Game 117: Wait, he’s still in baseball?
By
(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Eight years ago, the Pirates made one of many poor early draft selections when they held the first overall pick in 2002. Instead of taking a premium up-the-middle talent like say, B.J. Upton, or a super-high upside arm like Zack Greinke or Cole Hamels or Matt Cain, the Bucs went safe and took a college pitcher, admitting soon after the draft that they projected him as a “solid mid-rotation starter.” Not exactly first overall pick material. That pitcher’s name? Bryan Bullington. Today’s starter for the Royals? Bryan Bullington.
The righthander from Ball State has obviously flamed out, failing to meet even Pittsburgh’s modest expectations following a litany of injuries and ineffectiveness. He’s bounced around a bit in the last several seasons and now finds himself in the Kansas City rotation and starting against the defending World Champs. Bullington has never faced the Yankees before, so we’re going to have to deal with the whole “ZOMG a pitcher they’ve never seen before” phenomenon. Don’t ask me why, but I feel confident about this one (that means they’re doomed).
Here’s the lineup…
Jeter, SS
Swisher, RF
Teixeira, 1B
A-Rod, 3B
Cano, 2B
Berkman, DH
Granderson, CF
Gardner, LF
Cervelli, C
And on the bump, it’s A.J. Burnett. Hopefully he repeats the outing he had in Texas, that would be fantastic.
It’s a get-away day for the Yanks, so this one starts a little after 2pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.
747 Comments»
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The Tyler Austin Watch
So, last night was my first ever live, in-person Major League game.
I love you, A-Rod.
Congratulations! Awesome first game for you to see, live.
Nice.
I’ll assume you’re young, so prepare for a life of obsessing over this sport after an experience like that. Stuff like that will get you hooked, and like any other addict you’ll spend most of your disposable income looking for another fix.
Shit, that’s really going to put a strain on my heroin habit.
(I’m 20, btw)
Congrats, friend. Nice way to break in.
Nice way to break in.
TWSS
TWHS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKsVSBhSwJg (NSFWish)
I did not know the game was this early. I also did not know Bryan Bullington was still in baseball.
I’m at the game. If anyone else is I’m in sec 215, row cc seat 12
I’m coming to rob you.
Does this smell like chloroform to you?
Bullington’s doppelganger:
http://www.insidesocal.com/tom.....ser-95.jpg
Tell me that shit doesn’t look eerily similar. They’re both even wearing royal blue hats.
The similarities between Bullington and Orel is creepy.
Except for pitching ability (Orel has more) and counting ability (Bullington’s better).
Wow. That is the same person if Bullington trims his sideburns a little bit.
Berkman’s first 20 Yankee plate appearances: .105/.150/.105
The 22 PAs after that: .278/.409/.500
Kearns’s first 10 Yankee plate appearances: .125/.300/.125
The 15 PAs after that: .429/.467/.714
Bah, reply fail.
Holy dogshit that’s creepy!
The Yankees seem….antsy.
They take their getaway days very seriously.
I’d like those powder blues more if they were just powder blue and white without the stupid Royal blue on the chest.
This looks good.
This does not.
Trust the process.
The Royals are actually on the come-up, though. Their farm is strong, and I liked all their deadline deals. They got some good pieces for the marginal talents of Callaspo/Farnsworth/Ankiel/Podsednik.
I’ve actually thought that the biggest problem is not wearing the powder blue pants. The white pants don’t like right with the powder blue tops.
At least the Blue Jays still do it right when they wear the all powder blue throwbacks.
The warning track power from the early going last night has carried over to today. Does that mean HR derby in the middle?
Honestly, when they just went through that lineup, I laughed. That’s so bad.
For some reason I get pissed when I see someone choke up on the bat.
Me too. It’s girly.
/RonDibble’d
/Keith Hernandez’d
Orel says if the Yankees win today they’ll finish the season at 67-95.
I can has DP, please?
English major?
LOL cat major
That’s a major I wish had been offered when I was in college.
Frankie Cervelli is on a mission to make us all hate him.
Mission accomplished.
Yeah…No reason to have him on the roster next season.
sigh
but he seems so lovable!
when he is not actually playing baseball that is.
I’m already there. My dog can throw better and the damn baseball weighs more than he does!
You don’t say.
Way to be, Frankie. Way to be.
It feels like our catchers throw the ball into the outfield more often than they throw out base stealers.
that is why they have had an increase is not throwing out runners. easier to let them steal.
Yo Cervelli, you suck.
Good thing the Yanks have a defensive specialist to backup Posada.
Did they just reacquire Jose Molina?
And, seriously, why the hell was the IF pulled in there? It’s a) the first inning and b) the Royals.
Girardi managing to his notebook…..
The notebook knows all.
Neither sabremetric nor common wisdom indicate bringing in the IF in this early. Your comment makes no sense.
Seriously dude, relax. That was the whole point of the comment. Joe always references matchups, numbers, looks at his notebook. Christ, it is fucking early to deal with this shit already.
Man, that sounded better than that
First move of the offseason: Waive Cervelli and give his roster spot to protect an actual prospect from the Rule 5 Draft.
God, I miss Jose Molina.
Wait…Dustin Pedroia must have been working with Robbie on his fielding since he’s been on the DL.
Did he also share his elf magic powers?
Or at least work with Cano on his grittiness?
you can’t work with Cano on anything. That would imply that Cano was also working
Of course.
I like the NYT, but the people in that commercial make me wish I didn’t.
why? the best journalists in the world work for the times. AND GOD FUCKING DAMMIT THERES NO DEBATING THAT!!!!!!!
I remember when we all loved Cervelli.
People fall in love with high batting averages.
Man he just missed one!
Dammit.
Any other day, that’s four straight
This is 2009 postseason A-Rod.
I can only assume that Sterling noted that It Was High, and It Was Far
That sucked. Looks like gonna have to manufacture the runs today.
Or hit it even harder than yesterday to spite the wind.
Entirely possible.
Alex is like, “How the fuck did that not get out?”
That’s one pitch outs. Not good.
would it really be such a bad thing for Bullington to pitch deep into the game?
Great plate discipline.
When you hit the ball that hard, I’m not complaining about swinging at the first pitch.
that. It very well could be 1-1 with Berkman on 2nd and one out right now.
Is he back? Or maybe the slefish stat padder wants to get 30 HR to keep his streak alive.
Obviously he cares more about his personal streak than winning games. I said this last night.
Cool, let’s see how early we can get this game over with, guys. Joe West would be proud.
Jesus.
I hate this fucking wind.
Goddammit. Rodriguez and Berkman crush it w/nothing to show.
Bullington won’t make it to the 5th.
Where are we playing Wrigley field? What is the deal with the wind knocking down 2 hrs.
another warning track game.
Anyone else think “can’t judge a book by looking at the cover” is the worst possible slogan for Empire City?
They are basically saying “we look like crap, but don’t let that fool you”
OMG, RBI’s matter again!!!!
(Actually, I have not been able to fully disassociate myself from them for some odd reason.)
I think RBI get diminished TOO much. Obviously they have no predictive value, and tell little about a player’s ability, but it’s still a nice accomplishment.
I think RBI’s are overappreciated and runs scored are underappreciated.
Not sure if serious?
Serious.
They’re both team-dependent stats, but we lionize the guys who knock in runs way more than we lionize the guys who do the dirty work of getting on base and getting into scoring position to get knocked in.
That doesn’t make much sense, IMO. It’s a symbiotic relationship, but only half of it really gets respected.
I’ve never found individual runs scored all that important since I’ve grown up and learned more things. I mean, team runs are obviously very important.
To me, they’re kind of equal. You have to depend on others for either one unless you put the ball over the fence yourself.
Even if they are equal, in comparison, RBI gets so much more love. A great example is the fact that you never see “R” in the graphic when guys come to the plate. I’d obviously love to see stats that tell more about a guy’s actual abilities, but if you’re gonna show RBI, you should show R.
Well by the MSM and common fan, yes. I meant on here.
It’s not like “OMG A-Rod has 97 RBI, he’s having a great season!” But the fact that the Yankees cleanup hitter is having such a down season and leads the majors in RBI speaks well of the Yankees offense in general. And yes, tommie, you are right about the runs vs. RBI aspect.
If they could stop citing RBI numbers to argue that he’s been productive, that’d be awesome. The guy’s having a down year, and it’s sticking your head in the sand to say otherwise.
Gonna be a long day.
Hello, Bad AJ.
Hitting guys on 1-2 sucks.
Good, AJ. Get 2 strikes then plunk him. You’re a modern day Greg Maddux.
