Offense still MIA in walk-off loss to Angels

September 10, 2011 by Mike Axisa 85 Comments

On the bright side, at least they didn’t lose in extra innings this time. To the bullet points…

The Yankees have scored exactly one run in their last 16 innings, and that was Jesus Montero‘s solo homer off Jered Weaver in the third, a bomb over both bullpens to left. I honestly can’t remember the last time they had two runners on base at the same time, the whole offense is just stagnant. Perhaps it’s fatigue, given how ridiculous the last few days have been. Better to be slumping now than in three weeks, I guess.
Know what the sad part is? Bartolo Colon was pretty damn good. The only blemish on his line came when he had to get four outs in the fifth inning because Derek Jeter rushed a throw with the slow-footed Jeff Mathis plodding down the line. The error extended the inning and eventually led to the tying run. The defense has been pretty awful over the last few games as well, so is that another fatigue thing? Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, Colon struck out five and walked just one in seven innings, getting five strikeouts and eight grounders.
After another dominant eighth inning from David Robertson, Joe Girardi ran up the white flag in the ninth with Aaron Laffey (ground ball single) and Luis Ayala (line drove single, hit batter, walk-off sac fly). The bullpen was short yet again (how can a bullpen be short with 19 pitchers on the active roster?), but you know what? One earned run in nine innings is good enough to win. The blame goes to the offense in this one.
The Rays beat the Red Sox, so the lead in the division remains at 2.5 games while the lead in the wildcard shrunk to eight. Gotta hope Tampa sweeps that series, just so they close the gap on Boston and make them sweat a little down the stretch. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot stays stuck on 12. Anyway, here’s the box score, the FanGraphs stuff, and the standings.

Girardi said after the game that Nick Swisher had an MRI on his injured left elbow, but he didn’t have the results yet. I’m sure we’ll hear more tomorrow. These same two teams will give it a go on Saturday, when Dan Haren gets the ball against CC Sabathia. That’s another night game, starting at 9:05pm ET.

mbonzo

I gotta say, its one thing to complain about stupid strategy, and its another thing to complain about losing. Some Yankees fans really need to reevaluate whether you’re in this for the team or in it for the winning. Its about the war, not the battle, and it seems like a nice portion of fans only put on the Yankees cap to brag about the winning. The fact is that tonight was a win, the Yankees are still in the playoffs with almost 0% chance of losing that, no one got injured, and some key guys got rest. We also learned that Colon is still an animal and Montero can still hit righties. On top of all this, they almost one the game against a team that put out there best starter and is desperately fighting for a playoff spot. Yankees are not playing at 100% for the better of the team, and this complaining about the Yankees not putting out a Game 7 World Series lineup on the field is just blatantly asinine. Put yourself in Angels’ fans’ shoes, they almost lost to a team playing at 50%, while they’re at 200%.
- Zach
  
  even worse at the Yes forums.
- Matt DiBari
  
  There’s plenty of reason behind it. It might very well be the “right” thing to do. It most probably won’t cost us the playoffs.
  
  But (for the second year in a row) there is nothing *fun* about watching the Joe Girardi run out the stretch. And baseball, if nothing else, is supposed to be fun. Watching close games where Ayala and Laffey keep appearing (and last year it was Gaudin and Mitre), signaling that the manager really doesn’t care whether we win or lose feels like a big ol’ waste of everyone’s time.
  
  So I can see why people can be annoyed that they’re going to watch games for three more weeks that are going to be played like they don’t matter. There’s a reason I don’t watch Spring Training.
  - Tom
    
    It’s not even just that…Yesterday Girardi brought in Laffey to face a lefty, and pulled him for Wade for a right.
    
    On the face of it, a fairly routine LOOGY move…. only Wade actually gets lefties out at a far better clip then Laffey does! How can Girardi have this big of a logic fail… he basically only looks at the hitter splits.
    
