just in case. They had failed to score off Mark Hendrickson in the seventh after having runners on second and third with one out, but they would not be so merciful in the eighth. Derek Jeter led off the affair with a double, the team’s fourth of the night. Damon singled him home, and eventually Robinson Cano hit the team’s fifth double, his own second, plating both Damon and Mark Teixeira. With the Orioles holding just six outs, it was all but over.
There was a little stir in the ninth after Brian Bruney walked the leadoff batter and allowed a subsequent single, but Mariano came in and slammed the door. It was technically a save situation, but it didn’t take much labor at all. A pop out to second and a strikeout ended the game, and the Yankees celebrated a 5-1 victory.
The win was the Yankees’ 32nd since the All-Star Break, which is flat out insane. Since the break they’re 32-11, a .744 winning percentage which would translate to 120.5 regular season wins. We’re witnessing quite a ride right now, unlike anything we’ve really seen from the Yanks in a number of years. Not many teams’ fans get to experience winning at this pace for such a long period.
The best part about baseball: we get to do it all again tomorrow. A.J. Burnett steps up against David Hernandez. Unfortunately, Angel Hernandez will be calling balls and strikes. Am I a nerd for begrudging certain umpires?
128 Comments»
RAB Info
The Founders
Mike Axisa, Ben Kabak, Joe Pawlikowski
Editor-In-Chief
Mike Axisa Archives | Email
Managing Editors
Ben Kabak Archives | E-mail
Joe Pawlikowski Archives | E-mail
Contributing Editors
Larry Koestler (Archives)
Moshe Mandel (Archives)
Stephen Rhoads (Archives)
Weekend Writers
Hannah Ehrlich (Archives)
Matthew Warden (Archives)
Special Contributor
J.R. O'Grady (Archives)
Subscribe to RAB by RSS and Twitter
Follow @RiverAveBlues Search RAB
Spring Training Countdown
Just 4 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.blog advertising is good for you
Banner Design By
Good game all around.
+46
No, I dont think so. Anyone that watches baseball more than a little knows Angel is a bush league ump.
Who cares about a post-break .744 win%? Boston is the best run team in baseball. Everyone says so.
sarcasm?
NO HE’S DEAD SERIOUS.
A lethal combination of Liberal America and the Red Sox Propaganda Machine = No hope for the Yankees. It’s just the way it is…Liberal America hates successful people and/or companies/businesses/baseball teams.
I’m sure they’re missing you at the Freep.
Seriously, why turn this political? Don’t be an asshat.
Haha the irony is that I hate politics. And I hate the 2 party system. The media runs the show anyway now. They tell you who to vote for, what to wear, what kind of person to date, etc. But that being said, Liberal America still hates successful people and anything successful at all for that matter…
Hmmm… no.
You do realize that one of the epicenters of American liberalism is also the home of the NYY fanbase?
I’m very aware of this. Which is ironic but doesn’t change anything really…
I’ll leave a light on for ya, whenever you decide to come on back.
The after party is the one you want to attend
+1
Next time put “/ESPN” or “Peter Gammons” at the bottom so you don’t freak out the new guys.
EveryoneNo one says so.I fixed that for you. This constant made-up obsession with some media love for Boston that doesn’t exist wears thin after the 6000th comment. Give it a rest.
I agree that we should put that particular comment to rest. However, the Red Sox ARE the darlings of the baseball media. Do I care? Nope. I’m busy hoping those who are not Jeter, Mariano, Posada, Pettite, Damon, and Burnett, get a ring this year.
It’s only real…if you believe it. Remember that…
Deep man…deep.
Congrats. You have really beat this media/Boston/Espn thing into the ground.
Huh? What does this post have to do with the media/Boston/ESPN?? And how have I been beating it to the ground?
/confused…
It’s Bo.
He doesn’t know how to use the reply button properly. He’s done it to all the rest of us as well.
Welcome to the club.
It is time to finally put the Orioles to bed. A win tomorrow mathematically eliminates them from contending for the division.
Magic number is now 26.
How do those magic numbers work anyway? Does that mean if we win 26 more games the division is a lock?
