Archive for August, 2010
Yanks survive late surge, top Royals in opener
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(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
Early on in the broadcast of Thursday’s game, John Flaherty and Ken Singleton talked some about this game having the potential to be what they called a “trap game.” The basic idea was that after such a grueling two game set against the Rangers, it would have been easy for the Yanks to fall into a lull and get a little too comfortable against the lowly Royals. Thankfully that did not happen and they kept their foot on gas right through to the end, escaping with just their fifth win in their last eleven games.
Good Thing They Tacked Some On
This game had a weird feel to it. The Yanks never had a substantial lead yet it felt like they did at times. I dunno, I guess that goes back to the “trap game” business I was talking about above. Facing a bad team with your ace on the mound, I suppose it’s easy to feel pretty confidence about the outcome.
Anyway, it turned out that the Yanks would need all four of the runs they scored tonight. Curtis Granderson and his new setup drove in the first run with a solid single back up the middle in the 2nd, then new father Mark Teixeira plated another run the next inning with a sac fly. Austin Kearns poured it on with a solo homer the inning after that, and Alex Rodriguez tacked another one on in the 7th with a run scoring ground out. Pretty standard stuff here.
It was a very blah game offensively. The Yanks had at least one runner reach base in each of the first eight innings, and they went a rather unremarkable 1-for-9 with men in scoring position. Two of their four runs were scored on outs, and really they only had two hard hit balls all night – Kearns’ homer and Granderson’s double immediately following that.
The most important thing is that the team didn’t just go to sleep and think they had this game won in the 4th inning. They applied pressure in each inning and threatened to score, but right now the balls just aren’t falling in for hits. Luckily they’re good enough to still win games when that happens.
For the sake of being consistent, the biggest hit in the game according to WPA was Granderson’s single in the 2nd, though Kearns’ homer was a close second. Subjectively, man it’s a good thing A-Rod got that run home in the 7th.
CC on Cruise Control
(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
When the Yankees gave CC Sabathia that enormous contract, they expected him to be The Man (capital letters, very important) in big games and in the playoffs. He’s absolutely met that expectation and then some, but there’s also a nice side benefit, and that’s games like this one. Even though they place second in baseball with a .275 team batting average, the Royals are one of the game’s weaker offenses because they don’t draw walks or hit for much power. Sabathia should chew right threw lineups like this, and that’s exactly what he did.
The big guy had the fastball working, topping out at a whopping 99.3 mph according to PitchFX, and from the looks of the data he eclipsed the 98 mph plateau about a half-dozen times. The Royals did collect ten hits off of him, but just two were hard hit (doubles by Alex Gordon and Wilson Betemit) and as we saw in the series a few week ago, Kansas City sure knows how to bloop the other team to death. Sabathia consistently worked out of trouble all night and never once appeared to be on the brink of a meltdown.
The final line with show three runs scored against CC, but two of those runners cross home plate when he was sitting in the dugout. He retired nine of ten in the middle innings while the Yanks were building their lead, and he exited with a pretty manageable pitch count of 110. He usually just starts to get warmed up around that mark. After two stressful games in Texas, Sabathia made this game feel a lot safer than it actually was. Solid work by the big man.
Leftovers
(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
Mariano Rivera wasn’t available tonight after working in both games against the Rangers and in four of the last five overall, but Sabathia almost made that a moot point by recording the first 26 outs of the game. David Robertson made things a little interesting with two outs in the 9th, but ultimately came through for his first save of the season and the second of his career. Mo should be available tomorrow, and there’s enough left in the relief well that Robertson won’t be sorely missed should he get the night off.
Meanwhile, I don’t have any trouble with Joe Girardi yanking Sabathia when he did, but based on what I’ve read in the comments and on Twitter, some people were complaining about it. I guess people complain about every little thing, but you know what I mean. Two players had already left the game with heat related ailments, and here you have his monster of an investment a man on the mound with 110 pitches already to his credit in a meaningless August game against the freaking Royals. What’s wrong with lifting him there? I mean, sheesh, save some bullets for a game that actually means something. Let’s use our brains a little here. Frankly I was surprised Girardi even had CC start the inning.
(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
One night after a four strikeout performance, Nick Swisher rebounded by going 3-for-4 with a walk before leaving the game with exhaustion. It was something like 106° on the field according to the broadcast, so it’s easy to understand Swish’s predicament when you include the last two games in Texas.