    It was the same thing tonight… Girardi looked at his binder and with a switchhitter up notices he has an OPS ~60 points higher batting lefty… so turn him around and have him bat righty… seems like another no brainer, right
    
    Until of course you look at the pitchers in the pen… Ayala v lefties compared to Laffey v righties is a ~200pt OPS tradeoff! So he gained 60 points with the hitter and downgraded the pitcing by ~200pts… seem like a smart move?
    
    I don’t mind resting the pen and looking big picture…but the moves above have nothing to do with rest, it’s just poor tactical decisions and a real huge blindspot in assessing late game pitching matchups…. If you asked Girardi if he should bring in Logan or Laffey to face a lefty to lead off an inning before bringing in Mo or Robertson he surely would laugh at you and say obviously you go with the better pitcher.
    
    Not saying Ayala and Wade are equivalent to Mo and Robo, but the drop off from them to Laffey is substantial and he is simply ignoring it (especially with Wade who again is far better against lefties than Laffey)
  - Len S.
    
    I wish you around in the 80’s. I hate Yankee fans these days.
    - Len S.
      
      were around; goddammit.
- A-Rod’s Wingman
  
  They should be six up in the loss column against Boston but instead theyre up only three. Crappy defense and poor execution have cost this team three wins in the past three days.
- David, Jr.
  
  This. ++++.
  
  The team will win somewhere around 100 games and be a major World Series contender, but we have many geniuses who can manage better than Girardi. You should all apply for the next Major League managerial opening and see where your resumes get you.
  - toad
    
    So is criticism of Girardi not allowed? Is that your opinion?
http://johnsterling.blogspot.com/ Xstar7

These last 3 games have sucked. But at least they’ve picked a good time to have this hiccup. The Rex Sox haven’t been playing any better as of late. And I’m not worried about the Rays yet.
Cy Pettitte

“Bartolo Colon said his stomach was bothering him the entire night. And… go.”

http://twitter.com/#!/BryanHoc.....8533422080

So Bartolo might of had a rittle bit of diarrhea but he battled through it?

/ChanHoPark’d
Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat

Good lord, that game thread got crazy. Get over it, people. It’s just 3 games. If we were in the Red Sox’s position, RAB would have to be shut down.
- http://bleedingyankeeblue.com Jesse
  
  Do you know who Vocabularry and blue balls are? Seriously? Are they just trolls who pop up during losses like this???
- Brian S.
  
  Sorry, everyone and their mother on the blog I was chatting on saw that when Girardi put in Laffey that the game was lost. People have a right to be upset when the Yankees lose the exact same way they do the day before and it could have easily been avoided.
  - Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat
    
    Callaspo has been worse against LHP this year. Logan has sucked ballz lately. Laffey got a ground ball with eyes. I get that people are upset, but sometimes you gotta lose the battle to win the war.
    - David N
      
      The Angels get ground balls with eyes so often against the Yankees it’s not even funny anymore.
      
      The most irritating part of this is that we might have had a decent shot at someone other than Walden. All we needed was one more solid inning out of the pen and then you take your chances, and if you lose in extras with your mediocre guys against their mediocre guys so be it. It would have been nice to send a message with this one that we can win even when the offense is sputtering (and yes, they’re tired, but there are no more real off days the rest of the way, so they’re going to have to get themselves in gear one way or another).
      
      Ultimately, it’s not a big deal, but I just hate losing the same game to the Angels over and over again.
    - Tom
      
      Worth repeating (again) as people do not understand it’s not just the hitting splits that determine the decision.
      
      Laffey vs righties (.928 OPS against)
      Ayala vs lefties (.726 OP against)
      
      Callaspo is 61 points worse from the right side.
      