Aj all over the place
AJ Burnett needs to start striking out some hitters. WHat happened to his swing and miss curve?
You have to get ahead and be able to command it. He can’t do either.
Two interesting stat nuggets I just saw on B-Ref.
The Yankees Pythag. record is their actual record. Last time I checked they were 3-4 games ahead of the Pythag.
Also Cano has been IBB’ed 12 times! The next highest total on the team is 3. Is Cano now…dare I say it…feared?
I think if I were lucky enough to get to face Robinson Cano, I’d never intentionally walk him. Watching him hit HRs is just too beautiful
It’s been Griffey-esque at times.
Interesting to see them quoting SB numbers for pitchers. I don’t know that I’ve seen that before. I like it.
Who would you rather have as the Yankees 4th starter in the playoff?
AJ or Javy
Depends who’s the opponent?
Can I defer this question for another 5 weeks?
For me it depends on how Javy responds to this “dead arm” period. I think you just have to go with who’s on a hot streak at the end of the season. Right now it would be AJ for me.
God help me.
CC and Pettitte and pray for rain.
Does not rhyme, but still very serious.
Johnny Sain was a True Yankee!
Even if it cost the Yankees Lew Burdette.
It’s a moot point, I bet Hughes will be moved to the bullpen because of his innings limit.
This. The question should have been: “Who do you want as the #3 starter?”
Well, at least you know what you’re getting with Javy.
With AJ, who knows if good AJ or bad AJ will show up.
Who would you rather have as the Yankees 4th starter in the playoff?
AJ or Javy?
Yes.
/KobayashiMaru’d
I don’t believe in the no win scenario.
/James T. Kirk’d
Depends on how well they’re pitching heading into the playoffs. As we’ve seen with AJ, when he’s on he’s dominating and it has a tendency to run in streaks. I’d also feel more comfortable pitching Javy against an NL team (obviously this would be the World Series) in their home park since he can take advanage of the pitcher in the line up.
AJ Burnett struggling mechanically. In other news; it’s Sunday.
Bullshit. He was out.
FUCK. I thought AJ nailed Aviled right there.
Cool. He was out.
Yup. Robot umps.
Dammit, I knew he was out.
He was out, but it was close.
I’m glad umpires make the right call 99% of the time. That’s what the announcers tell me at least.
I saw this today, however.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....id=5464015
Not according to Outside the Lines. They blow 20% of ‘close calls’.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....id=5464015
I’d like to see this extrapolated over a full season…but food for thought anyway.
Fuck me I’m slow.
Fuck me I’m slow.
TWSS
But on close calls, the percentage is significantly lower.
Out nice miss call there
Does AJ throw a 4 seamer anymore?
Get the fuck out there Eiland.
AJ ruining my birthday sunday.
Who’s in long relief today?
Mitre or Gaudin.
No part of AJ Burnett’s career suggests that he should “trust his stuff.”
I disagree. AJ has to trust his stuff because his stuff is the only thing that keeps him in the league. He seems to have no pitching ability at all and just throws his stuff and hopes that it’s on.
Agreed. If he doesn’t trust his stuff, he’ll never have a good outing.
The way I see it, when you can hardly put three quality starts together in a row over the course of 11 seasons, it’s a sign that you need to be more cerebral on the mound.
When you have no idea where the ball is going, your stuff isn’t trustworthy.
Eiland: AJ, you need to be more cerebral on the mound.
Burnett: How do I do that, coach?
Eiland: I have no fucking idea.
Burnett: Me neither.
Eiland: Maybe just keep trying to trust your stuff, then.
Burnett: Okay, will do.
… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, SCENE!
Fair enough.
But at a certain point, after more than a decade of up and down performances, you’d think that Burnett would learn to stop throwing his curveball early in the count when he isn’t locating it for strikes. Little adjustments like that are what I mean when I say “cerebral,” and Burnett’s inability to make them have always held him back.
Oscar worthy.
Hey, what do you want from me? I’m a .500 pitcher!!
/Brunett’sconfidence
Felix Hernandez is 8-9.
That has no bearing whatsoever on the point I was making…which was AJ’s comment that he’s a .500 pitcher (actually 15 over) for his career and seems to know what he is. I didn’t like the comment because it seemed to illustrate that he’s content with what he is and doesn’t expect more out of himself.
Oh OK. I misunderstood your point.
What the hell is that repetitive whistling sound in the background? It’s been there all four games.
Very annoying.
I was thinking the same thing. It is so annoying.
Oy. Nice DP.
Slightly OT, but I just saw that the Sox put Ellsbury back on the DL and they recalled Michael Bowden so that more teams can have a go at destroying any future he might have had.
I just looked up the roster of the Chicago White Sox and I didn’t see an Ellsbury or a Bowden listed there. I thus have no idea what the hell you are talking about, as I don’t know about the existence of any team called the “Sox” other than the White Sox who play in Chicago.
You really have the Red Sox dead and done, right?
Who?
Cleveland?
Some fantasy land team from the mystical mysterious land of Cleveland.
I’m sorry, I didn’t feel like typing the words B***on or R#d.
http://www.baseball-reference......wden001gle
This guy’s finally about to make his major league debut.
“recalled Michael Bowden so that more teams can have a go at destroying
anythe future hemight have hadhas as a middle-reliever/5th starter.”Well, my point was that I don’t even think he’ll have that because he’s been destroyed so many times so far that I expect it to continue and he’ll be shell shocked for life.
Jesus, I thought Cano got injured.
Cano can mess up and still turn a DP.
Wait, have the Yankees ever seen this pitcher before? Oh no, not another O’Sullivan performance…
Here we go Orioles, Here we go…
Is your comment supposed to express excitement or anger? O’Sullivan got knocked around last night, and the Yanks are doing the same today so far, they just have nothing to show for it.
i meant form his first outing against the Yanks.
Well, it’s 3-1 Tampa right now.
Wow. OK AJ.
nice easy inning there, AJ.
/sacrasm’d
/no harm done’d
lol
Granderson 2.0
2.1 innings of no hit ball. Should I be nervous yet?
No way. Watch what happens the 2nd and 3rd time around.
If the question is “Should I be nervous yet?” and it’s earlier than the 9th inning, the answer is always no.
Let me repeat that louder:
If the question is “Should I be nervous yet?” and it’s earlier than the 9th inning, the answer is always no.
If Detroit beats us tomorrow, I don’t even want to think of all the trolls clamoring for Jackson and Damon.
250/304/293 – Austin Jackson vs LHP
235/304/235 – Austin Jackson in August
.417 – Austin Jackson’s BABIP FOR THE SEASON!!
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs.....ons-babip/
He’s up to .250 vs. LH’s? Wow, last time I checked it a few weeks ago it was something like .205.
No that’s Curtis Granderson!! Silly Pat…
I wonder what the highest BABIP ever is?
And on this note, I guarantee if he ends the season with like a .400 or something BABIP, there will be people saying “maybe he’s the type of guy who can do that!” No, no he’s not.
the only thing Jackson could do in the series against the Tigers that could make me doubt the Granderson trade was would be to hit a 500+ foot HR. Likewise, IPK would have to start firing 96mph fastballs.
Drafted by the Orioles? Thought it was the Bucs.
Yup
I hate Cervelli’s batting stance.
I hate his face.
Why do we always make guys we haven’t seen look like Cy Young?
You don’t know what Cy Young looked like on the mound.
Oh, the other problem with the Royals unis today is that the hats are powder blue and the brims are royal blue.
I mean, even in the days of the all powder blue unis, the hats were always all royal blue.
Frankie put a charge into that one.
Brett’s 2 strike recognition failed. It is a given that most Ab’s he will take 2 strikes down the middle. This game very similar to yesterday minus the changup factor…
So they’ll win 8-3. Fine with me.
Cervelli hasn’t gone deep since last year in Atlanta?
The ball dies when it hits his bat.
Not surprising at all. Counting his one big league homer, he has four home runs in his life at AA and above.
not surprised at all. Usually when he makes contact he only (slightly) slows the ball down. Just reversing its direction is a positive result for him at this point.
Second time through the order is going to great for the Yankees.
AJ back for more (fills glass with scotch)
Scotch is for CC, Everclear is for AJ, much quicker.
and 151 Barcardi for Javy.
HERE IT GOES DOWN
DOWN INTO MY BELLY
MMMM MMMM MMMM
You’re on the air!
I don’t believe you.
“AJ has been shaky through two innings…”
More like, AJ has been shaky since 1999.
