Game 123: Spoiler
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(Jim Rogash/Getty)
Man I hate Sunday night games. I like to chill out and relax with no baseball as the weekend ends, and you and I both know this game probably won’t end until midnight or so. A win would make it all better, if for no other reason than to make the Red Sox’s life a little more complicated. The Yankees have such a small chance of making the postseason right now that playing spoiler might be as good as it gets from here on out. Here’s the lineup Joe Girardi is sending out there against Ryan Dempster:
- CF Brett Gardner
- RF Ichiro Suzuki
- 2B Robinson Cano
- LF Alfonso Soriano
- 3B Alex Rodriguez
- DH Curtis Granderson
- SS Eduardo Nunez
- 1B Lyle Overbay
- C Chris Stewart
And on the mound is left-hander CC Sabathia, who has been better of late but still far off from what he was even last year. If the big man was ever going to put up a big performance, this would be the night to do it.
The weather’s fine in Boston, so don’t worry about rain or anything. First pitch is scheduled for a little after 8pm ET and can be seen on ESPN. Try to enjoy.
Rotation Update: Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes will start the two games of Tuesday’s doubleheader in whatever order. They’ll need to come up with a spot starter for Saturday’s game against the Rays, and Joe Girardi indicated they are leaning towards Adam Warren.
Williams and Jagielo go deep on day of walk-offs
By · CommentsTriple-A Scranton (2-0 win over Lehigh Valley, walk-off style)
- 2B David Adams & C J.R. Murphy: both 0-4 — Adams walked and whiffed
- CF Melky Mesa: 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 SB
- 1B Dan Johnson: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB — walk-off two-run dinger
- LF Ronnie Mustelier: 2-4
- RHP Caleb Cotham: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 9/4 GB/FB — 59 of 93 pitches were strikes (63%)
ByVia Andrew Marchand: Alex Rodriguez started the process of filing a medical grievance against the Yankees within the last two weeks. This comes the day after A-Rod’s lawyer accused the team of essentially hiding MRI results and playing an injured player as a way of embarrassing him. Unsurprisingly, Brian Cashman stood behind the team’s medical staff while talking with reporters this afternoon. · (51) ·
A look at the daunting road to the postseason
By · CommentsAs of this morning, the Yankees have a 4.3% and 6.3% chance of making the postseason according to Baseball Prospectus and Cool Standings, respectively. They are currently six games back of the second wildcard spot with 40 games to play, and they’ve managed to gain exactly zero games in the race despite winning six of their last nine games. That’s the problem with having to climb over four teams, someone is always winning on a given day.
The Yankees have a very small chance of making the postseason but it’s not impossible. Their lineup is much improved these days and both CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte have started to pitch a little better, which will help the cause. Here’s a quick breakdown of the team’s remaining schedule compared to the clubs they’re chasing for that second wildcard spot:
| GB of 2nd WC | Games Left | Games Left vs. NYY | Games Left vs. WC Contenders | Games Left vs. .500+ Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers | +1.5 | 39 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| Rays | +0.5 | 41 | 6 | 21 | 24 |
| Athletics | 0.0 | 40 | 0 | 13 | 17 |
| Orioles | 3.0 | 40 | 7 | 20 | 29 |
| Indians | 3.5 | 39 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| Royals | 5.0 | 40 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Yankees | 6.0 | 40 | - | 13 | 20 |
I included the Rangers and Rays here just because they’re so very close to the second wildcard spot. The Rangers and Athletics have been trading first place in the AL West back-and-forth all season.
Despite their tough overall remaining schedule, the Rays and Orioles are in a good spot because they have a ton of games left against the other wildcard contenders. Those head-to-head matchups are crucial, and as long as they have a bunch of them left, they’re still in the race. The Indians have a really soft schedule down the stretch, with 14 of their final 17 games coming against the lowly Twins, Astros, and White Sox. If they stay close enough to the race these next four weeks, they’ll be in good position to close out the season strong.
Following tonight’s series finale against the Red Sox, the Yankees will play seven of their next ten and ten of their next 16 games against the Blue Jays and ChiSox. After that they run through the AL East gauntlet and close out the schedule with three games in Houston. Those 13 games against the Rays and Orioles can help their postseason cause — or completely bury them — but otherwise they’re at the whim of the other teams. All they can do is win their games. They’ll need a lot of help from the other wildcard contenders. Or, really, they’ll need help from the teams playing those wildcard contenders. The road to the postseason couldn’t get much tougher at this point.
ByVia Ken Powtak: Derek Jeter is continuing to take batting practice and field ground balls down in Tampa, but he and his Grade I strained calf have yet to run the bases. “We’ll go day-by-day … He has not necessarily played in a simulated game or anything of that nature, so we’ll just have to see. For me it’s as soon as we can get him,” said Joe Girardi to Chad Jennings.
