It Gets Worse: Red Sox Finish Off Sweep

June 10, 2011 by Mike Axisa 147 Comments

As if the first two games of this series hadn’t been painful enough, the baseball gods and Mother Nature conspired to push back the start of Thursday’s series finale by more than three hours with some thunderstorms. That only delayed what felt inevitable; the Red Sox completing their second three game sweep of the Yankees in the Bronx of the season. It’s the first time they’ve done that since 1912. They weren’t even the Yankees back then, they were still the Highlanders. Heck, it was so long ago there were only 48 states in the union.

Beat By The Bottom Of The Lineup

For the first six innings of this game, CC Sabathia was absolutely cruising. He allowed just two hits and two walks to the first 22 men he faced, needing just 82 pitches to record 18 outs against a great offense. He even hit David Ortiz with a pitch, which gave all the internet tough guys something to high five about. And then came the seventh inning.

It started off with David Ortiz, who slapped a single past Robinson Cano. Then Jed Lowrie shot a ball down the first base line only to have it a) take a weird bounce off the wall, and b) be misread by Nick Swisher, leading to a run scoring triple. That turned a 2-0 game into a 2-1 game with a man on third and no outs. Carl Crawford grounded out to third and failed to get the runner in, but Mike Cameron picked him up with a double in a 3-2 count to tie the game. Then the wheels really came off.

Jason Varitek singled. Jacoby Ellsbury singled (Cameron scored). Marco Scutaro lined out. Adrian Gonzalez singled (Varitek scored). David Robertson came in. Kevin Youkilis singled (Ellsbury scored). Ortiz doubled to cap the rally off (Gonzalez and Youkilis scored), so clearly the bean ball made him uncomfortable. Then finally Lowrie grounded out to end the seven run inning. The bottom of Boston’s lineup set up the big inning and the middle of the order completed it. Just brutal.

Leftovers

grandy — At least that part didn't suck.

I remember when the Yankees used to beat the ever-loving crap out of Josh Beckett every time they faced him. It was glorious. This year? Ten hits, five walks, and two runs in 21 IP. He’s stuck out 25 and beaten Sabathia all three times they’ve squared off. Aside from a hitting Derek Jeter and allowing a two run homer to Curtis Granderson to open up the game, he was pretty much flawless.

Not for nothing, but twice in the series did a Yankees’ batter fail to run out a ground ball down the line. Swisher did it the other night on a ball he thought was going to go foul and then Jorge Posada did the exact same thing in this game. Seriously, given the way those two have hit this year, they should be running out every damn ball no matter how foul they think it’ll be. Lack of hustle, failing to run out a routine ground ball is complete garbage. Show you care.

Jeff Marquez finally made his Yankees’ debut, seven years after they drafted him, three years after they traded him, and one day after they claimed him off waivers. Good for him, I guess.

WPA Graph & Box Score

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs has the other stuff.

Up Next

The first place (but fading!) Indians come to town for a wrap-around four-game weekend series starting Friday night. Don’t worry, I’m sure Ivan Nova will stop the bleeding. Fausto Carmona goes for the Tribe.

Dino Velvet

99 years since 1912
- Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat
  
  Gas was 18 cents a gallon.
  - Dino Velvet
    
    Taft was president, and women didn’t have the right to vote.
    - Gonzo
      
      Coincidence? I think not.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      ~~Taft was president~~, and women didn’t have the right to vote.
      
      /Rose’d
- Karl Krawfid
  
  In 2009 the Red Sox tied a record they set in 1912 by beating us 8 straight to start the season.
  
  It’s 2009 all over again. I hope.
Andrew518

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I wish I had something better than that to add, but really…
- MannyGeee
  
  and to this, I would like to add…
  
  http://www.sadtrombone.com
  
  yep, thats pretty much how I feel too.
bonestock94

Gotta go up from here. We’re in death valley right now. Fuckin a, what a shit series.
- http://yesnetwork.com Jim
  
  This is a terrible Yankee team…if you can use that four letter word. I see no improvement with the LR pitching coach Yanks than the DE Yanks. K-Long keeps his job with just one guy over .300. They don’t run out grounders, can’t throw from the outfield….at least Eiland helped Swisher to throw, now it looks like a pop up. Gardner can’t run…even if he thought Jeter was hit, he should’ve been running home with bases loaded. A-Rod and his solo shots if he gets a hit. Jeter isn’t what he once was, but, the thing is he’s still batting better than half the club. The injuries, the lack of hustle. The Sox, Rays, Mariners, had no problem getting runs with two outs. With a man on third and no outs, I pray for a wild pitch. 160 games before Ortiz was hit…well, I’m sure if Gibson, Drysdale, Marichal, Clemens saw him clapping and air high fiving it wouldn’t of taken 160 AB’s to get hit again. Maybe it’s that Girardi lost the team…the lack of running out grounders, fair or foul, this team can’t take anything for granted. The Indians have been slumping. I look for them to get better this weekend. I hope I’m wrong.
A-ROD fan