Congrats to Kearns on his first Yankee homer. One of these days Lance Berkman will go deep in pinstripes, I’m sure of it.
Derek Jeter picked up two hits and came around to score twice, and is now hitting .324 dating back to July 18th, a span of 19 games. Am I wrong in saying it’s about damn time?
Frankie Cervelli went 0-for-4 and saw just nine pitches total, but he did throw out a baserunner trying to steal that looks pretty important in retrospect.
The Rays were off on Thursday while the Red Sox lost on a Jonathan Papelbon blown save to the Blue Jays, so the Yanks’ lead over each in the AL East sits at two and six games, respectively.
WPA Graph & Box Score
After those heart attack games in Texas, this one was nice and easy. Here’s the box score, here’s the other stuff.
Up Next
Game two of this four game series will be played at the same time tomorrow. Dustin Moseley gets the ball against Kyle Davies. I’m sure everyone who bought tickets is thrilled with the matchup.
DeLeon’s walk-off shot give Staten Island a win
Posted by: | CommentsJesus Montero was named the Triple-A International League Player of the Month, a completely deserved honor. Montero has simply killed the ball for weeks now. Melky Mesa, meanwhile, is your High-A Florida State League Player of the Week. That’s not as cool as being Player of the Month, but it ain’t too shabby.
Jose Ramirez was voted as having the Best Changeup in Baseball America’s Low-A Best Tools (sub. req’d). Also, make sure you check out Rebecca’s photos from Tuesday’s Short Season Staten Island game.
Triple-A Scranton was washed out. They’re make to this one up as part of a doubleheader on August 28th.
Double-A Trenton (5-3 loss to Altoona)
Justin Christian, CF & Dan Brewer, RF: both 2 for 4, 1 R – Christian doubled & stole a base … Brewer drove in a run & stole two bases
Corban Joseph, 2B: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
Austin Romine, DH & Rene Rivera, C: both 0 for 4 – Romine K’ed thrice, Rivera once
Marcos Vechionacci, 1B, Damon Sublett, LF, Justin Snyder, 3B & Luis Nunez, SS: all 1 for 4 – Vech drove in a run, scored another & K’ed three times … Sublett drove in a run & committed a fielding error in his first game in the field since coming back from the DL … Nunez doubled
Adam Warren: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HB, 6-2 GB/FB – hasn’t been great in AA, but he’ll get there
Wilkin DeLaRosa: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1-1 GB/FB – one of the walks was intentional … hopefully he goes for a full body scan soon, because his days on the 40-man roster with MLB caliber medical benefits are going to be coming to an end very soon
Josh Schmidt: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2-1 GB/FB
Game 114: Welcome back, Tex
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I feel sorry for that baseball. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Even though Marcus Thames did a more than admirable job filling as the three-hole hitter during the last two games, I think we’re all happy to have Mark Teixeira back with the team. The Yanks’ first baseman missed those games because his wife had the nerve to give birth during the season, but he returns just in time to face one of his favorite pitchers, Bruce Chen. Tex isn’t just 9-for-14 off Chen in his career, six of those nine hits have left the yard and two others have gone for doubles. That includes a 2-for-3 effort a few weeks ago. Welcome back Tex; now please, don’t ever leave us again.
The other big story of the night is Curtis Granderson‘s supposedly revamped swing. He downplayed the changes, though it still sounds like there some pretty significant adjustments made. The results probably won’t be immediate, but stranger things have happened. Here’s the lineup…
Jeter, SS
Swisher, RF
Teixeira, 1B
A-Rod, 3B
Cano, 2B
Thames, DH
Kearns, LF
Granderson, CF
Cervelli, C
And on the bump, it’s the big man, CC Sabathia.
Another game out in the midwest, so this one doesn’t start until a little after 8pm ET. Once the game starts, you can watch on YES. Enjoy.
Modell’s, Yanks team up for discount day-of-game tickets
Posted by: | CommentsOnce upon a time, Yankee fan used to be able to walk up to the stadium and buy day-of-game tickets in reasonably priced areas of the season. Since the arrival of Alex Rodriguez, though, day-of-game ticket sales in the Bronx have all but dried up. Today, the Yankees and Modell’s announced that the two companies are teaming up to bring back that tradition but with a hitch.