      SO I understand the folks who defending this decision… can someone explain how gaining a modest 61pt OPS split makes sense bv downgrading the pitching by 200OPS against? Ayala was coming in anyway, so this wasn’t about rest or winnig the war… Girardi actually thought Laffey facing a righty was better than Ayala against a lefty (the above #’s show how bad that logic was)
      
      To give an extreme example… if Mo was pitching that inning do you first bring in Laffey to turn Callaspo around and bring MO in for the 2nd batter? Yeah this is hyperbole and an uttelry ridiculus question… but the reason it would be insane is that it’s not just the hitter splits that matter… it’s also the pitcher quality. While Ayala is not Mo, the #’s above show what you are trading off.
      
      Girardi’s assumption is that everyone outside of Mo, Robertson and Ayala are all close enough in quality that the handedness of the pitcher should dictate the matchup. That obviously is not the case.
      - Jetrer
        
        I generally agree, but I’m thinking it might be partially trying out Laffey to see if he can be of any use, especially with Logan struggling lately. Hopefully they determing quickly that he sucks. It might also be trying to steal an out with Laffey since Ayala was pitching in his third straight game, and maybe they wanted to at least try to limit his pitches. I would have preferred Ayala just start the inning, but I doubt the outcome would have been any different. Its not like Laffey got hit hard anyways, he gave up a cheap infield single.
        
        Tom
        
        He tried him out last night and that failed too… If he is seriously considering Laffey for the playoff roster Cashman might as well fire Girardi right now. If you are referring to being of use for the remaining games that is equally insane – there are RIGHTIES in the pen with better splits against lefty hitters (I’m talking beyond the big three). This lefty batter = lefty pitcher caveman logic is absurd.
        
        At what point does the actual performance trump the hand the guy throws with? If a righty gets out lefties better, why would you use continue to use the lefty? It’s not whether the outcome would have been different or not, it’s just really bad tactical managing and an inability of Giriardi to learn from his mistakes.
        
        As another example – how many times have you seen him bring in Logan to face a bottom of the order lefty and watch in amazement as the opposing manager brings in a better hitting righty (while Girardi is apparenly unable to foresee that move- he then end up with Logan against a better hitting righty vs a guy like Wade or Ayala against a weaker hitting lefty)
        
        Girardi is a slave to same handed matchups with the exception of his 7th, 8th, 9th inning guys (TM). He needs to realize the quality of pitcher often trumps the platoon advantage especially as baseball has this fairly new rule where the opposing manager can actually pinch hit and negate the platoon advantage.
        
        Unless he only goes 3 deep in the pen in the playoffs, it will cost them down the line if he needs a reliever before the 7th inning or after the 9th inning….
- Jimmy McNulty
  
  Okay, game threads are overreaction central. Anytime a player does something good they always get over praised. Jeter gets a clutch hit? JETER IS BACK!!!! Cano gets a big hit? MVP!!!!! Granderson does anything? MVP MVP MVP MVP!!!! Despite several players having better cases. The opposite holds true too, when a reliever blows a lead? DFA ASAP!!!!!! It’s natural, it’s human emotion.
  
  The whole concept of being attached to a team of professionals is, in it of itself, irrational. We all seem to be okay with that, we all seem to embrace the emotional attachment, why not embrace the emotions that go along with watching a close game as it happens? There were two great pitching performances, a fan favorite took one of the best in the game deep, and the lead was blown on a shit play by the defense. Not to mention, the status of a key contributor and one of the most beloved players is in doubt. Yeah, that’ll drum up some emotion.
  
  Lets say the division was tied and the Red Sox lost a close game on a shit call and the Yankees got lucky, would you be yelling at the fans that were so overjoyed that they were already buying WS tickets and canceling their plans in October? Fuck no, you’d join them. The opposite holds true too. I’m not saying they’re right, but were all fans and we all have an emotional attachment to the Yankees…maybe we shouldn’t judge our fellow fans based on comments in a game thread, but rather on their comments the next day, or even in the recap thread?
Brian S.