I’m in shock
Tipsie

Obviously, CC deserves a good amount of blame for this loss. The AB that sticks out to me, though, is Cano’s pathetic first-pitch-swinging 80 foot pop-up to Youkilis with the bases loaded in the third. Wait for a good pitch to hit and drive the ball, dude. A mere single there makes it 4-0 and the WPA goes through the roof. Cano has irritated me more than any other guy this year. Someone needs to get through to him ASAP. He is the single most disappointing guy on the squad. Period.
- MannyGeee
  
  there has been a TONNNNNNNNNNN of that shit all series though. RISPFAIL, jumping early on the count, sloppy defense, not ‘hustling’ (as Mike mentioned above)….
  
  pitching aside, no better word to describe this series than ‘bush league play’, really.
- Stan the Man
  
  Why spit venom at Cano, his hitting coach should be the one getting through to him and all the other underperforming hitters in the lineup…Does Kevin Long actuallly do anything but stand next to Girardi during a game?
http://kierstenschmidt.com Kiersten

2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009

#zenbaseball
- Jimmy McNulty
  
  .334/.406/.465
  
  vs.
  
  .261/.326/.328
  
  That may be the difference between the two teams right there. That and Ivan Nova.
  - BigBlueAL
    
    That, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia, Swisher, Cano, Posada and the bullpen is the difference between the two teams right now.
    - jim p
      
      There’s a shortstop in that group.
      http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jeterde01.shtml
    - Stan the Man
      
      Man Nova can’t catch a break he doesn’t even pitch and is still getting thrown in with the trash.
A-ROD fan

Don’t forget that we have a good road trip.

(Bull shit)
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Well, they did have a good road trip.
Westcoastyankfan

Imagine if George was still with us. Who’d be out of a job or traded tomorrow.
- shite and giggles
  
  Girardi would finally be gone and maybe we would get a manager who wasn’t Pollyanna.
  
  Girardi is as soft as they come.
  
  Know why the Yanks keep losing like this, they don’t have a manager that believes you have to take care of business on the field.
  
  Allowing all these hit batters, and it was CC would decided to finally do something about it.
  
  Girardi, for all his vegan ways, is a wimp. He is not tough nor hard nosed. He is soggy corn flakes that have been sitting in the bowl for two days.
  - Esteban
    
    LOL?
  - MannyGeee
    
    heyyyyyyyyy. over react much?
  - Stan the Man
    
    Ok…maybe you should just punch a pillow instead of dispensing your opinions on a blog…
  - Pasqua
    
    LOVE the fact that you have attempted to drive your ridiculous point home by creating an even more ridiculous metaphor that involves soggy corn flakes. Well done.
- Esteban
  
  The assistant to the traveling secretary would have been fired. Deserves it too. Terrible job keeping track of schedules.
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    What the hell did Costanza do to deserve that?
Another Bomb

In the past I’ve heard baseball is a business…well when does that come true? Posada needs to be given his walking papers. Jeter needs to be removed from short, he has lost the ability to field the position. He also needs to be dropped to 7 or 8 hole in the batting order. Keep in mind he is still my favourite of all time. Cashman does not get a new contract, he has the highest payroll and he has this team, what do the same cast of core players look like in two years?
(I understand there is not someone currently on the team to fill these gaps).
- Andrew518
  
  Remove those two guys from the line up tonight and you take away half the hits we got tonight.
  
  They’re both having tough seasons, but right now this is a team wide problem.
- Gonzo
  
  As for Jorge, since May 1st (excluding today’s 2 for 4 effort), he is hitting .260/.374/.351.
  
  He’s still not killing it, especially for a DH, but let’s not act like he’s hitting like he was before May 1st .125/.232/.375.
  - Stan the Man
    
    He hasn’t done much to earn a consistent spot in the line up though and that is what the Yanks really need. Hopefully now with his son’s surgery done he will have a clearer head and be able to perform even better than he has in the last couple of weeks.
    - MannyGeee
      
      meh. I am not buying the ‘unclear head’ gimmick. he just flat out cannot hit right now.
      - Gonzo
        
        I think that was the point of me sharing those statistics. Maybe you think .272/.379/.358 (since May 1st) is flat out can’t hit, but I don’t.
        
