Game 115: Business as Usual

August 10, 2013 by Mike Axisa 130 Comments

The signs still lack creativity. Sigh. (Mike Stobe/Getty)

I’d like to think that, with Alex Rodriguez‘s home debut out of the way, everything will go back to business as usual for the Yankees. That won’t happen of course, the team is bad and everyday brings something new with A-Rod. What can you do? Just win, that’s what you can do. Here’s the lineup:

And on the mound is right-hander Phil Hughes. Will he make it through five innings against the best offense in baseball? Probably not.

It’s a little overcast outside but weather won’t be an issue this afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for a little after 1pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

trr

Is it too much to ask the baseball Gods for 2 wins in a row and thus a series win?
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  You do know who’s pitching right?
Kramerica Industries

Reverse lock.
Eddard

Their one chance to win a game in this series was last night and they needed extras to do it. Ain’t no way they beat Sanchez or Verlander. After Hughes gets rocked by this Detroit offense his ERA will be over 5. Hughes and Joba sure panned out as expected.
- Kiko Jones
  
  Anybody know what Verlander’s numbers in the Bronx are? I don’t recall him ever having a win in the regular season at YS.
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    Without checking, I’ll just do a quick run-through of the memory banks…
    
    2012 – one start (4/27), not so good. Left with the lead, but the Tigers lost
    2011 – Opening Day 2011, gave up a three-run HR to Tex. No win.
    2010 – I think he didn’t start at all against the Yankees? Scherzer won the opening game of a four-game set, but the Yankees won the next three. I know Bonderman and Porcello threw in two of those games, and I don’t remember Verlander pitching, either.
    2009 – locked horns in a great duel with Sabathia, but the Yankees won 2-1.
    
    2006-2008 and my memory now begins to fail. Good chance he got a W though in ’08, since the Tigers swept a three game set in the Bronx that year (…I think).
Pseudoyanks

Always a good Saturday when I do not get screwed by the FOX blackout.
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

Off to a great start.
Eddard

So glad we gave up the one prospect that could have been an everyday players for us.
SDB

That didn’t take long.
- Pseudoyanks
  
  No, no it didn’t…
Kramerica Industries

Phil doesn’t take long to start sucking, does he?
Winter

Over/Under 11.5 strikeouts for Sanchez today?
Winter

Hah. Jesus Montero.
- Kramerica Industries
  
  The guy who hit two opposite field home runs against a RHP in Jim Johnson on Labor Day 2011.
  
  I love how too many people just assume New York Montero would’ve been the same as Seattle Montero. Nevermind the fact that Montero came up in this organization and had a swing tailor-made for this park, unlike, say the canyon of Safeco Field.
  
  Damn. At least they got Michael Pineda in that trade, right? You know, the guy who has been in the organization for two years and thrown zero big league pitches in that time?
  - OldYanksFan
    
    Yeah…. but Pineda did all that without steroids. I bet we win that trade.
Rolling Doughnut

Get the long guy up.
Leg-End

Same old story so far, get the count to 2 strikes and they just foul him off until he gives up the hit.
Captain Turbo

And A-Rod’s the problem with this team?
- http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso
  
  A, not the
Winter

That was the anti-Hughes at bat. Fell behind, but worked back for the strikeout.
Eddard

They’re just missing some of these meat balls. That will change. If Hughes can get through 4 only giving up 4 runs it’ll be a miracle.
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  I don’t know, he looked like he was changing speeds pretty good. Fingers crossed.
NYPLATOONS

Will this be the 10+ run game for Detriot this series?
- NYPLATOONS
  
  Come on Detroit one more run!!!!!!!
Kramerica Industries

I’m so glad they put up a fight against this guy in Game 2 last year.

Holy crap. That was shameful.
Kramerica Industries

Oh jeez, for a second, I thought Kay said the “Rays” have a history of dominating the regular season and not the playoffs. At least it was Braves.

And that’s more true in recent playoff appearances, but not in general. Five World Series appearances since 1991 is nothing to sneeze at.
- Mike M
  
  Right, and it’s also not 20 years ago.
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    And what’s your point?
    
    The 1991-2005 Braves are invalid entirely if you want to take that road. And then we’re dealing with the 2010-2012 Braves in that sample. In that case, Mike probably just shouldn’t have cited any example(s), should he?
Eddard

Sanchez is going to pitch a CGSO and he’ll do it in less than 100 pitches.
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

It’s nice of the Yankee hitters to try to quicken the pace of this game.
Eddard

They won’t score 1 run let alone 2. Their only chance to win a game in this series was last night so it’s a good thing they got it.
Kramerica Industries

Phil Hughes giving up a home run to Miguel Cabrera is just the most appropriate thing ever.
- http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso
  
  Irony is, last year we would’ve been like “Big deal, it’s a solo shot. We’ll take that.”
  
