Archive for October, 2009
Catching up
Posted by: | CommentsIn case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been slacking off lately because of the World Series. Here’s three days worth of games. Well, two and a half.
AzFL Surprise (9-0 loss to Peoria Saguaros on Wednesday)
Colin Curtis: 1 for 4, 1 K
Brandon Laird: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 2 K
Zach Kroenke: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1-0 GB/FB - 16 of 28 pitches were strikes (57.1%) … PitchFX had him at 88.85-90.2 with his fastball
Mike Dunn: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GB/FB – just 13 of 27 pitches were strikes (48.2%) … PFX had him at 94.41-95.3 with the heat
AzFL Surprise (3-0 win over Scottsdale on Thursday)
Colin Curtis: 1 for 4, 1 2B
Brandon Laird: 0 for 4, 1 K – 0 for his last 10 and 2 for his last 15
AzFL Surprise (the game is tied at five in the ninth, and I don’t feel like waiting around … here’s the box score)
Ian Kennedy: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 Er, 0 BB, 4 K, 4-4 GB/FB – 43 of 69 pitches were strikes (62.3%) … PFX says he was sitting between 90.98-93.4, and hit the high end of that range near the end of his outing
Grant Duff: 0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K – just 11 of 23 pitches were strikes (47.8%) … PFX had him at 93.13-94.3
Mike Dunn: 1 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 1-0 GB/FB – 11 of 14 pitches were strikes (78.6%) … he came in and bailed Duff out in a big way … PFX had him at 92.98-93.7
Open Thread: The day before Halloween
Posted by: | CommentsLots of us are going to be out partying it up pre-Halloween style tonight while the World Series is stuck in a travel day, so it’ll probably be a little slow around these parts. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that Matt Hagen at THT posted his Top 10 Yankees Prospects list. Here’s quick thoughts:
- Jairo Heredia is too high after missing most of last year due to injury. Even healthy he wouldn’t rank that high.
- DJ Mitchell is also too high. He’s got a massive platoon split and is probably just a reliever down the road.
- Austin Jackson is too low. I know he didn’t have a great year, but all the tools are still there, and he’s still a 22-yr old in Triple-A.
Anyway, use this as your open thread for the night. Both the Isles and Rangers in action tonight, but that’s pretty much it. Talk about that, your Halloween costume, or whatever else you want. Just follow the guidelines and be nice.
If you’re really bored, laugh at this:
Ratings strong for 2009 Series
Posted by: | CommentsLast year, when the Yankees failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994, baseball fans the country over were gleeful. They were also uninterested in watching the postseason, and as the Yanks are now within three wins of a World Series title, a common theme has emerged this October: The Yankees are good for baseball. The ratings from Games 1 and 2 of the World Series are in, and the numbers are great. The ratings for Game 1 were up 34 percent over 2008, and the game was the second most viewed Game 1 since 1999. Last night’s game saw a whopping 48 percent increase in viewership over 2008′s Game 2. If this World Series stretches on long enough, the TV ratings and viewership figures could very well set some cumulative Fall Classic records.
How would the Yankees use the double switch?
Posted by: | CommentsFor the first time since June, the Yankees will be without the benefit of the designated hitter, a big part of their offense. That role has been Hideki Matsui‘s this year, and he performed admirably, posting a .274/.367/.509 line across 526 plate appearances. He didn’t play an inning of outfield all season, though, bringing into question his role for the next three games.
It appears that Girardi has ruled out the possibility of starting Matsui in the outfielld. Carig reports that Matsui could play the outfield in a double switch situation, which would place him in the outfield for the first time since June 15, 2008. Yet there seems to be only one scenario where a double switch would make any sense.
The double switch involves a manager substituting a position player for the pitcher, and a pitcher for a position player. This only works if 1) the pitcher’s spot is due up in the next inning, and 2) the position player leaving the game isn’t due up before the pitcher’s spot. This creates a problem for the Yankees, because their lineup will probably look like this:
1. Jeter
2. Damon
3. Teixeira
4. Rodriguez
5. Posada
6. Cano
7. Cabrera
8. Swisher
9. Pitcher
Cabrera and Swisher at the bottom of that lineup make the double switch tough when it involves Matsui. If, say, Cano makes the last out, the pitcher would be due up but two of the double switch candidates are due up first. All Girardi could do at that point is to sub the relief pitcher for Johnny Damon, which staves off the pitcher’s spot by only two batters. If the Yanks put two men on base in the next inning, the pitcher comes up any way and you’ve just pointlessly lost Damon’s bat.
