Freddy leads Yanks to a win in return from DL
ByA four-game series with the Orioles that started so terribly on Friday ended with a split on Monday. The Yankees rode some homeruns and strong pitching to the win, putting last week’s ugly stretch further away in the rear-view mirror.
(Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Freddy Sez: Nice Job!
It’s been more than three weeks since we’d last seen Freddy Garcia on a big league mound, and if his 21 splitters and changeups are any indication, the cut on his right index finger if perfectly fine. The only blemish on Garcia’s ledger was a solo homer by Mark Reynolds, a fifth inning shot that was the first long ball he’d allowed in 69 IP. That’s a span of eleven starts (the last homer he surrendered was a leadoff shot by Jacoby Ellsbury in the first inning of that 1.2 IP, 4 R disaster on June 7th) and the longest such streak in the AL this season. It was like Freddy never left, he was mixing his pitching and getting hitters to pop-up on soft stuff off the plate.
All told, Garcia threw six full innings on just 88 pitches (six swings and misses), and he probably had another inning in him if need be. I don’t have a problem with Joe Girardi taking it easy on him in his first start back after the long layoff. Sweaty Freddy’s ERA is down to 3.09 on the season, and he’s held the Orioles to just three total runs in three six innings starts this season. He’s been pretty awesome this year, and like I said, it was like he was never gone. No rust whatsoever.
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Smokin’ Hot
There was a time, maybe a month and a half ago, when it looked like Nick Swisher was going to finish the season with maybe 15 homers if he got lucky. He slumped so badly in the first two months of the season that he had just ten long balls through the team’s first 90 games. Then he got hot, hitting four homers in the next nine games, and now he’s hit seven homers in his last eleven games following a two-run job off Alfredo Simon in the fourth inning. It was a no doubter off the bat, and his sixth bomb in his last eight hits. At .177 WPA, it was easily the biggest play of the game. Meanwhile, Swisher is up to .267/.383/.464 on the season, which is a minor miracle considering that he was at .206/.321/.288 as late as May 28th.
Leftovers
The first run of the game came on a Mark Teixiera double in the first, a 3-2 fastball that he hooked into the right field corner. Curtis Granderson (who walked) was running on the pitch and scored rather easily. Robinson Cano also had two hits and nice diving defensive stop, plus Eric Chavez doubled to left-center field. Add in Swisher’s homer, and that’s all the Yankees hits. Five of them, three for extra bases (all three of Baltimore’s hits when for extras, by the way). Brett Gardner drew a walk and stole a base, might as well note that somewhere.
The three-headed bullpen monster of Rafael Soriano, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera wasn’t as stellar as usual, but they did the job. Soriano walked a batter with one out in the seventh, then struck out the next two guys with some serious heat. He was up to 95 with the fastball. Robertson gave up a solo homer to J.J. Hardy, a poorly located fastball in an 0-2 count. It’s the first homer he’d given up in 366 days, when Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox got him. It’s also the first run he allowed on the road this season. Mo was untouchable in the ninth. Flawless victory, fatality.
Derek can't figure it out either. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Can anyone come up with a logical reason why Andruw Jones didn’t pinch-hit for Jorge Posada with two outs in the top of the ninth against lefty Mike Gonzalez? Maybe because they had a short bench with Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez banged up? Otherwise it doesn’t really make sense. Posada hasn’t hit lefties at all, and at least Jones has a chance of running into one for an insurance run. Very odd.
The YES telestrator was off all night, every time Michael Kay or Ken Singleton tried to use it to point something out, they were wide left. This, now this is the type of hard-hitting analysis you expect from RAB.
The Rays lost to the Blue Jays and the Red Sox were idle, so the Yankees are 1.5 games back in the division and 7.5 games up on the wildcard. As you can see in the sidebar, their magic number for a postseason berth is just 23.
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MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the nerdy stuff, and ESPN the updated standings.
Up Next
Off to Boston for the final Fenway Park series of the season. CC Sabathia will kick things off against John Lackey on Tuesday night. If you’re interested in going to the game, RAB Tickets can help get you there on the cheap.
