Quick notes on Sept. call-ups
By · CommentsFrom The Post:
With rosters expanding to 40 men today, the Yankees will call up 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, who has missed 82 games to a fractured right wrist, INF Alberto Gonzalez , who came over in the Randy Johnson trade, and RHP Jose Veras. They will add more pitchers in a few days.
I also hear they’re calling up some kid named Ian Kennedy. In all seriousness, I’m a bit surprised Veras got the call, he was a prime DFA target for me. Next year when they need a 40-man spot for Kevin Whelan or David Robertson, I suppose. The Yanks actually need to clear 2 spots on the 40-man so that Mink & Veras can come off the 60-day DL, and I’m dying to see how they work this out (bye bye Sean Henn!).
Good to see the Former Attorney General up, he can really pick it with the glove, and won’t totally embarass himself with the bat, a la Miggy Cairo. Expect Kevin Thompson to come up one of these days too. I would have loved to see Brett Gardner come up for pinch-run/pinch-bunt/late inning-D role, but it’s not going to happen. Like they did last year with Hughes, Clippard & JB Cox, I think the Yanks will bring some kids up (probably Alan Horne, Whelan & Ross Ohlendorf) and have them shag flies during BP, hang out in the clubhouse, then watch the game from the stands just to get their feet wet.
Quick guess at the pitchers they’ll call-up: TJ Beam, Matt DeSalvo, Kei Igawa & Jeff Karstens, all after the Triple-A playoffs. Don’t be surprised if Chase Wright comes up just to have a lefty available.
GCL Yanks win Gulf Coast League Title
By · CommentsTriple-A Scranton (9-3 win over Pawtucket)
Kevin Thompson: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 SB
Jose Cruz Jr.: 0 for 4, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Babe Mientkiewicz: 1 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 K – 4th straight game with a double
Mike Kinkade: 3 for 5, 3 R, 1 3B – just up from Trenton, but he just keeps on rakin’
Bronson Sardinha: 1 for 5, 1 RBI, 1 K
Alberto Gonzalez: 1 for 5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K - doubled off this guy…but then again, who hasn’t?
Eric Duncan: 2 for 5, 1 R, 2 K
Wil Nieves: 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB
Juan Francia: 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB – had been 3 for his last 33 coming into the game
The Ghost of Kei Igawa’s Ghost: 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 K – only 1 HR allowed…is he a better option that Phil Hughes right now? I think…NOT!
Charlie Manning: 2 IP, zeroes, 3 K – 6 baserunners & 12 K in 11.2 AAA innings
Game 135: Joba suspended, but it doesn’t matter
By · CommentsOn the same day that we learned New York is Yankeetown, we also learned that Joba Chamberlain has been suspended a whopping two games for his “inappropriate actions during the top of the ninth” yesterday.
While Yankee fans are sure to be outraged, this is a token suspension. Major League Baseball knows how the Red Sox felt and they know the Joba Rules. The suspension assuages the Red Sox’s feelings and doesn’t really make Joba unavailable to the Yankees before his next scheduled pitch day anyway. You can thank this symbolic suspension on Joe Torre’s decision to run Joba out there in the 9th inning of a five-run game for that one.
Anyway, tonight’s opponent hails for Tampa Bay. Weighing in at 54-80, the Devil Rays are throwing Andy Sonnanstine against Phil Hughes. Sonnanstine is 3-9 with a 6.38 ERA; Hughes is 2-2 with a 5.35 ERA. The Yanks could use a good night offensively and a quality start from Phil. Check for Hughes’ velocity and location early. Those two will indicate whether tonight’s start is bound to be a success.
The Yanks are going with their A Team. If the playoffs started tomorrow, these would be your starting nine. Yes, Giambi’s at first.
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Update (7:17 p.m.): Peter Abraham raised an interesting point today. With the Yankees sweeping the Red Sox yesterday, the Mets’ stunning loss and four-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies went largely unnoticed by the tabloids. You can bet that if the Red Sox had taken four from the Yankees during a pennant race in late August, the papers would be all over the Yanks. But the Mets, who now have just a two-game lead in their division, got a free pass. Interesting.
NY ♥ the Yanks
By · CommentsIt’s official; New York City is a Yankee town.
A poll released today by Quinnipiac University found that more New Yorkers like the Yankees than they do the Mets. So there, Shea Faithful.