I’m sorry but Joe Girardi saw this same strategy (using terrible relievers in a tie game walk-off situation) blow up in his face yesterday and he does the same thing again. Robertson threw 13 stress free pitches! Rivera could have thrown an inning! Wade and Noesi were both available! Girardi is punting another September.
- Cy Pettitte
  
  Joe G. doesn’t give a shit about these games. He wants to coast into the playoffs and rest the important bullpen arms as much as possible.
- Jetrer
  
  Wade and Noesi were most likely not available, due to their recent workloads, and Robertson has been used heavily lately, no need to push him an extra inning. Using Mo for an inning just means Laffey and/or Ayala pitch the 10th instead of the ninth.
  - Evan3457
    
    Girardi said Soriano and Wade were not available.
The Humungus

FUCK JoeyJoeJoe AND his GODDAMNED binder.

And to HELL with that face-fucking 9th inning.

Anyone who chooses Laffey + Ayala over the available options is someone who has NO interest in winning the ballgame …
http://riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

Way too much energy is being wasted on complaints about Laffey and the bullpen. They could have played 20 innings tonight and the Yankees weren’t scoring another run. The pitching staff more than gave them a chance to win.
- Brian S.
  
  Except Weaver and Walden were out. They would have had an easier time scratching a run off of Fernando Rodney.
  - Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat
    
    They got shot down by the freakin orioles bullpen. The offense has been dead the last 3 games.
  - http://riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
    
    In theory. The O’s bullpen just carved them up over the last two days though.
Nick

Hard to complain about a tough loss to Jered Weaver, but man, it’s starting to feel like the last 2 Septembers all over again.

It’s at the point where I wonder if they’ve just been in “We’re in the playoffs so let’s save our energy” mode the past 3 years.
- http://riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Why does everyone keep saying the last two Septembers? Sept. 2009 went pretty damn well, IIRC.
  - Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat
    
    19-9
    - Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat
      
      Second highest WP of any month that year.
  - Matt DiBari
    
    September 09 they rested and won. September 2010 we saw a lot of Chad Gaudin and lost alot, including eventually the division.
    - http://bleedingyankeeblue.com Jesse
      
      And too much f’ing Sergio Mitre, especially in biggish games:
      http://www.baseball-reference......9130.shtml
pogolou

That’s a bunch of hyperbole. Who knows how the next inning would have gone.
Rich in NJ

Watching Montero develop makes losses more tolerable.
Salty Buggah

19 pitchers – 6 starters – 2 resting top relievers – recently worked Wade/Noesi (seriously hope they get another day or 2 off) – dead-armed Logan = D-Rob, Ayala, Betances, Brackman, Laffey, Kontos, Proctor, and Valdes.

Who did everyone expect Girardi to use? I don’t see the point in complaining about who pitched, especially when the Yanks still have a pretty safe lead for a playoff spot.

Aside: maybe Mo was available, but I think Girardi might have been saving him for a save situation. It’s stupid, but that’s a different complaint and it’s September, so it doesn’t annoy me as much.
- Len S.
  
  They complain because they bitches on two legs.
Freddy Garcia’s 86 mph Heat

What is MIA supposed to mean?
- http://johnsterling.blogspot.com/ Xstar7
  
  missing in action
- FIPster Doofus
  
  Montero Is Awesome
- Jedile
  
  Montero In Action!
Mark

Carig says Logan told him he has a dead arm so maybe that explains his awfulness? I know it is late on the west coast, but kind of hard to believe they don’t have the MRI results on Swish.
- Rich in NJ
  
  Did Logan have a dead arm at the beginning of the season too?
A-Rod’s Wingman

One of these days, just one of these days I’d like to pick up a game on the Red Sox.
- Mister D
  
  And I’m sure the Red Sox would like to pick up a game on us.
Justin

Anyone else fear the worst w/ Swisher’s elbow? I dont wanna jinx him but I dont want him to be Xavier Nady’d
- Urban
  
  I had the same thought. I hope not. Swisher hopes not, too! It’ll cost him a good twenty million or so based on the Yankees not picking up his 2012 option, and then him having to show he’s made it all the way back in 2013 before he can sign a big contract.
Urban

Missed tonight’s game, but took a quick spin through the game thread just now, as well as the recap.

