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Once Chien-Ming Wang left yesterday’s game in the sixth after pointing to his shoulder, this post was inevitable. The Yanks will have a few decisions to make in the next few days. They’ll need a spot starter this Thursday in Minnesota, but then won’t need him again until July 21st. So what will the Yanks do to plug this hole both short- and long-term?
The Yanks will go the rest and rehab route with Wang, and Girardi said he expects him to be back this season. The feeling around the clubhouse is that Wang could be back in a month or so. Even so, the Yanks will need at least four appearances from a fifth starter: this Thursday, then three times after the All-Star break before they have another off-day.
Phil Hughes is the obvious choices, as the Yanks bumped him from the rotation for Wang in the first place. But if being stretched out is a concern for the Yanks, it would appear Alfredo Aceves would be the man for Thursday. He and Tomko are the only Yanks bullpen arms who have gone multiple innings with any regularity, and there’s no chance Tomko gets the start.
After yesterday’s game, Joe Girardi said of Aceves and Hughes: “They’re not in a position where you could run them out for 90 or 100 pitches.” He said Aceves could likely go 50 to 60, and Hughes 45-50. Again, the Yankees would have a chance to stretch out either one for the July 21st start, but may be reluctant to do so for Thursday’s.
One interesting name is Sergio Mitre. He’s been rehabbing and working back from Tommy John surgery down in Scranton, and has pitched fairly well this year. He’s only been at about 80 pitches, so he’s not totally stretched out either. But he’s further along than Hughes and Aceves, so the Yanks could opt to add him to the 40-man roster (placing Xavier Nady on the 60-day DL) and give him the spot start.
Here’s the wild card in this: How long will the Yanks keep Wang on the DL? He might be ready to return in a month, but the Yanks will want to play this one cautiously. They have an opportunity to make sure everything is back to normal before returning him to the majors, a process they seemingly botched earlier in the year. If the plan is to take their time with Wang, Hughes should be the guy. He’s the sixth starter, and if someone goes out for a prolonged period, he’s the guy.
What the Yanks could do, and I’d prefer this, is to recall Mitre tomorrow as a bullpen arm. Start Hughes on Thursday, knowing he can’t go long; Aceves and Mitre will be around for backup. Then option Hughes the next day so he can get a start in the minors. It would probably have to be Trenton, since Scranton’s All-Star game is the same week as the MLB one. That would probably put him at 80-90 pitches for the start on the 21st against the Orioles.
As they did with Joba, many Yankees fans are falling in love with Hughes in the bullpen. It’s hard not to. He’s been lights out since making the transition. But if the team doesn’t have good starters, a good bullpen is kind of moot. Why would they put an inferior pitcher in the rotation? Oftentimes, when there’s a poor starter on the mound, the bullpen doesn’t have a lead to protect.
In the end, I believe the Yankees will opt to keep Hughes in the bullpen and start an inferior pitcher in Wang’s place. They’ll have their own justification for it, and I hope it works out. It very well could. From a strategic standpoint, though, it’s not the most sound decision. But if Mitre or Aceves comes through, they’ll look like geniuses.
In celebration of our nation’s independence, the Yankees decided to stage an epic battle against our neighbors to the north. A few lead changes made the early innings interesting, and at the end of nine they were tied at five. The game wouldn’t end any time soon thereafter.
The story of the day, as we all knew going in, was Chien-Ming Wang — though it wasn’t quite for the reasons we expected. He pitched well through the first two innings, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk. Even the runs — a bloop ground rule double to right by Vernon Wells followed by a chopper up the middle by Alex Rios — were forgivable. Things weren’t so nice in the sixth.
Marco Scutaro led off the inning with a double, and after an Aaron Hill groundout Adam Lind parked one over the right field wall, staking the Blue Jays to a 4-3 lead. After throwing one pitch to Scott Rolen Wang was done. Jorge Posada called out the trainer after he saw something. After the game he said that Wang “didn’t throw that ball.” Not good news, especially because of his effective early innings.
We’ll be sure to discuss the Wang injury in a bit more depth tomorrow morning. For now, all we have is the word from Girardi, which came after Wang had an MRI. “Shoulder strain and some bursitis,” he explained. “I’m confident he’ll be back, but I can’t tell you exactly when.” The plan for now wounds like rest and rehab, but that could certainly change. Wang, you will remember, had a rotator cuff injury after the All-Star break in 2005, and made it back for September with rest and rehab.