Beginning this Monday, the Modell’s flagship store at 234 W. 42nd St. between 7th and 8th Avenues will sell a limited number of discounted day-of-game tickets. These seats will go on sale at noon for night games and 8 a.m. for day games and will be limited to four per person, per game. While the two companies did not say what seats will be available, the Mo Saver tickets will be offered at up to 50 percent off face value.
The Yankees have already sold 3.7 million tickets this year — or an average of approximately 46,000 per game — and this discount booth may be a great way for fans who are priced out of the secondary market to find good seats available for cheap. “This is a great opportunity and service that we are thrilled to offer to New York Yankees fans. Whether you are visiting and looking to take in a game at the world-famous Yankee Stadium or a New Yorker making last-minute plans on a game day, the new ticket booth is conveniently located at Modell’s Times Square to offer amazing deals on game tickets,” Mitchell Modell, CEO of the eponymously named store, said. “We expect the new service to be an instant hit with local fans and tourists alike.”
Link Brigade: Hughes, Gardner, Cliff Lee, Mo, Pitching
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve come across plenty of good stuff today, all worthy of at least a mention here. Hopefully these can get you through the rest of your working day.
Friend of RAB Jay Jaffe, in his new digs at Pinstriped Bible, takes a look at the difference between Phil Hughes‘s first 13 starts and his last eight. There are some pretty stark differences, especially in his strikeout and home run numbers. He also digs into some PitchFX data, a conversation that continued on Twitter later in the afternoon. Harry Pavlidis supplied some stats on his cutter. I’d click through the entire feed to see the other stuff he came up with.
The upshot: Hughes has allowed just one home run on his curveball all year.
The other side of the Gardner argument
Yesterday Ben wrote an article about Brett Gardner and what his slump means for the Yankees’ off-season. It’s always suspect when a player exceeds all expectations for a good portion of a season, so when Gardner slumped I understood the concern. At Pending Pinstripes, Greg Fertel takes a look at the argument from the other side, noting that as long as Brett turns around to average production from here on out he’ll serve as a quality outfielder next year, allowing the Yanks to spend potential Carl Crawford money elsewhere. Say, on a pitcher like…
At TYU, Stephen R., an excellent mid-season addition to the site, exhaustively examines Lee’s possible landing points. To him it comes down to three primary contenders: the Yanks, the Dodgers, and the Rangers. Given the state of baseball and how each team is currently constructed, I like the Yanks’ chances in this one. It’s tough not to.
Perhaps the best off-season addition for the Yankees didn’t come on the field, but instead on their broadcast crew. Jack Curry has been wonderful in his new role. He even, from time to time, dusts off the writing chops he employed at the New York Times. This time he’s written about Mo and his ability to shake the pressure and do what he does.
Does pitching really win championships?
We know the old adage, and we’ve seen it at work plenty of times. But at ESPN (insider only, unfortunately), FanGraphs’ Jack Moore examines the past five years of playoff data and tries to determine if it actually holds true. Better pitching does give a team an advantage, but it might not be as great as you think. There are plenty of other factors that go into building a championship team.
Pettitte’s simulated start pushed back a day
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to the NY Post, Andy Pettitte will not throw his scheduled simulated game today. He was experiencing a tight hip flexor. The upshot: the start is moved back just one day. Presumably that would move back his rehab start in Trenton to Wednesday. But we’ll fill in those details as we get them.
Very quietly, a bullpen turnaround
Posted by: | CommentsAfter its stellar work during the 2009 season, most figured that the bullpen would once again be a strength for the Yankees in 2010. For the most part the personnel remained the same and we figured their roles would as well, so it was reasonable to expect similar results. Naturally, the opposite happened, and the Bullpen of Doom resurfaced in April.
(AP Photo/John Froschauer)
The strikeout heavy squad from last year (8.44 K/9 in ’09, second best in the biz) struck out just over seven batters per nine innings through the season’s first two months, and unsurprisingly their overall performance suffered. On a macro-level, the bullpen had a 4.55 ERA (4.53 FIP, 4.40 xFIP) through the end of May and ranked towards the bottom third of the league. On a micro-level, there simply was no one reliable in the bullpen besides the great Mariano Rivera.