All I have to say is there are a few too many whiny losers out there. It’s baseball. If you can’t take the ups and downs, especially with a team like the Yankees, then baseball is not your sport.
- Len S.
  
  Whiny bitches! They like the myth of Steinbrenner. I was at the game that he got banned. Everyone gave a standing ovation. That didn’t happen by accident.
forensic

Well, since everyone put in their two cents…

My problem with the bullpen choices isn’t that they’re resting guys like Mo, Soriano, Robertson at times, that’s fine. It’s the long-standing issue organization-wide (I don’t only blame Girardi, it’s the whole organization’s problem…) of using guys that have no possible collateral positive affect on your franchise’s present or future. I’m largely in the Steven Goldman corner of this argument, where September baseball can get really aggravating with things like this happening over and over. Proctor, Laffey, Valdez (his roster spot), even Ayala, have basically no potential for improvement or long-term affects to the franchise, so where is the upside of using them?

At least trying guys like Betances, Banuelos, Kontos, Brackman, Warren, Phelps, could give you an idea of what they can or can’t do at this level, instead of wasting yet another season without knowing what you may have, which will inevitably lead to more Proctor’s, Laffey’s, and Gordon’s than potential short-term lightning in a bottle and long-term positive merit in more ways to the organization.

It’s the same thing they did to Montero in terms of position players. Cervelli has no long-term future with the organization, but rather than give Montero more than 50-75 AB’s in September against who knows what caliber of pitcher, they instead left him in the minors so they will again go into next year wondering what they really may have in him.
- Pasqua
  
  I understand the thought here, but it’s hyperbole to say that not using the aforementioned young guys is “wasting a season without knowing what [the team] may have.” A few relief appearances in September will not show the team anything about what they “have” in those guys. That’s an assessment that gets made over the course of years in the minors. If Kontos, for instance, gave up five runs over the course of five ML innings in September, would the Yankees suddenly say, “Well, shit. Thought we had something there, but I guess he’s just a bust”? By the same token, would five scoreless innings change their opinion either? If it did, it would be horrifically irresponsible.
stuart a

so callaspo feeble right handed ops is slightly better then his lefty stats so trun him around and use aaron laffey to take advantage of this deficinecy.

i have heard it all now. aaron friggin laffey and his splits. give me a break.

girardi is a dope… how about kontos. the guy has great #’s in the minors. if your going to give away a game might as well see if the young guys can perform…

aaron laffey and luis ayala a guy i think was waived by washington…

also the nunez has the green light to run whenever he wants. the guy is a 24 yr old dope, do not leave it up to him, tell him to run ealry in the count period. like letting jeter do his stupid 1st inning bunt routine, don’t give him a choice . tell him what to do..

the yanks win despite girardi… he is a avg manager at best…………francona is way better then him…………
M-Three

When is every Yankee fan going to stop overated Luis Ayala. He hasn’t pitched as well his ERA makes it look. The only reason his era is so low is because he never gives up any his own base runners and only the ones that other guys allowed on. Ayala has been a bum for most his career. Its time everyone realize that he nothing more than another mop-up guy like Mitre and Park were. Hopefully Girardi gets a clue and doesn’t allow Ayala anywhere near the postseason roster.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  I don’t think anyone here overrates Luis Ayala. I’m pretty sure we’re all in agreement here that he’s generally bad, the worst sub-2.00 ERA out there.
  - Wil Nieves Number 1 Fan
    
    This.
http://www.yankeenumbers.com Mr. Sparkle

Personally, this is what I’ve come to expect from the 2011 Yankees. A few games ago they running through a stretch where they were plowing through their playoff magic number and hitting on just about all cylinders (except for the starters.) Then, they hit a wall and turn in a few clunkers.

It’s not exactly breaking news that this is a streaky team and has been doing this all year. They’ll probably lose tomorrow, maybe Sunday, then break out with a 12-run effort or something like that.