Any combo yankee wins and red sox losses that equals 26 means the Yanks win
at that point it becomes mathematically impossible for the Sox to have a better record than the Yanks.
Alright, anyone else feeling a 26 win streak coming on?
Btw, if the Yankees go 17-14 in their remaining 31 games, they win 100. Sweet.
Is it possible that the way the season plays out that NY is the 100 win team?
Combination of 26 Yankee wins and RS losses.
163 – (first place team’s wins + non-first place team’s losses)
Totally agree especially with the Andy part. Not bad for a pitcher that was declared DOA at the All-Star break by certain people at RAB.
Did anyone actually do that? Or did they say “uh oh, an aging pitcher who wore down and got hurt after the break last year is stinking up the joint…this bears watching, and the Yanks could be in a bad way if he can’t pull his weight”?
Same old same old he was declared done at the end of last year and on his way to a repeat of his 2008 second half this year. Guess someone forgot to tell Andy. Honestly I think Andy owes RAB a cut of his salary.
Excellent use of evidence to back up your claim.
No it was said here that Andy was dead. It was also said that we should pass on him during winter. I wonder how that Sheets guy did this yr
Bo: 1
Strawman: 0
(Many of Sheets’s strongest supporters, like me, also fervently, repeatedly, and vehemently argued for Andy to be brought back on a one year deal.)
That uncertainty about the staff going into the 2nd half: Roy Halladay in August: 2-4, 4.71 ERA.
Also:
Roy Halladay is still 32.
He also may have checked oiut mentally after being screwed around with during trading deadline.
His team has also quit.
Meh, I don’t know if they “quit” as much as “they just kinda sucked all along and have come crashing back down to earth”.
i don’t know why so many people are getting down on hairston. yeah, it was a crappy play. but if it wasn’t for his great play earlier in the game, the perfecto would have ended much sooner.
and to think andy was signed to be our 5th starter…
Lay off Jerry. Sure he fucked up on that one play, but he’s already been a huge addition. Just remember back to the days of Cody Ransom and you’ll be happy again that Cash traded for Jerry.
I dont think anyone has bashed him…yet. Im sure the ones that do will be the same ones that hate A-rod, Robbie, Jorge, etc. Seriously his postives heavily outweigh his negative yesterday. Anyone who holds this against him and makes him the next NY goat is completely out of their mind.
I mean if the players themselves, especially Andy Pettitte, has forgiven him, we should too.
Who’s laying on him? Read the goddamn post.
Mrs. Hairston.
http://www.hiyoooo.com/
Looking thru the game thread he was cussed out by a ton of people.
But this isn’t the game thread, it’s the recap. And Joe laid out the proper perspective regarding Hairston at the very beginning of that recap:
Some interesting facts from ESPN stats:
•Pettitte had his longest career perfect game bid at 6 2/3 innings. His previous long was 4 2/3 innings in 2008 at Baltimore.
• Pettitte improved to 50-19 career in August. His .724 August win percentage stands third best all-time.
I still can’t believe ESPN spelled his name as “Pittite” when he was throwing a no-no. after the error.
Some more:
Pettitte Off-Speed Pitches
Category First 4 Months Aug.t
Miss Pct. 30.1 38.1
K Pct. 22.2 41.1
Overall ERA 4.51 2.50
Damn, thats a huge improvement in every category.
“Pittite”? Seriously? How pathetic.
Yep, after the error, the ESPN home page read something like “Pittite pitching gem” IIRC. Im not sure they said exactly that but Im sure they spelled his name like that.
Ok… It’s an embarrassing typo for ESPN… But I’m pretty sure it’s really not a big deal and hardly rises to the level of being “pathetic.”
Meh, I dont care. I just thought it was very funny. It was only kinda funny that they made a mistake, but it was really hilarious how it was spelled. Pittite just seemed awkward and very goofy to me. I laughed looking at it. Other than that, I don’t care and I wasnt the one who said it was pathetic (though he has a right to think it was pathetic, even if you don’t think it was I guess because everyone has different opinions about things)
It sort of does. The guy’s been a big-name pitcher in the league since the ’90s and the “i” and “e” aren’t very close on the keyboard.