Dubbed the 8th inning setup man barely a week into the season, Joba Chamberlain was shaky right from the get-go despite strong peripheral stats. The underlying data suggest a rebound at some point, but the Yankees couldn’t afford to wait around for that happen in the ultra-competitive AL East. David Robertson, the natural alternative for high-leverage work, was battling consistency issues himself. Al Aceves, last year’s do-it-all relief stud, went down with a back injury in early May, and of course Phil Hughes had been successfully moved into the rotation.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Chan Ho Park, the late offseason roll of the dice, was a complete bust, serving up gopher balls like they were going out of style. Damaso Marte was utterly dominant against southpaws (.146/.200/.268 against) but shaky versus righties (eight walks, just one strikeout) so he wasn’t a viable option in anything other than matchup work. Sergio Mitre had a nice go of it early on, but he served as the de facto long man until Andy Pettitte‘s barking elbow forced him into the rotation for two turns and an oblique injury landed him on the shelf. Up and down went names like Mark Melancon, Romulo Sanchez, Ivan Nova, and Jon Albaladejo, none really given an opportunity to establish themselves with the big league team.
Unlike last season when it was easy to pinpoint exactly when things started to turn around for the relief corps (the mid-to-late May makeover, dumping Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez in favor of Aceves and Robertson, shifting Hughes to the bullpen), this year’s resurrection has been a bit more subtle. There haven’t been any wholesale personnel changes, just a few minor tweaks here and there and some injuries. Really, it’s not the bodies that are different, just their performance.
Joba has lost exclusive rights to the 8th inning job, since demoted to middle relief until he finds his way. In seven appearances since the demotion, he’s allowed just two hits, three walks, and zero runs against six strikeouts while rediscovering some velocity. The lessening of Joba’s role wouldn’t have been possible if not for Robertson’s turnaround. The diminutive righthander has held opponents to a .188/.310/.200 batting line against with 10.44 K/9 since the start the June, and he’s been ever better of late: .091/.216/.091 against and a 12.51 K/9 over the last 38 days. He hasn’t allowed an extra base hit since the series with the Diamondbacks.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
With Marte on the disabled list with a shoulder issue, Boone Logan has stepped in as the lefty specialist and stepped up his game. Most of us wanted him nowhere near the team in the early parts of the season, and why would we? Opponents tattooed him for a .286/.390/.400 batting line until his latest demotion to Triple-A, but in Marte’s stead he’s been straight money. Overall, he’s holding batters to a .100/.156/.200 line since returning, and get this, lefthanded batters are 0-for-16 with seven strikeouts and a hit by pitch during that time. He and Robertson have really been the central figures of this turn around, they’ve stepped up in a big way and solidified the late innings.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the addition of Kerry Wood. First and foremost, it was an obvious upgrade over CHoP, but it also gave the team a veteran guy with experience in high leverage work. He’s certainly not the Kerry Wood of old, but he still strikes out a ton of batters and is effective enough to be a viable middle reliever, if not more. His work in last night’s comeback win should not be understated.
Overall, the bullpen has gone from those unimpressive numbers in April and May (once again: 4.55 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 4.40 xFIP, 7.15 K/9) to being one of the better relief outfits in the game since (3.07 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 4.06 xFIP, 7.98 K/9 since the start of June). The improvement has largely been under-the-radar since there were no major moves, it’s just a matter of the guys that were already here turning things around and getting back to being the players we expected them to be.
Pondering roster moves for the returning pitchers
Posted by: | CommentsDuring the next two weeks it sounds like the Yankees plan to bring in the cavalry for its pitching staff. First up could be Al Aceves, who faced four batters in Scranton on Tuesday and is scheduled to start for Trenton on Friday. Then, as Josh Norris relays, Andy Pettitte is in line to make a rehab start on Tuesday. That will be a boon to the pitching staff, though for the most part they’ve pitched pretty well recently. So well, in fact, that I wonder what two pitchers will lose their roster spots when Pettitte and Aceves return.
(AP Photo/Ray Abrams)
Aceves is a bit tougher to peg, since there’s no guarantee he’ll actually make a return. He has been out since he hurt his back mid-pitch on May 8. Since then he’s been through plenty, getting multiple epidurals and having his rehab shut down twice. This time through has been a bit more smooth in that he’s actually pitched in a live game. But when it comes to back injuries there are no guarantees. His return will largely depend, I’m sure, on how he feels following his outing on Friday.
Another rehab appearance might be in the cards, and the Yanks might even want to see if he can pitch on back-to-back days before activating him. Because he pitches in relief I suspect they’ll want to see him pitch more frequently than every third day before they let him face major league hitters. That could put his return anywhere from next weekend against Seattle all the way to September. That is, again, if he returns at all.