  This year, a 2-0 deficit spells trouble.
  - BrienTaylorsRookieCard
    
    Exactly. And 3 runs invokes the mercy rule.
SDB

Even Stevie Wonder saw that one coming.
Karl Krawfid

1 pitch pitcher.
http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso

Girardi has difficulty saying the word, “plan,” apparently.
Kramerica Industries

75 pitches in three innings from Hughes.

This reminds me an effing ton of Javy Vazquez against the Tigers on 8/16/2010. And I mean, reminds me in every possible way.
http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso

Romine will get a hit this inning
- http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso
  
  Ground ball between 1st and 2nd
- http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso
  
  Ok. Nice play though.
Eddard

If Jimmy Joyce or Jerry Meals was at 1st they might have a shot at not being perfect game’d. Phil will throw 100 pitches to get through 4 innings, Sanchez will throw 90 pitches to get through 9.
Rizi Walnutz

It’s like the Yankees are playing in permanent YES-mo.
Winter

Embedded Red Sox (Red Sock?).
Kramerica Industries

1990 A’s, 2007 Rockies.
Mick taylor

The disparity between the tigers talent and yanks shows why idiot cashman should have traded kuroda, Logan granderson, Hughes, and maybe cano on July 31 and started rebuilding. As I advocated last winter they should have signed Francisco liriano and traded Hughes. They should have signed Carlos Beltran 2 years ago.
- Winter
  
  Really? You wanted to sign Liriano? I mean, he’s been good this year, but I don’t want the Yankees going anywhere near him.
- Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
  
  You also said they should have signed Josh Hamilton to a 1 year, $40M contract.
  - Mick taylor
    
    Hamilton is starting to heat up in Yankee stadium he would have by now 25 hrs which would lead the team would trade sabathia straight up for him
    - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
      
      LOL, you can’t possibly be defending that statement.
      And Hamilton is hitting 107/161/214 this month.
      Really heating up!
      lmao
Wheels

Finally.
Winter

Did they just throw the ball over the plate to Cano with three balls and a base open?

Yes, they did.
Dick M

282 OBA. Cashman’s big acquisition. He does fit right in though.
- Winter
  
  ~~Cashman’s~~ The ownership’s big acquisition.
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    Don’t ruin the narrative.
    - Winter
      
      Do you see Miguel Cabrera on the Yankees? Cashman failed.
      - dick m
        
        Everyone’s a critic. Fact is u can’t win with 280 oba guys and its a bad acquisition.
nycsportzfan

In the lineup i had hoped for, i had Granderson batting fourth. I think he’d of done the job whre Soriano looked foolish.
- nycsportzfan
  
  Or look like a blind man with his hands tied behind his back. Wow, these guys are so easily blown away. Its not just Sanchez either. This team fucking sucks!
- nsalem
  
  oh
Wheels

Way outside Sori.
- Bartolo’s Colon
  
  That was worse than wells. truly unbelievable that he swung at that.
Wheels

And so it goes.
Eddard

Might as well cross out the names Soriano and Granderson and replace them with Wells and Hafner, it’s the same damn thing.
itsallhowuseeit

Just so frustrating to watch
Al

I think you’ll see in the next couple days the white flag go in the Steinbrenner’s in the Steinbrenner family and Yankee fans Will admit that there quitters and are giving up on the season
Rolling Doughnut

Another K for Granderson WRISP. Just like old times.
Let There Be Suck

God, I hate this team.
Kramerica Industries

Phil Hughes serves up so many fucking gopher balls. Unreal.
Bartolo’s Colon

it’s official, austin jackson is a certified yankee killer
- fabricio
  
  he wants to kick our asses for trading him away
  - Defensive Indifference
    
    I feel the same way.
    - Revan
      
      AJax is out-WARing Granderson by 2. If Granderson were healthy he’d top that but strike this as another case of the Yankees being 6 year old scared girls when it comes to playing their top prospects.
      - Defensive Indifference
        
        Cashman: losing the WAR.
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

I hope the bullpen is up.
Not that it matters.
Wheels

That about does it.
Kramerica Industries

Go away, Phil.
Rolling Doughnut

4.1 innings, 100 pitches, 3 runs against Detroit, better than expected I’d say.
itsallhowuseeit

Phil Loose cant make it out of the 5th again…lets all pretend to be shocked
Eddard

This Tigers franchise just blows the Yankee organization away in terms of overall management. They picked up an all star quality CF for years to come in Austin Jackson and only gave up an aging strikeout machine in return. Look at the great, young pitching staff they developed. We have Ivan Nova and that’s it. They got an elite 3rd baseman for years to come, we have 38 year old A-Rod.
- Kramerica Industries
  
  That great homegrown rotation only has two homegrown starters.
  