Well looks like he found his hook.
we’ll get you the birthday present-don’t worry. Glad Arod is playing 3rd for your birthday but hope we don’t hear your handle called too often…
its my homage to Kay saying. lol
Damn that curve was placed perfectly on the corner.
where the hell did that inning come from, AJ?
bad AJ/good AJ is now an inning by inning phenomeon
Reggie and Gossage.
Didn’t even have to look for that one.
Did Kerry Wood teach AJ how to throw a hook between innings?
Answer is Jackson and Gossage.
I’ll say this again, I don’t think Reggie should have his number retired by the Yankees.
Postseason glory will do that for a guy.
There are other numbers retired by the Yankees just as questionable.
Oh, Gossage. That sounds right.
Ooooh, good trivia:
George Brett won the 1980 AL MVP. What Yankees finished second and third in the voting?
I’ll say Reggie and Tommy John.
Got one of ‘em.
Willie Randolph?
Reggie and the Goose. Two future HOFers.
Heh. They were commemorating that series at Kauffman yesterday. Handed out coasters and everything.
I couldn’t figure out which was funnier, celebrating that time thirty years ago that they were runner up, or doing it while the defending champions were in town.
I still can’t figure how they lost to the Phillies that year. I know that the Phillies had Carlton and Schmidt, but they were the Phillies.
That 3-1 swing was Gardner-like.
George Brett, Tommy John and Reggie Jackson all have two first names l0lz.
Jackson isn’t really a first name, IMO. It’s gained in popularity, but it’s still mainly a surname.
That’s racist.
(ridiculous accusation)
Don’t be Mickey Rivers here.
What was Mickey’s quote? Something like, No wonder Reggie is confused. He has a rich white man’s first name, an Hispanic middle name, and black last name.
I thought it was that he had a black first name, Hispanic middle name and white last name.
I actually had to go check. It was, “He’s got a white man’s first name, a Hispanic man’s middle name, and a Black man’s last name. No wonder he’s so screwed up.”
The name Reggie a few decades back was viewed as a rich, white name. I wouldn’t say that’s the case today, so interesting how name and perceptions can change.
Let that one go, Tex.
Tex with the post-partum power outage…
Eventually the Yankees will have something to show for all these hard hit balls.
We hope.
No. Hope is for pussies.
Take that, Geico!
4 no-hit innings.. that’s unexpected.
Swisher swung at a ball in a 3-1 count. He could have ended the perfect game.
It’s actually minimum batters faced through four innings. Not that the specificity makes it any better.
Here’s the great thing about that 1980 MVP vote. Brett hit .390/.454/.664 with 24 HR, 118 RBI, 87 R, 15 SB in only 117 games and only got 17 out of 28 first place votes.
Jackson got 5, Goose had 4, Willie Wilson (finished 4th) got 1 and Rick Cerone (!, finished 7th) got 1.
Brett’s WAR of 9.6 was tops among vote-getters.
Who had the second highest WAR, you ask? Rickey Henderson, who excelled at getting on base (third highest OBP among vote-getters) and getting over into scoring position (100 stolen bases) to score runs (4th highest run scored total).
He came in 10th, naturally.
Well, yea. WAR didn’t exist then either. I’m just still pointing out the silliness of the voters.
I mean, Brett damn near hit .400! Yea, Reggie had 40 homers, but the other guys didn’t deserve it. I know Wilson had 7.8 WAR, but he wasn’t as good as Brett, obviously.
Rick Cerone getting a first place vote was beyond ridiculous. It must have been a New York writer who was impressed with how he take Thurman’s place so admirably or some bullshit like that.
Rick Cerone getting a first place vote was beyond ridiculous. It must have been a New York writer who was impressed with how he take Thurman’s place so admirably or some bullshit like that.
One more reason why I detest the BBWAA.
You mean those self-righteous pricks who are the true judges of everything that happens on the field?
My detestation (is that a word) level with them is about 85%.
If they fail to elect Bert Blyleven this year, it will be 95%. If they fail to elect Bert Blyleven in 2010, it will be infinity%.
Oops, 2012, not 2010.
I wish Cervelli had saved that block for a time when a runner was on base.
Bullington has never faced the Yankees before, so we’re going to have to deal with the whole “ZOMG a pitcher they’ve never seen before” phenomenon.
Wahooooooooo
Hah, seriously. Dig in. The trolls are coming.
(girds loins)
Where did the first pitch miss? Even though Frankie moved his glove it was right over the middle.
http://assets.sbnation.com/ass.....Umpire.jpg (safe)
Keith Hernandez was great defensively, but he’s not worthy of the HOF, Brian Kenny!
I like this AJ Burnett way better. Eiland must have slapped him around after the 2nd inning.
AJ has apparently rediscovered his strikeouts.
I would have the slowest trot ever on homers if I played MLB.
You’d be like John Kruk at Denny’s.
I’ve been to Denny’s once in my life. I really can’t understand why it’s so popular.
Every visit I’ve ever made to Denny’s or Perkins came only because I was drunk and it was the only place still open.
I go to Perkins a lot. I actually like their food. Breakfast only, I never go there for lunch or dinner. If I do, I get breakfast.
its cheap…its fattening..its convenient.
America loves these 3 things.
Spot on.
I don’t think the breakfast is so awful.
That’s what I had. I just compared it to Perkins, and I think Perkins is much better. Especially that you can get breakfast stuff at Perkins that doesn’t have cheese in it if you don’t want it.
The waitresses at Perkins are certainly better.
Sincerely,
Eldrick “Tiger” Woods
Boo yah!
Marijuana.
Do you have an explanation for why Waffle House, Bojangles, or Bob Evans are popular?
There are no Bojangles where I live and there’s only one Waffle House in the area. I don’t know if there’s a Bob Evans in my area, but I know they’re huge in the south.
I’ve liked Bob Evans when I’ve been there and I’ve always felt their success was because they’re in the south and people in the south don’t give a shit about eating healthy.
I’d pick Waffle House over Denny’s, Perkins, Bojangles, Bob Evans, and IHOP every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Never been to Waffle House or IHOP.
Waffle House’s breakfast >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Perkins’s breakfast >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Denny’s breakfast
Waffle House is almost exclusively in the south, that’s why you’ve never been there. The Onion had a story once saying that the Mason-Dixon line was to be renamed the IHOP-Waffle House line.
The Waffle House that I know of in my area is like 2 minutes from where I work. But it’s not close enough to where I live, so that’s why I’ve never been.
Ah.
I’d recommend it over Perkins. Much better food, IMO.
Waffle House is dirty as fuck everytime i go there. But the food is decent.
IHOP is alright…better then Denny’s
I’ve liked Bob Evans when I’ve been there and I’ve always felt their success was because they’re in the south and people in the south don’t give a shit about eating healthy.
You could insert “Denny’s” for “Bob Evans”, and you’d have exactly where I was going there.
Except I know of Denny’s in the north. I think there might be a Bob Evans somewhere in my area, but not within distance I’m willing to drive. It’s not the type of place that you just have to go to, after all.
I live in an area like that. There are really no places good enough to drive great distances for.
Where do you live? Upstate NY? Denny’s is only in the North because they (I assume) made enough money down South to expand. Like Wal-Mart is only popular because of the South, but is now expanded into the North.
I live in the Lehigh Valley of PA. Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton area.
So, someone reminded AJ this was the royals, now who will remind the offense
Baserunner time!
Hey, Joe Montana, if you want to make a comeback, tell your son not to be stupid enough and get caught underage drinking at Notre Dame!
You have to be remarkably dumb to the son of Joe Montana, a member of the Irish, and still manage to get arrested.
No, they’re really serious with the underage drinking. They won’t let students of drinking age bring more than 2 cases in at a time either for that reason.
You have to be really stupid to be caught doing it. I was never over 21 when I was at Notre Dame and I drank, not a lot, but enough times. I was never stupid enough to go to a place where I could get caught.
damage pitch time
ugh nevermind
Shocking he threw a slider 3-2
/Joba’d
YES’ camera work really sucks this year.
Referring to Cano taking a swing where they had the side view on?
Whats up with the screech in todays game? I was looking for a cricket behind my TV until I muted it.
I think this is the whistling noise tsjc referred to earlier?
The Yankees will score 5+ runs today
Let the slaughter begin!
5 innings for a 1st hit… progress being made.
Huzzah!!! Cano for President!
Is there a cricket next to one of the crowd mics?
Or, like…in Flaherty’s mouth?
Yeah, we knew he wasn’t actually going to throw a perfect game.
Now, to destroy the shutout and the lead. Fat Elvis: oblige.