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The YES telestrator was off all night, every time Michael Kay or Ken Singleton tried to use it to point something out, they were wide left. This, now this is the type of hard-hitting analysis you expect from RAB.
RIP D-Rob’s homerless strea
*streak
I kinda wanted Freddy to pitch the 7th, but he’s coming off the DL…take it easy on the sweaty fella, Girardi made the right move.
Related note, who thinks Swisher will top 30 HRs?
Even if he doesn’t- the FO better pick up his option
Posada hasn’t hit lefties at all
This is an understatement. Before tonight, he was hitting .102/.185/.119 vs. lefties. That’s worse than most NL pitchers. There’s no way Jorge should ever face a lefty again unless the Yanks are seriously undermanned. They weren’t tonight in the 9th.
No harm, no foul though.
If that’s an understatement what would you say in one sentence about Jorge not hitting lefties this year then?
“Posada’s epic failures against left handers this year have raised my blood pressure and caused milk to curdle in my refrigerator.”
Against LHP, Posada has a sub .300 OPS! (That’s OPS, not OBP!)
Against LHP, Posada has a sub .300 OPS! (That’s OPS, not OBP!)
AGAINST LHP, POSADA HAS A SUB .300 OPS (THART’S OPS, NOT OBP!)
AGAINST LHP, POSADA HAS A SUB .300 OPS (THART’S OPS, NOT OBP!)
Does Posada have a sub .300 OPS vs. LHP? Am I reading this right? You weren’t too clear..
Were my ears deceiving me or did Jack Curry make a WWI reference in the post-game show? (I think it was Soriano striking out someone; something along the lines of “…like Franz Ferdinand, he took him out.“)
heh heh
When he said that I was thinking of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijk4j-r7qPA
And I believe he said it on the Mark Reynolds homer, think about it, “Like Franz Ferdinand he took him out”, taking him (David Robertson) out (homer).
So, Jesse, wait…you think Curry made a reference to the band—and by extension their song—and not the Austrian Archduke whose assassination led to WWI? Makes sense.
I don’t know what’s weirder, that Curry is arguably hip enough to know who FF (the band) is; or that I as a card-carrying music geek immediately took it to be a WWI reference. Ha!
I have my money on him being “hip” enough. He does have a Blackberry or iPhone, or whatever the kids use these days.
I dunno, there are plenty of sportswriters w/ all the gadgets and hooked up to all the social networks who barely know who Lady GaGa is. (That one’s probably for the best. heh, heh)
Wait, isn’t she dead?
Can she pitch?
I haven’t seen an Englishman take a blow like that since Hugh Grant.
Dude!!
“This, now this is the type of hard-hitting analysis you expect from RAB.”
That’s not really analysis, its more straight up reporting. You really need to get deeper into the issue, maybe analyzing Singleton’s telestrating mechanics, or perhaps using Tele F/X data.
I expect more.
Oh shut up, there’s a reason why Axisa writes this blog and not you.
Its a joke. RELAX.
I thought “Tele F/X” was a nice touch.
the sweaty one continues to amaze me.
The irony is, we’re going to know after tomorrow’s game if the series will be a bad one for us.
Anything can happen, and there’s no resulting dooooom.
But if Lackey bests CC, we might as well look forward to Friday vs. Toronto.
(… as i secretly fantasize about a repeat of the 2009 Burnett v. Beckett game).
I try to fantasize about all the shellackings the Yankees put on Josh Beckett over the years prior to this one. I’d be shocked out of my mind if Hughes out-duels Beckett in Fenway.
If Lackey bests CC, shouldn’t that remind us that YCPB and thus indicate that the last two games are winnable (for either team) regardless of who is starting them?
Well, that’s already happened once.
You know, kinda like the last Fenway series where Lackey out dueled CC and the Yankees came one Mariano blown save away from beating both Lester and Beckett.
I suppose it ‘could.’
But you could also look at it as a mere continuation of CC’s 2011 struggles v. Boston.
Hughes besting Lester and/or Burnett besting Beckett is more surprising than CC losing to Lackey in Fenway right now.
To deny that, is basically to deny what’s happened thus far this year.
