Game 55: Sole Possession
By
(REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine)
Baseball math is weird, and I don’t just mean the advanced stats. Batting average is weird because sacrifice flies don’t count as an at-bat. ERA is weird because a homerun can be an unearned run. The standings are weird because right now, the Yankees are half-a-game back of the Rays (and Orioles) for sole possession of first place in the AL East. There’s no such thing as a half-game, you either win or lose. With a win tonight (and some help from the Red Sox), the Yanks will be sole possession of first place in the AL East for the first time since April 21st, after the big 15-9 comeback win in Fenway Park. It’s been a while. Here’s the batting order…
SS Derek Jeter
CF Curtis Granderson
DH Alex Rodriguez
2B Robinson Cano
1B Mark Teixeira
LF Raul Ibanez
RF Nick Swisher
3B Eric Chavez
C Russell Martin
RHP Ivan Nova
Tonight’s game starts a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on YES locally and ESPN2 nationally. Enjoy.
Brett Gardner Update: Gardner (elbow) was sore after hitting the cage yesterday and took today off. It’s nothing serious and he will play in a minor league rehab game tomorrow, likely with High-A Tampa.
David Robertson Update: Robertson (oblique) will throw batting practice tomorrow and if that goes well, he’ll appear in his first minor league rehab game on Sunday. Hooray for that.
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Swishilicious!
Nice photo, haha…
Let’s go Dumples!
Did they say Soor in the elbow or just from finally getting off the couch for the first time in a month? Elbow would have me worried because Gardner doesn’t seam like a fast healer
Its just been described as “normal” soreness. So the latter.
Who’s Alex Cobb? And why have I seen him referred to as Bob?
I laughed
http://riveraveblues.com/2012/...../#comments
I am brilliant. This has nothing to do with anything, but to this point it’s exactly the way I thought it would go for that team.
Except for the whole, “they’ll win the division hands down,” thing. Which seems like the most important part of a preseason prediction.
They still will. But I should’ve stuck my neck out further, you’re right.
Let’s do this!
I like that Ivan is striking more guys out, but I think a lot of that has to do with his pitches have been up in the zone more, which is also leading to him being hit more. His fastball is coming in a little hotter than last year, so he’s blowing away weaker hacks, but getting beat by better swings.
That’s been my impression, also: too many pitches up in the zone.
Consistent with this is what they just said: his SO-W ratio is “very good”. It’s too good.
That’s what I said lol, his pitches are up. Pitches up in the zone are either swung through/under, or hit hard.
melky 1 for 1 with a double so far
ops stands at .949
not a bash at anyone (cash man etc) just amazed at the season he’s having
Honestly the only pitcher not on his team that I’m impressed by in that Division is Kershaw.
Wait a couple of weeks.
@BauerOutage is coming…
ian kennedy
boom!
Ha, gotta give credit, he’s been good.
those are big numbers against any pitcher
10-8 game, I smell it
No…I’m already tired. I can’t make it through a game that long lol.
((Hypnosis)))
You will watch 9 innings. You will watch 9 innings.
…if it makes you feel better, I’m stuck with Staats & BA. All 3 games blacked out on the national games here.
Not to mention, I’ll be blacked out for all Yanks-Mets game because of Rays-Marlins.
dude…MLB.tv. Radio broadcasts are completely black out free, and you get every game on any computer/any thing with internet access for 15 month. Home or away broadcast, which ever you prefer, with live look ins to every game in the majors. Usually the Yankee game will get in a look-in or two.
yeah. I just don’t wanna sit in my car lol
Who said anything about sitting in your car lol. You’re obviously on the computer. With Internet access, so boon your set. and it’s not 15 per month, my bad, it’s 15 for the entire season.
You had me at hello
Do you work for them? That was an awfully good script/pitch.
No, just somebody who’s taken a few marketing classes who is very satisfied with the product. Minus a few seconds of dead air, especially when you go from video back to radio, I have zero complaints.
