Game 26: The quest for .500
By · CommentsWe can bemoan the Yankee pitching as much as we want. We can blame bullpen management or poor starting pitching. We can blame bad weather and freak injuries. But all of that pales in comparison to the real problem.
The Yankees, folks, are just not scoring any runs. They are ninth in the American League — and 16th overall in baseball — with 113 runs scored. That figure puts them behind such power-packed offenses as the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland A’s. What is more mysterious, however, is that the Yankees are fourth in the AL with a .772 OPS. They’re just not getting their hits when it counts as we saw yesterday. That will change, but for now, we just have to grin and bear it.
Today, the Yanks face a familiar foe, one they saw last in the ALDS and one many think could be in pinstripes next year. C.C. Sabathia, who pitched a fairly pedestrian game 1 in the ALDS against the Yanks last year, will take the mound for the Indians. He’s 1-3 with a 10.13 ERA, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. In his last start, he threw six shutout innings against the Royals, walking two and striking out 11.
The Yanks counter with their ace. Chien-Ming Wang is 4-0 with a 3.94 ERA. But his last two starts have been a bit rocky. Against the Red and White Sox, Wang threw 10 innings, giving up 11 earned runs on 19 hits. Over that stretch, he’s walked five and struck out seven as his ERA climbed from 1.23 to its current 3.94. A solid start from Wang against a team that seemingly took batting practice off him in October would do wonders for the Yanks.
Hideki Matsui sits for the second straight day. He’s 0 for 9 in his career against Sabathia. No word on any potential call-up for Darrel Rasner. He’s set to start today for Scranton in Syracuse, and if he goes today, he won’t be ready to pitch again for another four days.
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Duncan 1B
Ensberg DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Molina C
Wang P
Update 1:03 p.m.: As per Suzyn Waldman — what a lovely soundtrack to my shower, by the way — Jorge Posada is a scratch from the lineup today. After he gunned out Grady Sizemore yesterday, he seemed to be wincing a bit. I hope this isn’t a setback from his shoulder problems. Everyone moves up, and Molina’s hitting 9th.
Angelini picking up the pace
By · CommentsNo matter how frustrating it gets to watch Hughes and IPK nibble at the corners, just remember that it’s better than having Mark Redman in the rotation. Suddenly the kids don’t seem so bad, huh?
Triple-A Scranton was washed out, they’ll play two tomorrow. Darrell Rasner was the scheduled to starter, but maybe they’ll call him up to be the long man before the first game since he’s not in need of four days of rest.
Double-A Trenton (7-4 loss to New Britain in 13 innings)
Ramiro Pena & Reegie Corona: both 0 for 5 – Pena walked & K’ed … Corona K’ed twice
Austin Jackson & Matt Carson: both 2 for 6, 1 R – Ajax doubled & swiped a bag … Carson drove in a run & K’ed
Cody Ehlers: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB
Jose Tabata: 0 for 3, 2 K - came out of the game after striking out in the 7th … I recently heard that his swing is all messed up, and that he’s out of shape and playing like he doesn’t care … it’s time to send him down to Tampa to light a fire under his ass
Phil Coke: 6 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 5-6 GB/FB
David Robertson: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – 3.2 IP? wow
Eric Wordekemper: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K - let an inherited runner score, hence the earned run on Robertson’s line
Mike Gardner: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Game 25: A new look; a new roster
By · CommentsThe Yanks wrapped up their weekend roster moves this afternoon and now find themselves with a righty-heavy bullpen. Billy Traber, after proving that a lefty can’t always get out other lefties, finds himself heading from Cleveland to Scranton, and Shelley Duncan makes his triumphant return to the Bronx.
For the Yanks, the bullpen now contains a bunch of hard-throwing righties and LaTroy Hawkins. While a few folks will be dismayed at the Yanks’ seemingly non-traditional approach to the bullpen — Where’s the lefty? Where’s the long man? — as long as these guys throw strikes they can get out lefties and righties. Plus, they’ve managed to survive without a strike-throwing lefty, and they haven’t really been burned by the lefties. It’s no different today than it was yesterday.
The Yanks, meanwhile, face back-to-back lefties, and I guess today’s the off-day for the lefty hitters. While C.C. Sabathia and his Cy Young Award go tomorrow, Jeremy Sowers will be making his 2008 debut against the Bombers. Bobby Abreu, Robbie Cano, Hideki Matsui and the switch-hitting Jorge Posada all find themselves on the bench today.