OH SHIT THERE GOES THE PERFECT GAME!!!!!
Get up, Lance…
Wonderful.
Oh no Oh No.
Geez, are they both ok?
That looked bad on both sides
I’m so glad that we’re watching commercials when the Yankee DH wasn’t getting up and just dropped all 240 of his pounds on the ankle of the Royals starter by accident.
He was already getting up when they went to commercial.
Also, those commercials pay for this awesome team we get to watch, so I can’t ever be mad at them.
(Even Freedom Week.)
Fuck Freedom Week.
This coming week is Hope Week. Advertise the shit out of that.
I’d love to know how much actual money these ad campaigns cost.
Did Freedom Week buy us Marcus Thames? Or was it more like Lance Berkman?
Well the Yankees are owned by rich, white people so they probably let Fox advertise for free.
/not kidding’d
Oh, fuck. That looked like it could have hurt both Bullington and Berkman. I hope they’re okay.
Yea, having your ankle be stepped on by a big man like Berkman wearing cleats… ouch.
That play was depressing to watch in so many ways
Ugh if Berk is injured, I will hate Bryan Bullington forever.
not good Lance, not good.
He had his foot covering the whole base, Berkman should have trucked him.
I keep hearing a cricket. I hope that’s on TV and not in my living room.
I hear it too.
Good. Trying to find/catch (or kill) a cricket in a house is a fustrating experience.
I hear it too.
TV.
Nah, it sounds like its coming from your room. Its coming from underneath that end table in the corner.
Of course, there was a third option. It was in my head!
It’s the syphilis.
The syphilis must be getting worse because the cricket’s gettng more annoying.
It’s your TV, from the telecast. It was there last night too.
I feel like I’m the only one not hearing the cricket.
Maybe you should have your hearing checked.
It’s not coming through very loud on my TV, thankfully.
Yeah, it’s quiet enough that you don’t notice it at first.
I’m not hearing it either.
That fastball is still flying all over the place.
Glad Robbie stayed on his feet for that one.
Another 3-2 slider!
Time to run, Brett.
What the crap.
Gardner sucks
/boverreaction’d
Him and Cervelli have done nothing for a while. They suck.
Whoa whoa please do NOT put Gardner and Cervelli in the same sentence in that regard.
Him and Cervelli have done nothing for a while.
Yes.
They suck.
No.
Not doing anything for a while does not mean you suck. Literally every single ballplayer ever has had several “whiles” where they didn’t do anything good. It happens.
It’s baseball.
Gardner is also 6 for his last 13.
I disagree. Cervelli absolutely sucks. Gardner’s good but just in a bad stretch.
Fair enough, and you’re probably right.
But the original post was “Gardner sucks”. That’s what started this convo.
Furthermore, the point I’m making here — that Cervelli/Gardner/ImaginaryPlayerX not playing well for some particular imaginary stretch of time does not mean that that player sucks, that point is true. Cervelli doesn’t suck because he hasn’t hit in a while, he sucks because this while of him not hitting is preceded by other longer whiles of him also not hitting, so we can safely say he doesn’t ever hit and thus sucks.
Ugh, Brett Gardner is the most frustrating baserunner. Lightning speed, no instincts.
Perfect throw by Pena to be fair though.
Terrible jump.
And even with that terrible jump, it still took a perfect throw to get him.
What did that have to do with instincts? It was a) a good throw by the catcher and b) a bad jump by Gardner.
A bad jump is a sign of poor instincts. Gardner often struggles reading pitchers’ deliveries (which is one of the main reasons that he tends to wait until deep in the count to run.)
Literally noting is going right for Gardner this month.
he is like 6 for his last 17 or something close to that
6 for his last 13.
Just go in. Are the Yankees going through an unlucky break or is it some scrub owning them again?
A little from Column A, a little from Column B.
Little bit of both.
nothing is going right today.
Wow, this is getting annoying.
Back from vacation! Looks like I didn’t miss much. Tried to follow RAB on my phone, but apparently this site doesn’t play nice with Android web browsers, because my phone kept locking up when I tried to visit.
Anyway, looks like another no-name we can’t hit. Someone remind me why Cervelli is still on the team? So far he’s given us negative one run!
Which Android phone?
the HTC Incredible, carrier is Verizon. If I browse RAB for more than a few seconds, the phone hard locks up. Have to pull the battery.
Damn, I was hoping you’d say Sprint.
The Android phones that I use at my job never seem to have problems with this site when I’ve tested them.
Someone remind me why Cervelli is still on the team?
Because we haven’t acquired a good upgrade yet.
r u kidding me?
Nice….plane to catch.
Wait a second. Where’s bex? I think this is why the Yankees are losing. Stupid woman not showing up and talking all through the game like she’s supposed to do.
/RonDibble’d
She’s probably shopping, or having a period, or something else womanly.
Or making someone a sandwich.
cervelli is one crazy cat…
What the hell was Cervelli doing? So sick of this guy.
There was no rush to get the ball, Blanco wasn’t going anywhere…
But he’s a speed demon! Oh wai…
Unbelievable.
That was the most fail play ever.
Yeahhhhhhhhhh Cervelli! Fuckin love this guy!
Mike will be happy.
Holy fucking shit! What the fuck was that!!!!!!!!
Someone take Cervelli off this damn team.
um, among other that need to go.
Who? Everyone else on the 25 man can provide some sort of value.
value, being the key word
oh my good fucking god have mercy.
That kids are the fundamentals of a champion.
I’m sorry. I’m confused. Why are the Royals wearing Yankee road grays today?
/little league’d
Well then. That happened.
I hate Cervelli. Blanco wouldn’t have advanced to third had Cervelli not thrown wildly to short.
Cano 35%, Cervelli 60%, Jeter 5%.
Cervelli didn’t exactly do a spectacular job backing up the throw to first.
You wont be saying that play many times this year
* seeing.
DJ shoulda blocked it though
Montero wouldnt have bounced that throw !
Cano’s had his worst defensive game in a while this afternoon.
Cervelli’s been this bad for a while, unfortunately.
Way to back up, Cervelli. Seriously, I’m going to start a Chad Moeller revolution. I’ve had enough of this clown behind the plate.
Friggin cricket.
I lost brain cells watching that sequence of play.
Great clap to yourself Cervelli. Somehow you’re convincing people to stay on this team.
He’s gutty!
somebody cue the Benny Hill music.
winner
They played The Price Is Right lose music. That was appropriate.
I want Jose Molina back. Please.
He tried to freeze him with his beautiful blue eyes. LOL
AJ with the pump.
Thanks You, AJ for restoring order after that suckfest.
I am so impressed with AJ Burnett today. This looked like it was going to be a disaster through 2.
I can has hits and runs, pleasae?
Man, Burnett’s found him a sweet pitch’ Third strikeout down and in on lefties, at least.
I hate those Sweet Millions commercials. They’re all cute and cuddly and then they go and ruin them.
LOL @ AJ for being the one to restore order.
Cervelli was trying to dare him, and it did not work out too wll.
More errors than hits. Always a good sign.
A weak grounder to the left side off the bat of DJ? I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked.
I missed it. What was Cevelli’s first error? Dropped a routine pop up? Botched a simple throw to first?
Threw to second on a steal where he had no chance to throw the runner out. Brilliant as always.
Wonderful. Did that bite the Yanks in the ass afterwards?
He went to third and scored on a base hit for the only run of the game, so yeah. Though to be fair, if things had gone the same way, he probably scores on that hit anyway (it was towards the line in right)
3 errors is greater than 2 hits…. Wow.
Good AJ shows up and the Yankee hitters get nothing for him. I don’t want to hear any shit the next time the Yankees score 6 runs and AJ gives it all back.
Pena picked that ball like a hockey goalie.
/doesn’t watch hockey
Well I donno if its the unfamiliar pitcher syndrome or the get-away game syndrome but this is a poorly played game.
Still minimum batters through 7? thats amazing.
You never forget your first major league win even if it takes 8 years and a bunch of sleep-walking Yankees to achieve it.
Pathetic.
I can’t believe the degree of pwnage Bullington has flexed today. The man thinks he’s back in college.
Apparently I can’t has hits and runs.
Yankees making this kid look like a #1 pick
Heh this is now funny. People like Beckett and Lackey gets owned. People like Bullington own us.
Well in the playoffs we’ll see more aces than scrubs so thats good.
How dare the Royals try to ice AJ Burnett with God Bless America! That’s our trick!
Wow, three errors, two hits versus Brian Bullington, and no runs.