Eh, “i” and “e” are in mirror positions. Middle finger right hand vs middle finger left. It’s the type of mistake you make when you’re typing too fast. Not that common but it happens.
During the actual game thread, when Salty brought it up, the typo was “Pittitte,” not “Pittite.”
So some dude made a mistake and quickly posted a link with a one-letter typo. A one-letter typo. The horror. The disrespect. ESPN would never be so careless with the Red Sox.
My bad, it was Pittitte. But that still looks goofy. Im pronouncing it in my head and laughing. Its probably because Ive been used to seeing Pettitte. I was annoyed at the time but I really am not trying to bash ESPN (not that much at least). I just think that looks very funny.
Salt – I didn’t mean to make a big deal about it. It’s a typo, people think it’s goofy, I have no problem with that. I think I just get annoyed sometimes when people (not you) use language like “pathetic” and all that stuff when describing something like a freaking typo. So, whatevs, I’ll just be quiet now.
I hear ya but I dont mind much so yea, let’s just end it here.
You dont mind if I use it as a joke in the future, right?
It’s a free country.
It’s a free country.
http://vids.myspace.com/index......d=21822806 (safe)
Now Pitching for the Red Sox, Number 19: Josh Bickett.
I said above, I want to end this but…shouldn’t it be Josh Bickitt?
do you really care that he called it “pathetic?”
Like I said above, I find it annoying.
Do you really care that I care that he called it pathetic? Isn’t your caring that I care that he called it pathetic the same concept as me caring that he called it pathetic? (Kidding, kind of.)
MLBN promoted Ken Burns’s Baseball, exactly as I just typed it. It’s not as glaring or as obvious a mistake as “Pittite,” but still…
Well that is the correct way to spell it so that is how they would do it. Singular possessive ending in s gets ‘s. Plural possessive ending in s only gets ‘.
Scott Stevens’s hockey stick = correct
Scott Stevens’ hockey stick = incorrect
The Devils’ hockey sticks = correct
The Devils’s hockey sticks = incorrect
Bicker fight!!
nice to see everyone, including O’s fans, show appreciation for, I guess, what could’ve been a perfect game for Andy
I don’t think there were any O’s fans at the game yesterday. In fact, I’m not sure that there are any O’s fans left anywhere.
Imagine if A-rod made that error. People would literally go to Camden Yards tomorrow (today for those of you in the East Coast or Midwest) with pitch forks and shit to kill him. It seems like a joke but sadly, this one would have a chance to be true.
Alex is a cancer; if he was in, Andy doesn’t have the courage to pitch a good game
…?
I think you need to edit your name. Looks like a reply got mixed in somehow.
It’s amazing how we boo Arod constantly…he does steroids and he’s whispered about amongst a lot of fans (Yanks fans included)…then there’s Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz who, despite failing numerous tests and Manny acting in a similar manner, fans love and cheer and embrace more than anything…
Oh well…
Yeah, but people hated A-Rod before the whole steroids thing. I have no idea why, but it’s the way things go.
http://perpetuallyperegrine.fi.....alousy.jpg (safe)
Sort of related, I go to the University of Miami, where A-Rod donated $3.9 million in 2003 to essentially rebuild our deteriorating baseball stadium. In yesterday’s student newspaper, there was an opinion piece about the “Curse of A-Rod” where the guy argues that our baseball team hasn’t won a national championship since he donated the money (last was in ’01, they have 4 total). No mention of the fact that we had 3 first round draft picks in the 2008 draft.
Point – the “Curse of A-Rod,” I feel like I’ve heard that one before…
Thome could have gotten AP to 300 wins…
?
great win tonight
too bad i wasn’t able to watch it (i was at the vikings/texans game)
Pettitte is the fucking man!
Great game by Pettitte. Just an absolute gem.
As a yankee fan rite now, there just playing great on all cylinders and I just feel like nobody can play with them. Best team in baseball bar none, PERIOD!!!! The yankees are the fuckin best no arguements rite now. Yes as a yankee fan, im riding my own dick, LOL!!!