David Robertson didn’t help matters in relief, walking the first two batters he faced before allowing another Blue Jays run. Brian Bruney had his own struggles in the seventh, loading the bases with one out before getting Scott Rolen to pop out and Lyle Overbay to line out to finish the inning without any damage. It’s a good thing, because the Yanks mounted their comeback in the seventh.
Derek Jeter singled to lead off the inning, and Johnny Damon put one over the short porch to tie the game up. It was the fifth run the Yankees scored off Roy Halladay. How many runs had Halladay allowed in his last five outings against the Yankees? It was the most runs he’d allowed to the Yankees in six years. Yankees fans knew this all too well, making today’s game just a bit sweeter. He is human, after all.
The Yanks had chances in both the eighth and ninth, but trends from earlier in the game came back to haunt them. In every inning one through seven, either Robinson Cano or Brett Gardner ended the inning. That continued through the last two frames, as Gardner ended the eight with a strikeout, leaving Cody Ransom, pinch-running for Hideki Matsui after a ground rule double, stranded on second. The Yanks again put a runner in scoring position with two outs in the ninth, as Derek Jeter tagged up from first on a long fly ball. Can grounded out to second to end that frame.
After both teams failed to score in the 10th and 11th and Brett Tomko retired the Blue Jays in the 12th, Cano had another chance. Mark Teixeira led off with a double, leaving the door open for Cito Gaston to walk Alex Rodriguez. Girardi put on the bunt sign, which makes sense in this situation. Cano has been in a funk lately, especially with runners in scoring position. Shawn Camp let him off the hook, though, throwing three straight balls. but then on 3-0, Cano showed bunt again, tapping one in front of the mound. Raul Chavez pounced on it and got Mark Teixeira at third. Cano had just wasted an out on an ill-advised bunt attempt.
“Let’s just say that somebody missed something,” Girardi said after the game. “He misunderstood something.” The mental gaffe could, and probably should, land Cano on the bench tomorrow. Gardner, who is 0 for 15 since his five-hit night at Citi Field, could join him to give Eric Hinske his first Yankees start.
Ah, but the game is not yet over, at least as far as concerns this recap. Before pontificating on the near-term ramifications of Cano’s and Gardner’s slumps, we were left with runners on first and second with one out and Jorge Posada on the plate. After looking at two pitches, a ball and a strike. The third one would end the game. Jorge punched it into right-center, plating Alex Rodriguez to cap a 6-5 Independence Day win. I can’t imagine the horrors of having lost to Canada.
It wasn’t a pretty game, but a win’s a win. Combined with a Red Sox loss, the Yanks are just a game out of the division lead. Not that it matters at this point. We’re not even halfway through, so winning games is the only thing the Yanks, and their fans, need to worry about.
It was supposed to be Joba vs. Scott Richmond tomorrow, but late word came that Richmond will hit the DL. The Yanks will face rookie Brett Cecil for the series win.
A day after the Yankees disappointed by losing the finale of the Mariners series, they came back to impress by taking the series opener from the Blue Jays, 4-2. The Yanks had it working from both sides of the ball, riding solid pitching for all nine innings and getting a few key offensive contributions along the way.
Robinson Cano staked the Yanks to an early lead, taking a first pitch from Brian Tallet deep for a 1-0 lead. That would last A.J. Burnett for a few innings. He had a slip-up when Lyle Overbay doubled to open the fourth. While Burnett quelled a threat when Marco Scutaro doubled to lead off the previous frame, he ran into some bad luck with a wild pitch, and then Alex Rios took advantage with an RBI single. It was the closest the Jays would get for the rest of the game.
Tallet seemingly lost it in the fifth, walking Brett Gardner and then Derek Jeter to put two runners on with none out. Johnny Damon wanted to make that second and third with one out for Teixeira by bunting, but Tallet rolled his underhand throw to Overbay and everyone was safe. Tex drew a walk to take the lead back, and a passed ball gave the Yanks a 2-1 lead. Vernon Wells would get one back with a no-doubt-about-it shot in the sixth, but Burnett would easily finish that inning and the next.
Girardi continued his love affair with match-ups, trotting out Phil Coke to start the eighth and then calling on Phil Hughes once Coke retired Adam Lind. Hughes started off rocky with a single to Scott Rolen, but he retired the next two batters to hand the ball to Mo. A-Rod would tack on an insurance run with an opposite-field homer off Jeremy Accardo in the eighth to ice the Yankees 4-2 win.