The poll found that 51 percent of New Yorkers are Yankees fans while 35 percent are Mets fans. Another three percent have a death wish are Red Sox fans, and the rest are Angels fans. Just kidding. The Angels have no fans.
Meanwhile, if the Yanks and Mets were to face off in a Subway Series, no one other than Yankee fans would support the Yanks. The poll found that 51 percent of New Yorkers would root for the Yanks while 44 percent would cheer on the Mets. In other words, this city is filled with Yankee fans and fans of Whichever Team is Playing the Yankees.
Of course, heartthrob Derek Jeter is everyone’s favorite. He gets 43 percent of the Yankee vote with that number actually split evenly between women and men who have a Man Crush on Jeter. I guess. Alex Rodriguez, who we all once booed mercilessly, came in second place.
The borough by borough breakdown is even better. The Yanks enjoy the support of 67 percent of the Bronx, 53 percent of Brooklyn, 50 percent of Manhattan, just 40 percent of Queens and 54 percent of Staten Island. The Mets, meanwhile, rely on 48 percent of Queens residents for their fan base but can count just 1 in four Bronx and Manhattan residents, 35 percent of Brooklynites and 40 percent of the city’s Staten Islanders as fans.
So there it is: Scientific proof that the Yankees are more beloved no matter what those people at Shea Stadium have to say.
ByWith the RAB redesign, a few people have noted that some posts on the site’s main page are formatted differently. We had this feature on the old design but the differences weren’t as obvious. So briefly: These smaller. offset posts with smaller headlines, less meta information (date, category) and a different styling for the byline and comments are Asides. These are smaller posts for when we have a link to show you or a small point to make that doesn’t warrant its own post. Same great content as before, but now they look a little more distinctive than our other posts. · (0) ·
The umpires are complete fools
By · CommentsTo offer up a counterpoint to Mike, I don’t think Joba was trying to hit Kevin Youkilis intentionally. I don’t know what happened with those pitches; I don’t know what was going through Joba’s head. But it doesn’t make sense.
That is, however, besides the point. I want to direct your attention instead to a quotation from umpire crew chief Derryl Cousins in this Jack Curry article:
“Those were two pretty nasty pitches the young man threw,” Cousins said. “Up here, you need to be a little better throwing strikes, and we just had to put a lid on it.”
Now, in my opinion, the 9th inning was handled badly by everyone today. Torre’s decision to stick with Joba in the 9th is indefensible when Chamberlain is limited in how often he can pitch. Furthermore, Angel Hernandez, the umpire who ejected Chamberlain, was out of control. Chamberlain threw two bad pitches, and no warning during the course of this entire series was issued. So why not warn the 21-year-old and let the game continue? No one wants to see Angel Hernandez flailing around like a power-hungry fool. They do, however, want to see Joba Chamberlain.
Then, when the game ends, Derryl Cousins has the nerve to refer to the 2004 fight between A-Rod and Jason Varitek as the supposed history between these two teams. He then starts talking condescendingly about “up here, you need to be a little better [at] throwing strikes.” So the umpires decided to “put a lid on it.”
Last I checked, most relief pitches don’t get ejected when they can’t find the strike zone. Did Edwar Ramirez get ejected when he threw 19 of 20 pitches out of the strike zone last month? He certainly wasn’t too good about throwing strikes “up here.” Last I checked, pitching coaches are the ones who determine when to “put a lid on it” when their young pitchers aren’t near the plate. I didn’t realize Angel Hernandez was actually helping the Yankees by removing a wild pitcher from a game. I guess we should thank him then.
So who knows what happened? Who knows why Joba was throwing over Kevin Youkilis’ head. If he did it on purpose, more power to him. If he didn’t, then oops, and everyone’s blowing this out of propotion. But there is no doubt in my mind that Angel Hernandez first and Derryl Cousins second have handled this situation so poorly. Their actions and words cast more of a negative shadow on the game and the sport than two of Joba’s errant pitches did today.
Division Title for SWB
By · CommentsD’oh: Made a bit of a boo-boo: I left the comment ”93 K is the most in organization in the non-A-Rod category” for Juan Miranda, and that statement’s just wrong. First off, Miranda has 104 K on the year, which is behind guys like Tim Battle (145 K) & Austin Jackson (106 K) for the most in the organization. What I meant to write was “93 RBI is the most in organization in the non-A-Rod category.” There, doesn’t that sound better? My bad, sorry.
