River Avenue Blues

Open Thread: Thoughts on Old Timer’s Day

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Matt Casey, writing for the Circling the Bases blog over at NBC Sports, has some pretty harsh words for the Yankees annual celebration:

But do the Yanks really need to do this every year? If you continue to have these ceremonies where the greats (and some non-greats) all trot out, the oversaturation factor kicks in. Within the last 12 months, the Yanks have now had four similar celebrations – All-Star Game, final game at Old Yankee Stadium, opening of New Yankee Stadium, Old Timer’s Day – where the team honors its past. Seriously, we get it. The Yankees are the greatest franchise ever. You had us at the 183rd time you told us.

Most of the legends have passed on (Mickey, Joe D). Now, Yogi and Whitey are surrounded by the likes of Dave Eiland, Homer Bush, and Aaron Small. To put things in perspective, imagine the Mets celebrating Old Timer’s Day with Tom Seaver, a couple other dudes from ’69, but also Rico Brogna, Bill Pulsipher, and Keith Miller. Everyone would make fun of it, right? Not to equate Mets history with Yankees history, but hopefully you get the point.

Casey, of course, completely misses the point. Old Timer’s Day isn’t for gloating about the success of the franchise. It’s there to give the fans a chance to see our favorite players again. It allows us to grow old with our idols, even if we only get to see them once a year. It’s about seeing Moose again, or Zim, or Paulie a few years back. And in the next few years it’ll be about Mo, Andy, Jeter and Jorge. It’s like being at a big family reunion, and even though the players don’t know who you are, you still love them. Mark Herrmann gets it. Yankee fans get it. It’s really not that hard.

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Anywho, ue this as your open thread for the night. The Mets and Braves are already in action in the ESPN Sunday Night Game, so you could probably flip over and get a few laughs in. Otherwise, talk about whatever you want here, just be nice.

Youth vs. Bucks

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The Yanks won a game this afternoon with a pair of 23-yr old righthanders doing pretty much all the heavy lifitng on the mound, just another example of how the Yanks are continuing to infuse youth into their roster. Ramiro Pena and Frankie Cervelli stepped up in a big way earlier in the year, and as Joel Sherman points out, having capable youngsters to fill in is part of the reason why the Yanks are climbing the standings while the Mets sink.

However, the Yanks still committed to over $400M in contracts over the winter, and Sherman wonders how they’ll react next winter, when the Matt Holliday and Jason Bay carrots (among others) are dangled in front of them. Me? I think Cashman has shown he’s committed to youth, but isn’t above opening the wallet for elite free agents. Holliday and Bay aren’t elite players to me. What about you?

Game 91: Yanks can beat a first place team

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The Yanks might not have a good record against the Angels and the Red Sox, but they’ve done just fine against other contenders, like the Twins, the Rangers, the Rays, the Mariners, and yes, the Tigers. They’ll go for the sweep today. It’s a big game not only because of that, but because Joba Chamberlain takes the mound. It’s always a big game with Joba.

We know Joba has struggled mightily over his last few appearances. As we saw in the Joba Lane series (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3), his struggles aren’t surprising. It’s all about throwing strikes, and for the most part he has failed at that this season. His velocity is a concern, but not nearly a much as his control. He’ll get a chance to redeem himself after a bit of a layoff.

His opponent is Edwin Jackson, to whom we can point (along with yesterday’s starter, Justin Verlander) as an example of what can happen when you have patience with a young pitcher. A sixth-round pick of the Dodgers in 2001, Jackson shot up the minor league ranks, dominating the rookie league and A ball in his first two seasons. In 2003 he pitched very well at AA, striking out more than a batter an inning and keeping his walks at a decent clip. This led to a September call-up, in which Jackson continued pitching well.

Jackson was up and down in 2004, picking up a win on June 2, then coming back in July for a couple of starts. He bombed in his September redux, however. He went back to the minors to start the 2005 season and didn’t get a call-up until August 22. Considering how poorly he pitched at AAA — an 8.62 ERA over 55.1 innings — this is not a surprise. Again, Jackson pitched poorly at the major league level, though he closed out the season with a couple of decent performances.

The Dodgers, however, had seen enough. That off-season they dished him and Chuck Tiffany to the Rays for Danys Baez and Lance Carter. At the time, Baez was coming off a good season as Tampa Bay’s closer, so the Dodgers thought they were dishing a busted prospect for a solid reliever. While Jackson wouldn’t come to maturity right away, the Dodgers got little use out of Baez, who allowed 24 runs over 49.2 innings before the Braves traded Wilson Betemit for him.