Where the fuck are the New York Yankees?
The Yankees…they’re in…Chattanooga!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybbwaL22j0o (safe)
that was great
I’m in Chattanooga!
/seriously
hungover and disinterested apparently.
Bags packed and ready to go catch the first thing smoking out of KC. Championship caliber attention span.
#nopassion
You know what games the Yankees need to win? the games that good AJ shows up.
Good AJ is so good that hes owning his own team.
When does the Yankee coaching staff/scouts/whatever start taking some flack for how bad this offense is against pitchers they’ve never seen? You simply cannot sell me that this team of all-stars coincidentally has terrible at-bat after terrible at-bat against these bad pitchers.
It may not do shit but I’d like to see Cashman visit them ninja style. Maybe it’ll wake them up.
/narrative’d
I thought that someone already proved that that narrative was bullshit.
Either I am really drunk or that rendition of God bless America was shitty.
can’t it be both?
They’re all shitty.
Never thought I’d wish for Jose Molina to come back
Even AJ wishes Posada was his catcher again
http://tinyurl.com/2vzapjh
IETP.
The O’s can shoot into contention a la Tampa Bay in 2008. I really believe if one or two of the young guys breakout next season, the AL East will have a +.500 team in the cellar.
Not unless their pitchers make huge strides.
It’s close to impossible to have 5 teams over .500 in the same division.
1991 American League West.
But nowadays, having to play each other 18 per? Unless they make a HUGE jump, and the other two divisions collapse and we can all feed off of them…
Yea, I just wanted to point that out because it was so hard to believe.
And I was an Angels fan that year since that’s where Dave Winfield played at the time.
Meh, they’d need more than one or two guys to break out; more like 5 or 6. They’d probably need Adam Jones to re-break out, Matusz, Arrieta, Wieters, Tillman, and maybe Britton to all take huge steps forward.
when are we going to get back to actual baseball. You know, where the good guys hit singles and an occasional double, maybe even a home run.
This is a boring game. but at least it’s going by quickly.
Tex actually realized that AJ would never be covering…
Peace, kid. Great location, A.J.
Okay, be right back. I’ve booked a flight to KC, heading to the park, and I’m going to find the cricket and kill it.
#competedamnit
Looks like AJ will get a complete game unless the offense decides to score.
This is the kind of game really good teams steal in the late innings. Really good teams, that is.
Well, unfortunately we are a great team.
Bullington laughs.
Really good teams also lose sometimes, believe it or not.
Thanks. I didn’t know that.
I hope A-Rod ties it with another fountain shot.
My hopes: they are dashed.
Dear Yankees,
Please don’t get shut out by the Kansas City Royals. K?
Thanks,
theyankeewarrior
If the scouts called Cervelli a great defensive catcher when he’s not, then Montero has to be the best defensive catcher ever when being dubbed th worst.
or he is even worse
This keeps up, Yanks are a easy favorite for #28.
Loved the non-hustle from Robby.
Yankees you got some ‘splainin to do
Shouldn’t Kearnes be pinch-hitting since he’s actually faced Bullington?
So, does girardi pinch hit for cervelli in the ninth?
If Berkman misses any amount of time I might join the call up Montero movement.
what? you don’t want Cervelli catching 5 times a week and Posada DHing?
Too much grit to handle.
He’s pretty durable, especially now that he’s a DH.
/Nick Johnson’d
We can’t get complete game’d by this scrub…we just can’t.
The beauty of Bullington is that in his next start he will get lit up for 5 runs and be out by the 6th.
90 pitches through 8 innings? Is this real life?
Nope, you’re dreaming. But don’t worry, if you die, you’ll wake up.
/Inception’d
We’re watching MLB The Show actually. I’m pitching as Bullington.
Looks like like huh?
This can’t be life
/Kanye’d
resists the urge to break out into song…
Puma hurt?
It appears that way.
How about this idea, Kenny/John: Bullington stays in then comes out if/when he gets into trouble.
Man it would have been nice if we won the Moseley game. Can’t believe we might split with this team.
Oh good, we’re one out away from Soria. Super!
I think the Yankees have a better chance against Soria tbh.
that is good news. Yankees have seen him before – odds increase 2 fold that they will look like they are trying.
Marcus Thames is my hero.
the threat – Thames
Thames with the first walk of the game.
My mind, it is blown.
So if the Twins want any chance to beat the Yankees in the post season I guess they should find 3 pitchers the Yankees have never faced and it will be a clean sweep.
Or just have someone throw nothing but changeups.
Or pitch Pavano. Yanks can’t light him up. Tough it’s been like 2 starts but still.
This plan has been out there for a while, no one has the balls to do it though, haha.
Wait, Thames walks, why cant swisher, tex, or someone all star in our line up do that.
Because you can’t tame Thames.
I think MikeD just killed the cricket.
Most depressing game of the season thus far
so much for the subs.
I’m not all that mad about losing/not hitting–that happens. I’m mad about the fact that just about everyone has put together horrible at bats.
they just want to get the hell of of Kansas City
If they bring in Soria we win. Yankees beat top tiered pitchers. Yankees get owned by scrubs. We got this.
Cmon Yanks! Score some runs for Mr. Burnett!
I totally blame Axisa for this.
so on my birthday the yanks decided to tank one. thanks guys
Happy Birthday. An appearance by Mariano in the bottom on the ninth would be a good gift.
Look on the bright side, they’ve found the solution to their problems hitting with RISP. Can’t strand any runners if you don’t get any on.
Split with KC is…just as bad as it sounds.
This has been my favorite game of the season.
P.S. Buy my album
Sincerely,
Joe West
Maybe he should retire form umpiring if he’s complaining about doing his damn job. Ass.
I think we have this all wrong. It isn’t the long games Joe West hates, its the nonstop chattering of the women behind the backstop that he wants to get away from.
The quicker he get off the field, the quicker he gets silence.
You can’t throw an umpire out of the game!
Bullington for Montero. Do it Cash!
Chone Figgins made an error with two outs and no one on in the bottom of the 7th inning. King Felix than allowed single, single, double, intentional walk, grand slam. So fortunately for my fantasy team, they were all unearned runs.
Question: Should King Felix be allowed to kill Figgins, or should the rest of the Mariners smack Felix upside the head for letting Figgins’ error affect him so much?
Crap. King Felix is on my fantasy team, too. Yes, he should be allowed to kill Figgins.
He’s King Felix you answered your own question.
Felix is responsible. Dur.
Felix should pimpsmack Figgins.
Kevin Slowey with a no-no through 7.
Another one?! Jeez…
MikeD killed the cricket… I think.
Already said that.
Sadly it lives.
With O’Sullivan and Bullington in the rotation, it’ll make it easier for Dayton Moore to trade Greinke.
Time to give AJ the hook. Great outing, but we need to keep this at 1.
That works too.
Let’s get AJ the win!
Cervelli now has a .468 OPS since May 25th.
Seriously.
/RamiroPena’d
Is Moeller really THAT horrible? This can’t be the best we can do…
Is Moeller really THAT horrible?
Yes. If he wasn’t that horrible, he wouldn’t have been forced to accept a minor league deal to sit in Scranton all year.
I don’t see how he could be worse than Cervelli though. SSS, yes, but their career wOBA’s are like .277 and .283, and Moeller would have to be piss poor defensively to not be able to make up the gap in hitting. (Maybe he is piss poor defensively, in which case I’ll shut up.)
I agree 100%. I think that they are probably the same level of hitter, can’t see how Moeller could be as bad as Cervelli defensively.
Career .639 OPS. :shrug:
My god! That’s the Warrior’s music!!!!!!
It’s really important to get AJ a win.
AJ’s reward for pitching well – 2 hits, 3 errors, and a comedy of effort.
AJ is going to be mad now, someone is getting more than a pie in the face.
Sincerely,
Locker room door.
If only AJ had any right to feel that way.
what a game by AJ
He’s the only one who showed up.
please put posada in, please put posada in, please put posada in
Here it is! Comeback! Grit Grutner walks and Jorge hits a go ahead 2 run shot!
You cannot be serious, Gardner.
terrible
Good idea, terrible result.
That bunt pissed me off more than anything else today.
Even more than Cervelli.
(Not the idea, just the execution. Don’t bunt for a hit unless you’re really good at not bunting back to the pitcher.)
What. the. fuck.
Sweet bunt
Good use of an AB, Brett
/banghead
He couldn’t have rolled that Soria any more perfectly.
Nice bunt.
BG is so bad
Still wrong.
Brett, as my grandfather would say:
If you’re going to do something stupid, do it right.