Haha, I love it. The second I try to spread good words about their product they loose the WCBS broadcast.
I’ll switch to ESPN once my dad starts watching on TV. Until then I’m stuck with SunSports.
Sigh.
If you’re in Florida market you’ll watching replay of Sportsnation
That’s unfortunate. Luckily, I’m not.
Ugh. I mean….I’ll take a W no matter how it comes. But I’d really like another easy W.
That. I am also tired, I’d like a quick win if I could pick.
Nova needs to turn it around tonight. This is a weak offense minus their best hitter. He can’t keep going out there and leaving pitch after pitch belt high. What happened to his sinking fastball?
Waldman just said Nova was sent down last year to “work on his slider” anybody with half a brain knows that he was sent down to make room for (IMO) a completely undeserving Hughes.
they told him to work on that pitch while was down, so he’s not wrong when that was said
but lets be real, that’s not at all while he was sent down. At all.
Niiiiiiiiiiiice!!!!
SO on a low pitch and GIDP are a good sign so far.
Sweetness.
Ahhh my last in-market game for a loooong time. Hopefully Nova pulls out a win for me.
Heh. Welcome to the out-of-market community.
MLB.TV will save me. I just found out a couple of weeks ago that I can stream it through my xbox, which is HDMI equipped. Not a huge downgrade. It will still be weird though.
Let me clarify: not a downgrade as long as I bought the right internet package yesterday, and bought the right router today. That remains to be seen.
Sounds like you two need the MLB extra innings package. You can get that with your silly Microsoft video game system, right jjyank?
I’m getting mlb.tv, but I’m not paying for cable television at all.
Honestly, there’s no reason to. All you need these days is internet access.
Yep. I can use my parents’ info to stream Netflix and HBO through my xbox as well, why the hell do I need cable?
and if you have a laptop with an HDMI port, if you download things (legally of course) you can just drag it from your laptop monitor over to the TV.
++
By the way, I loved the pregame ceremony with the Wounded Warriors Foundation and that Swish has made that his new charity project.
Ground ball is good.
Harsh that Matsui’s hitting .150.
And another ground ball!
Another nice inning for Nova.
Really liking the ground balls.
Yep. That’s the key for Nova. If he can find a happy median between strikeouts and ground balls, he’ll be a damn good pitcher.
Totally agree, it will be awesome when he puts it all together!
Same here!
Wait, WAT? Joey Votto has pulled ONE foul ball down the line in FOUR YEARS? INSANE!!
Tex destroyed that
crushed that hanger
Hanging curve
I missed it in the kitchen!!
What kind of pitch was it???
Hanging curveball
Bad curveball, hung in the zone.
dead texy
Aah: hanging curve.
It was a HR in YS3, thus it doesn’t count because its a bandbox. Plus it would never happen in the playoffs.
/ESPN’d
Even ESPN would not make the bandbox arguement because both teams thrive on it
They make it all the time. At least in my experience. All our guys’ numbers “shouldn’t count as much compared to other guys’ because the Yankees play half their games in a bandbox” is something I hear every year immediately before the season, in the run up to the playoffs, and around the time awards are being decided.
cone is such a great commentator. That fact cannot be stated enough. What a great guy in the booth
Agreed. Cone is easily my favorite guy in the booth.
I loved the high strikeout + high ground ball rate = King Felix comment
Coney up on the hot sabermetrics
I <3 Cone <3ing sabermetrics, what was he talking about? The most advanced the radio get is OBP. I Think they brought up ERA+ once in passing to talk about how Mo is the best pitcher inning for inning of all time.
Ground ball rate amongst pitchers
First homer of the season for this Cobb kid. We hit to many homers, there’s no way we can beat good teams with all these homers.
Clearly not a playoff team. Homers don’t win World Series.
I mean most of those homers in Game Six of the ’77 Series were in Garbage Time anyway.