        So you muct think Martin just flat out cannot hit right now. Since May 1st, .191/.321/.315.
- GMan
  
  What about ARod? Why doe this guy get no blame? Has to be the softest cleanup hitter in the AL. His slugging has been in a rapid annual decline since 2007, his last PED year.
Sean C

I’m really, really pissed off with the way the Yankees looked after this series. Horrible pitching, hitting, just… EVERYTHING. Things REALLY suck in Yankeeland with all the injuries and shit play against a very good team. That being said, it is June. There is still a little less than 2/3 of the season to play. I guess we can hold onto 09 when the Yankees “could not beat the Red Sox” and were 0-8 on the season at one point. It’s weird how quickly a fan-base can shift (not really) when things go wrong. I’m just thankful I was indoctrinated from birth (1985) to be a Yankee fan. I can handle, much to my chagrin, losing to Boston (and other teams), not that I enjoy it in any way. If Cleveland takes us 3-1 or 4-0, THEN I will be absolutely inconsolable…
Zack

It wasn’t just the 7th inning where we failed. Once again, we had bases loaded or RISP in several innings and FAILED to bring them home.
Eight men left on base..complete joke.
And it’s time to move Jeter down the line and give Jorge his walking papers.
Yankee Bigot

Sorry, it’s my fault. I started watching the game at the end of the 6th. I gave them bad luck.
- Stan the Man
  
  You know I am glad you wrote this cause I thought it was my fault since I turned it on in the 7th inning…probably more my fault than your but at least you got out there first to take some of the heat from the guys in pinstripes.
  - rek4gehrig
    
    It’s my fault. I was at the Stadium but left at 930pm before the game started. They usually win when I attend the games
Adam B

As much as I hate losing to the sux, I don’t care what our record is against them as long as we are playing October baseball… Then the real season begins.

we really need Cashman to pull a real pitcher out his kiester… This will be his biggest challenge yet.
- Yankee Bigot
  
  Don’t worry, he’ll get us King Felix……………for Cano, Banuelos, Betances, Gardner and Romine.
  - Gonzo
    
    No Montero in there?
    - Yankee Bigot
      
      No. Montero will take the piece of shit known as Cervelli’s spot.
      - Stan the Man
        
        Cervelli is the only guy on the roster capable of hitting with RISP so unfortunately we needd to draft taller middle infielders to handle his throws.
        
        Yankee Bigot
        
        Brackman played basketball, he just might be athletic enough for a position change.
  - Adam B
    
    I know that is sarcasm but its not completely unrealistic…
    
    as far as starting pitching is concerned in todays market, The sellers have all the leverage and they just don’t approach the deal with the intention of making a fair trade.
It’sATarp

If these games doesn’t convince cashman to get us some pitching…nothing will
mbonzo

Went to the game. It really went from a feel good attitude after that huge delay to a WTF JUST HAPPENED?! At least we got free tix out of it.
- David, Jr.
  
  It looked like it hit him in the nuts. The only positive element in the shitty game.
- rek4gehrig
  
  Free tix? I was there but left early.
Midland TX

That was no beanball Ortiz took–it hit him on the hip.
- Adam B
  
  the beanball is not about intent to injure, simply a message saying “intentional or not, hitting our players is not ok.”
  - Midland TX
    
    The beanball refers to the bean which is slang for the head.
Charles

That beanball to Ortiz wasn’t enough, anyone see that smirk he had on his face walking down to first? He needs one in the ribs next time, make it hurt…
- nooooo not another double play!
  
  That smirk was the “oh these guys are gonna get it” smirk and boy did they get it.
dkidd

jesus christ we look terrible

at least run out the ground balls
FIPster Doofus

I know I played the “It doesn’t matter if the Yankees lose this series” card before it began, but that was back when I assumed they’d either win it or, worst-case scenario, get one game. To get swept – no, annihilated – at home back-to-back times by the Red Sox is sickening.

As the realistic side of me has thought all along, this is a playoff team, but certainly not a championship-caliber one. And with the dearth of quality SPs set to be available at the deadline, that probably won’t change. There aren’t any Dan Harens or Cliff Lees walking through the door in July. The Edwin Jacksons and Jason Marquis of the world aren’t going to drastically change any team’s fortune.
Will

Without reading the thread…

“This series was lost b/c AJ Burnett had a bad start”

Preemptive response: sorry, but that trope has gotten old. AJ got f@@@ed by horrible defense and bad luck on slow-ass infield grounders. Meanwhile, CC got pounded by the Sox for the 2nd straight time and gets a pass. It would be nice if internet Yankee fans would remember which pitcher won game 2 of the 2009 WS and which one crapped the bed in game 1.
first time lawng time

Fuck this team right now.

Geez. It’s your home turf. Don’t get embarassed. When was the last time they swept at Fenway?

It is mindboggling as to why they cannot beat that effing team. Everyone else can!

Have fun playing the remaining games in Fenway, assholes.

5-15 since May 18 2010. Hell, they couldn’t even beat their AAA team! What an absolute joke.
first time lawng time

Can’t wait until they meet again in August. I wonder how they’ll lose this time. Maybe it’ll feature a Rivera blown save. That hasn’t happened yet.
first time lawng time

The funny thing is that the Red Sox don’t play this well against any other team this year and the Yankees haven’t played this badly.