  Nice try.
  - http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso
    
    And one of them has been terrible forever – although he is still 24 with 4 yrs MLB experience.
- Kiko Jones
  
  Miggy is an elite hitter; he ain’t never gonna be a Gold Glower.
  [/doublenegativeSaturday]
  - Kiko Jones
    
    Um, Glover.
Kramerica Industries

Miggy is an outstanding hitter, but he’s not unstoppable. The fact that the Yankees have no clue how to get this guy out is pretty ridiculous.

Five straight hits for him.
Eddard

Wouldn’t want a guy like Torii Hunter on this ballclub. Couldn’t possibly give him a 2 year deal and then they go and give Ichiro a two year deal.

They get an elite 1st baseman who hits for power and is in his prime, we’re stuck with a declining and aging Teixera.

About the only place the Yankees are better is the closer and that’ll change next year. The Tigers are just run so much better and with a fraction of the budget.
- Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
  
  Fielder in year 2 of 9/$214M contract – 260/354/437, 117 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR. Tex in year 2 of 8/$180M contract – 256/365/481, 128 wRC+, 3.3 fWAR
  
  Not sure Fielder’s the guy to hold up to make your point.
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    Seriously. Even Tex wasn’t dipping into the .700s OPS wise this soon.
- http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso
  
  I would’ve liked him too, but Torii went directly to the Tigers. Didn’t even askcheck with the Yanks. He wanted the Tigers.
Kramerica Industries

lol at how out of control Eddard World is right now.
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  OK he’s over the top a lot, but he does make valid arguments. The Yanks are stuck with some bad contracts, it appears they have not planned for the future, and well, Tex is and has been in decline for several years.
  - Kramerica Industries
    
    I’m talking more about his Tigers points. You can tell he’s talking from narratives and using zero facts.
    - Daryl
      
      You think a narrative is a statement that’s not true?
- SDB
  
  I think BGDP’s injury caused something to break inside Eddard World.
Wheels

Game over man. Game over
- Wheels
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsx2vdn7gpY
Kramerica Industries

When you can’t get Don Kelly out, you don’t deserve to win.

And that’s why this game is over.
Kramerica Industries

Hughes ERA is now 4.99.

That’s pretty funny.
Joe

People should take notice of the Martinez and Kelly at bats in that inning. When do the Yankees have hits like that from hitters like Granderson and Tex in their lineup. We look at stats yes because it’s a numbers game baseball, but I also watch the game and realize why guys like Granderson and Tex suck with RISP. Those at bats are the type the Yankees lack.
- Winter
  
  Yes, I would much have Don Kelly and his career .232 average with no power over Granderson and Teixeira.
  - Winter
    
    *much rather have
    
    But seriously, name any offensive stat and I guarantee both Teixeira and Granderson are better than Kelly.
- OldYanksFan
  
  Correct. I would stay away from strickly PULL hitters in the future. Before there were Hit Charts and Defensive shifts, it wasn’t so bad. But now, only using half the field doesn’t work, and there are too many rolled-over, weak grounders.
  
  Great Hitters like ARod, Cabby, Manny, Cano, Mattingly and others, use the whole field.
  - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
    
    Tex used to use the whole field.
Mick taylor

Hughes should have been traded a while ago but crashman wanted to prove hecould develop a starter. Also to justify not tradin several years agowhen he had some value
Bartolo’s Colon

As yankee fans, we have been lucky. Doubt any team going forward will ever have the dominance the yankees had over the last 19 seasons. With that being said, 2013-14 are going to be very tough. hope they can start another dominant run in 2015
http://www.penuel-law.com/ Cuso

That HR would’ve meant something 2 innings ago.
Kramerica Industries

Alright, which stupid bastard hit a two-run HR?
- fabricio
  
  it was loverbay
OldYanksFan

ARod would have had that!
/narrative
Mick taylor

I would still try to trade cc for prospects. If that don’t work trade him straight up for Josh hamilton. Trade kuroda and granderson on a waiver deal if you can get wheeler type prospects.
- Winter
  
  Wait, you seriously want the guy who seems to think the strike zone is about the size of Nebraska? People get upset about Granderson striking out. He swings at balls out of the zone 24% of the time. Hamilton swings 39% of the time.
- Oy
  
  Besides 75% of the comment being insane, Hamilton for CC is actually interesting as CC may approve a trade close to his hometown and Hamilton can still hit RHP well. CC is owed 76 mill after 2013 while Hamilton is owed 106. If Angels absorb half his contract, I’d consider.
JMK