Ha true, never thought about it that way.
I consider the Rays a pretty damn good team. I do agree though… need to find another way of scoring runs
…..
You’re new here, aren’t you?
I guess I have to up my sarcasm meter around here.
Look at all those frigging empty seats behind the plate. I thought supposedly they try to move people back there so it doesn’t look empty all through the game?
One of my biggest issues since this stadium opened. 50% of the seats back there are almost never filled, very sad to see!
They can’t. Those are the expensive seats, so no way will they move people into them when other people there paid full price.
Another ground out!
Coney’s at it again
he’s so smart
the dude didnt even try to get out of the way…
He’s gritty!
That call is very rarely made these days
Yeah, especially on a fastball in.
I give the Rays broadcasters credit for pointing it out though.
He is really keeping the ball down or up and in.
Good Ivan may have shown up tonight.
let’s see what happens when he goes through the order a second time
agree, but I have a strange sense of confidence with the way he’s been so far.
Both pitchers are pitching well; keeping the ball down and getting ground balls
uh oh. we’ve got thunder.
It’s raining outside my window on East 55th Street.
Still really nice in Jersey
east village here. loud thunder.
Russell has to block that with his body
Darn. Would’ve been nice to get 2 there.
Maddon’s a genius!
Damnit I walk away for ten minutes and there’s a runner on third. What happened?
ROOTING AGAINST MATSUI!!!!!!!!
but…but…but teh clutchiness?!?!
Matusi’s had dermabrasion.
The acne scars are gone?
They all appear to be gone. He does look younger, but it doesn’t make his bat any faster!
Honestly, I would’ve done it years ago if I was him.
I was wondering why he looked younger!
YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
Let’s get some insurance runs boys! Nova’s looked good, and I like him…but a one-run lead isn’t inspiring with a guy that’s given up so many extra base hits. Get it done!
Whew. I had horrible expectations when that was hit.
Curious, for you guys watching the TV, when Coney starts going on about sabermetrics does Kay try to argue back with silliness still, or does he just sit there in confusion/silence?
Disclaimer: I was eating dinner, so haven’t been listening (just watching) for the last half-hour/45 min or so. But from my experience, he mostly just sits in silence.
It partially shuts him up. Which is the best damn thing about it.
No. He usally lets him have his say.
I remember last season during a game Coney was talking about how WHIP and K/BB and ERA are better ways to judge pitchers than wins. Kay disagrees.
Kay gets flummoxed and starts eating random condiments
Srsly. Let’s score some more RUNS.
That last pitch looked hittable!
damn should have been a 2 run HR
FALLACY
Robbie Cano!!! TO MANY HOMERZ!!!!!!
hmmm… if only there was a runner on base
Predetermined outcome
has nothing to do with wishing a runner was on base when Robbie hit the HR
and I knew you were going to say that … getting way too predicable with your comments
Agreed. That’s why I loathe the bastard.
OMG A TROLL SIGHTING DURING A WIN!!!!!!
Its not unusual. He and Hummingbird are around most of the time.
Yeah, but he likes personal attacks more than Hummingbird.
Hummingbird just has an irrational hatred of Alex and/or Tex. I forget which, and it could be both.
Both are better than Duh Innings though. Which is not saying much, but still.
blow it up! TRADE EVERYBODY!!!!!!! Teix can’t hit in a stadium practically built for him BUT in the same sentence we can get a young decent starter(like Nova) AND TRADE NOVA!!!!!!!!!
My favorite was the “trade for a young stub 1B” thing. Never once stated a trade target, or even potential prospects for the trade. But yet, it must be done in conjunction with trading a first basemen already on the team who has a no trade clause.
Your “hmmm..” before the statement suggests more than a wish
wanting runner on when homer is hit (or wishing previous runner was still on) =/= fallacy of predetermined outcome
thinking homerun would definitely still be hit if a runner was on = fallacy of the predetermined outcome
My statement was definitely in line with the first, not the second.
Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
And as I climb into an empty bed
Oh well, enough said I know it’s over,
still I cling I don’t know where else I can go, oh
Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
See, the sea wants to take me
The knife wants to slit me
Do you think you can help me ?
Fallacy of the predetermined outcome bro.
http://www.ordinaryresponse.co.....llface.png
CANO!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON’TCHA KNOW!
Fallacy of the predetermined outcome, and all that, but sucks A-Rod got thrown out. Though I don’t really blame him.
Yeah. His move was correct. Bad luck the ball bounced right back into the catcher’s glove. He almost evaded the tag. Still not 100% he didn’t.
Absolute lazer by Robbie. Amazing swing.
Hoping for Nova to avoid having that one bad inning and keep up the streak of great starts here.
Nova emulating Andy, no way that can be a bad thing … according to Coney.
Welp, the Orioles have made their big move for pitching.
Jamie Moyer. For relz.
He’ll get killed in the AL East. Well, not including the shut out he’ll toss against the Yankees.
trying to compose a joke linking moyer to “the wire”
failing
Kay is talking on and on about Pettite’s beard. He really doesn’t know shit about actual baseball, does he?
He knows Wins are the best way to judge starting pitchers. I heard him on the radio a couple years ago arguing that Randy Johnson’s 06 season was just as good as his 05 season.
Not only does he “know” this. He’ll *argue* it. Well, at least he does the play-by-play decently.
God that day was hell, because meanwhile on FAN the fat guy was arguing that relievers are more important than starts visa ve Joba. I nearly drove in front of a train.
Is that a slider or a cutter that he’s throwing at 89mph? Seems awful hard for a true slider (only ~4-5mph off his 4 seam velcotity)
Either way he’s been sharp with that pitch. Fastball command has also been much better, seems like he’s missed location badly only once or twice so far.
I was at that “flipper” game. I turned to my friend and said I’m pretty sure McDowell just gave us all the finger. I wasn’t booing him (I don’t boo Yankees, seems idiotic), but most fans where I was sitting seemed to love he did it.
The 20 year old just tackled two kids for that ball. And somehow didn’t get it.
Those little kids are gritty.
Their Gritty factor or GF is +10000
And there were two of them, so +20000 differential.
Is this Cobb dude related to Ty Cobb?
If he is, I’m glad he’s not a hitter.
Only to Corn on the Cobb.
Damn cat is staring at me freakishly.
put a slice of bread around his head and make him internet famous.
We bought him a little cat Yankees cap the last time we were at the stadium, but he goes berserk when we put it on him and won’t stand still for a picture. Ungrateful fucker.
I have a love/hate relationship with cats. In theory, great pets, very little upkeep, stay out of the way, keep to themselves. But, I’m pretty sure they hate being pets, and they’re dumber than any other animal I’ve come into contact with.
Our cat seems to enjoy being a pet a lot, except when we try to put the Yankees cap on him.
maybe try a Mets cap?
If the cat needs a Red Sox cap, I think it may be time to set him free.
I’m not trying any other damn caps on him!
That’s why I like dogs!
Nova’s given up one hit so far?!
83 pitches into the seventh inning, wow.
the good news? no angsting about risp tonight.
Yanks can’t get men on base! Not a playoff team!
Better now? Lolz.
Pitching and defense, brother!
Does this game count, since the Rays can’t hit?
nope
unless they lose, then the Yankees can’t beat good teams
obviously not. They aren’t an offensive threat, and it’s actually still a tied game because homers dont’ count because you can’t beat good pitchers (like James Shields or Justin Verlander) by hitting home runs.
NO.
Only wins against teams with ELITE (WHY CAN’T I MAKE THE WORD ELITE BIGGER!!) teams count. Everything else is just proof the Yankees suck.
YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! Second deep ball by Matsui.
Win by the time I get home yankees, I have to leave work now.