Calm down, brotha.
Its Sep 1. Relax.
via LoHud, Hairston said after the game “no one feels worse than me”
Juan Uribe, perhaps?
Bill Buckner.
“Am I a nerd for begrudging certain umpires?”
Nope. There are certain umpires that when factored into pitching matchups are the difference in a game, especially come October. I’m not much of a gambler, but if I was I’d pay close attention to who’s behind the plate.
I just checked my playoff bill from 2006.
My tickets ran 71/96/156. Now they are 25/50/100.
DEFLATION RAMPANT!
I was surprised that Michael Kay last night, when talking about the Hairston error followed by the Markakis hit, did not use the phrase, “Fallacy of the Predetermined Outcome.” He always likes to pull that one out whenever possible.
No doubt. I always wait to hear him say that after errors. It’s like clockwork.
Now, has Pettitte pitched his way into his usual #2 spot in the post season rotation now?? Does Burnett go #3??
Looking at the home/road splits for this year, AJ has been better at home and Andy has been better on the road.
Additionally, I think it helps to have a guy w/ 35 post season starts under his belt to go in Game 3.
Very true. Forgot about the home/road splits for whatever reason. AJ had an ERA over 6.00 for August. Let’s hope that changes soon. His August was even worse than his March/April (5.40 ERA). Then you combine that with Joba Chamberlain’s 8.22 ERA in August and it doesn’t bode well as of right now if the post season started today…
The good news is that Sabathia and Pettitte have been absolutely filthy in August. Hopefully they can continue this dominance while Joba and AJ straighten themselves out…but it’s a tall order to ask for…
AJ had an ERA over 6.00 for August. Let’s hope that changes soon.
And yet:
AJ’s August Starts:
Aug 1 @ CHW – 4.2 IP, 10 H, 7 R – ugh, awful
Aug 7 v BOS – 7.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R – dominant
Aug 12 v TOR – 6.0 IP, 10 H, 3 R – very good
Aug 17 @OAK – 8.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R – near-dominant
Aug 22 @ BOS – 5.0 IP, 9 H, 9 R – ugh, atrocious
Aug 27 v TEX – 6.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R – very good
He had two traveshamockery starts, but his other four starts were all good to great.
Very true. The numbers are skewed…but at the same time. The times he’s been getting banged up…he’s been getting really banged up…
You just have to hope that doesn’t happen in the post-season…
And the two he got tanked by were good teams (White Sox were looking better at the time)…and the teams he’s dominated against (aside for the nasty start at home against Boston) have been against Toronto, Oakland, etc. Meh… but still good.
Aug 7 vs Boston? They’re a pretty good team.
Texas, too.
I like how AJ had four good starts against Texas, Boston, Toronto, and Oakland, and Makavelli somehow boiled that down to “He’s dominated against… Toronto and Oakland, etc. Meh”
heh
Also, in the ALDS, Game 3 is more important than Game 2.
If you’re 2-0, secure the sweep.
If you’re 1-1, take an important lead.
And I think 0-2 is obvious.
No, and no.
Pettitte still starts game 3.
Thats something you worry about in 3 weeks. Not on Sept 1.
Yes, but I don’t think like you, Bo. So, while YOU may not want to discuss it, I’m fine discussing it.
Here’s the thing. 3 starters can be used in the ALDS. At this point, would you rather Pettitte get the start in Game 5, or Burnett?
All the more reason why AJ gets the Game 2 start, so he can come back for Game 5 (if we so choose).
I still think Game 4 goes to Joba, though, and Game 5 goes to CC. But it’s all moot, it’s gonna be a three-game sweep.
The Yankees would get to choose which ALDS schedule they want this year (assuming they have the best record in the AL), so they could choose either 3 or 4 days off between games 1 and 4. I would hope that they pick the 3 day break because I like the advantage of Joba vs any other team’s #4 starter much more than CC vs the other team’s #1.
Agreed. In fact, if I was the better team I would choose the schedule with the least amount of off days in almost every situation, because fewer off days more closely mirrors the regular season, where good teams with better depth and better 1-25 rosters win more frequently.
