Eric Wedge just did the Yanks a big favor.
Game 50 Spillover Thread
A run or five would be nice.
Game 50: Hughes looks for a repeat
As mentioned in a post earlier this week, Phil Hughes has had an up and down season. He pitched well in his debut against Detroit, but had four bad or just decent outings before dominating Texas last Monday. A solid start from him today would mean a lot, since it would likely buy him some more time at the major league level.
Hughes’s time at the major league level could also be impacted by the performance of Chien-Ming Wang. Last time we saw the Wanger was in his perfect two innings last Wednesday. The Yankees should not hesitate to use him in relief of Hughes today. He needs the work, and it’s not like the rest of the bullpen is lighting the world on fire. Phil Coke also hasn’t pitched Tuesday, so just as Veras threw one inning before Wang pitched two on Wednesday, so we could see both Coke and Wang in relief.
(Which brings me to a question: Why did Veras pitch over Coke last night? Coke was warming in the bottom of the eighth. Why not let him pitch? He hadn’t tossed since Tuesday, and Veras got work Wednesday.)
Jay at Fack Youk asks a relevant question to kick off his game post: Who is Carl Pavano? Coincidentally, this was the title of my first ever post at RAB. The Yanks will face Pavano for the second time this season. They didn’t hit him too hard the first time, as they managed just four hits and one run through six innings. Thankfully the Rafaels blew that one, as Perez allowed two runs without recording an out and Betancourt allowed three runs in his 1.1 innings. Given Carl’s perpetual absence during his four-year Yankees tenure, I’d really like to see the Yankees sock it to him. Just once.
Game time’s at the odd hour of 12:40 p.m. today.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Robinson Cano, 2B
6. Hideki Matsui, DH
7. Nick Swisher, RF
8. Brett Gardner, CF
9. Francisco Cervelli, C
And on the mound, number sixty-five, Phil Hughes.
Game 49 Spillover Thread
Hey look, Tomo Ohka. Good for him.
Game 49: Saturday night’s alright for fightin’
To be honest with you, these Saturday night games are not my favorite. After spending all time bumming around Brooklyn, I’m ready to go out, and yet, as I write this at around 5:30, the game hasn’t started yet. Such are the demands of a national TV schedule.
Anyway, CC Sabathia will take the mound tonight in Cleveland. After 117 home starts for the Indians, this is the first time Sabathia will be on the mound in his road grays. In those starts, he has thrown 747 innings with a 3.84 ERA. So far, May has been kind to Sabathia. Over his last four outings, he is averaging 8 innings per appearance and has a 1.69 ERA. He has 24 strikeouts in 32 innings, and opponents are hitting just .183/.223/.243 off the Yankee ace.
For the Indians, Fausto Carmona takes the hill. Yankee fans remember him most from his nine inning, three hit effort against the Bombers in the ill-fated 2007 ALDS. Recently, however, he has been far more pedestrian. On the season, he is 2-4 with a 6.42 ERA. Carmona has walked three more than he has struck out and is coming off a 1.1-inning appearance last week against the Rays. In his career against the Yanks, Carmona is 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA. While this one looks like a laugher on paper, I’m not going to count my baseball chickens before they hatch.
No matter the outcome of this game, though, the Yankees will stay in first place. The Blue Jays scored two runs off Ramon Ramirez in the bottom of the 7th and held on to beat the Red Sox 5-3 in Toronto earlier today. With that loss, the Red Sox fell to 23-22 against non-Yankee opponents.
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Gardner CF
And on the mound, the big man, number 52, CC Sabathia.
Game 48 Spillover Thread
Can the bullpen hold down the fort for two more innings?
Ben’s Correction: Just to update a prior item: The Yankees did not DFA Kevin Cash. Per Bryan Hoch, Cash had an option left. So the Yanks were able to just option him down to AAA, and he remains with the organization. Either the Yanks and Cash’s agent negotiated an option or he had one remaining. Works for me.
Game 48: Hip Hip, Cleveland!
The Yanks have won 12 of their last 15, and things continue to look up as they head into Cleveland to play the last place Indians. The perennial trendy pick, Cleveland’s been doomed by the American League’s worst pitching staff, which sports a 5.41 ERA. They just ripped off four straight wins against the defending AL Champs and are sending the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner to mound tonight, so they probably feel pretty good about themselves right now.
Thankfully, the Yankees are getting a boost of their own in the form of Jorge Posada, who is returning from his hamstring injury tonight. In case you missed it earlier, the Yanks designated Kevin Cash for assignment to make room on the roster for Georgie. In all likelihood Cash will clear waivers and return to Triple-A, assumed he doesn’t opt to become a free agent. The Yanks also have an empty 40-man roster spot to play with, so they could call up an outfielder if Melky’s injury is worse than originally thought.
Here’s tonight’s lineup:
Jeter, SS
Damon, LF
Teixeira, 1B
A-Rod, 3B
Cano, 2B
Posada, C
Matsui, DH
Swisher, RF
Gardner, CF
And on the mound, the grizzled vet Andy Pettitte.
Note: In case ou’re interested, Stephen Strasburg takes on Virginia tonight on ESPNU. Game starts … now!
Update (6:57pm): Bryan Hoch says they rolled the tarp out and the game will not start on time. Consider it a blessing and flip over to check out some Strasburg action.
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