Jeter, 39, is eligible to come off the DL today, but obviously that won’t happen. He’s played in just five games this year (4-for-19, .211) thanks to a string of leg injuries. I have to think Jeter is still several days away from returning to the team if he has yet to even run the bases, so returning in time for Tuesday’s series opener — openers, really, they have a doubleheader — against the Blue Jays is unlikely. Rosters expand two weeks from today; I wonder if the Cap’n will be held out that long just to make sure he’s 100% healthy after getting hurt immediately after returning from the DL on two occasions this summer. · (28) ·
Jagielo goes deep in Staten Island loss
By · CommentsTriple-A Scranton (4-3 loss to Lehigh Valley in eleven innings)
- C J.R. Murphy: 1-6, 3 K
- CF Melky Mesa: 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 1 HBP — still mashin’
- 2B David Adams: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K
- LF Ronnie Mustelier: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
- RHP Graham Stoneburner: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4/5 GB/FB — 41 of 62 pitches were strikes (66%) … rotation is pretty thin due to injuries and the David Huff call-up, so he’s back with the club
- RHP David Herndon: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 4/0 GB/FB — 15 of 16 pitches were strikes … he’s thrown well following Tommy John surgery, have to think the Yankees will add him to the 40-man roster after the season to keep him around as an extra bullpen arm next year
- LHP Cesar Cabral: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K – ten of 18 pitches were strikes (56%) … 21/4 K/BB in his last 16.2 innings … depending on the team’s plans for Boone Logan, Cabral could find himself back on the 40-man this winter
- RHP Corey Patterson: 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GB/FB — 11 of 16 pitches were strikes (69%) … he’s the third different position player to pitch in the system the last two days
Saturday Night Open Thread
By · CommentsHappy birthday wishes go out to Jorge Posada, who turns 42 today. Thanks to the FOX broadcast this afternoon for pointing that out. Can you believe Posada is 42 already? That really happened in a hurry even though this is only his second year of retirement. Going from Posada’s production to what the Yankees are getting out of catcher now has been a shock to the system, even more than I was expecting, but such is life. I really miss him.
Anyway, here is your open thread for the evening. The Mets and Padres are playing later (Mejia vs. Volquez), MLB Network will air a game (who you see depends on where you live), and the Jets are playing a preseason game (NFL Network). Talk about any of those games or anything else here. Have at it.
ByVia Steve Eder: Joseph Tacopina, a member of Alex Rodriguez’s legal team, accused the Yankees of deliberately endangering his health in an effort to get him out of baseball. “They rolled him out there like an invalid and made him look like he was finished as a ballplayer … They did things and acted in a way that is downright terrifying,” said the lawyer, who claims the team hid MRI results that showed the torn hip labrum from A-Rod last fall and continued to play him in the postseason.
Tacopina also says team president Randy Levine told Dr. Brian Kelly, who examined Alex after the season and eventually diagnosed the labrum tear, that “I don’t ever want to see [A-Rod] on the field again” and clarified “it wasn’t a joke.” Levine, obviously, denied the claims and says the team is willing to release the medical records if given the thumbs up by the necessary parties. Tacopina claims they have copies of “very damaging” email exchanges between A-Rod and Levine that prove otherwise.
So, someone is lying here. Either A-Rod’s camp is lying about what the doctor said or Levine is lying about what he told the doctor. I suppose they could both be correct and Kelly made the whole thing up, but I doubt it. Also, saying they hid the MRI results and continued to play an injured player is a very serious accusation. Like, super duper serious. I can’t wait for the appeal hearing. This is going to be a blast. · (52) ·
Game 122: Stay Hot
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(Jim Rogash/Getty)
The Yankees have won six of their last eight games, including a blowout win over the Red Sox in the series opener on Friday night. The offense is firing on all cylinders thanks in large part to the molten hot Alfonso Soriano, who is doing a mean David Justice impersonation as the club tries to claw its way back into the playoff race.
New York will look to continue their recent hot streak with not just their best pitcher on the mound this afternoon, with one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Hiroki Kuroda has been masterful all season but especially of late, posting a 0.94 ERA and 2.08 FIP in 48 innings across his last seven starts. He’s held batters to a .215/.253/.267 batting line during that time. That’s basically Chris Nelson as a Yankee (.222/.243/.278). Yeah, Kuroda’s been awesome.
Here’s the lineup Joe Girardi is sending out there against right-hander John Lackey. He’s allowed 18 runs in his last 32.2 innings (4.96 ERA). Let’s hope those struggles continue.
- CF Brett Gardner
- RF Ichiro Suzuki
- 2B Robinson Cano
- LF Alfonso Soriano
- 3B Alex Rodriguez
- DH Curtis Granderson
- SS Eduardo Nunez
- 1B Lyle Overbay
- C Chris Stewart
And, like I said, Kuroda is on the mound.
It’s a little cloudy in Boston but there is no threat of rain. Not too hot, not too cold, not too humid … pretty great day for baseball. First pitch is scheduled for a little after 4pm ET and can be seen on FOX. FOX plus Fenway Park usually equals pain for the Yankees, but I’m feeling good about this one. Enjoy the game.