Without these series: RS: 28-25. NY: 32-19.

…and that’s probably why the Yankees should win these games.
first time lawng time

An I don’t want to hear any more crap about the ’09 team started out 0-8 against them.

That 0’9 team featured a Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, and a real DH who coul all hit. This year’s offense suks compared to that year’s. And don’t give me any crap of “oh they lead the league in runs scored!”. What’s their record? Exactly. With a few more runs they could have a few more wins.

And the 2009 rotation had a Andy Pettitte as it’s number 3. This year? Supposed to be a shitty Hughes in the beginning, but he it injured so now I gues it’s Colon. Yeah. That’s pretty equal to ’09.

And the BP in ’09 actually had legit pitchers. This team’s is crippled, so has to resprt to scrubs.

And the 2011 RS> 2009 RS.

And if anyone uses the argument, “oh the Yankees will find someone by the deadline!”. Who? Who is available? Who can they get? Who will they get? Exactly.

The 2009 Yankees had 7 home games let thy year. This team has already had 6 and ha managed to lose every. Single. One of them.

Bull. Shit.
This team resembles a piece of shit right now. I’ll be honest. That’s how I feel.
- first time lawng time
  
  And
  ’09
  sucks
  its
  is
  resort
  left
  that
  has
  
  addressing the typos.
  - MannyGeee
    
    dont bother, after a series like that no one can really even see straight
- It’sATarp
  
  Oh man tell us how you REALLY feel now.
- CP
  
  Compare the 2009 and 2011 Red Sox and Yankees:
  
  2009 Red Sox Runs Scored: 872
  2011 Red Sox Pace for RS: 815
  2009 Yankees Runs Scored: 915
  2011 Yankees Pace for RS: 832
  
  2009 Red Sox Runs Allowed: 736
  2011 Red Sox Pace for RA: 722
  2009 Yankees Runs Allowed: 753
  2011 Yankees Pace for RA: 656
  
  2009 Red Sox Run Differential: +136
  2011 Red Sox Run Diff. Pace: +93
  2009 Yankees Run Differential: +163
  2011 Red Sox Run Diff. Pace: +176
  
  These are before last nights game, so they’ve changed some. Still, the 2011 Red Sox are worse than the 2009 Red Sox and the 2011 Yankees are better than the 2009 Yankees.
  - theyankeewarrior
    
    Yup. And the 2009 Yankees hd a great second half, including ruining the Red Sox to the same tune that they have ruined us in the 2011 first half.
    
    What about this team makes you think they will run off 8 in a row vs. the Sox and cruise to 97-100 wins?
    
    We are depending on Bartolo Colon, Garcia, Nova and AJ for 80% of our games. That’s a ticking time bomb.
    
    The best thing this team has going for it is getting players back from the DL and making trades.
    - CP
      
      The 2009 Yankees had a great second half with 3 starting pitchers.
      
      They had Joba and Sergio Mitre in the rotation – and Joba was on a pitch count, so he went 4 innings or less in 7 of his 11 starts in August and September.
      
      I actually have a lot of confidence that the starting rotation this year will be better in the second half than the starting rotation was in the second half of 2009.
Yankee Bigot

What a week so far. Crappy draft. Blown out by those northeast neanderthals. Injuries galore. What’s next the black plague?
- The Big City of Dreams
  
  I don’t know if the draft was crappy.
first time lawng time

Red Sox vs Yankees this season:
8-1
60 RS 37 RA

domination.
MannyGeee

so, after seeing Cervelli be an absolute abortion this series, I have to ask you….

HOW BAD can Monteros defense REEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY be? SERIOUSLY!!!!! Get it done, Cash
- Wil Nieves Number 1 Fan
  
  Yeah I’m pretty much with you 100% on this one.
- Stevis
  
  i think Garardi must be having an affair with Cervelli…why else is this turd in the bigs??
  - Stan the Man
    
    Cervelli isn’t hurting the Yanks chances of winning…complain about something else and move on.
    - The Big City of Dreams
      
      He’s not hurting their chances but he’s not playing well when he’s in there
    - MannyGeee
      
      Cervelli did not single-handedly kill this series. but he threw away alot of balls. and he is not exactly hitting the snot out of the ball.
      
      if the arguement is that Montero’s defense is not ready, then Cervelli is not the answer.
      - Stan the Man
        
        No argument here. Montero should be up and probably starting over Martin. The Yanks starting catcher has 9 HR’s which is good but he is batting .238 which is terrible. Montero can probably do the same but I wouldn’t be surprised if he does better than that. Neither Cervelli or Martin have been good defensively this year.
dalelama

My high school coach who played in the old Negro League and who probably forgot more baseball than Girardi ever learned would have said this to the current Yankee squad as he explained to them the fundamentals, ” You ain’t no baseball players, you are hardball players and we don’t want no hardball players.”
LarryM.,Fl.

