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Game 36: Playing the hot hands
Last night’s win was all about the Yankee youngsters and the outfield. Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner were instrumental in delivering the team one of its more thrilling wins of the season.
It is not surprising then that both of them are in the lineup today. Brett is going to man center field while Melky will try his hand in right. Nick Swisher is at first, and after a little incident with Carlos Gomez last night, Mark Teixeira will DH.
This is a move that makes a lot of sense. Melky, of course, has earned his playing time. Through 33 games and 104 plate appearances, he is hitting .330/.394/.511 and is showing more patience at the plate. Gardner has also seemingly turned a corner. After starting off the season at .220/.254/.271 and earning himself a spot on the bench, Gardner is 7 for 19 this month. His season numbers — .256/.330/.423 — are approachable respectability.
And then there is Nick Swisher. After a hot, hot start to the season, Swisher has stopped hitting. On the month, he is 4 for 36 with 17 strike outs. He now has eight more strike outs than hits. Ouch.
So now, Joe Girardi can start taking advantage of the depth that remains while the Yanks’ injured players work their ways back to the team. He should make sure the hot bats get into the lineup and can give Swisher a day off or two while deploying him as a potential pinch hitter late in the game. I’d prefer to see Cano hitting fifth and Swisher below him, but today, Girardi has flipped it for the 1:05 start.
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira DH
Rodriguez 3B
Swisher 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera RF
Gardner CF
Cervelli C
And pitching, number 62, Joba Chamberlain (2-1, 3.89).
Game 35 Spillover Thread II
One more for good luck.
Game 35 Spillover Thread
Hey look, a run.
Game 35: Searching for our Phil of redemption
In his last outing, Phil Hughes was nothing short of terrible. In 1.2 innings against the Orioles, the Yanks’ 22-year-old right-hander gave up 8 earned runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. He didn’t record a strike out and, in fact, induced just one swinging strike and five called strikes. It was an awful outing all around.
Today, Hughes is pitching with a purpose. With Chien-Ming Wang making rehab starts, Hughes could be destined for Scranton some time next week, and I’m sure Phil wants to go out with a strong start. When Joba Chamberlain reaches his innings limit or if some other pitcher gets injured, the Yanks will need an effective Phil Hughes to step in.
Facing Hughes with be Francisco Liriano and the 18-17 Twins. Since missing the entire 2007 season with surgery, Liriano hasn’t quite been the same pitcher he was in 2006. In 7 starts this year, he is 2-4 with a 5.75 ERA. He has struck out 33 in 40.2 innings while walking 16.
Tonight also marks the return of Alex Rodriguez to the Bronx. Will he be booed or cheered? Stay tuned for that and other stories as we join “As the A-Rod Turns” already in progress. Game time is at 7:05, and this one is on YES tonight.
Derek Sanderson Jeter SS
Johnny David Damon LF
Mark Charles Teixeira 1B
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Nicolas Thompson Swisher RF
Robinson Jose Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Kevin Forrest Cash C
Philip J. Hughes P
Game 34 Spillover Thread
You’d think after that first inning they’d have scored a few more by now.
Game 34: Let’s take two out of three
Since the inception of baseball blogs sometime in 2001 or 2002, perhaps no recording artist has been quoted as frequently as Meatloaf. Writers and bloggers invoke his second hit single, “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad,” before nearly every rubber match. Hey, two out of three is a .667 winning percentage, which extrapolates to a 108-win season. We haven’t seen one of those in quite a while.
The cliche could be no more true than for the Yanks today. Not only can they take two out of three from the Jays, and thereby their second straight series, but they can do it in the most acceptable of ways. Hey, if you face Roy Halladay in the series opener and can come back to win the next two, that’s all right in anybody’s book. The Yanks get their chance against reliever-turned-starter Brian Tallet.
Yanks fans will recognize Tallet’s name because he’s been with the Jays since 2006, pitching mostly in relief. This will be his sixth start of the season, and his seventh since becoming a Blue Jay. He entered the Jays’ rotation amid injuries to most of their starters: Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, Rickey Romero, and Jesse Litsch are all on the DL. Tallet has filled in admirably, allowing 16 runs, 15 earned, in 29 innings so far as a starter. He’s having a bit of trouble with the walks, which the Yanks will surely try to exploit tonight.
As a reliever, Tallet has given the Yanks some trouble. He’s faced them 20 times in his career, spanning 28.1 innings, in which he has allowed 9 runs. The walks are still an issue, as he’s issued 12 through those 29 innings — almost the exact rate he’s showing as a starter so far. Hopefully the Yanks can catch up to Tallet in an extended viewing.
The Yanks send their guy to the mound tonight, the behemoth that is CC Sabathia. He was masterful his last time out, pitching like the guy the Yanks signed to a $161 million contract this winter. As Pettitte did last night, he’ll face a righty-heavy Blue Jays lineup tonight. It’s even more extreme tonight, with John McDonald entering the lineup. That makes it righties or switch hitters one through nine. Something tells me this will not bother Sabathia one bit.
Both Jeter and Matsui make their return to the lineup tonight. Jeter is a bit more concerning at this point. Obliques are tricky muscles, and the last thing the Yanks want is for Jeter to try to play through a small strain and turn it into a considerable tear. Missing 15 days now is obviously better than missing two months. We just have to put our faith in the Yanks training staff at this point.
Lineup:
1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Nick Swisher, RF
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Brett Gardner, CF
9. Francisco Cervelli, C
And on the mound, number fifty-two, CC Sabathia.
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