RUN!
Maybe it’s the recent string of bad homeplate umps, but the guy behind the plate tonight seems pretty solid. He’s called a few low strikes, but I like that he hasn’t called the outside strike simply because it hits the catcher’s glove.
ESPN mentioned he was getting some high remarks around he league.
The Yanks only have 2 hits as well, though both are homers.
This skrike zone. . . . . .
My mother-in-law won’t get to see the Yankees face R.A. Dickey this weekend. She’ll be crushed.
LOVING THE GROUND BALLS!!!
I hope Girardi lets him start the ninth.
couple runs would help that cause.
SuperNova is back!
hmmm …. 99 pitches, 2-run lead, top of the order due up in the ninth
Nova or Soriano for the ninth?
Nova deserves every chance to finish this out, save be damned!
I agree. I’m just a bit worried if Nova does get in trouble, I’m not sure how much I’d trust Soriano in a fireman role.
Of course insurance run(s) make the decision much more obvious.
Exactly
I have complete confidence in Nova at this point. I don’t trust Soriano here either!
SWISH!
YES!SS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay insurance run!
That just made the keep-in-Nova decision a little easier.
man Wise can fly
WOOOOOOO-HHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chavez’ first RISP hit of the year!!!
A hit with RISP is just giftwrap on the present this game’s been.
Cobb salad.
Oh Eric. I always wanted you on the team, despite the hate you got in the offseason.
No reason for Nova not to come out for the ninth now, good for him, just like Phil.
I love how the Yankee starters are making the bridge to Soriano largely irrelevant lately.
I haven’t been around in game threads the last few days, but wow, it really does get quiet here during (hopefully in this case) wins. Not that I’m really complaining, but it’s kinda funny.
Girardi’s gotta let Nova finish the game, he’s at 99 pitches season high of 114. I think he can do it
Agreed. These last two runs certainly help. It’s not longer a save situation, so Soriano is unnecessary. Let Nova at least attempt the CG.
100%.
How many times is Kay gonna tell us that the Rays offense stinks?
SuperNova!!!!!!!!
Well that ends that
Bad defense by the Yanks there letting him get to third!
Ok, don’t mess around, take him out
eh, just unlucky there
Uh, oh. BTB three-baggers.
Boo. Really wanted Nova to have that CGSO.
I miss the Nova from the first 8 innings
it was the same Nova, just unlucky
Take you eight innings of SuperNova and like it.
damn, would have been nice to get a complete game shutout
He wasn’t keeping it down this inning.
In this situation, they will pitch and play defense as if there are no runners on base, right?
Great game by Nova
Hopefully he can keep the ground balls coming
C’mon, Soriano. Nail this fucker down.
That sounds dirty.
When Yankee game degenerate into gay porn…
Did the crowd really not cheer for Nova? Wow.
They gave him an awesome cheer. There just aren’t that many people at the game.
I think they did, but maybe just my internet audio, crowds at ballgames are probably becoming a thing of the past.
So many nice commenters not around AGAIN tonight. They must all be on a cruise together or something.
C’mon, Sori. One more.
Ninth inning drama: Not needed tonight.
What a great win!
WOOHOO!!!!
Matsui getting closer and closer to a HR
YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another long-ball out for Matsui.
Does it count as a 1-2-3 inning if he doesn’t start the inning?
Yanks win/sox lose…within seconds of each other…its Miller time!
Os won, so the Yanks are still a half game out, but even in the loss column.
O’s > Sox/Tampa, at least for now.
Great game, Nova!
Nova fackin BALLS
Unlike Daniel Bad…Nova ain’t going to AAA this year!
Nova was awesome tonight and now is 7 and 2 and 23 and 6 over the past two years. Love Nova, he’s a winner and I don’t want to hear about his stats.
Nice try.
Soriano is 7 for 7 and with Robbie coming back the pen’s going to get even stronger.