For the record, I think Joba threw at Youkilis on purpose. I dunno why he did it, but I don’t have a problem with it (those pitches were way over his head, not at it). The Sawx have been taking target practice at Jeter, A-Rod, Posada et al for years now, and the only guy that was ever man enough to throw back at them is currently being run into the ground by someone other than Joe Torre.
And because I’m sure someone will ask, I think Nardi will give the it the okay to use Joba on Saturday. After all, he only threw what, 6 pitches in the 9th?
Oh, and pardon my French, but fuck Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis and all those idiot Red Sox fans who are bitching about it. Grow up and learn to take what you dish out you pansies.
Update: Forgot to mention this before, but Jimmy Brower was released from Triple-A Scranton today, and The Beast Known As Scott Patterson was called up from Double-A Trenton to replace him. Brower’s release frees up a 40-man roster spot for IPK.
Triple-A Scranton (6-3 win over Syracuse) with the win, Scranton clinched the Northern Division title
Brett Gardner: 1 for 5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, 3 SB
Jose Cruz Jr.: 0 for 3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K – had been 11 for his previous 25 with 4 doubles & a homer
Babe Mink: 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB – .393-.452-.679-1.130 with 7 XBH, 4 walks & only 2 K in 9 rehab games
Bronson Sardinha: 0 for 4, 1 K – threw a runner out at home
Alberto Gonzalez: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 K – 1 for his last 13 after 10 for his previous 22
Eric Duncan: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 K
Ben Kozlowski: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 6-3 GB/FB - 43 of 65 pitches were strikes (66.2%)
Ross Ohlendorf: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K – 24 of 36 pitches were strikes (66.7%)
TJ Beam: 0.2 IP, zeroes
The Robbie and Kim show
By · CommentsAnyone else think that Robinson Cano is totally sleeping with Kim Jones? That post-game interview today pretty much sealed the deal for me.
Update by Joe: Don’t worry. Once Robbie signs a seven-figure deal, he won’t have to sleep with the Kim Jones’s of the world.
If you want to see for yourself, here’s the link. Stupid YES won’t let you embed their YouTube videos.
Game 134: Gunning for a sweep
By · CommentsI feel like last night’s game just ended. Do you?
We’ve got an afternoon special for everyone stuck at work with only Gameday, MLB.tv (if you’re out of market) or Gameday Audio as your company. Wang against the hated Curt Schilling.
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
And I’m going to Ian Kennedy’s debut this Saturday. Hopefully, I’ll take pictures but my seats are in the Tier Reserve, Section 18.
Update (1:16 p.m.): Joe’s enjoying this game from Section 39 today. So hopefully, he can bring us some good luck in the Stadium.
Update (2:45 p.m.): Joe is not enjoying this game from Section 39. Joe is back at home, because it took him two hours to make the 30-minute drive to the Stadium. It was there he met the worst gridlock he’s ever seen, so he turned around and went home, deathly afraid to see the roads parking lot after the game.
Update (3:59 p.m.): Chris Britton has been with the Yanks for three days now. He’s managed to make no appearances. Meanwhile, it’s 5-0 Yanks in the bottom of the 9th against the Red Sox and Edwar Ramirez is coming on. Why not Britton? Seriously, what did he do to Joe Torre?
Update (4:01 p.m.): So I spoke too soon. Not only is Joe Torre in a mortal fight with Chris Britton but apparently his brain froze too. The Yanks are using their relief ace for a second inning in a 5-0 game. That means he can’t pitch again until Sunday. With Ian Kennedy coming up, I would think Torre would want Chamberlain available as soon as possible. But then again, I’m probably thinking more than Torre is at this point.
Update (4:10 p.m.): For those of you watching on Gameday, Joba was ejected because the umpires are buffoons. He threw two pitches over the head of Youkilis, and Angel Hernandez, the home plate umpire, didn’t warn Joba. He simply threw him out. It’s inexplicable. No one wants to see Angel Hernandez eject someone. They want to see Joba pitch, and he’s certainly not intentionally hitting someone with a 5-run lead in the top of the 9th. Plus, with Joba’s control, if he was going to hit him, he would have hit him. It’s idiotic.
Please give credit where credit is due
By · CommentsA copy editor at the Daily News apparently reads RAB. Check out a headline from today:
Ian Kennedy’s shaping up as Yanks’ mini-Mussina
How long has Mike been calling him Mini-Moose? Yeah, thanks for stealing, Mr. Copy Editor. We can’t wait until the media starts calling him IPK.
