Yanks win a game they had no business winning

June 24, 2010 by Mike Axisa 86 Comments

Red Sox Rockies Baseball — Once a Yankee, always a Yankee. (Photo Credit: David Zalubowski, AP)

That game was simply dreadful. Embarrassing, really. It’s not worth my time and it would be too frustrating to put together an in-depth recap, but all you need to know is that the Yankees drew seven walks in the first three innings yet only scored two runs. Overall, there were 23 baserunners, just six runs, five GIDPs, three outs on the bases, wild pitches, a balk, strike outs after being up 3-0 in the count, Brett Gardner getting his hand stepped on after sliding into first, you name it. The Yanks simply had no business winning this game.

Thankfully, the Padres took care of business down in Tampa, and our old pal Jason Giambi made sure the Red Sox went home with a loss as well. The Yanks started the day a game and a half up in the AL East, and by the grace of Mo, they’re going to bed two and half games up. Not that they deserve it after this garbage. They better get their heads out of their asses before they get to LA.

But hey, a win is a win.

http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

Mariano in the tenth almost made up for the rest of the shit play, can we agree with that?
- UWS
  
  Absolutely. Praise be to Mo.
- ARX
  
  Not really. It was awesome, no denying that, but after the 1st I was as disgusted with this team as I’ve been in a long time. I think I’d feel better about them having come back and won if I hadn’t watched, if I had just listened to my gut and turned off the TV after the 3rd and read the results tomorrow.
  - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
    
    Oh, I know what you mean. But just… Mariano getting out of that gave me something sort of positive from this game. Like, without it, I’d just be like, holy shit, ugliest win ever. With it, I have something I want to watch again and again.
- http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
  
  i think mariano batting made up for that shit, cuz that meant we had either tied it or taken the lead, and thank MO, we did the latter
- http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS
  
  Mariano in the ninth was pretty awesome too. Not for the way he pitched (well, fine. that too), but the fact that he was in a tie game on the road.
  - CountryClub
    
    I agree. But don’t let it get your hopes up. it only happened because he was rested and they’re off tonight. Girardi would have never done that if he didnt think he could throw Mo for 2 innings.
RalphieD

sometimes you lose games you shouldn’t of lost and sometimes you win games you shouldn’t of….

theres that thing that Sterling says….ummm what is it again :)
- erik
  
  Edited by RAB: Please review the commenting guidelines. All caps posts will not be tolerated. And the rest of you should know better than to feed the trolls.
  - deuce bag poster
    
    Who…are you?
    
    How on Earth is this a response to RalphieD’s comment?
  - pat
    
    Ooh, this is a big cup of wonderful.
  - http://www.soxandpinstripes.typepad.com/ Angelo
    
    Obvious troll is obvious troll. That’s that.
  - FIPster Doofus
    
    EXPECT ARIZONA RAN THE BASES LIKE GARBAGE
    
    “Hello, fellow American. This you should vote me. I leave power good. Thank you, thank you. If you vote me, I’m hot. …Taxes, they’ll be lower…son. The democratic vote for me is right thing to do, Philadelphia, so do.”
    - Hunter
      
      So sad but so true.
  - Kiko Jones
    
    I smell chowda…
  - Jobu
    
    I want to thank you for contributing to this conversation. It is this kind of insightful analysis that keeps Boston fans head and shoulders above all other fans. It is particularly charitable for you to share these views with us as I am sure it only takes away from your time to help David “The Zombie” Ortiz search for the reasons he tested positive for PEDs.
  - Brian in NH
    
    this is like the second or third time this guy has done this too…
  - SK
    
    only “Bah-ston” fans say “ovah”…
    
    and what’s that lil wayne lyric? Everyone watch your back when you’re at the front =)
  - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
    
    I see.
    
    (nods sagely)
    
    Is this a DIAMONDBACKS fan troll? Huh.
    - erik
      
      excuse me? i am not a troll.. so keep quiet PLS
      - http://www.secondavenuesagas.com Benjamin Kabak
        
        You might claim that you’re not a troll. You are however one more over-the-top and obnoxious comment away from getting banned. Play nice or don’t play at all.
      - http://www.soxandpinstripes.typepad.com/ Angelo
        
        I’ll repeat for emphasis.
        