I think I’d like your grandfather.
(TWSS)
+1
Well that sucked.
::Shakes head::
Am I the only one who thinks that WASN’T a good idea?
It was actually a fairly decent idea… if Brett was a good bunter. I don’t know that he is, though, so it seems like an iffy idea.
He needs alot more practice preferably not in that type of game situation.
Yankees suck in short games.
-Joe West
Brett there is another way to get on base. It is called walking.
Gardy you dumb ass
:fast guys who can’t bunt:
Drag bunts are that hard to learn to do?
Yes.
The ball was way outside
Royals’ only other shutout was against the Nats according to FoxSports.
let’s hope the offense enjoyed the day off and comes back strong next game.
Well it’s all up to Cap’n Clutch.
First pitch ground out?
Derek Jeter?
That guy’s got an edge.
Well, congrats to Bullington on his first win against the Yankees.
Well predicting the ground out now.
Jeter singles to right, 1-2 count.
Book it.
Ruined my prediction! Bastard….
I know a lot of folks are thinking “ground ball to SS” right now…wouldn’t it be hilarious if he blasted one?
embarassing
Yuck. A split with KC is a fail. Being shut out be KC is a major FAIL. The one positive is AJ pitched a great game. If he keeps that up we’ll be in good shape down the stretch. I’m going to go make some cricket soup.
But, then again, he was pitching against a punchless Royals line-up. I find little comfort in his performance considering.
I understand the point, but don’t agree. As we’ve seen with AJ, he’s either on or he’s off. When he’s off, poor teams hit him. When he’s on, he’ll shut anyone down. He’d have pitched well against other teams today. The loss still sucks, but I feel better about AJ after today. Let’s hope that part continues.
hip hip JOrge!
That’s pathetic.
Now let’s never speak of it again.
That was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen.
Embarrassing. Another scrub shutting down the Yankees.
Randomness.
/Neyer’d
Hopefully the offense enjoyed their fucking day off.
*sigh* well…it was quick and relatively painless.
I hope you’re happy Axisa
2 hours and 9 minutes.
Oh well, good for Bullington.
Bullington will get knocked out of his next start by the 4th inning. Guaranteed.
It’s kind of unacceptable to split here, but I expect them to make up for it by sweeping Detroit.
Quick and painful
Worst loss of the year. Holy shit.
Seriously?
http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=300529110
Yes, seriously. One bad reliever < a completely lifeless offense.
Splitting against the Royals is depressing.
—___— <— That's my irritated face. AJ pitched another hell of a game and the offense came up short again. Oh well, we'll get them tomorrow.
*them being the Tigers.
Scrubs >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> aces.
I did not enjoy this game. None of it was enjoyable.
(Actually, I take that back: AJ pitching fairly well was mildly enjoyable. It’s not much, though.)
Yeah that. I still can’t believe teams were asking for Cervelli. I’d take cash considerations over him in a heartbeat.
I still can’t believe teams were asking for Cervelli.
Teams were asking for Cervelli because they have catchers on their rosters who are even shittier than he is, and who cost more money than he does.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
AJ Burnett was. Even if it’s the Royals it’s nice him being on track.
AJ pitched well….that’s something, at least.
At least good AJ showed up.
/silverlining
holy crap. embarrassing.this has been a terrible month for this team.
I’m not embarrassed.
It’s been less than terrible. Let’s go with not ideal.
I would like the to thank the yankees for shitting all over my special day.
Yeah, I bitched and moaned when the Yankees lost on my birthday as well.
What’s that, you say? I didn’t? Huh. You’re right, I’m wrong, nevermind.
My birthday is next month and if they don’t win in an epic walkoff I’m going to be so monumentally pissed that you’re never going to here the end of it. Never.
/Pastadivingarod’d
You know, come to think of it. Those bastards have NEVER won on my birthday!
/december child
I blame Frankie Cervelli.
lol, them jerks never won on my bday either (its in feb.)
How old are you now?
No answer. Ok, then. Two comments.
First of all, happy birthday.
Second, if you’re 16 or older, you’re old enough to know that things don’t go your way just because it’s your birthday!
The Joba meltdown vs. Cleveland happened on my birthday. So, take solace in that, I guess.
Fucking pathetic!
NEO GEO RULEZ!!!!!
You can only tip your cap to Bullington. He was brilliant.
it’s good to watch the Braves actually get some hits. what a novelty.
The only solid hit was ARod’s flyout in the second. No one else bothered to even try.
No one else bothered to even try.
Batshit insane.
so since Tampa – lost 2/3, lost 2/3 Toronto, split Boston, split Texas, split KC…
And yet, remarkably still in first place. Either a sign that better things are coming or other teams really really suck.
is the Axisa victory prediction almost on par with the madden curse. does anyone have the data on this?
Yea, I’d like to know this.
Has it approached the SI jinx level? Speaking of which, what the numbers on the Core 4 since they appeared on the cover? Mariano remains solid, but Pettitte’s injured and Jeter and Posada have really sunk on the hitting front.
Not that I believe in such things, but they collectively haven’t done well.
I am upset about them splitting with KC. This stretch of games with them, Detroit and Seattle screamed, “You must win 8 out of 11.”
So that means they need to go 6-1 to do that. And they’ll see both Verlander and Hernandez.
Oh they’ll light up one of those two. They aren’t replacement level pitchers.
Oh, duh, how stupid of me.
Unfortunately, the proposition that scrubs always befuddle the Yankees does not invoke the corollary that the Yankees will then beat up on good pitchers. I would be very wary of this upcoming homestand. Not stomping on teams hopelessly out of playoff contention is by no means a good sign.
Although you would never know it by reading this game thread, the Yanks have the best record in MLB.
Evidently, they’re beating someone.
I don’t think it’s fair to say a team “must” win 73% of their games during any stretch. Winning 3 out of 4 in any series by itself isn’t easy.
On to the next one…
/jayz’d
I just realized that the Yankees haven’t won a series in August.
It figures that Good AJ (who was great today) shows up when our offense decides to sleep in against Bryan freaking Bullington.
Yes. Why, oh why, doesn’t AJ choose to pitch well when the offense scores runs?
Don’t mistake me for King of the Troglodytes.
I was just making a note of bad luck. He’s had a bad run of it as of late, and when he gets it going, the offense runs into Bryan Bullington.
That wasn’t a rip on AJ, who I actually really like.
All things considered, this was the worst offensive day that I’ve ever seen from the Yanks.
What a fucking terrible effort.
Thankfully the season goes on!
I wish they were playing tonight
“What a fucking terrible
effortresult.Fixed.
Failing to succeed is not the same as failing to try. Not fucking remotely.
I’ve been fucking watching golf. Mostly because it was fucking better than watching the Yankees “try” to beat the Royals.
The golf announcers tend to use “effort” in a different fucking way.
That was what I meant by “effort”.
“ehfforht” as they fucking say over in England
The golf announcers tend to use “effort” in a different fucking way.
Then use it that way when talking to golf announcers. Don’t use it that way here, because it’s ridiculously misleading if you don’t mean it the way that 99% of people mean that word to be interpreted.
touche.
England:
That was just a terrible ehfforht by the Yankees today. No excuses there. They got beat by a struggling chap from Kansas City.
America:
That was just a terrible performance by the Yankees today. No excuses. They got fucked-up by some douche from the ML scrap-heap who should be out of baseball”
That works.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=300630110
King Felix.
Terrible pitcher from KC.
Two completely different stories.
Today was much more frustrating. IMO
Wow, Gardenhire took Slowey out of the game. He had thrown 106 pitches, and was just sitting through a long inning, so I guess, but way to rob me of a good story!
So Kevin Slowy had a no-hitter for seven innings and Minnesota took him out.
It’s still a no-hitter if Minnesota’s pen completes the next two innings without giving up a hit, but it’s a bullshit no hitter. MLB should pass a rule that an official no-hitter has to have the same starting pitcher from beginning to end.
I jinxed it. The no-hitter ended as I hit send. Thought stands.
No passion today. NO PASSION WHATSOEVER.
I laughed.
The Orel Report is in. The Yanks are on pace to win 44 games this season.
That game sucked. Losing to a scrub on a day that good AJ shows up SUCKS!!!!!!
/multiple exclamation points added for emphasis.
It’s cool guys, tip your hat to a scrub pitcher who’s never won a game. Nothing wrong with the offense or coaching staff for that joke of an effort. We have an easy 2 months left and we have a huge lead in the division, so we don’t need to beat up on the bad teams anymore!
Nothing wrong with the offense or coaching staff for that joke of an effort.