Lackey’s looked like a major leaguer since the Cortisone shot. Not a good major leaguer, but a pitcher that belongs in the big leagues.
Well at least Chris Singleton just put the whole scheduling thing into perspective.
Berthiaume is a complete POS, by the way.
He makes no effort to hide his biases.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=6201006
hahaha, thanks for that. Point proven.
Yup.
I think i misclicked. i’m getting directed to an article about Mlb the show and Ed Ott?
Please tell me you’re kidding about not seeing Berthiaume’s bias with his beloved Red Sox.
What are you talking about?! Of course i see that. I started this topic!
The posted link is taking me to some march 11th article that doesn’t mention yanks or sox.
Or am i reading it too fast? or the wrong link?
I know Berthiaume sucks, i was trying to find the correct article.
Lol sorry for the confusion. But, the link takes you to an article previewing MLB 11 The Show, you’re correct about that. But, unless you missed the video somehow, it shows Berthiaume playing MLB 11 The Show with “The Madden King” and Berthiaume is wearing a Red Sox jacket while the Madden guy is wearing a Mets jacket and Berthiaume recreated Yaz and Buckner and he went crazy and rose his voice in excitement when Buckner hit a game tying gap shot in like the 2nd inning or whatever and at the end they talked about playing online and evidently his username online is “Nationman”.
Ohhhh.. got it.
I was accessing it from iPhone and it showed the article but refused to play video.
Drove down to the stadium, it was gorgeous. Great win. They are 9-1 in games I see live. Cashman should buy me season tix.
Please go to Fenway for the next three. I’ll pay your way!!!
2 things:
can we retire “sweaty freddy”? the man’s nickname is “the chief”
that’s an extremely…festive picture of mattingly
Yeah, he has more than earned being called “The Chief”.
I don’t mind the nickname “Sweaty Freddy”, not just because it rhymes, but he tends to sweat a lot. But, I’m with you though, I’ll always know him as “The Cheif”.
And btw, I did not really see that in the Mattingly pic at first glance, but now that you say it….
Anyways, when the magic number goes down to 22 will there be a pic of Roger Clemens?? If so, my money is on Axisa using this pic: http://media.photobucket.com/i.....kees11.jpg
As a Venezuelan, I can tell you that his real nickname is “The Torpedo”. Anyway, any other is better than sweaty freddy lol.
Speaking of Fenway—and yes, I know this is not even a barely tenuous segue—how is it that a scab like Kevin Millar (he was a replacement player during the ’94-’95 strike) ended up w/ a decade-long career as a player in MLB and is now an analyst for MLBN? And why does he get absolutely no grief for crossing the picket line?
As for the playing part, the Marlins gave him a shot after their ’98 firesale and he had a few good years, then he had a couple decent years with the Red Sox. He hit some home runs, would take a walk, and played undemanding defensive positions.
The Red Sox wisely cut ties with him after 2005 and he just rode out the last few years when the Orioles and Blue Jays were silly enough to employ him.
As for him working for MLBN (and also Fox), well, people are stupid. MLBN has bad analysts anyway. What’s really more appalling is that they gave him a “talk show.” As if his voice, his frosted hair and his chin pubes weren’t annoying enough. I like also how the DirecTV description for that show describes him as “2004 World Series Champion Kevin Millar.” Is that supposed to make me care about his opinions?
I hear ya, Pat D. But I just don’t understand how his having been a replacement player would not preclude him from anything MLB-related besides his likeness not being used in baseball video games. I mean, MLB teams hiring a former scab—one who cannot be part of the MLBPA—should’ve raised a stink, but it didn’t. And for MLBN to do the same, well…
The MLBPA has always been in the wrong regarding replacement players, as far as I’m concerned. I remember when I still bought baseball video games having a list of guys I’d have to create since they weren’t in the game already. I think Shane Spencer might have been one of them, too.
MLBN certainly doesn’t have to pay attention to the MLBPA regarding anything, they’ll higher anyone they think is going to give them ratings.
Is Kay going to come up with a nickname for soriano/Robertson/mo like he did with “QuanGorMo” (sounds like the name of a mortal kombat villain)?