The Yankees face two games straight which they should have one, and it’s a bit disappointing that they only took one of them. Yeah, it happens. Teams lose games they’re supposed to win. But tomorrow they not only face Roy Halladay, but have a handicap on the mound with Chien-Ming Wang. Who knows. Maybe Wang works some July Fourth magic. He’d better. We don’t want our team losing to a bunch of Canadians on Independence Day.
(I say that in drunken jest. Please take it as such.)
The three of us are out and about, carousing with pals and family, and we hope you are too. If you’re not, no worries. We’re throwing up an open thread for anything about, well, anything. Feel free to discuss the game, though we’ll have a recap later on, or what you happen to be drinking at the moment (Saranac Brown Ale).
On a serious note, we’ve gotten a few complaints about malware coming from the domain cdn1.eyewonder.com. This has apparently been flagged by Google for Google Chrome users. While I have my own suspicions on why, it’s something we’re going to take care of. Since we’re all out and about, I expect we’ll get to a fix tomorrow morning. Apologies to anyone who this has affected.
For now, everyone have a good, safe evening.
You can’t expect a sweep. They just don’t happen too often, even with the best teams. By the third game of a series, it’s oftentimes a moot point. The situation for the Yanks tonight, though, is a bit different. They’ve won the first two games of the series and have their ace on the mound. This is the kind of game you just have to win. But not pressure or anything.
Carsten Charles was simply brilliant in his last outing against the Mets. He locked them down through seven innings, surrendering just three hits — all in the same inning — and striking out eight. This came after a bout of biceps tendinitis, so it appears that scare is over. He threw just 99 pitches in that effort, so it looks like Girardi is going to keep his pitch count in the safe zone for a bit. With the way the Yanks bullpen has been pitching lately, that’s not such a terrible idea.
Opposing him will be Jason Vargas. The Marlins selected him in the second round of the 2004 draft, and traded him to the Mets in a deal which landed them their current closer, Matt Lindstrom (who is currently on the DL with an elbow strain). He went to Seattle in the J.J. Putz/Aaron Heilman deal. He saw only limited time with the Mets, turning in the team’s worst starting pitching performance of 2007 (9 runs, 11 hits, balk, wild pitch, two HR) before being sent back down to New Orleans. He had surgery following the season to remove bone spurs from his elbow, and then missed the entire 2008 season with a torn labrum in his hip. It’s freaking contagious.
Vargas pitched well enough at AAA Tacoma in four starts to earn a call-up. He was a high-strikeout guy in the minors who just hasn’t been able to accomplish that at the big-league level. Through 181.2 career innings he’s averaged just 6.9 K/9. He averaged 8.4 per nine in the minors. In his limited sample from this year he’s been susceptible to the home run, allowing nine in 54.2 innings. That does not bode well for a slugging team in a hitter’s park.
One thing I’ve been going over in my head over the past two days is the Mariner’s defense. This was spurred by a post by Dave Cameron at FanGraphs. Dave, you might know, writes U.S.S. Mariner, one of two indispensable team blogs (Lookout Landing being the other). While his post had nothing to do with the Mariners, it made me think of their highly-touted defense. They have a number of highly talented defensive players on their team, including center fielder Franklin Gutierrez, who we’ve seen make a flashy play or two this series.
You can’t defend against the home run, though. While Gutierrez might bring a lot to the table defensively, so that he’s far more valuable than his offensive stats would imply, if the team’s pitchers keep giving up long balls there’s not much he can do. It also hurts his overall value, since his excellent defensive capabilities go to waste when the ball leaves the park. In other words, defense is great, even underrated to an extent. However, you need pitchers who can keep the ball in the park in order to take advantage of it.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Hideki Matsui, DH
8. Melky Cabrera, CF
9. Francisco Cervelli, C
And on the mound, number fifty-two, Carsten Charles Sabathia.
It’s easy to forget that Andy Pettitte began the 2009 season as the No. 5 starter. After a stellar April he’s put up a few clunkers, causing a rabble among Yankees fans. That’s what No. 5 starters do, though. They’re going to get smacked around here or there. If they didn’t, they’d be billed as a No. 4 starter. So while we groan during games like Andy’s last start, we also get up and cheer when he posts a seven-inning, two-run effort. That was enough for the Yankees tonight, as they relied on the long ball to down the Mariners 4-2, ticking off their seventh straight win.