I think the tension is that they haven’t been able to chip away at that magic number in a while and everyone is believing the hype that Tampa or the Angels actually have a chance to get back into the race.

Here’s the breakdown:

If the Yankees go 9-10 the rest of the way, the Rays will have to go 17-2 to tie. The Angels will have to go 18-1 to tie. If the Yankees can’t play .500 ball the rest of the way, maybe they don’t deserve a playoff spot. Think about it, even a 12-7 record guarantees a spot no matter what anyone else does. Even with questionable starting pitching and Joe mismanaging his September call-up flexibility, winning 12 of 19 is not asking too much.

Oh, yeah, it would have been nice to add some padding over Boston, especially with three very winnable games ending up in the loss column. But…it didn’t happen. These two have been almost mirroring themselves all year, so I won’t be surprised when Boston shapes up, the Yanks (hopefully) will as well.
- http://riveravenueblues.com marty lieberman
  
  your basic “math” is of course correct but misleading in that the yanks have 3 left with boston and 7? left with the rays. they end the season in tampa i believe and so the rays only need to be 3 out at that point where a sweep ties them with the yanks. so i look at them as now being 5 out. do you really want to be in the position of HAVING to win at least 1 in tampa at he end to clinch post season?
Jimmy McNulty

Losses suck, I don’t give a shit how loyal or reasonable of a fan you arem, losing blows. No one looks at the box score of a loss and goes “FUCK YES!!!!!” Nor did any fan watching fist pump after the loss. Hence, it’s acceptable to feel the opposite of joy, anguish, after losses. I don’t see what’s so difficult about this. It’s natural, if it’s okay to be happy about a win it’s okay to be pissed about a loss. Winning is awesome, avoiding something that blows…especially when the other result is something awesome like winning is always a good thing. When the opposite happens it’s a bad thing, especially when it’s the third day in a row that happened and the third day in a row that the team could have gained a game in the division.
- first time lawng time
  
  especially when it’s the third day in a row that happened and the third day in a row that the team could have gained a game in the division.
  
  People have to stop dwelling on this. Stop dwelling on “what could have been.” It didn’t happen. It’s in the past, so just forget about it and move. Yes, they didn’t win the games they could have. You know what you say to that? “Oh well.” And move on. Just let it go and look towards a bright future.
  
  It’s okay to be mad about losing. I’m not telling you (well, not just you, I’m directing this at multiple people here) to not be mad. I’m just giving some advice.
  - Pasqua
    
    And, to add…think how the Red Sox fans must feel. Three straight Yankees losses, and nothing to show for it.
Cuso

Not sure why people are categorizing this last stretch as the “Joe Girardi brand of September.”

Probably because they point to final regular season records and division titles. But this September is basically like every other September that we’ve had.

Even the 1998 team (believe it or not) went through a cruddy September stretch. And don’t even get me started on the 2000 team’s dreadful backpedal into the postseason.

Bottom line, they’re getting to the postseason. And they’re also very likely to end up with the best record in the AL.

The human beings that play for the NY Yankees are a little tired. Colon pitched great and the bats were sluggish. Playing the SoRoMo every single day right now makes zero sense – Joe needs to see what else he has to work with heading into October.

Relax.

No ground lost and CC tomorrow.
- first time lawng time
  
  2009 Yankees went 19-9 in September.
  
  I just think people don’t want it to be like last year when the Yankees went on an 8 game win streak then totally fell apart. The offense was non existent through September and into the ALCS. Actually, the pitching sucked, too.
Kosmo

It´s difficult to play a make up game in Baltimore, hop a plane to Anaheim to play the following evening. There is a little less jet lag going east to west, but it does take a physical toll. C´mon the Yanks are a somnambulate team right now, hopefully they respond better today.
I know Girardi doesn´t want to put added pressure on Montero, but it would be fun to see him bat cleanup for a game or two just to see what he can do.
Right now Granderson could probably kiss the MVP goodbye. He´s in a terrible slide. I don´t have his recent splits in front of me but it must be something like 5 for his last 40. Hopefully he snaps out of it.
- Monteroisdinero
  
  Should have played Golson. Rested and ready.
- forensic
  
  Granderson is hitting .164 (11-68, 25 K’s) over his last 19 games with an OPS under .750.
  