Everyone looking to 2009 as an expectation of future Yankee play against the Red Sox, forget it. 2009 was two years in the past. The Yankees play has much to do with the ineffectiveness of the pitching staff. CC is the only credible , reliable starting pitcher. The bullpen is shy 5 guys who have replacements out there. The Yankees could be hitting well above their career averages and maybe we win two out three. Unless we get healthy real quick. There’s nothing that Cashman can do . He’d need a starter, lefty reliever and another bat. Your drafts of many years would be wiped out in a heart beat. Can a SP been picked up sure but not all three. Unless the Yankees get healthy and pick up their play on the field. The Bx bombers look like middle of the pack.

As far as Girardi, I like the guy but don’t always agree with his mgr. style. Is he soft with players? I don’t know what happens in the clubhouse. I do know that he played many years in the big leagues as a catcher. There is enough video on him to show a guy who did not shy away from the rigors of catching. And gave it his best shot on the field.

The players have to respond to the hit batters with pitchers with stones to throw inside. Runners that slide in hard feet first to take out infielders. Until the Yankees start playing hard ass baseball, Boston will continue to thrive against them. Do I thing Girardi should have or has sent this message? Yes I do! But he can’t do from the dugout.
Monteroisdinero

Didn’t stay up late to torture myself. Can we please sit Nick-look to the sky-Swisher and his .175 avg against righties? oh-and we wouldn’t want to miss his “D” out there as well…..

Useless.
Dr. K.

Unfortunately there is little evidence of any testicular growth. None.
Buck

This team is gutless.
- LarryM.,Fl.
  
  The Craig Nettles and Paul O’Niels are hard to replace but Arod has the size and strength to be the guy but unfortunately its not his makeup. I would have loved him to charge the mound against Beckett. In fact I would have love Poopi to charge the mound against CC. We need some player to be the guy but with multi million dollar contracts there are few of this type of makeup. One condition no one gets hurt.
  
  Nettles was always the guy to protect his team. Lee and Frank White could attest. I even tale Sweet Lou right now.
  - Kosmo
    
    I know you and I are about the same age and I saw the game where Nettles pretty much dislocated Lee´s left arm.I´d qualify that as a cheap shot.I liked Nettles alot but he´s much like the current Yankee team not a very clutch offensive player.
    - JohnnyC
      
      Bill Lee deserved it.
    - LarryM.,Fl.
      
      There is a special place in my baseball memory for Nettles. He took out Frank White at second base with a body block after McBride knocked Willie R. into left field on a prior play.
      
      Lou fought Fisk after a collision at home plate. A classic punches thrown ordeal as far as baseball goes.
      
      This present Yankee team is actually being bullied on the field as batter after batter is plunked by a Red Sox pitcher. Yeah, I’m sure that their was no intent by Lester to hit Teix. but Lester did not care if he hit Teix. This is how the Yankee pitchers must throw. How could and umpire declare that AJ intentionally through a t a batter. After a few innings the umpire knows AJ has knowledge of where the ball is going.
TRISKELION

It might be time to bring up Montero to DH and add some desire to this hapless stultified crew. The Boss would have rattled some skulls – not one word from the doublemint twins or the management after another shameful series loss. The team’s play in this series tells me that somebody needs to be sacrificed in order to right this ship, and I think that unfortunately that somebody is Posada.
- Stevis
  
  Time for New blood… and that includes the leadoff hitter
  - David, Jr.
    
    What do you mean? How can you criticize Mr. 3,000 Gold Glover Grounder? You want the guy with the fifth worst OPS in the league to get the most at bats. His great captaincy leadership is also showed in this series. They played brilliant baseball with incredible passion.
    - Stan the Man
      
      Who bats leadoff for the Yanks? I would like to see Gardner in that spot but he is frustrating at the plate, Granderson shouldn’t be in that spot since he is at least hitting HR’s…those are the only other options?
      - David, Jr.
        
        Gardner would be better than Jeter. Not saying great, but better. Some of the rationales against it are hilarious, like “At least when he leads off in the first inning he can’t ground into a double play”.
        
        Kosmo
        
        Trade for Beltran a switchhitter plop him in the 2 hole and move Granderson to leadoff.Move Jeter to the 9 hole .See how that flies.
- GMan
  
  I don’t know why eveyone thinks Montero is the answer. He has a 730 ops in AAA. And I hate the excuse that he is “disinterested”….and I hope that isn’t the case. Who wants that kind of attitude. What does that say about what his demeanor will be when he gets here. He should be working his balls off to get to the bigs.
  - David, Jr.
    