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
It’s unclear how many rehab starts Pettitte will make, though I’d guess he’ll make two. That would mean his second one comes on Sunday the 22nd, but with both Scranton and Trenton on the road that day I’m not sure what they’ll do. What I am sure of is the roster move that will correspond to Pettitte’s return: the designation of Chad Gaudin for assignment. He has served his purpose, but Dustin Moseley has been the superior pitcher. Pettitte’s return will move Moseley to the bullpen, where he can play the role of long man. DFAing Gaudin works in two ways, since the Yankees will also need to clear a 40-man roster spot in order to reinstate Aceves from the 60-day DL.
This leaves in question what the Yankees will do when Aceves returns. They have just four pitchers who still have minor league options: Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, David Robertson, and Boone Logan. After Joba’s kind-of demotion, Joel Sherman reported that the Yankees would not send him to the minors. They obviously won’t send Hughes or Robertson because of the prominent roles they play. Logan has been on the Scranton Express this season, but he doesn’t seem like the choice either. Not only has he been much better during his current stint, but Joe Girardi loves having a lefty in the bullpen. I doubt he goes down to Scranton again.
Chances are, then, that we don’t see Aceves until September, when rosters expand. That will give him enough time to build up stamina, allowing him to fill his previous role of hybrid long man and setup guy. It will also allow the Yanks to retain their depth, since Sergio Mitre would be the only logical casualty if Aceves returned before rosters expand. The same goes for Damaso Marte. Chances are we’ll see him pop up in a couple of rehab appearances towards the end of August, with a return in September.
The Yanks, then, will have a surplus of pitching to get them through the final month. They’ll have not only a glut of effective bullpen arms, but they’ll have spot start options if, like last year, they want to rest their starters before the playoffs. September could prove interesting, too, because of all the bullpen arms vying for postseason roster spots. It’s a good position to hold right now. The more options for the bullpen and the rotation, the better.
Javy Vazquez and the lost fastball velocity
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Aaaand the pitch. Credit: AP Photo, Tony Gutierrez
Lost in the aftermath of a thrilling Yankee victory last night was another mediocre start by Javier Vazquez. Pitching in temperatures nearing 100 degrees, Vazquez, thanks in part to his defense, labored through 4.1 innings, and his final line — 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K — doesn’t do much to inspire confidence. After a great run through late May, June and the first half of July, Javier Vazquez has seemingly run out of steam.
Last night’s affair caps off a rough stretch for Vazquez. Over his last 28 innings, he’s allowed 20 earned runs for a 6.43 ERA while giving up 36 hits and seven home runs with 10 walks and just 15 strike outs. His FIP clocks in at 6.35, and while earlier this season he couldn’t locate his pitches, this time, he doesn’t seem to have much on them.
“It’s been very frustrating for me, the velocity,” Vazquez said after his start. “I don’t have any life on my fastball. All the swings and misses I’m getting are on my change-ups and curveballs.”
The results bare out the pitcher’s own observations. Of the 82 pitches Vazquez threw last night, the Rangers swung and missed at just four of them. According to the Pitch F/X data, those swings came on pitches that were 77, 75, 68 and 65 miles an hour. In other words, none of them were on fastballs.
As with last week’s outing against the Red Sox, Vazquez’s heaters weren’t too hot. He started the game out with a few heaters that didn’t crack 85 and hit 88 only once in the first inning. The fastest pitches he threw were a pair of four-seamers in the third that just eked above the 89-mph mark and the final pitch of his outing. For the first time all season, his fastball velocity never cracked 90.
Vazquez, as the Yanks said last weekend, has been going through a dead-arm period, and he doesn’t need his velocity to excel. As Mike Mussina showed, smart pitchers with pinpoint command and very good breaking pitches — two traits Vazquez possesses — can keep hitters guessing with a slow-slower-slowest approach to pitching. The Yankees need that from Javy right now.
In an ideal world, the 34-year-old with the fifth most innings pitched among active players would get some time off before the playoffs. But when it comes to starting pitching, the Yankees are a little short-handed right now. Andy Pettitte is still a week to ten days away from rejoining the team, and Phil Hughes is fast approaching the magic 175 IP mark, his soft cap for an innings limit. If the Yankees need to monitor Hughes’ workload to keep him fresh for the playoffs, they can’t ease up on Vazquez at the same time. When Pettitte comes back, the Yanks can use Dustin Moseley to give Vazquez an extra day off now and then, but until then, their starters must go on turn.