  As for the MVP, I just don’t see how he could win it, even somewhat before this recent slump. Consider:
  
  If his slump continues he’ll finish the season with a BA in the .260’s (he’s at .270 now, so he probably won’t make the .280’s even if he starts hitting again). Since 1979, only one AL MVP finished with a BA even under .300 (A-Rod at .298 in 2003). Nobody in the .270’s has won it since 1969 (Harmon Killebrew). Only ONE person has EVER won it hitting in the .260’s (Roger Maris in 1961, you may have heard of that season).
  
  Though there are probably slightly different standards, for NL MVP only one player has won under .300 since 1989 (Rollins at .296 in 2007). The last one in the .270’s was Johnny Bench (1972). The only winner in the .260’s was Marty Marion in 1944 (.267/.324/.362, really BBWAA???).
  
  He is currently at 154 strikeouts, and with a couple weeks left you can probably add another 30-40 to that… The most strikeouts EVER for an AL MVP was 150 for Mo Vaughn (1995). The second-most was down at 139 for A-Rod (2005).
  
  Right or wrong, I just don’t see it happening…
  - Monteroisdinero
    
    Agreed and he shouldn’t win it. Montero now needs to bat in the first inning of every game for the rest of the regular season. Put Grandy lower down and rest him as much as possible for the post season.
    - forensic
      
      Are you related to Montero? Do you get a royalty from him every time you mention his name in a post? When was the last time you made comment without turning it back around to him? Just saying, to each their own, but you might want to lay off the obsession a little bit. It seems to be getting to the point of being unhealthy.
      - Kosmo
        
        I think he is responding to my above post ??
        I guess it´s OK to be obsessed with the Yanks ???
        
        forensic
        
        I guess, and sorry if it was a little harsh, but I really can’t remember his last post or two that didn’t mention Montero.
        
        Monteroisdinero
        
        I make lots of comments on all the players-all for the YANKS obsession that I have. But thanks for your analysis.
first time lawng time

So yesterday I was really looking forward to this game, because I haven’t really been able to watch any lately. So all day, I’m looking forward to the game. You know what happens? In between the top and bottom of the first inning, I fall asleep. I don’t wake up for two hours, and when I do, it’s the top of the 8th. At that point, I’m all groggy and I’m like, ‘this game will probably go into extras, it’s not even worth watching, I’ll just go to bed,’

I guess I didn’t miss much, then? I haven’t been watching them closely lately, but the offense seems to be slumping.
first time lawng time

Everyone is pissed about how the Yankees couldn’t extend the lead in the division

Seriously, how pissed do you think Boston fans are right now? They’re probably saying, “Those fucking Yankees suck and keep on losing but the Red Sox won’t do a damn thing. They could have a 0.5 game lead in the division right now.” But with their Boston accents.

Or something along those lines.
Sandman42

This team is 18-21 in 1 run games and 4-9 in extra inning games. That is not a good sign heading into the playoffs. Since we know they suffer from offensive ineptitude, they atleast need the bullpen to hold its own. They should decide right now if they think Hughes will be one of the top 3 starters in the playoffs. If not, they need to move him to the pen for the playoff run and hope he turns in 2009 Hughes.

There are like 18 games left, so forget about the little 5th starter battle, its meaningless now and AJ is to be no where near the playoff roster.