Pettitte used just 98 pitches in his seven innings, striking out five Mariners while walking just one. Even better, while he allowed six hits, he only faced runners in scoring position in two innings. The Mariners went 0 for 5 in those situations. On a nostalgic note, Ken Griffey Jr. hit career home run No. 621, a line drive to right. It’s a bit strange seeing him back in blue and teal, though he looks quite different than he did in his first Seattle stint.
The rejuvenated bullpen closed out the game with ease, with Aceves and Coke combining for a perfect eighth, and Mariano capping it with career save No. 502. Here’s to June’s magic rubbing off onto July.
Chicks dug Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera, and especially Alex Rodriguez last night. All three homered, accounting for all four Yankees runs. Johnny Damon got things started with a lazer to right in the third for the first score of the game. The Mariners tied the game in the next frame, but Melky Cabrera came back in the fifth with a contested home run. Apparently this was too close to call at home. From my vantage point, which was perfect, the ball was clearly fair. There was so little question that I was actually a bit ticked when the umps went to review. All ended well, though, and the Yanks took the lead again. It wouldn’t last long, as Ken Griffey worked his magic a half-inning later.
A half-inning after his former teammate tied the game, Alex Rodriguez put one out to center field, far past the reach of Franklin Gutierrez, who gave it a valiant effort. That was a two run shot, and even though it was just the sixth inning at the time it felt like icing on the cake. One more inning from Andy, Hughes, Mo. Of course, we didn’t get Hughes, but it all worked out just the same.
Andy Pettitte is now 8-3 with a 4.25 ERA. If I asked you in February if you’d be happy with that at this point, I’m sure you’d have said yes. I’d say there’s no better fifth starter in the league, but with the way Wang’s been pitching, Andy is certainly the No. 4. Which just goes to show that these No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 assignments are largely meaningless. Pitch well. That’s all. Pettitte did that tonight, and the Yanks tallied yet another win. I’ll take it every time.
A few links that either A) are on subjects which have been beaten to death, or B) aren’t the stuff full posts are made of.
- Dave Allen of FanGraphs looks at the home runs in the new Yankee Stadium by analyzing home runs per ball in air rate by angle. In terms of home run rates he finds no difference in left field, and only a slight increase in right — for right-handed batters. For lefties there’s a significant statistical difference. He concludes: “So it could be that there have just been more power lefties hitting at Yankee Stadium this year compared to 2005-2008. But since the largest increase in HR rate is in the same area of largest outfield fence change I think it is that fence change that is responsible.”
- Meanwhile, at ESPN.com, Tristan Cockcroft tackles the same topic. His is less technical, as he focused more on the narrative of the Yankee Stadium home run pace. He does dig up an interesting tidbit: while there have been 12 home runs hit at the new Stadium which wouldn’t have left the old park, there have also been seven hits in the new yard which would have left the old one. Contrary to Allen, Cockcroft says, without much more than a hittrackeronline.com notation, “the difference in dimensions alone cannot explain this home run surge.”
- Mike Ashmore catches up with former Yank Brad Halsey, who is currently pitching for the Long Island Ducks — and not doing so hot. It appears his torn labrum in 2007 has caused considerable damage to his career.
- Over at Beyond the Boxscore, an experiment based on the almost-trade of Mariano. It looks at the target, David Wells, vs. Mo, based on wins above replacement. Mo is handicapped because of his limited innings in the pen, but even so he matches up well with Wells. Think about it this way: in terms of WAR, the greatest closer of all time matches up with a good, but not great, starter. You can speak to intangibles all you want, and there’s no doubt there are many at play, but in terms of value added to the team, it takes one helluva reliever to match a middle of the rotation starter.
- Make sure to stop by and say hi to Jason, as It’s About the Money, Stupid has some new digs.
The matchup looked electric. Joba Chamberlain vs. Brandon Morrow. 2006 first round pick vs. 2006 first round pick. Electric arm vs. Electric arm. It did not meet expectations. Both had troubles throwing strikes. Neither lasted six innings. The disappointment in the matchup set the tone for the game.