In general, I agree. However, a team like the Red Sox should choose the long series because they want Beckett and Lester starting as many games as possible. Detroit would be a similar case. The Angels probably don’t care, because if they win it’s not because of their pitching.
The Red Sox, Tigers and Angels all have one thing in common: They’re not the better team.
Quoting myself: “In fact, if I was the better team I would choose the schedule with the least amount of off days in almost every situation.”
For the Record:
Joba Chamberlain (8.22), AJ Burnett (6.03), and Sergio Mitre (4.30) have combined for an over ERA of 6.17 in August with 95 hits and 38 BB in 83.1 total innings. Together, they had a 3-7 record for August in 15 total starts in August.
Considering our record though, it’s pretty incredible when you think that we’ve been getting this for the past month from 3 of our 5 starters. Mitre actually hasn’t been all that bad compared to the other two…
Flipside:
Even including those unsightly ERA’s from AJ, Joba, and Mitre, our team ERA in August of 4.10 is second (in the AL) to only Seattle’s team ERA of 4.09 (a virtual statistical tie for first).
As for the other AL World Series “contenders” (i use that term loosely):
Texas – 4.56 (6th)
Detroit – 4.74 (8th)
Boston – 4.90 (9th)
Los Angeles – 5.03 (10th)
True, but Bostom DFA’d or outright released 2 of those starting pitchers from August that contributed to their inflated ERA. Paul Byrd just threw a gem the other day…and we’ll have to wait and see what Dice K does…
But I hope you’re right.
I don’t put pessimistic stats down in an attempt to get people riled up or to “convert” anybody or anything. I put them out there for exactly what happened. For somebody like you to come back at me and give me some good optimistic stats that I can personally cover this stuff with. For that, I thank you. But please, take it as that. I’m not trying to be a party pooper or anything. I actually enjoy somebody telling me the other side of the story. It boosts my confidence for this team (even though it still is really high)
The Yankees are the only AL team with a team ERA below 4.00 for the second half.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/t...../league/al
Keep it up!
To me though, it’s still Paul Byrd. That guy doesn’t scare a hitter in the league. Neither do his little sausage fingers.
we’ll have to wait and see what Dice K does…
His line against Minor Leaguers: 5R 4H 3BB 2IP.
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....wakefield/
Not scared of Dice-K.
Agreed.
Swapping Smoltz and Penny for Byrd and Dice-K is not remotely an upgrade. I’m 95% certain it will end up being a downgrade.
I think the reason Andy has done a lot better is because of his change up. I remember last year he would throw that pitch and it didn’t do anything. Now it seems to have great movement down. Gives him another pitch moving down that players have to take into account.
I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, andy’s got balls the size of church bells. he’s the man.
Sherman actually wrote a great piece on him today. worth a read.
I was really worried about Andy heading in to the break, but he’s really turned it around the second half. I love it and I’m happy as hell for him. I’m eating my words with a side of gravy.
Though I a, very happy where the team is now I am not sure and maybe you guys can tell me where this rotation ranks against the other teams in the AL the Yankees might face. 1: Red Sox Beckett and Lester and Wakefield. 2: Detroit Verlander-Jackson and Wasburn. 3: Angels Weaver-Lackey and Kazmir. I am not sure how confident I am in terms of rotation consistencey. I know CC and Andy have been good, Joba has been a huge disappointment from what was expected. AJ has been way to inconsistent to be in the Jon Lester class. I know offensvely the Yankees are great but is thier offense that much better than Anaheim’s? or Boston’s?
I have been trying to think of player Austin Jackson might end up being comprable to and I wonder if Adam Jones is to optimistic? Why when Brett Gardner gets back would he only be on the bench?I think he is better than Melky. Of course the Yankes could trade for Grady Sizemore and that would be the best
Why would the Indians trade Sizemore?? Ugh.
[...] the tail end of last night’s discussion regarding Andy Pettitte’s brilliant start, I marveled at the Yankees second half record, 32-11. That’s 3.5 games better than the [...]