        Obvious troll is obvious troll. That’s that.
    - http://www.soxandpinstripes.typepad.com/ Angelo
      
      Is this a DIAMONDBACKS fan troll
      
      It almost sounds like some sort of rare creature.
    - The209
      
      I missed it – and now it’s been edited for our impressionable eyes – what did he say?
UWS

Awww, I was looking forward to the recap of the pure awesome that is Mariano Rivera. Pretty please?
Esteban

It’s amazing, the Yankees are playing at 101 win pace, and it still feels like they haven’t played their best baseball. The rest of MLB should be terrified.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUvg7Empjfg Captain Jack
  
  They’ll still add pieces too. They really don’t have a “real” DH and right now they’re just rotating guys around…and hopefully they’ll “straighten out” the bullpen. Some guys will likely come back to earth, but hopefully guys like Teixeira, Alex, Jeter, and Granderson will get back on their normal pace.
  - http://www.secondavenuesagas.com Benjamin Kabak
    
    They have a real DH. What they don’t have is a real catcher.
    - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUvg7Empjfg Captain Jack
      
      I suppose that’s one way of looking at it…a DH would be easier to find, so that’s the way I prefer to think about it.
      
      ;)
    - The209
      
      Now try convincing your DH that fact…
      - The209
        
        “of” that fact. sorry
Ben

c’mon, they played an ugly game but you always have these kind of games during the course of the season. Be happy you’re on the winning side.
- http://fmylife.com JobaJr
  
  Exactly. What’s with everyone having a negative attitude?
  - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
    
    The game was ridiculously ugly. There’s no getting around that. You can’t play like that against really good teams and win. Thankfully, they played like that against a pretty bad team and the team seems to recognize that the level of play from last night was unacceptable.
    
    That said, I read the Game Thread and even here, which is generally an awesome and reasonable place, it was like a gathering for a mass suicide. Not that I’m not guilty of it myself, but oh, wow.
http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G

for me, this was by far my favorite win of the year. haven’t been on the edge of my seat for this long since that paplebon blown save homeruns to alex and thames. However, this win seemed to be more staisfying because the bullpen actually pitched pretty damn well (with the exception of you, damaso…..)
- http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
  
  by the way, if the yankees can play like shit for this long and still win, then the rest of the major leagues should go home. Yankees got dis shit
Esteban

On another note, a cousin of mine here in Miami (who’s not a Yankee-hater) doesn’t think Mo is the best closer of all time. I didn’t even know that was up for debate before having that conversation.
- Jobu
  
  Its not . . . did he go with Hoffman because of the saves record. Saves should be stricken from the stat books if only to keep them from being used to argue that Trevor Hoffman is a better closer than Mo.
  - Lori Rubinson
    
    I agree…they called in Mo in the 9th to work on FIP.
  - Esteban
    
    Yea, he said Hoffman is better because of the saves, and that Mo isn’t that great because he plays for a good team.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUvg7Empjfg Captain Jack

Okay, that balk wasn’t really a balk. I didn’t see it…not all wins are pretty how many walks did they have? Their superiority had to take over sooner or later.
Carlosologist

I can leave happy now. All I wanted to see was a win. Mo batting made the night 10x better.
- deuce bag poster
  
  This.
bonestock94

Wow that Giambi homerun just brought me back to a happier time. By “happier” I mean when everyone was juiced out of their brains, but still, great freaking homer.
- http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
  
  it was definitely majestic
- The209
  
  There’s absolutely no proof that PEDs positively affect performance…
  - Slugger27
    
    if you didn’t shorten it to “PED”, that post would read “There’s aboslutely no proof that performance-enhancing drugs affect performance”
    - The209
      
      Sorry, I don’t get it (!)
ARX

This is one of those games that prove why you should stick around to the bitter end…which sucks because no sane person should willingly subject themselves to watching a game played that poorly :P
Tom Zig