The Yanks got a bit lucky in the early goings. After two straight singles, Hideki hit a tapper to third. Chris Woodward not only bobbled the ball, but threw it past Russ Branyan at first, allowing Robinson Cano to score. That also put Jorge Posada on third, and he scored on a deep fly ball to center field. Melky laid into one, but Franklin Gutierrez is quite adept in center. That’s two runs on the two mistakes by Woodward.
The M’s got one of them back when Gutierrez blooped one to where no one could get it. That’s baseball for you. That doesn’t mitigate the game Joba Chamberlain pitched, though. Ronny Cedeno’s jack certainly wasn’t a cheapie, after all.
Joba was a bit frustrating last night, as we’ve seen a in a number of his starts this season. Not only were the end results — 5.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K — disappointing, but in the process was as well: only 55 of his 96 pitches were for strikes. There was plenty wrong with Joba’s game, and all considered he might have been lucky to escape with those results.
One question I kept asking during the game is, why isn’t Joba throwing strikes? This is a guy who early in his pro career was known as someone who didn’t issue many walks. So why now? Why is he, like Hughes and Kennedy before him, having trouble finding the zone? All three had excellent K/BB ratios in the minors (5:1 for Joba, 4.59:1 for Hughes, 3.55:1 for Kennedy), but have all struggled in the majors (1.86:1 for Joba this year, 2.05:1 career for Hughes, 1.20 for Kennedy). Is there a connection here?
While you ponder that, back to the why question. Why isn’t Joba throwing more strikes? Is he trying to fool hitters and failing? Is worried about hitters making solid contact if he throws in the zone? These are, unfortunately, questions to which I have no answers. There’s nothing more I’d like to know right now, short of what color and type of panties Emmanuelle Chriqui is wearing right now, than why Joba isn’t throwing strikes. It’s frustrating, because we know just how good he is. It’s just going to take some more patience, I suppose.
After the game, Girardi mentioned that in long counts Joba slows down, which further messes him up. Is it really that simple? Pitch quicker? If so, can we beat Joba with a cudgel when he takes more than a few seconds to set up for a pitch? Something tells me, though, that it’s a bit more complex than Girardi is willing to admit to the press.
Once Joba left the game, the Yanks turned it on. Phil Coke came on with one out in the sixth and finished it with just seven pitches, including a strikeout. Phil Hughes followed with a nine-pitch seventh, also including a strikeout. In the bottom of the inning Alex Rodriguez foiled the Mariners plans to pitch him up and in, turning on one and parking it near the left field bleachers. It was 5-3 Yanks, and it felt like they were about to ride that lead to victory.
Brian Bruney had other plans. It’s easy to fault Girardi here. Not only had Hughes just dominated the M’s in the seventh, but he’s been generally awesome since his move to the pen. He’s capable of going multiple innings, so why not let him hand the ball to Mo? As Girardi explained after the game, the plan was to go to Bruney, the official 8th inning guy, the whole way if they had the lead. With this I take issue. Then again, I believe that bullpen roles in general have gone far beyond the point of ridiculousness, so my ire for this move is a biased one.
Still, it’s a chance for Hughes to pick up an inning. It’s a chance for him to face more hitters. It’s a chance for him to pitch in a close game in the 8th. Girardi said he wanted to get Bruney going, but tonight did not seem like the situation. With the offense generally sputtering at that point, why not stick with what’s working? Plus, the more guys you go to in the pen, the more of a chance you have of running into someone who’s having a bad night. That’s what Girardi did last night.
The six, seven, and eight guys singled off Bruney, bringing the game within one run. After a Cedeno sacrifice, the Yanks walked Ichiro to get to Russ Branyan. He’s cooled down a bit lately, but he’s still a dangerous hitter. He did his job though, hitting one deep to left. Johnny Damon had no chance of throwing out Woodward, and the game was tied. The second guessing became much, much easier at this point.
Something awakened the Yanks bats at this point. Maybe A-Rod’s homer jacked them up. Maybe they sacrificed a live chicken. Who knows? What we do know is that they came out firing in the eighth. Matsui doubled, and then Nick Swisher, with Brett Gardner running, laid down a pretty bunt that Sean White just couldn’t handle. Melky and Jeter followed with a double and single, giving the Yanks all they’d need to lock this one down.