So the Yanks will continue to run Javy out there every five days. Without an extra pitcher — say a Cliff Lee — the team has few options, and despite the results, it’s an easy choice to make. They won’t overtax Hughes, a future starting pitcher, to coddle Javier Vazquez, a one-year rental. Instead, they’ll hope he can make the best of it and work through a dead arm period. With no days off until the 26th, the Yankees are going full steam ahead through the dog days of August.
As the fans sigh in frustration at another slow fastball, though, Vazquez does as well. “I’ve got a lot of innings on my arm,” he aid after yesterday’s game. “Maybe it’s catching up to me. I reach back and see 88. It’s kind of frustrating.”
Yanks battle back to beat the Rangers
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(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Sometimes a game feels like two games. Sometimes that’s because of the action. Other times it’s because of the length. Last night’s was both. The Rangers did all their damage in the first five innings, while the Yanks brought the drama in the final four. The game time was three hours, 45 minutes, which added to the dual-game feel. But two games or one, the Yanks came away with the victory and extended their lead in the AL East.
Biggest Hit: The Captain ties it
With so many important points in the game it’s tough to pick just one that stands out as the most important. But if we have to, it’s going to be the hit that ties the game in the ninth. That came off the bat of Derek Jeter. Though he had plenty of help setting up the situation.
After pitching two innings in Tuesday’s game, Neftali Feliz got the call to hold the Rangers’ one-run lead in the ninth. Lance Berkman got the first crack at him and put together his best at-bat to date as a Yankee. Feliz threw nothing but fastballs, but Berkman stayed on them. He fouled off the first, took the second, and then swung through the third. From there he took two out of the zone, fouled off two, and then finally took the last one for ball four. It was quite the effort by Berkman, and it resulted in the tying run heading to first base.
That tying run wouldn’t be Berkman, though, but rather Curtis Granderson. That changes the game in two ways. First, it gives the Yanks considerably more speed on the bases. Second, it can distract the pitcher. To the latter point, Feliz threw over to first five times, one before each of the first five pitches. Before the sixth, in a 2-2 count to Brett Gardner, Feliz declined to throw over. Instead he threw his 14th straight fastball. Gardner dunked it into left for a base hit.
This set up Jeter well, but not perfectly. The tying and go-ahead runs were on base, and they were the fastest guys on the team. It didn’t take long for the situation to become perfect. On the second pitch, Feliz’s 16th straight fastball, the ball sailed away, above Bengie Molina’s head and to the backstop. It bounced right back to Molina, but even a perfect throw couldn’t get Granderson. The double play possibility was off, leaving Jeter with even more wiggle room.
He used every bit of it on the next pitch, Feliz’s 17th straight fastball, as he chopped it towards the middle. With the infield drawn it it squeezed through and got into center, which allowed Granderson to score the tying run. Gardner held up for a moment to make sure the ball got through. Had he been going on contact I’m confident he would have scored the go-ahead run right there.
Feliz finally went to the slider against Nick Swisher. Unsurprisingly it worked out, as Swisher went down swinging again. For those who like the phrase, that was the Golden Sombrero for him. But, after having thrown two innings on Tuesday and 20 pitches in last night’s game, Feliz was done. The game was left to a lesser pitcher from the Rangers’ bullpen. I’m not sure what was less surprising, Swisher’s strikeout or the Rangers’ bullpen giving the Yanks the lead.
MVP: Marcus Thames
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Jeter might have been the hero with the tying run, but Marcus Thames did everything he could to help his team win the game. Normally he’d get a slot in the Miscellany section, but for his 3 for 5 night, which included a homer and the go-ahead single, he gets his own little section.
Thames’s homer in the eighth was what made me think the Yanks could come back. Frank Francisco is prone to the meltdown, and Thames’s leadoff homer made it seem like one was imminent. And it was. Austin Kearns bailed him out by missing a 3-1 meatball, which is a shame. But make no mistake: the Yanks had designs on this game in the eighth, and Marcus Thames led the charge. It’s fitting, then, that he drove home Gardner with a sharp groundball single.
Good things happen when Thames gets to hit but doesn’t have to play the field.
Ninth inning Leverage Index
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Mariano Rivera remains the same on the mound no matter the situation. Whether it’s the bottom of the order with a three-run lead or it’s the top of the order with his team ahead just one run, Mariano stands there like Seneca, poised and stoical. In the ninth inning last night he not only had to protect a lead of a single run, but had to face the top of the Rangers order to do so.