If Cabrera makes the last out it creates another tough situation. In a double switch the pitcher would come in for Cabrera, meaning the substitution would have to play center field — no way that Swisher or Damon does at this point. That means Gardner, who would hit after Swisher to start the inning. Unless you absolutely needed the reliever for multiple innings, wouldn’t it just make sense to pinch hit Matsui in the nine spot and call on another pitcher for the next inning?
It could make sense if Swisher makes the last out of the inning. Matsui would then sub for the pitcher and take over in right field. He would also lead off the next inning. But in that scenario, if the game is close, Girardi would probably pinch run Gardner for Matsui if he got on. At that point he’d be better off just pinch hitting with Matsui, since the move commits to less. Then if Damon makes the last out of that inning, you could insert Hideki into left and leave the pitcher in the two hole. You could do that in the double switch scenario too, I suppose.
Going through double switch situations is something new for us fans of AL teams, and it’s certainly an exercise. The problem in doing this is that to double switch with Matsui would hamper the defense. Straight pinch hitting assignments could work better, unless there’s a serious lineup alignment issue. Then, and only then, should Girardi double switch. If he doesn’t need the reliever for multiple innings, straight pinch hitting is the way to go.
The one scenario I can see this working is in a straight pinch hitting situation. If Matsui pinch hits for the pitcher and Damon makes the final out of that inning, Girardi could send Matsui out to left and insert the new pitcher into the two spot.
I’m sure I’ve missed a few scenarios (and might have even botched some). This is where I love the comments.
Philles set Blanton for Game 4
Posted by: | CommentsHot off the Twitter presses: Charlie Manuel will go with Joe Blanton in Game 4 instead of Cliff Lee on three days’ rest. The Yankees will presumably counter with their ace CC Sabathia. This move plays into the morning post about the Phillies giving the Yankees an advantage. Lining up Sabathia against Blanton certainly gives the Yankees that edge and could put the pressure on Cliff Lee in a potential elimination Game 5. In his career with Oakland against the Yanks, Blanton is 0-3 with an 8.18 ERA in four starts. Most of that damage came on May 5, 2005 when the right-hander gave up nine earned runs in 2.2 innings of work. Still, he has walked more Yanks than he has struck out and has allowed five home runs in 22 innings.
RAB Chat
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Jeter earns Clemente Award for Turn 2 work
Posted by: | CommentsThis news got lost in the build-up to Game 2 last night, but it’s definitely worth a look today. Major League Baseball awarded Yankee captain Derek Jeter with the Roberto Clemente Award for his community service work. The award recognizes one player each year who “combines a dedication to giving back to the community with outstanding skills on the baseball field.” Jeter established his Turn 2 Foundation when he was a rookie in 1996, and today, the program is going strong under the auspices of Derek and his sister Sharlee. It has to do with community work and giving back to the community,” Jeter said yesterday in the press conference. “I think people in our position should take advantage of it. They should try to give back as much as possible. I know I’m being awarded for this right now, but there’s a lot of players that give back to the community, and I think everyone should be commended for that.”
As part of the coverage of the award, Mark Newman from MLB.com wrote an extensive profile of Jeter and the Turn 2 Foundation. I definitely recommend that article. Newman really conveys the sense that Jeter, Sharlee and their parents are very devoted to the work they do. We see the great baseball side of Derek every day, and Major League Baseball reminded us yesterday that there is far more to him than just his play at short.
Selig against expanding replay
Posted by: | CommentsBefore last night’s World Series game, before the bottom of the 7th ended with a controversial call and the top of the 8th ended with a flat-out wrong call, Bud Selig spoke to reporters about the state of baseball. Generally, he feels the game is strong, and fifteen years after a crippling labor strike, it is. He also addressed the increased use of technology in the game, and it is here that the Commissioner took a stance.
MLB commissioner Bud Selig said he has been soliciting outside opinion from managers and general managers over the past few weeks and said no one offered a good explanation why the umpiring was so bad in the first rounds of the postseason.