Everyone in the AL East lost tonight. WOOO HOOO
- Templeton “Brendog” Peck
  
  for the second day in a row
pfisher518

Love for Girardi for putting in Mo in a tie game on the road?
ARX

Is that a WPA graph or my EKG from the last 4 hours?
Ben

You think the Yankees ran themselves out of the game. Look what the dodgers did in the ninth. 1st and 2nd one out,Kemp get’s picked off second. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9294747
Than 1st and 2nd two out, Carrol drops one in front of Juan Rivera but he gets Martin to far off second before the runner could score.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=9294887
Thats called running yourself out of a game.
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  No words. Maybe there was just a big epidemic of suck on the West Coast tonight.
- http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS
  
  Except the part where Martin was safe. Instant replay please.
  - Ben
    
    yeah he was safe, but it was still dumb to risk. make sure the tying run scores.
  - ARX
    
    Also love how the ump threw him out of a game that was already over when he slammed his helmet in disgust. Between this and the Rockies walkoff, tonight in baseball doesn’t seem so bad :D
JSquared

Giambi crushed that ball… haven’t seen him do that in a while.
Manimal

One of those games that make pythagorian record a very valuable(yet interesting) stat hahaha
http://channel0.tumblr.com Brendan

Third straight strong outing for Joba, that’s something, no? That and, uh, our starting pitcher drew as many walks at the plate as he issued from the mound? I’m no Javy booster but I’ve got a feeling that if Andy had a start like this we’d be hearing, at least from some places, how he “gutted it out even though he didn’t have his best stuff,” in hushed, admiring tones.

Offense has been atrocious, really really bad. I have this sick feeling we’re seeing Jeter hit the tail end of his career.

Failure was emanating from both dugouts tonight, just a little thicker and more pungent down the third-base line. But they should air Mo’s two innings as a Yankees Classic.
- Brian in NH
  
  Joba was touching upper 90’s during this outing.
Salty Buggah

What an annoying, but ultimately satisfying, game. It would have utter;y atrocious had we lost this. It was there for the taking but the Yanks never quite grasped the win. In the end, they won in an ugly fashion, though a win is a win.

Feels good to win these last 2 games after losing the 1st one of the series. Thankfully, now the Yanks get a day off to recharge and prepare for Torre-mania.
deuce bag poster

I guess I’m the only person who thought that this was a fun game prescicely BECAUSE it we won despite playing like horseshit? Plus having a closer who can do things lesser mortals merely dream of?
YankeesJunkie

On the eight day God created Mo to show humanity perfection.

On the game note it was an awful game as stated earlier. You think that the Yankees will start playing their best baseball ahead.
http://kierstenschmidt.com Kiersten

We’re 2 1/2 games up in the toughest division in baseball. We have the best record in baseball. We played like shit and STILL won. Why? We’re just that good.

Zen baseball.
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  This game was like the death of Zen baseball.
Jim

My nomination for Stupidity of the Night is Swisher picked off, and then Texeira caught stealing, in the first inning. They play hit and run with one out, and Willis already having given up three walks? Come on….. If the Yankees don’t run themselves out of that inning, Willis throws 50 pitches and the Yankees score 5 runs. Instead they score one run. One run. O.M.G.

Oh, and Vazquez did gut it out. In the first inning he didn’t have any more control than Willis, but he (kind of) pulled it together for five innings.Yes, he was lucky. That kind of start will probably lose more often than it wins. But just because his name isn’t Andy Petite doesn’t mean he didn’t gut it out. I totally agree with Brendan’s point on this.

Jeter will be a topic for another day. At some point this year his future will become a very hot topic.
Januz

Too much is being made about the negatives of this game. When the schedule makers had the Diamondbacks listed, it was essentially a “trap series” after playing the Phillies & Mets, while waiting for Torre & the Dodgers. I am sure Girardi would have taken two of three and been very happy with that. Another way of looking at that, is what happened with two of the best pitchers in the game, Jimenez and Strasburg. Jimenez got rocked, gave up 6 runs and gets a no decision, while Strasburg strikes out nine, gives up one run, and loses. In the 162 game grand scheme of things, I will take the win.
- Jessie
  
  Well Said my friend…..well said.
Kiko Jones

Loved how Mo got it done in the 10th, but I also was gratified that he did not sugarcoat things and called the team’s overall performance in that game “horrible” and “unacceptable”. It almost seemed like he wanted to say something like “It didn’t have to come down to me”.