You cannot be serious.
The Yankees tried hard to win today. You have nothing, not a single scrap of any shadow of any evidence to show that they did not.
Really? No evidence? Him throwing 90 pitches in 8 innings isn’t enough evidence for you? What happened to working the count? He stopped getting ahead in the count in the 4th inning or so, and yet they constantly swung early and often. Against the Royals, who have no one good in their bullpen except for the closer, how do you not work the count?
Lack of discipline and poor effort, plain and simple.
Oh, but right. The creators of the site are the only ones who are allowed to complain, everyone else must be part of the cheerleader brigade.
You can complain. Just don’t go bridge jumping after a loss. Come on Ross, we all saw the game, and it is nearly impossible to gauge how hard a player is playing.
Who’s bridge jumping? Just stating what should be obvious, this team cannot afford to drop games during the brief easy parts of their schedule.
And you say that we can’t gauge how hard a player or team is playing, I say having 3 base runners in 8 innings against a career winless journeyman is a pretty good indicator.
Does it make any sense at all that the Yankees wouldn’t try their hardest to win, knowing that they need to win games. Why do you think you know winning is important, but the players don’t?
Just stating what should be obvious, this team cannot afford to drop games during the brief easy parts of their schedule.
Yes, we actually can. Why? Because the other teams in the league who are chasing us, they also lose to teams like the Royals down the stretch. The Rays get to play the Orioles and Blue Jays more than we do, but they’re not going to go 25-0 against them. As is evidenced by the fact that the Rays have already lost multiple games to both of those teams earlier this week.
Why? Because it’s baseball. Shit happens in baseball. It may piss you off, but it’s a fact of life. It doesn’t mean these players aren’t playing hard.
This.
As Axisa just tweeted, Jeter and Swisher saw 17 pitches today. Total.
It makes me feel better that they were trying really hard, though.
I’d like to know at what point does “shit happens” become a cop-out? What would it take? Lack of hustle? Mental errors? Throwing the ball around like it’s little league? First pitch swinging after a guy just made an out on two pitches? Because all those things happened today, and none of them scream “Shit happens!” to me.
Yes, good teams will lose to scrub teams down the stretch. It’s how many you lose to them that matters. The Yankees cannot come out of this stretch of “scrub” teams having played them at a .500 clip. I can almost guarantee neither the Rays nor Boston (well, maybe Boston) will play that poorly. Remember, if the Yankees go 23-22 down the stretch, the Rays only have to go 26-19 to pass them…not impossible. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking for a division title…you can’t settle for the wild card.
“The Yankees cannot come out of this stretch of “scrub” teams having played them at a .500 clip.”
Sure they can. Is there some rule in MLB that if you have a stretch where you play .500 against a certain number of mediocre/bad teams that you can’t win the World Series?
People need to stop with this ‘can’t afford’ bullshit. The Yankees are the team that can MOST afford to play below-average down the stretch, simply because they have the best record in the league.
Maybe they had a scouting report that told them to swing early? You literally have no idea what was going through the heads of the Yankees players, hence you have no evidence to say they put forth a “poor effort.”
All of this is batshit insane, Ross.
I wouldn’t call Cervelli’s play with Blanco on first a great effort. I would consider that a single scrap of any shadow of evidence that this wasn’t a great effort.
That’s a failure to execute and be successful. Not a failure to try or give effort.
That’s crap and you know it.
No, it’s not.
Frankie Cervelli did not play well today. That does not mean Frankie Cervelli is not trying to play well.
Watch the replay. Frankie did not hustle after the ball. That is a lack of effort.
I have to agree here. He lollygagged after the ball, which, at best, was a big mental mistake.
(cues up DVR and goes back to watch the replay)
The overthrow of first base caromed off the back wall and fell near Frankie’s feet. He looked at the ball and then back at Blanco to see if he was running or not (he wasn’t) and while looking at Blanco, the ball spun away from him and Blanco took off.
Frankie wasn’t “not efforting”, he simply misjudged the speed of the ball spinning back towards the infield and thought he had time to take a peek at Blanco.
It was a mistake, not a failure to try to play hard or hustle after the ball.
Hah, you are the biggest Cervelli apologist ever.
I’m not an apologist of anyone or anything.
I’m just a man who recognizes that baseball is a really hard sport to play well, and thus players often fail to produce positive results despite trying very, very hard to do so.
Therefore, I’m not going to ever accuse someone of not trying unless there’s clear and incontrovertible evidence. I looked at the play people are citing, and he didn’t lollygag or not hustle. He just tried something and failed. That’s all.
Absolutely ridiculous, but I wish you were my boss.
For real. If Tommie was my boss I don’t think I’d get fired unless I actually murdered my cubicle-neighbor.
What’s funny is, I’ve actually been a boss of multiple people and had to fire several of them for not trying hard and not showing proper effort to complete their job duties.
Being placed in that position has taught me that you have to actually prove with tangible evidence that they weren’t trying hard. And you have to document it with enough tangible, provable evidence that you can win a potential court case for wrongful termination. The amount of evidence necessary is significant (at least in New York State).
Perhaps that’s why I hate seeing people accused of not working hard when there’s no actual evidence that they’re not working hard.
I don’t care for your slander, I want facts.
Why is it funny that you’ve had to fire people? It sounds like these people you’ve fired made the mistake of not trying hard enough, or misjudged how much effort it would take to accomplish their tasks, therefore you’ve fired them for making a mistake. I guess I’m glad you’re not my boss.
I think he’s saying what’s funny is the irony of you claiming he gives everyone in life a free pass, when in fact, he does not.
Also, you better have fired these people for not achieving desired results, not a lack of effort. There are any number of reasons for not achieving desired results among them lack of effort. Really all you have to prove is that the desired results were not achieved.
In the end, not achieving desired results is what will doom Frankie.
Dude, this is baseball. A pitcher can suddenly shut down a lineup at any time. If you think this is a problem of effort, I challenge your baseball knowledge. All things considered, it’s a two team reace.
Lay off the pipe.
If you think this is a problem of effort, I challenge your baseball knowledge.
That.
You can’t predict baseball, but the Yankees should never, ever, be shut out by a pitcher of that caliber. Invoking the “cant predict baseball” excuse to justify a poor performance is such a huge cop-out and is used here far too often. Call a spade a spade and say they fucking sucked today.
… the Yankees should never, ever, be shut out by a pitcher of that caliber.
And yet, it happens. Why? Because it’s baseball. Shit happens in baseball. Teams full of good superstars with worlds of talent try their ass off to succeed and sometimes don’t.
If you really think “shit happens” is a huge cop-out, baseball probably isn’t the game for you.
Yes, they did suck today. No one is denying this. That doesn’t mean they didn’t try. Do you think you have a firmer grasp on the importance of winning games than the Yankees do? That’s where your argument goes haywire.
“You can’t predict baseball, but the Yankees should never, ever, be shut out by a pitcher of that caliber.”
Just strolling, as opposed to trolling, through here after leaving when the game ended. I really haven’t paid attention to your past postings, so hopefully this statement does not illustrate your understanding of the game.
So by your measure, if I, who have not played baseball since high school, went out and shutout the Yankees with my 70mph heat, that would be okay? You would just chalk it up to “Can’t predict baseball!”? That’s good to know.
I’m sorry I’m frustrated by the game and wasn’t willing to chalk it to “You can’t predict baseball” and let that be the end of it. It has nothing to do with my understanding of the game, thank you very much.
In fact, by questioning my statement, you seem to think it’s perfectly normal for the Yankees get shut out by journeymen pitchers who have never won a game. That really calls your baseball IQ into question more than it does mine.
Phew. For a second there, I thought you were being sarcastic.
An easy two months left? After a rough stretch of 12 games against tough opponents, I think most people were thinking, “Finally, an easy stretch starting with 4 games vs. KC and no Greinke.” That turned out real well, didn’t it? Hey, if they go .500 the rest of the way, that’s about 94-95 wins. In this division, if Boston and Tampa actually beat up the scrub teams on their schedule, that might not be enough to win.
I’m not tipping my hat to anyone. Let him beat Cleveland for his first win. The Yanks do this every time they face a guy for the first time. It ain’t the pitcher…it’s the Yankees.
Oh yeah…since when is a 2-game lead in mid-August a “huge lead?” Ask the 2007-08 Mets how huge a lead that is. I say, let’s beat the crap out of some of these bad teams and NOW!
Your sarcasm detector is broken my friend.