He also declined to call for further use of replay. “The more baseball people I talk to, there is a lot of trepidation about it and I think their trepidation is fair,” Selig told reporters before Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday. “I’ve spent a lot of time [on this] over the past month and will spend a lot of time in the ensuing months as well. I don’t want to overreact. You can make light of that but when you start to think you’re going to have more intrusions — and even if their good intrusions — it’s something that you have to be very careful about. Affecting the game on the field is not something I really want to do.”
Selig has not been quick to embrace new technology over baseball tradition, in part due to worries about the pace of games. “Life is changing and I understand that,” he said. “I do like the human element and I think the human element for the last 130 years has worked pretty well. There have been controversies but there are controversies in every sport.”
Let’s take the 7th inning last night. With two on and one out, Johnny Damon hit a sinking line drive toward Ryan Howard. The Phillies’ first baseman either scooped the ball on a short hop or caught it above the ground on a fly. The first base umpire, standing behind the play, hesitated and that signaled that Damon was out on a line drive. Howard, though, had already thrown to second, seemingly as if to start a double play. Replays seemed to show that the ball kicked up some dirt into Howard’s glove, but even under a fine microscope, it was an inconclusive review.
Here, the call wasn’t the first base umpire’s to make. Blocked by Ryan Howard, he couldn’t see the ball hit the ground or Howard’s glove. At least the umps conferred about the play and upheld the call. On the calls Joe explored a few weeks ago, those ranging from obvious to atrocious, there are no answers. The umpires were in position to make the right calls and simply did not.
I’ve long called for increased instant replay, and last night’s game showed a need for it. I hear Selig’s concerns, but in Game 1 the umpires conferred about the Robinson Cano double play. A video review of Howard’s scoop would have taken the same amount of time. The human element, as Selig called it, has been a part of the game because video replay technological was not available for much of baseball history. Now that it is, Major League Baseball should embrace it to an extent reasonable. When everyone sees the correct call 10 or 15 times on broadcasts and highlights reels, the game is doing itself no favors if it eschews the opportunity to get it right the first time.
Will the Phillies give the Yankees an advantage in Game 4?
Posted by: | CommentsWhen a road team splits the first two games of a postseason series they’re said to have an advantage. The series goes back home even, and then it’s a best three of five, with the formerly disadvantaged team hosting the first three games. It would seem that home field advantage switched, but if the advantaged team takes just one game, they guarantee a return trip, winning back the advantage.
The Yankees have to win at least one game in Philadelphia to stay alive. With Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia starting the next two games, they have a good chance to do that. They’ll match up against Cole Hamels and then either Joe Blanton or J.A. Happ, and with the way Hamels is pitching it looks like the Yankees have the advantage in both games. That is, unless Charlie Manuel decides to start Cliff Lee on three days’ rest in Game 4.
That’s the advantage the Yankees have over the Phillies right now. They’re taking their three best pitchers and riding them to the end. The tactic comes with certain risks, but at this point in the season it’s the best call for the Yankees. The alternative is Chad Gaudin, who hasn’t started a game since September 28 and who doesn’t match up well against the Phillies lefties and switch hitters.
The Phillies are fortunate that their two options are better than Gaudin, but they’re not the best options. Their best option is to match Lee for Sabathia. Instead of the Yankees best against the Phillies fourth or fifth best, it’s the best against the best again, and that worked out well for Philadelphia the first time. The risk is that Lee has never pitched on three days’ rest in his career.
The risk in starting a pitcher on three days’ rest is that he won’t fully recover between starts and pitch ineffectively. They do, however, have different training schedules when pitching on short rest. CC says he loves pitching on three day’s rest because it means he doesn’t have to throw a bullpen. For a guy pitching as well as Cliff Lee, there shouldn’t be much concern.
Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee will make the call, but unless there is a concern specific to Lee, I think they’ll go with him on short rest. If not, they’ll give the Yankees an advantage in pitching match-ups. After accomplishing their goal of splitting the games in New York, why would they do that?
Burnett dominates as Yanks even Series
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Welcome to the World Series, Good A.J.