The first batter, Elvis Andrus, came to the plate with a Leverage Index of 3.60. He didn’t feel the pressure, though, as he smacked one into the right-center gap, not only splitting Kearns and Granderson, but also hitting it to a deeper part of the park. That allowed him to take third base, which gave the Rangers an excellent chance to tie the game. That actually brought Texas’s win expectancy above 50 percent.
Michael Young batted next, and he actually faced a lower LI. Mo jammed him on the first pitch, and young popped one up to shallow right. Austin Kearns, making up for his rally killing double play in the eighth, sprinted in and made a shoestring catch to record the out. Andrus probably wouldn’t have scored in any case, but the out was big. It also increased the leverage dramatically.
The Rangers’ best hitter and MVP candidate Josh Hamilton batted next. This time the LI was 5.76. Mo did not feel the pressure. He just does what he normally does, which is to pump cutters. The first two crossed a bit too far inside, but on the 2-0 pitch Mo hit his spot. Hamilton tapped it weakly right back to Rivera for the second out. That left just one more batter.
Again the pressure was high. The Rangers’ win expectancy had fallen all the way to 17.2 percent, but they still had that tying run 90 feet away. Mo delivered a cutter, and again missed. He didn’t with the next. Guerrero pulled the thigh-high cutter right to A-Rod at third, who threw across the diamond to end the game.
On Javy
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
I’m torn on how to evaluate Javier Vazquez‘s start. On the one hand, he allowed six runs in 4.1 innings, which is never good. On the other hand, he got some bad breaks along the way. There was no way anyone could rate this as a good, or even decent, start. But it was something less than the disaster that the scoreboard suggested.
The first run, a solo homer by Michael Young, just barely caught the foul pole in right. That’ll happen. No biggie. Even Cliff Lee will give up a run from time to time. But then in the fourth Javy gave up two more, and with Lee on the mound the game felt bleak. But I wasn’t killing Javy. The runs scored on a ball that Cano nearly fielded. And in any case, the Yanks shouldn’t have been in that situation. Why they thought it appropriate to walk David Murphy with two outs is beyond me. Javy got him to pop up in his first AB. Let him face the guy. It’s not like they were setting up the double play or anything.
(Still, can’t give Javy a complete pass here. He did walk Bengie Molina, which is hard enough on its own, but he did it after being ahead 0-2. Poor form, Javy. Poor form.)
He allowed another run in the fifth, this off the bat of Josh Hamilton. It’s a forgivable offense, but Javy was running out of rope there. Thankfully he rebounded, getting Vlad to bounce right back to him and then Nelson Cruz to hit one towards A-Rod. That prevented the run from scoring, as A-Rod threw home. But Jorge Posada botched the rundown and allowed Young to return to third safely. That became huge, because Murphy then singled and drove in two.
Yay bullpen
Sergio Mitre came on in relief of Vazquez and got Molina to fly out. For some reason Nelson Cruz thought it appropriate to tag up. With a break-even rate of roughly 100 percent, there’s no excuse for getting thrown out there. Cruz did, and he let the Yanks off the hook.
Mitre came out to pitch a scoreless sixth, and then Kerry Wood followed with two scoreless innings. Clearly, they’re stretching him out to be a starter down the stretch.
The Yanks offense did the coming back, but without solid work from Mitre and Wood they wouldn’t have gotten there in the first place. Hats off to them. I’ve noticed far fewer people complaining about the bullpen these days.
Miscellany
Any time you score four runs off Cliff Lee you can pat yourself on the back. Good job by the offense.
After the Rangers broke it open in the fifth, the Yanks immediately fought back. Or, should I say, Jeter fought back. He tripled to lead off the sixth and eventually scored on a wild pitch. He’s damn lucky on that one, since the next three batters struck out swinging. That was Lee’s first wild pitch of the season.
Lee had an odd line. He gave up eight hits, four for extra bases, but struck out 11. And, of course, he walked none. Anything more would be unsuitable.
Derek Jeter apparently does not appreciate it when people say he shouldn’t be the leadoff hitter.
Box and graph
The graph gets kinda crazy there towards the end.
More at FanGraphs. Traditional numbers here.
Up Next
The Yanks travel north to Kansas City to battle the Royals. Bruce Chen vs. CC Sabathia, Same CDT start of 8:10.
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