Your trade proposal sucks. So does your grammar.
- Mick taylor
  
  Kuroda would have brought a wheeler type prospectifcrashman had traded him last month. This team needed to rebuild at the trading deadlin by getting some young players . Cano and granderson also should have been traded. With the new limits on spending on international players yanks will not be able to outspend other teams. There ar no superstar free agents next year so yanks can’t rebuild that way. So they need to develop the next jeter, williams,posada, petite, Rivera. TigerWoods has not won a major since pga began testing for steroids in2008.
  - Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)
    
    Kuroda still has a no trade clause, which he’s used to block trades in the past.
    Granderson was injured and expensive, and likely wouldn’t have returned anything of significance.
Wheels

You suck so bad Joba
SDB

By the end of August, will Joba or Hughes have the higher ERA for this season?
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

Why is Joba still here?
May as well give Bettances a shot.
- Rolling Doughnut
  
  This.
JMK

I can’t believe I’ve even watched more than 30 games this year. This team is just unwatchable.
fabricio

I dont get why we cant just release joba he is so fucking bad
Pseudoyanks

Well, the one positive to take out of today is realizing just how damn awesome Nova was yesterday.
Kramerica Industries

Jobber gave up a three run home run.

Man, I love these kinds of games where both Phil and Jobber blow chunks. Wow did the Big Three ever become a disaster.
- Mikhel
  
  Although Kennedy was on the fringe of winning a Cy Young, something neither Hughes nor Joba will be even close.
  
  NYY brass didn’t sell when they could sell, Hughes+Joba+Kennedy weren’t considered ‘can’t miss’ prospects, most every team sells their young pitchers who are not ‘can’t miss prospects’ when there’s a chance to acquire somebody proven to be good.
  
  What the Yankees do, on the other hand, is to sit on their young pitchers and trade their young hitters who are considered really good (AJAX for KKKKKKKurtis Granderon; Montero for Pineda; Nick Johnson+Juan Rivera for Javier Vázquez; Melky for Javier Vázquez; even Ledeé, who was serviceable at a time they needed outfielders, got traded).
  
  What strikes me as odd is that the Yankees have decided to get rid of players who produced at Yankee Stadium in the past few seasons, it is as if since the Juniors began to run this team they mutated onto George Steinbrenner of the mid 1980s.
  
  They got rid of Abreu in 2008 even when he batted 0.295 AVG / 0.378 OBP in 3 seasons, they got rid of world series heroes H. Matsui and Jhonny Damon in 2009; got rid of Ibáñez after 2012 knowing they didn’t have a DH, got rid of Swisher knowing they could get something better by trading Granderson instead of a draft pick for Swisher… as for Rusell Martin, the guy was not very very good, low AVG, low OBP, bad at catching, there were better catchers available like Ross and AJ (for a short term fix) but decided not to go all in for Ross.
  
  When the Yankees needed help they didn’t try to acquire Manny Ramírez (sure, the guy has a PED past but he is better than what the NYY have right now, even at his age!), when a couple of years ago they had the chance to acquire Darvish, Cashman said he wasn’t good enough for the majors… that goes to show just how good they are at scouting, IF they even scout (the Dodgers had the same problem scouting in the McCourt years, their new ownership group transformed the scouting department in a few months and now have at least three good young players ready to make an impact, one of them, Puig is already producing while the NYY showed no interest in Yasiel’s showcase in México, even after watching him bat bomb after bomb).
dkidd

the title of this thread is appropriate
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

May as well let Joba finish the game and then replace him with Bettances tomorrow.
Need Pitching & Hitting (but mostly hitting)

Yankees haven’t managed to win consecutive games since July 12.

That seems bad.
Sean

Despite the injuries, this season is a result of poor planning and bad management. They had a horrible offseason. Not re-signing Martin was a horrible mistake, considering they had no legitimate starting options. I’m not gonna bash them so much for letting Swisher go, considering Ichiro has been solid. Not re-signing Ibanez and bringing in Hafner was dumb, and giving 12 million to Kevin Youkilis (the same salary the White Sox declined to pay him), was even more short sighted. Add the fact that this team has basically no impact players in the upper minors, and the result is a pretty bad baseball team, and unless the Yankees throw the 189 million dollar budget out the window, I don’t expect major changes. Gonna be watching the same old crap in 2014.
Sean

And to add to that, doing nothing at the deadline was the worst thing they could have done. At that point, they were still contenders, and they could have added a bat (Carlos Ruiz, Michael Young, maybe even Alex Rios). If not, they should have been sellers and retooled the farm system. Doing nothing just kept them on the track to becoming irrelevant come September, and with no progress made in the organization. It’s probably time for the Yankees to rebuild, but unfortunately, this management’s idea of rebuilding doesn’t include getting younger. It usually includes throwing money at free agents on the wrong side of 30.