    Simple. If you look at his entire body of work in the minors and at the reports on his hitting from respected people, a short period of time this year in AAA doesn’t mean anything. He has unlimited potential as a hitter, Cervelli is an unmitigated disaster both offensively and defensively, we haven’t gotten much out of our DH position, and the team badly needs shaking up. How many reasons do you need?
paul

after a great west coast trip it is like reality set in…i am pissed…after tex and russ get hbp…we do nothing…then jete and arod get hbp…someone step up and show many balls…..clear the benches…wake up…get after it…thankfully alot of season left…but someones need to step up..and yes i said someones…plural…hahaha
nycsportzfan

i’m glad mike talked about PO not running out the grounder, and swish the other day, because it seemed we lacked hustle and CANO was a huge culprit in that area.. How many times did he just totally not try on the cervelli throws into the outfield and on a couple ground ball basehits up the middle, like Gonzalez’s last night, where cano didn’t even attempt to go for it.. Sure, hes probably not getting there, but at least act like you are going all out, don’t just watch it, canos a lazy prick…
Pat D

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, had to get that in there. Got more important things to do now.
Stevis

i think you can lay alot of the blame on Cano and his unfuckindisciplined at bat…… a great talent with the brain of a pea…whoever said it was right on the nose …When Cano swings at pitches out of the zone he is very ordinary… i thought Long was a Guru???? Cant make him think but surely can smack it into his head to be more discipined… either Cano really believes the hype or he is just a lazy a-hole
- Captain
  
  man that lazy meme just won’t go away huh?
theyankeewarrior

Thank god this is not the team we will finish the season with, because they will not beat Boston.

You all can keep bringing up 2009, but in those first 8 games vs. the Sox, they gave away at least 3-4 wins and were still in first place. These 8 losses have been awful. We can’t even come within 4 runs at home with our ace on the mound. And they didn’t have Pedrioa.

We didn’t even get Mo off his ass once in a home series. That’s just unacceptable.

Do the math, we just spotted them 10+ games in the standings by blowing that many games. If we just won 4 of those games instead of 1, we would up 4-5 games in the standings as we speak.
Opus

I didn’t stay up to watch, but see from the box score that Ortiz and three Yanks were HBP. Ortiz was obviously on purpose, but were any of the Yankee ones suspicious? Guess I’m really asking about Granderson getting hit with two outs and no one on after Ortiz.
- http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno
  
  The Granderson HBP was a curveball that got away from Beckett; nothing crazy.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  The first two were a little questionable, but the Granderson HBP was just a curveball that hit him in the back foot. It was a wild pitch that landed in the right spot more than anything.
Bronx Byte

Enough already with that statue in the dugout offering the same ration of tired old excuses but no reasons.
Get Bobby Valentine. He’ll light a fire under the asses of this team.
- Stevis
  
  amen
- Stan the Man
  
  Bobby V only gets the most out of the Japenese.
  - MannyGeee
    
    they are very efficient
Yank The Frank

This too shall pass.
http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno

Here’s why the Red Sox have beaten the Yankees this season: Their batters have scored more runs and their pitchers have allowed fewer runs. It’s not because of some moral flaw of the Yankees or superiority of the Red Sox. I’m not going to spout off about 2009 because that’s an extreme exception and not likely to repeat itself, but the season is far from over.

I’m just glad I fell asleep when it was 2-2.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  THE MOON IS EATING THE SUN! THE GODS MUST BE ANGRY WITH US!
  - Yank The Frank
    
    I blame it on the bossa nova.
Stan the Man

Just throwing this out there…Should the Yanks consider trading guys from their MLB roster? They usually toss in 3 prospects for relief pitchers and bench guys but with so many guys underperforming in their everday line up wouldn’t shaking the team up be worth it?
- http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno
  
  “with so many guys underperforming….”
  
  I think you just answered your own question.
- Kosmo
  
  Something to consider .WHo do they trade? The only 2 tradeable players are their corner OFs Swisher and Gardner.Cervelli? Everyone else is signed to huge contracts .
  NY would seriously have to nosedive before those possibilities arise.
  To me trading for Beltran and someone like Hanrahan might be in the maybe category without giving away to much.
  - Stan the Man
    
    Swisher and Gardner are the only ones I can think of as well and if you put them in with a prospect they should be able to get something that can help out.
    