Damon LF
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Rodriguez DH
Giambi 1B
Duncan RF
Ensberg 3B
Molina C
Gonzalez 2B
Kennedy P
ByDue to the rain delay on Thursday, Phil Hughes threw just two innings and 23 pitches. The three of us speculated that the Yanks could make Hughes available out of the pen today if Kennedy should struggle. The Yankees, however, would rather not disrupt the routine of their young arm. Hughes will, as PeteAbe notes in the last line of his Yankee notebook toady, stay on his regular rest and next appear in a game on Tuesday. · (1) ·
ByThe going rate these days for historic World Series rings seems to be around $55,000. At least, that’s how much Southeby’s raked in for auctioning off Darryl Strawberry’s 1998 World Series ring. The ring was estimated to sell for between $20,000-$30,000, but the final tally, obviously, far exceeded those guesses. No one knew if Strawberry himself would take in the dough or if he had already sold it to another buyer who was now putting the ring up for auction. · (4) ·
ByWith Jon Alabaladejo’s and Chris Britton’s promotions to the major league team, Scranton needed another bullpen arm. Steven Jackson got the nod. He’s struck out 18 and walked three in 16 innings for Trenton. It appears the Yanks want to see what the 26-year-old can do at a higher level. David Robertson, three years Jackson’s junior, will get his chance in due time.
To take Jackson’s place at AA, J.B. Cox has been promoted. Happy day. · (4) ·
BySorry for the late, and brief, update. I’m not going to do the usual wrap, but you can go to Yankees Prospects, Pending Pinstripes or milb.com to check out the action. Double-A Trenton starter Dan McCutchen was the star of the night, striking out 12 batters against only 2 baserunners and 1 run allowed against New Britain. Regular old DotF will return tomorrow. · (3) ·
Game 24: A-Rod back in the lineup
By · CommentsIt’s nice to see A-Rod slotted back into his usual No. 4 spot. While the lineup has been solid for the past few days, there’s always room for the best hitter in baseball. He’s even playing the field, so we have the “A” lineup out there.
The news isn’t all good, though. We got a tip earlier that Brian Bruney would be out for the season. Turns out that was probably accurate. He tore a ligament in his foot — scrambling to cover first base — and needs surgery. Terrible news for a guy who was looking a bit more dependable than in years past.
Chris Britton and Jonathan Albaladejo come in as reinforcements, though it’s not clear what the other corresponding move will be. Could be Farnsworth to the DL, though we haven’t heard anything on that front for today, or it could be a trip to Scranton for Ross Ohlendorf. I suppose it could also be the designation of Chad Moeller, but with the Yanks facing two lefties this weekend and with two healthy catchers on the roster, you have to figure that Moeller will be swapped for Shelley Duncan tomorrow.
Thought on a possible Ohlendorf demotion: This makes sense if the Yanks are still unsure on Farnsworth. Clearly, neither pitcher would be available tonight, so you have to do something to get an arm in there. Demoting Ohlendorf gives the Yanks another day or two to decide on Farnsworth. If he does hit the DL, the Yanks can simply recall Ohlendorf before the 10-day waiting period, since he’d be replacing an injured player.
While we’re on the bullpen, let’s talk LaTroy Hawkins. Surely, we’re all hating the guy right now. And with so many arms from AAA seeking a promotion, I can understand the fervor over releasing him. But if you remember last season, we had a similar conundrum in Luis Vizcaino. At this point, the Viz had a 6.00 ERA, and would see that balloon all the way to 7.66 on May 25. He had a 2.66 ERA the rest of the way, striking out 50 and walking 24 in 50.2 IP. So don’t count out a turnaround for Hawkins. However, the question still remains of whether the damage he does now would be worth it, even if he did right the ship.
Stay tuned for any updates before game time.
Update: Moeller DFA’d for Britton. So it looks like Albaladejo comes up as Bruney’s injury replacement. That means a three-man bench tonight. Seems we’ll see Shelley tomorrow.
Lineup:
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Jason Giambi, 1B
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Melky Cabrera, CF
And on the mound, number forty-six, Andy Pettitte