It wasn’t the prettiest game, and for the first six innings it wasn’t the most fun to watch. It changed once the starters left, though, and in the end the Yanks came away with their sixth straight win. To make things even sweeter, the Red Sox and their indefatigable bullpen blew a 10-1 lead, losing to the Orioles 11-10. That puts the Yanks just two games back, even though that shouldn’t matter right now. All that matters is that the Yanks keep winning. They did just that, which means we can all be in chipper moods tomorrow. Andy Pettitte vs. Jarrod Washburn. I did not pick a good matchup to take my parents to.
*Chris Jakubauskas. I messed up at first by writing that Chris Jakubauskas fielded Swisher’s bunt. Just wanted to make sure Chris Jakubauskas’s name got into the recap. Chris Jakubauskas.
After a 10-8 run through the National League — a run which, everyone must agree, could have and should have gone much better — the Yankees return home to get reacquainted with the American League, a/k/a the league with better teams. Surprisingly, there’s rain in the New York area. Boy, do we need it.
On the hill for the Seattle Mariners tonight is 24-year-old right-hander Brandon Morrow. He was the fifth pick of the 2006 draft, and the Mariners selected him ahead of hometown hero Tim Lincecum. While Morrow has considerable upside, there’s no doubt the team is kicking itself for that one.
Earlier this year, Morrow upset die-hard M’s fans by voluntarily moving to the bullpen. This was, both he and the team claimed, partly in order to better manage his Type 1 diabetes, with which he was diagnosed his senior year in high school. The Mariners moved Morrow into the closer’s role, where they believed he’d thrive.
The experiment started off well in general, though Morrow allowed three runs in his first appearance (0.2 IP). From there he tossed six innings of two-hit ball, allowing no runs. He then hit the DL on May 2, retroactive to April 24, with tendinitis in his right biceps. He returned on May 10, picking up his sixth save of the season despite allowing a run in the ninth. However, in his next two appearances he blew saves, both resulting in walk-off losses. Manager Don Wakamatsu removed him as closer the next day.
Morrow worked out of the bullpen after that, pitching mostly two-inning stints. He had his own degrees of successes and failures, but wasn’t remarkable in any way. This led Morrow to change his mind — he wanted another shot in the rotation. The Mariners planned to option him to AAA so he could stretch out, but an injury to Erik Bedard changed plans. Like the Yankees did with Joba Chamberlain, Morrow’s counterpart tonight, the Mariners put Morrow in the rotation with a pitch count. He worked up to five innings and 87 pitches last time out, allowing three runs to the San Diego Padres.
Yankees fans might remember Morrow from his first major league start last September, in which he held the team to one hit over 7.1 innings. He stumbled a bit after that, allowing six runs to both the Royals and A’s before season’s end. The Yanks will have a chance for payback tonight.
On the other end is Joba Chamberlain, a fellow 2006 draftee. Joba bookends the month, having started on the first against Cleveland. That was surely a game to remember. The Yanks could use another one of them tonight. He’s averaged a hair over six innings per start this month, which is okay but still not what they want to see out of Joba. A good sign: he walked none over 6.1 innings last time against the Braves. Keeping the walks down will be a big part of Joba’s development.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Hideki Matsui, DH
8. Nick Swisher, RF
9. Melky Cabrera, CF
And on the mound, number sixty-two, Joba Chamberlain.
Rain, rain: It’s raining. We’ll see when this one starts.
By Joe: No topic divides a fanbase quite like the debate over the franchise’s current manager. It takes some serious string of winning, a la Joe Torre in the late 90s, for a manager to get near universal approval. Joe Girardi has not come close to achieving that. Fans take issue with him for some reason or another; some legitimate, some a bit less than. Gary Armida, formerly of the excellent FullCountPitch.com and now writing for NY Baseball Digest, takes a look at the situation. He’s not a fan, so he’s a bit more detached. The conclusion is mostly positive, though Armida is not hesitant to point out the skipper’s flaws. His best line: “It’s time to let go of the Torre era and realize that there is a manager in place who has grown from mistakes and isn’t afraid to try new things.” As with most things Armida, I suggest a full read.
By Ben: With just 54 hours and 30 minutes left until All Star voting closes, Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are locked in a close battle. While last week Teixeira had the lead, this week, the Red Sox’s first baseman — who actually manned third for the past week — has a slim 40,000-vote lead. To get Teixeira to St. Louis, Yankee fans will have to vote their requisite 25 times a day between now and Thursday night. Voting is here. Vote also for Ian Kinsler too. He leads Dustin Pedroia by 7000 votes. Unseating an undeserved Josh Hamilton would be a-OK with me too.