An extended Hughes can hopefully give you 1-2 shutdown innings, with DRob and Mo, you have a good pen. I do NOT trust Soriano one bit. If they’re going to rely on just those 2 without another shutdown reliever, they’re going to lose in the ALDS. As we’ve seen the last 2 years, save for AROD in 2009 and maybe granderson/berkman last year, they don’t hit in the playoffs. Without having Andy this year as a solid 2nd reliable playoff starter than can go deep, without the extra reliever they’re 1 and done.

Hughes will be the savior if binder joe allows it.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  One-run games aren’t indicative of anything though. Because they’re such a small margin of victory, they’re prone to freakish little things that may or may not be sustainable. Like last night, how many times would Jeter make that error?
  
  Records in games decided in 3+ runs is far more indicative of a team’s true talent level. Weird stuff can happen in a one-run game.
  - Evan3457
    
    Indeed. Usually good teams, great teams, have a decent to good record in one-run games, but a much better record in blowouts.
    
    Championship teams occasionally have a losing record in one-run games. Last time it happened was 2007, when the Red Sox went 22-28 in one-run games in the regular season.
    
    The Cards were 22-27 in 2006, but in truth, they weren’t even a good team. They lucked into the post-season and got silly hot.
    
    11 more champions with below .500 records in one-run games:
    
    2004 Red Sox: 16-18
    2001 Diamondbacks: 23-25
    1981 Dodgers: 16-21
    1974 A’s: 25-28
    1972 A’s: 23-26
    1956 Yanks: 18-19
    1948 Indians: 10-20 (!)
    1947 Yanks: 22-29
    1935 Tigers: 19-27
    1926 Cards: 19-23
    1921 Giants: 22-25
    
    Three teams that played even .500 ball in one-run games also won it all: 1920 Indians, 1953 Yanks, and 1988 Dodgers. As I scanned through BRef, I noted about 3 or 4 champs were 1 game over in one-run games, and about another half-dozen were 2 games over.
Wil Nieves Number 1 Fan

I like how Ayala’s ERA dropped to 1.84.
Mister D

Given how nuts things have been the past few days, we have to expect some hiccups in performance. All things considered, if I had a choice between a W or a good performance from Colon, I’ll take Colon without question. That is far more likely to matter in the long run (if you consider the rest of the season the long run).
Tyrion Lannister

The difference in last night’s ballgame is that one manager was trying to win and the other just wanted to go home and sleep.
- Evan3457
  
  You say that like it’s a bad thing.
  
  The first manager is fighting game by game for his team’s life, just to make the post-season, is in the middle of a homestand, and had a day off the day before.
  
  The second manager leads his division, and is 8 games in the loss column away from being tied for the Wild Card, and his team was playing its 3rd game in 3 different cities in 3 days.
Greg

This is exactly what I was talking abut yhesterday with Girardi.

Girardi is nt trying to lose games. He’s not the one making errors on the field and throwing bad pitches.

Yet he turns into the spawn of Satan whenever the Yankees lose around here. My goodness.
LiterallyFigurative

Last night’s loss didn’t bother me nearly as much as the two losses to Baltimore.

Anaheim ran out a top Cy Young candidate (not the winner, but a candidate), and they are fighting for their playoff lives. Oh, BTW the game was in Anaheim. No shame in losing a one-run game to them.

I had no problem with trying out Laffey in that situation. It’s not like he gave up a booming double. It was a seeing eye single. Ayala’s numbers are decieving, but he was the 25th man on the 25 man roster. Who do you want to do that job? You take what you get from that spot.

The Yanks have played everyday, just about all of them close games, and had used SoRoMo plenty over the winning streak. Use the rest of the relievers for a few days, and keep the big pen arms fresh. Sometimes it’s worth it losing the battle in order to win the war.(There is a reason cliches become cliches)

Plus, the offense has to pull their weight. With Swisher banged up, and Grandy, Tiex and Robbie slumping, the offense is sure to look bad.
Tom Zig

Can we stop hitting Tex third already? 2nd straight down year.
Zach

Tex needs to be dropped now. And in the off season, K Long or someone else needs to sit him down and tell him that he needs to change his stupid swing.