Is Kay going to come up with a nickname for soriano/Robertson/mo like he did with “QuanGorMo” (sounds like the name of a mortal kombat villain)? Maybe SorBertMo?
Freddy has been so good, just insane how much value we’ve gotten out of him. Also, I can’t wait for Thursday to see the roster moves. Also, found this and its exactly how I feel about Bud Selig and instant replay.
Errr
http://i.imgur.com/jamrc.jpg
Why is Burnett pitching in Boston with so much on the line!?!?! I can’t handle it anymore. Make some decisions Girardi!!!
Whats on the line? Maybe one game in the loss column. What if he goes out there and throws a 2008 Burnett start? He’ll get all the confidence in the world and it might be a jumping off point to pitching well in Sept and even October. There is much more to be gained than lost.
I hope the Yankees re-up Freddy for another year. Last season with the White Sox, his ERA/FIP/xFIP line didn’t turn out well, but he threw a decent chunk of innings and had 18 quality starts out of 28. Granted, that’s not the best stat, but if a bottom-of-the-rotation starter can consistently give a great offense like the Yankees’ six innings and three runs, they’d take it (especially on the cheap). And, obviously, Garcia has been even better than that this year, shattering preseason expectations.
If the Chief comes back next season and reverts to 2010 form, he’ll still be a good enough back-end starter when one considers the high-powered offense on his side.
I think quality starts is an underrated stat, its certainly better than wins. If you could find a starting pitcher with a 4.50 ERA who gave you exactly one quality start each game, I’d be all over that for a team with such high run support. If a player consistently throws quality starts, but the numbers are not in the optimal 3′s, I think I’d rather have the guy who’s gonna give you 8 scoreless one game and 6 ER in the next.
Sorry, I don’t want the guy who’s gonna be inconsistent and have their very good starts and their very bad.
Agreed, mbonzo.
Freddy has been great-gave up 2 hits last night. He has great control and his stuff should “age” well. Sign the man for next year. Almost every start this year has been good and he doesn’t implode.
The home plate ump was killing me in this game. He was calling pitches that were way inside to lefties strikes. And on Swisher’s first at bat after the homer, Simon* gave him a message-pitch 94 mph heater way up and in, without so much as a warning from the ump. Follow that 2 pitches later with a called strike that was way inside, and my blood was really boiling.
*The same guy who, you know, SHOT AND KILLED SOMEBODY in January of this year.
Didn’t mean to shoot him, just “Send Him A Message”. Shot got away from him. Don’t know for sure if the order came from Showalter or not. MLB will investigate when they’re done with ARod.
The ump had a huge strike zone for both teams last night.
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/.....evDate=829
Seems like it was particularly brutal with lefties up. Wasn’t anything egregious against righties. Wonder if it’s a positioning thing, apparently it was a young umpire? Seems like something he might be able to correct.
He stayed on the left side of the catcher all night and had no clue where the left inside black was…that swish called strike was easily 3 balls away from the black.
When he took off his mask, I thought he looked like he was 21. Seems like by the time they get to the pros, they are in their 40′s and are well seasoned (fat). He wasn’t shy though, calling them loud and without doubt.
So I was checking out Swish’s stats off the YES menu above. Why is Marcus Thames listed??? weird. . .
The Yankees signed him to a minor league deal a few weeks ago
The chances of Freddy Garcia pitching a quality start are high. The chances of Burnett throwing a quality start are slim and none.
So you’re saying there’s a chance?
/LloydChristmas’d
The walks, the wild pitches, the curves in the dirt, the falling behind hitters, the inability to hold baserunners, the mental weakness/implosion factor, the only having 2 pitches…..
Oh sorry-this was supposed to be sent thursday night at 9 PM…
Sometimes even a blind squirrel finds a nut…but what if that blind squirrel is nuts?
/ajisamentalmidget’d
Freddy Garcia is a #2 pitcher.
CC
Garcia
Colon
Nova
We’ll have to live and die with that rotation. Burnett dropped after Thursday’s start and Hughes dropped in the postseason.
Do not disagree with this order.
Would like to see Nova go against the BoSox though before postseason.
Hail to The Chief (The Sweaty Freddy Chief of sub-90 pitching)