Btw, Girardi did not even consider Park for the 9th against a bad team like the D-backs, huh?
http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

I fell asleep after Javy gave up the 3rd/4th runs. Condensed game time!
- http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
  
  Oh, Mo. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Cecala

I fell asleep, I missed thy greatness out grace himself.
http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi

We need to take note of the fact that, 19 days ago, a lot of us (me included) were very upset with Girardi for using Gaudin ahead of Mo in extra-innings on the road, but last night he might have demonstrated that he identified/acknowledged that mistake and corrected it. If that’s what we saw last night, that might be the most important trait of the Yanks’ manager – very few teams have managers as intelligent, and able to be critical of their own performance and react accordingly.
- http://www.yfsf.org AndrewYF
  
  It was more a function of Mo not having pitched for a few days, and the off-day tomorrow. If there were no off-day, or had Mo pitched the night previous, I think we would have seen Joba out there in the 9th instead of Mo.
  - http://twitter.com/joero23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
    
    Ok… Maybe. I’ll note that I acknowledged, in my original comment, that this is not definitive proof that Girardi has learned his lesson when I said: “… last night he might have demonstrated that he identified/acknowledged that mistake and corrected it.”
    
    I’ll further note that the items you mention are mitigating circumstances that would not cut-against the theory that Girardi has learned from his mistake. The point of what happened last night is that, without mitigating circumstances that might change his thinking – so, making the decision purely based on what is the right or wrong move, strategically, in the absence of circumstances that would change the rationale – he made the right decision this time around. If any of the items you mention had been in play last night they would have worked as relatively valid reasons for Girardi to have made a different move in that spot – his making a different move in that spot actually would not have been evidence that he didn’t learn from his mistake 19 days ago.
    - The209
      
      You’re saying … we can’t say Girardi would have done the same thing last night (as 19 days ago) because the circumstances were different?
      - http://twitter.com/joero23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        No, that’s not what I’m saying.
        
        I’m saying that since there were no mitigating circumstances last night, we got a pretty good idea of what Girardi will do in extra-innings on the road if he has his relievers available and can make the call based solely on what is the best strategy for that game, and not based on workloads etc. Last night, we saw what he would do, and he did the right thing.
        
        I’m not sure why that’s controversial.
        
        http://twitter.com/joero23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        And, in addition, I don’t think last night’s situation was all that different than the June 5 game. The only difference is that the Yanks have a day-off today while they had a game scheduled the day after the June 5 game. Last night was a function of Mo not having pitched for a few days? Mo hadn’t picthed for a couple of days before the June 5 game, he was fully-rested.
        
        The only difference is the off-day the following day. If you guys think that’s a big enough difference that Girardi would have made a different move, that’s fine, that’s why I acknowledged in my first comment in this conversation and I’ll acknowledge again now that what happened last night is certainly not definitive proof that Girardi has had a wholesale change of strategy. But at the same time it’s very reasonable to think it could be evidence that he learned from the June 5 mistake.
  - CountryClub
    
    Correct.
http://twitter.com/AnaMariana42 Ana

I fell asleep in the 8th inning (don’t judge, i have to go to work). I woke up, saw what had gone down the last 2 innings, fell on my knees and thanked the good Lord for making Mo a Yankee.
- Brian in NH
  
  Correction…Mo is the Good Lord, and the Lord Mariano chose to bless the yankees with his gifts. And it was good.
  - http://twitter.com/AnaMariana42 Ana
    
    How silly of me. I stand corrected.
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  You thanked Mo for making Mo a Yankee? Works as well as anything else. ;)
  
  (Aaaaand I see someone beat me to the joke >:( )
Kilgore Trout

YES spot promotes full game recaps and in depth analysis. You liars.