This is hilarious for so many reasons.
lol, the “pitcher they’ve never seen” thing is so true.
c’mon Baltimore…
It would be so nice if Soriano didn’t shit all over the Orioles. I’m getting sick of these really good closers today.
Frankie, April and May: .320/.388/.400 (.364 BABIP)
Frankie, June/July/August: .190/.260/.233 (.227 BABIP)
Now, I’m not attempting to say that Frankie’s success or failure isn’t 100% tied to BABIP luck (it is) or that that doesn’t make him far too streaky of a hitter to be counted on for a long-term role going forward (it does), but can we expect Frankie to bounce back to at least above replacement level sometime soon?
I mean, a .227 BABIP is low, even for a bad hitter. It’s like the inverse Austin Jackson: you expect Frankie to have a subpar BABIP (because he’s not a good hitter), but you don’t expect it to be as bad as it’s actually been.
Of course part of his poor results with BABIP is due to an inability to hit the ball hard, but some of that has to be bad luck. Bad luck that hopefully will improve a bit.
He’s not as good as he’s looked before, not at all, but he’s probably not as bad as he’s looked recently either. Just a thought.
He also blows defensively, that’s my biggest problem. We’re always told “It’s OK if a backup catcher can’t hit, he’s there for the glove.” Francisco Cervelli isn’t there for the glove.
He’s had numerous scouts drooling at his defense. This year is probably just an aberration, and not the rule.
Hopefully. I can accept that theory, but wouldn’t the Yankees be better served letting him get straightened out in the minors?
Meh, the alternative stinks. If the alternative wasn’t so terrible then I’d be in favor.
The alternative is horrible. I will fully admit that. However, Cervelli would need to rebound from where he’s been the past three months to hit as well as the horrible alternative. Cervelli would also need to rebound to last year’s defense. The way Cervelli is playing right now, the alternative is better. Will Moeller be better than Cervelli in 2011? No, probably not. Is Moeller better than Cervelli on August 15th, 2010? I think so.
It’s the careless defense not the impotent offense that’s really disturbing. The other hitters in the line-up can make up for his offensive failures but pitchers will find it hard to countenance his horrendous throws and miscues.
Maybe he’s in a defensive slump as well as an offensive one. He’s not a great, Molinaesque backstop, but he’s also looked far better behind the plate in the past.
Way to put things into perspective.
If he was a good defensive catcher his offensive deficiencies could be acceptable. His lack of effort on error number 2 today was very disturbing and may effect his future with this team.
He’s definitely not this bad–I don’t think any Major League hitter would put up a sub .500 OPS in full time playing. But, he has had a drop in BB% of just over three percent to go along with making poor contact.
And, like Ben said in his post ~a week ago, if he wasn’t playing so much, it wouldn’t be as frustrating. The same would be true if his defense was where it should be. Cervelli’s just really, really frustrating at this point.
I’m waiting for the call up Chad Moeller chants.
LOL
This team is pathetic. They should be embarrassed. You would think that bum who pitched for KC wasn’t fucking scouted.
You wouldn’t be related to Ross in Jersey, would you?
You do realize that you and Tommy are like, the only ones not pissed about this loss, right? Even Girardi was clearly pissed off in the post-game. If you don’t get mad at baseball games, fine, but don’t act like getting a little pissed off over games like this is somehow wrong.
I don’t get pissed about them because shit like this happens to every team. Some teams more than others, but it’s unavoidable. I get frustrated at times when some things happen, like everyone else, but I’d much rather take a grounded approach to things.
The Yankees are a good team. Possibly the best team. Good teams get shut out by pitchers who aren’t ace-worthy. It’s baseball, accept it.
Sorry but, to me, “shit happens” is when Mariano blows a save, or when Thames misses a HR by inches, or a guy gets a cheap HR off a foul pole. Things that can easily go one way or the other in short amounts of time.
8 innings of suckitude is a bit too large of a shit happens sample size for me.
Agree to disagree, I guess.
8 innings is never a large enough sample of anything, ever.
I’m fine with you being pissed that we lost to Bryan Bullington.
I’m actually pissed that we lost to Bryan Bullington.
Where we disagree is that you think this loss somehow is evidence that we’re not putting forth a good effort, and that’s pure bullshit.
I’m definitely not pissed, either. It’s annoying and frustrating, and I think the Yankees didn’t do a great job of putting at bats together today, but it happens. There was some jackassery in the field, but, again, that happens. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen too often with the Yankees.
Another effort with no passion. This team will get smoked in the playoffs by good pitching.
No small ball, gutless base runners (Gardner), guys failing with runners on 3rd with less than 2 outs (Swisher/Granderson). Just not feeling it this year.
You wouldn’t be related to Ross in Jersey and Jersey Johnny, would you?
I wouldn’t go as far to say “no passion.” It’s always going to look like that when you don’t hit (and this team just doesn’t hit.) I will agree with your other assessments about no small ball and failure to manufacture runs. That’s really what’s been killing them. 8 runs last night…great. Except for the fact that all but one came on home runs. They will probably still make the postseason, but I can’t imagine they’ll do too much when they get there if they’re going to almost exclusively rely on the home run.
I wouldn’t go as far to say “no passion.”
That’s because you’re not “King of the Troglodytes”. It’s his thing, it’s what he likes to do.
Hey guys, remember when Lannan beat the Yanks last year with 2 runs in 8.1 at the stadium? The very next day, Craig Stammen and Company shut the Yanks out for 9 innings.
Good times, good times.
Par for the course for the Yankees against guys they’ve never seen. I wasn’t surprised then, I wasn’t surprised today. I don’t know why opposing teams don’t take note and always start unknowns against the Yankees.
Perfect example was Saturday. Sean O’Sullivan looked like Cy Young himself in that first start when he was with the Angels. Then, a couple days later, he’s traded to KC, faces the Yankees again and that time they smack him around. He pitched well for a while last night, got tired and they smacked him around again. When they hadn’t seen him, they couldn’t touch him. After having seen him, they all of a sudden could hit him. O’Sullivan didn’t get that much worse…it’s just what the Yankees do when facing an unfamiliar pitcher. It’s really frustrating and annoying.
and after that game the Yankees were 66-30 for the rest of the year which is .688 baseball. People have a right to be upset over the today’s performance. Keep in mind though it was the last game of a very exhausting road trip (not long but hot) and probably a game that may have been taken for granted considering the opponent. We will only be able to evaluate this game (just like the National series last year) in it’s proper context until November.
Thank you.
I just think it’s hilarious that just four days ago, we were facing a 1-6 deficit to the best pitcher in all of baseball, in their ballpark, and came back to win dramsatically 7-6… and then four days later we’ve apparently decided to not try and we have no passion, according to some of the commenters here.
Were we passionate then and not passionate now? Did we want to give effort then and decide not to today? Is that how it works? Am I doing it right?
I know your word is law tommie, but it is possible to be less passionate one day, and it is also possible to try less hard. Just saying, nobody knows they weren’t trying hard, but you don’t know they were either…. gotta see that if you’re gonna play the “you don’t know that” card so hard.
I’m not the one making baseless accusations thanks to flawed subjective eyewitness testimony and leaps of logic.
It also makes far more sense, that in a game in mid-August with only a 2 game lead, that the Yankees would try hard rather than willfully give a game up for no reason whatsoever.
All of that.
Melky/Damon/Matsui weren’t on the team, so the Lee win didn’t count. You also forgot to blame Girardi, but other than that you’re fine.
Why do you say Cliff Lee is the best pitcher in all of baseball? Is that your opinion or do you have indisputable facts to back it up. I would say he is one of the best, but I’m not sure he is the best. I would also say that you are certainly entitled to your opinion, but don’t expect everyone to blindly accept it.
Also to consider with the exception of ’08, for the last 5 years we have been an exceptional second half team and a large part of the fan base had expectations (with very good reason) of a repeat performance this year. The second half magic has not happened yet and many of us thought that this 11 game stretch against sub .500 teams would be the springboard. If we take care of business on the upcoming home stand,
the disappointment of this series will rapidly fade. We played .500 ball on the road for a week, it’s not the end of the world.
I was at the game in KC, and i don’t know if it was due to all the heat, or the travel or just the dog days of August, but that was the least inspired baseball I’ve ever seen our team play in person. 1-9 they seemed to already be on the plane home. I think we may be seeing the effects of our age and a long playoff run a little bit. Those guys just had nothing today. I think they’re beyond exhausted. Oh, and by the way…after Cervelli loafed after Cano’s errant throw, I would have pulled his ass right there, Billy Martin/Reggie Jackson style. He is clearly not even close to a MLB player.