Heading into Thursday’s Game 2, we didn’t quite know what game to expect. The Yanks had A.J. Burnett, the definition of baseball inconsistency on the mound, and the Phillies were countering with Pedro Martinez, a relic of another age who has reinvented himself Mike Mussina-style into a off-speed demon. It could have been a slugfest; it could have been a pitcher’s duel.
In compelling fashion, we enjoyed the latter. The Yankees saw Good A.J. — an outing Derek Jeter called “the best I’ve seen all year” — and beat Pedro and the Phillies 3-1 to tie up the World Series. The teams now head 99 miles south for three weekend games in the City of Brotherly Love.
In a word, Burnett was masterful tonight. He flashed his power fastball and devastating curve balls and sliders for seven innings. He allowed just a single run on four hits and only two walks while striking out nine. “Today was one of those days where he had more than extra life in his fastball, and the hook was right there,” Jose Molina, Burnett’s own catcher, said.
Burnett, though, had the final word. “It was,” he said, “the funnest I’ve ever had on the baseball field.”
Burnett set the stage early for pitching performance. He started the game out with a 95-mph first-pitch strike to Jimmy Rollins and never looked back. Burnett proceeded to throw a called first-pitch strike to the nine of the first ten Phillies he faced and didn’t throw a first-pitch ball until Chase Utley came up in the third, 12 batters into the game. “After last night, I just wanted to come out and set the tone early,” he said. “My key was strike one tonight. I threw a lot of first pitch strikes and that allowed me to expand the zone.”
The Yanks, though, found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 game early. With two outs, Burnett allowed a bloop double to Raul Ibañez that hit the chalk. A ground ball off the bat of Matt Stairs skipped off of A-Rod‘s glove for an RBI single, and Yankee fans groaned. Little did they know it would be the only run the Phillies would plate all night.
On the other side, Pedro Martinez kept the Yankees guessing early and then late into the night. Yet, his six innings of six-hit, two-run ball wasn’t enough. Despite the eight strike outs, it wasn’t enough. With chants of “Who’s Your Daddy?” coming out from Yankee Stadium’s every nook, the Yanks used two solo home runs and a late rally to top Pedro. “I did everything I could to beat those guys,” he said.
The Yanks got on the board in the fourth when Mark Teixeira lifted an 83-mph change-up into the Yankee bullpen. It was Teixeira’s first World Series hit and his first home run since the end of Game 2 ALDS. “It was a 1-0 count, and I saw a pitch up in the zone, and I just let it fly,” he said.
Two innings later, Hideki Matsui went golfing and found a pitch he could drive. This one went 320 feet into the right field bleachers, and the Yanks had their first World Series lead since the first inning of Game 5 of the 2003 World Series.
In the 7th, umpire controversy struck. With Pedro still in the game, Jerry Hairston lined a single into right, and Melky Cabrera blooped one in front of Jayson Werth. Pinch hitter Jorge Posada singled home pinch runner Brett Gardner, and the Yanks were primed for more. But Derek Jeter, bunting on his own, struck out when his two-strike effort rolled foul, and then Johnny Damon hit a sinker liner toward first. Ryan Howard fielded the ball and threw to second, seemingly for a double play attempt, but the umpires ruled it an out in the air. Posada was doubled off the threat ended. Replays seemed to show that Howard short-hopped the ball, and the Yanks wuz robbed.
With the Yanks clinging to a two-run lead, Joe Girardi handed the ball over to Mariano Rivera for a two-inning save. He got Carlos Ruiz out but then ran into trouble as Jimmy Rollins walked and Shane Victorino singled. Chase Utley, though, bounced a 3-2 pitch to Robinson Cano. Brian Gorman called Utley out on the relay throw, and even though replays showed Utley safe, the Yanks were out of the inning.
In the 9th, Mariano allowed a two-out double to Raul Ibañez but Matt Stairs struck out. The Yanks nailed down a World Series win, and it felt good. “It was just business as usual,” Girardi said, later adding, I think it was extremely important [to even the series]. We’ve playing a very good baseball team, and you don’t want to spot them two runs when it’s a best of seven.”
The Yanks and Phillies head to Philadelphia tied. Andy Pettitte will face Cole Hamels on Saturday night, and we’ve got ourselves a World Series.
Above: An emphatic A.J. pumps his fist in the 7th inning. (Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports)
