On Mussina’s inconsistent pitching
By · CommentsOver at WasWatching, Steve took care of some research I was about to conduct on Mike Mussina. Here’s what he (and I) have found:
In the 12 games started by Mussina where the Yankees lost: Mussina averages 4.8 IP per start and has an ERA of 8.16.
In the 10 games started by Mussina where the Yankees won: Mussina averages 6.3 IP per start and has an ERA of 2.57.
While Steve’s conclusion is that Mussina is good while on and terrible while off a la Randy Johnson 2006, I have a different conclusion: Mike Mussina simply cannot pitch against good teams and expect to win.
The ten games in which Mussina has pitched and the Yanks have won came against some pretty woeful teams going through bad stretches. He beat Texas in back-to-back starts in May; he has pitched well in wins against the White Sox twice; he beat the Royals twice; he stifled a pathetic Oakland offense and downed the Devil Rays.
On the flip side, Mussina has gotten shelled by the Red Sox (twice), Angels, Tigers, and, um, the Devil Rays and Orioles. He can’t beat playoff contenders and seems to have problems with teams that have a few good hitters.
And, hey, we’ve got him for another season too. That two-year extension just looks better and better with every passing minute. Ted Lilly and his 3.88 ERA would have come to New York for a lesser per-year deal that Mussina received.
Ben Kozlowski didn’t pitch in either game of Scranton’s doubleheader. Nor did Bruney. Could we see one of them recalled today?
Triple-A Scranton (3-1 loss to Rochester in Game 1)
Brett Gardner: 1 for 3, 1 HR, 2 K — the powah!
Eric Duncan: 0 for 3, 1 K
Alberto Gonzalez: 0 for 3
Jose Cruz: 1 for 3
Angel Chavez: 0 for 1, 2 BB
Mighty Matt: 3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
Chris Britton: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — Ron Villone, Sean Henn…why?!?
Jose Veras: 1 IP, 1 H, zeroes — is also making a case
ByBecause they’re done. A half inning after falling behind 12-5, the Yanks go 1-2-3 on a whopping 7 pitches off of Kelvim Escobar. Relatedly, the last two Google searches for RAB were “Ron Villone sucks” and “painful death games,” both of which are apt descriptions of tonight. Get some sleep; there’s no reason to stay up for this one. · (18) ·
By…but, hey, Chris Britton threw 3 innings today at Scranton, giving up 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks and striking out 2. What’s the excuse here, Brian Cashman? Because I can’t think of a valid one. · (2) ·
ByWith the Red Sox winning earlier in the evening and Seattle taking a comfortable lead into the late innings against Minnesota, Mike Mussina turned in a vintage performance. At 10:56 p.m. in New York, Mussina was removed from the game after a whopping five outs. His final line: 1.2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.
And for the first time all season, I will be going to bed before the Yankee game ends.On second thought, I may just stay up yet. · (16) ·
ByMany Yankee fans viewed Eddie Layton as the benevolent grandfather of Yankee Stadium. He was always there, and his organ music seemed like a throwback to another era. But there was much more to Eddie Layton than some fun pre-game organ music and a rockin’ rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Layton was a pioneer of one of my favorite jazz instruments — the Hammond Organ — in his own right. For a great piece on Layton, his time at Yankee Stadium, his contribution to the organ field and 33 very rare MP3s of Layton’s organ work, check out this excellent piece at WFMU’s music blog. · (4) ·
This is why you don’t propose at a ballgame
By · CommentsYou might just get rejected.
The biggest excitement happened in the stands when a fan failed in his public attempt at popping the question.
With the couple highlighted on the big screen, the mood soured after the man took a knee to offer an engagement ring. Wearing a brick-red replica Astros jersey, the woman appeared to angrily dump a bag of popcorn on the man before rushing up the stairs amid a chorus of boos.
After the top of the sixth, the man left amid cheers from the sympathetic crowd.
“If it was an act, she put on a good one,” Garner said. “She looked totally surprised and then totally mad. We couldn’t even get a proposal right down here tonight.
“We lead the league in marriage proposals, and we couldn’t get that one right tonight.”
So, gentlemen, hopefully we all learned something from this.
Thoughts on Phil Hughes
By · CommentsMy thoughts after seeing the kid in action:
- Curve just wasn’t cooperating, fastball command came and went, changeup was good but not thrown enough. I don’t want to make excuses for him, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say he was a tad nervous pitching in front of friends & family.
- Way to many first pitch curveballs early in the game. Dunno what that was all about, but I’m guessin’ it had to do with Jorge’s gameplan.
- The stadium gun had Hughes sitting at 88-90 with his fastball, with two or three 91′s mixed in. The same gun had Dustin Moseley at 92-94 with one 96 (!). I have a hard time believing any of that.
- Kid’s got a great delivery, I’m a big fan of a pitcher being able to repeat his motion, and Hughes does it extremely well.
- Love the way he pitched Vlad, hard in on the hands. Not many young pitchers would be up to that. (FYI – all those years on the turf in Montreal must have destroyed Vlad’s knees and ankles, he’s barely mobile & will be a full-time DH by 2009 the latest)
- The scoreboard said that Mathis was hitting .200 on the year when he ripped that double in second. I saw the ball head for the corner and muttered 3 words to myself: fuck the heck.
- The second inning was kinda ugly, but he was pretty dominant from the 3rd through 5th, blowing a few guys away on those supposed 88 mph heaters.
- I can’t help but laugh everytime he starts wearing down after his 80th pitch. Pitch counts, turning great arms into 5 inning pitchers since 1985!
- His line on the year: 32.2 IP, 28 H, 14 BB, 30 K, 373 pitches/243 strikes (65.1%). Just needs to cut down on those walks a bit, and improve his pitch efficiency.
- Phil owes me $295 for the speeding ticket I got on the way to see him pitch.
With any luck, I’ll have a similar post for Joba tomorrow.
Tampa Yanks looking solid
By · CommentsSorry for the late update. I totally forgot I was taking DotF for the next couple of days while Mike gets to watch the Yanks get their asses beat in Anaheim.
Triple-A Scranton was postponed due to rain. They’re supposed to have a doubleheader today, but it’s raining like a mofo in Jerz. Chad Jennings doesn’t think they’ll get it in, and will be forced to play two extra road games when Scranton heads to Rochester later this month.
Double-A Trenton was suspended by rain. It’s 1-0 Baysox in the third inning. They’ll try to resume it at 6 tonight, but once again, the rain doesn’t look to be letting up (and I’m far closer to Trenton than I am Scranton).