    Underperforming guys get traded all the time so it wouldn’t be like the Yanks wouldn’t get anyone back in return. Plus there has to be a trade partner out there who has players that would get a boost playing at the stadium.
TRISKELION

Apparently Matt doesn’t understand the cosmological nature of baseball – Since George Bush mistakenly became president, and the dark Red Sox ownership aligned themselves with the corrupt CIA by allowing their team plane to be use to illegally rendition people, the universe has looked to the Yankees to champion all that’s right and good in existence by stomping the bad Red Sox at every opportunity and bringing back liberal social philosophy to baseball by overpaying for the best players around and paying the luxury taxes that will strengthen the weakest, thus strengthening the whole league. However, even though the evil Bush is out of office, this liberal philosophy has not been implemented in our country and the good guy Yankees have not done their part for the league; until then, the earth will be off its axis, the universe contracts in sadness and dismay, and the lousy Red Sox will continue to shame all that is exemplary in baseball.
- JohnnyC
  
  You’re closer to the truth than you think.
pat

Seems like CC got to 0-2 against every batter he faced that inning but just couldn’t put them away.

le sigh :(
Frank

Bottom line- CC came up short against the RS again. He needed to deliver big time and just didn’t do it. He’s gotten great offensive production all year, but the when the game was close, he flopped. He can beat the O’s, M’s and other weak offensive teams but the he can’t beat the RS.
Michael Kay’s Head

I don’t know why you’re all pretending that you didn’t expect us to rocked like this by the Red Sox. They are clearly the better team. I don’t know whats going on in the Yankee front office/clubhouse but it seems that this franchise has lost its drive and passion for winning. It’s seriously embarrassing for us diehards to watch our team get pulverized. I remember times when I couldn’t wait to get home from work and put on the game. Now I loathe watching the games. Things need to change.
- Clay Bellinger
  
  Way to be rationale.
- http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno
  
  What things need to change?
craig

It seems like the debate about hitting or not hitting Ortiz won’t end, so let me put it this way for the people that think hitting him last night “really showed him” since he got a hit later in the game.

This is the exact same straw-man criticism that goes into criticizing batters who take a lot of pitches. Gardner or Alex or Tex take a couple of strikes and end up striking out, which cues the inevitable “You shouldn’t be looking at those pitches and getting in a hole” chorus. It’s not about trying to walk or just letting pitches go by. You want batters to take pitches to get into a hitter’s count and/or to get better pitches to hit. It doesn;t matter that you might strike out sometimes (FWIW this is the part that Cano still doesn’t get).

Hitting a batter (Ortiz last night) shows that you are willing to pitch inside and that you can/will hit someone. It establishes the inner-half of the plate and gives the hitter something else to think about (defend both sides of the plate + will he hit/hurt me?). The fact that Ortiz got a hit later in game is irrelevant. He got a hit because of a lack of execution and because he’s good. However, hitting him was the right thing to do from a strategic standpoint (shows CC will go inside) and a ‘defending my teammate” standpoint.
http://rab Rob

There should be no surprise after this debacle of a series. The signs have been around since Spring Training. This team is headed downward fast. Put it on a billboard!
- Clay Bellinger
  
  What signs did you see in Spring Training?
Foghorn Leghorn

I’m shocked that Beckett was not warned after hitting Jeter or Arod…. ridiculous.
Foghorn Leghorn

it was fun while it lasted, but Swisher and Gardner have to go…I’ll give posada a pass b/c he’s old and this is his last year…but those two suck.
Hester Prynne

Dickerson needs to be playing in right. Swisher offers no upgrade on offense and is a downgrade on defense. And CC needs to pitch like an ace. Beckett did, CC didn’t, and that was the difference.
Foghorn Leghorn

i’m not in favor of intentionally hitting guys – but you have to pitch inside.

but i think in the very next game whoever is pitching has to hit the first sox batter on his firt pitch…
JPB formerly known as Tank Foster

My thought at the beginning of the season was 94-96 wins for Boston, 89-91 for the Yankees. I thought starting pitching was the main difference, plus a significant hitting bump for Boston relative to last year, with the return of Youk/Pedroia.

So far this season, Boston has had terrible problems with the back end of the rotation, and Youkilis and Pedroia have been disappointing offensively, and so the Yankees held the lead for a while, or at least Boston hasn’t pulled away yet.

The two teams are very close. One potential Yankee advantage – bullpen strength and depth – is now a disadvantage, probably, with the loss of Soriano and Joba. That’s not good. Papi is over-performing relative to what I thought they’d get from him this year. If Pedroia and Youkilis wake up offensively, the Yankees will not be able to keep pace with the Red Sox in the win column going forward.

The Yankees will probably get some improvement from Swisher and Cano in the second half. Unless they swing some major deal, though, we’re not going to see much improvement in starting pitching; even if they DO make a deal, I’m not sure there’s an impact pitcher available who would make a huge difference.

I’m not sad or mad; I’m just setting my expectations at “wild card” level and leaving it there. Anything can happen in the playoffs. But as far as the regular season goes, I just think there’s no escaping the fact that the Red Sox are the better team, by at least a small margin.
- Foghorn Leghorn
  
  Agree with that assessment. IMO, i don’t think the Sox are that far ahead of the yanks…
  
  The pitching staffs are about equal from top to bottom. Both have issues and injuries.
  
  The Sox win a lot of games by having one big inning. They will get shut down for most of the game but put a 5 spot on the board and end up winning it. Same thing happened last night. Timely hitting from all parts of the batting order is the difference. They get two guys on in key situations and they get the hit whereas the yanks are hitting double plays, popups and weak ground balls.
  - Foghorn Leghorn
    
    correction…IMO the Sox are NOT that far ahead of the Yanks…
    - JPB formerly known as Tank Foster
      
      We can all spin this any way we want, but the Red Sox are ahead, period. In real record, right now, they are ahead. In roster strength, they are ahead.
      
      That’s ok. We can be grown ups and accept that we aren’t the best team. Ok, it’s “close.” When we were the better team, it was close then, too.
      
      Maybe Lester will blow out his shoulder. Maybe Papi will collapse in the second half and Pedroia and Youkilis will have career-worst years. Maybe Colon has a career year and pitches 190 innings. Maybe Hughes comes back in the second half and puts up some great numbers. Maybe Soriano….maybe Cano…..maybe Swisher….maybe Montero……
      
      The Red Sox are better. Let’s just deal with it and enjoy the season. Anything can happen.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Hey, what’s with the JPB? Just curious.
  - JPB formerly known as Tank Foster
    
    It’s me….my real initials are JPB. “Tank Foster” is a really, really inside joke. So inside that nobody reading this blog would ever get it. So why bother, right? But since some of the regulars – you in particular TSJC – no doubt remember Tank, I wanted there to be continuity. At some point, I’ll just become JPB.
ND Mike

*le sigh*
Tim

You know, the really terrible thing about this for the Yankees is the fact that since they have not been able to beat Boston so far during the regular season, it is virtually a mortal lock that they won’t be able to beat them in the playoffs, either. Regular season head-to-head dominance ALWAYS translates into dominance in the post-season, as well. And that’s why we’re so confident going into the Conference Finals against the Heat.

Signed,
The Chicago Bulls
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  We could go 1-17 against the Sox this regular season and still win the 2011 World Series.
  
  I’m not saying that’s what we want, or that it would make us feel comfortable or confident in any way, but it’s still a fact: no amount of brutal, demoralizing, pitiful losses to the Red Sox in April, May, June, July, August, or September prevents us from beating Boston or any other team in the ALDS, ALCS, and WS this year.
  - Tim
    
    Ah, sanity. So rare these days, especially in the world of sports fan-dom and message boards.
- Kramerica Industries
  
  The Bulls won three games by a combined eight points against the Heat.
  
  That’s not dominance. That’s even play with luck falling in the Bulls’ favor.
  
  The Red Sox have dominated the Yankees this year. I hope it doesn’t continue, and the Yankees can clearly beat anyone else (as evidenced by their 32-19 non-Red Sox record), but it’s pretty hard to argue that the Red Sox, at the moment, pose a bad matchup for this team. And it’s not like it’s been the Red Sox pummeling the backend of the rotation – they’ve lit up C.C. three times now (I’m saying this as C.C. was lucky in the Fenway game – he gave up 11 hits).
  
  What I don’t get is how the White Sox, a sub-.500 team at that point in time, went into Fenway and swept the Red Sox with relative ease, and this team is 0-6 at home against that same exact team. Hell, the Yankees have dropped 9 of their last 10 home games to the Sox, and are actually 11-13 at the new Stadium against them. Yikes.
Russell

This series was bad if this team is legit it has to beat Boston, Cleveland & Texas until they do it they are a team of also rans every part of the order beat the Yanks where was our punch still out on the bases when they start making the opportunities count then things will change
- Stan the Man
  
  They have already beaten Texas 2x and we will see what they do against Cleveland. As of today the only team they struggle against is Boston. Which is why they are only 2 games out of first place.
  - JPB formerly known as Tank Foster
    
    They are close to the AL east lead because they have a starting lineup full of homerun hitters, and are getting better than expected homerun performance out of some of those guys, AND because Boston has had some unexpected pitching problems. They have struggled against Boston, but I always think that short series records against individual teams are just what they are….the Yankees don’t have any ‘fundamental’ reason why they struggle against Boston. It just so happens that, in these series, they’ve happened to perform worse. They could just as easily be 6-2 versus Boston, and they’d probably still be behind them in the standings, because the bad performances would have shaken out against other teams.
stos51

Kevin Long has taken much credit for turning around Granderson and took alot of credit for Cano last year, but if you take a closer look the Yanks offense has greatly underperformed for years. Everyone this year is hitting significantly below their career avg.

Also, with the Joba, Hughes injuries (and now Norton, who one scout said is better than anyone Yanks have in bullpen-except Mo) the Yankees have to really re-examine the way the deal with the pitchers from the minors on up. Obviously, their way isn’t working.