It took two seasons of struggles before Jackson finally caught on. His problem throughout his latter major league stints was a way-too-high walk rate. He brought that down significantly in 2008, to 3.8 per nine. He didn’t strike out a ton of guys last year, 5.3 per nine, but just bringing down the walks (and hits) pushed his ERA below the 4.50 mark to 4.42. The Rays thought they were selling high by dishing him to the Tigers for Matt Joyce, but it’s clear now that the Tigers got exactly what they wanted in the deal.

Jackson has thrown 121.2 innings this season, and they’re the best 121.2 of his life. His ERA sits at 2.42. He’s struck out 7.2 hitters per nine innings. He has the lowest WHIP in the league, owing to his new fangled walk rate — 2.6 per nine. He’s also allowed just seven hits per nine, a category in which he leads the league. He pitched well against the Yankees earlier this year, allowing no runs through six innings. The Yanks bats were patient, though, running his pitch count up to 117. The bullpen promptly blew the game in the seventh, as the Yanks rallied for 10 runs.

Hope y’all enjoyed the Old Timers’ ceremonies. Now it’s time for some young dudes to square off.

Lineup:

1. Derek Jeter, SS
2. Brett Gardner, CF
3. Mark Teixeira, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Nick Swisher, RF
9. Melky Caberera, LF

And on the mound, number sixty-two, Joba Chamberlain.

Old Timers’ Day thread

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The Yankees will begin the Old Timers’ Day ceremonies in a few moments, which you can follow on YES. It’ll be the standard introductions: John Sterling and Michael Kay heap praise on former Yankee greats — and of course some not-so-greats — while the fans remember what it was like back in the day.

The Yanks announced some new attendees recently, including Doc Gooden, Mel Stottlemyre, Don Zimmer, and Mike Mussina. Boy, wouldn’t it be nice to have him on the team this year. They’ll be joined by other Old Timers’ rookies Chad Curtis, Mike Easler, Charlie Hayes, Lindy McDaniel, and Jerry Narron. Then there will be the mainstays: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage, plus the widows of Elston Howard, Catfish Hunter, Bobby Murcer, and Thurman Munson.

Also attending: Luis Arroyo, Jesse Barfield, Ron Blomberg, Dr. Bobby Brown, Homer Bush, Rick Cerone, Horace Clarke, Jim Coates, David Cone, Bucky Dent, Al Downing, Dave Eiland, Oscar Gamble, Joe Girardi, Ken Griffey, Sr., Ron Guidry, Reggie Jackson, Pat Kelly, Don Larsen, Hector Lopez, Lee Mazzilli, Gene Michael, Meredith Murray (B.P. Pitcher), Jeff Nelson, Graig Nettles, Joe Pepitone, Bobby Richardson, Mickey Rivers, Bill “Moose” Skowron, Aaron Small, Bob Turley, and Roy White.

So kick back, and enjoy watching former Yankees enjoy their day in the sun. Feel free to talk up the former players in this thread for now. Looks like Mike Mussina is starting, but I haven’t seen any other lineups.

Sunday morning Mariano musings

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On Saturday night, Jesus was the story. On Sunday morning, let’s look at Mariano.

The August 13 game in 2007 against the Orioles was, on its surface, nothing remarkable. The Yankees beat the Orioles 7-6 on a walk-off fielder’s choice in the bottom of the 9th. Earlier in the game, neither Jeremy Guthrie nor Chien-Ming Wang had their best stuff, and the game was left to the bullpens.

What is remarkable about the game, though, was the top of the 9th. In that inning, Mariano Rivera allowed three hits and a run as the Orioles overcame a one-run deficit to tie the game. It would be Mariano Rivera’s only blown save at Yankee Stadium that season, and in fact, it was his last blown save at Yankee Stadium. It is also his only blown save at home since August 13, 2005 when he let one go against the Rangers in a game the Yanks would win in 11 innings.

Think about that for a second. Mariano Rivera has blown just one save at home since August 13, 2005. That’s a remarkable achievement. Nearly four years at home, one blown save.

Since his disastrous appearance while sick against Tampa in a non-save situation in June, Mariano has been as good as any pitcher could be. He has saved 13 games since then, throwing 15.2 innings and allowing five hits, one run and one walk while striking out 16. That’s a 0.57 ERA.

One day, Mo will blow a save. One day, Mo will lose a game. One day, Mo may even decide to call it a career. Right now, though, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, and he’s still the guy anyone wants out there in the ninth inning of a close game. That, my friends, is Mariano Rivera.

Yanks outlast Tigers in pitchers’ duel

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Entering the Great Hall at yesterday’s game, I had one thing on my mind. With CC Sabathia opposing Justin Verlander, I could only hope it was a classic pitcher’s duel. “I hope the only run in the game is a home run,” I said to my friend. “By A-Rod. In the first inning.” Things didn’t go exactly that way, but it was close enough. Both pitchers went seven strong, but the Yankees’ offense was able to muster more than the Tigers’, leading to a 2-1 victory.

Early on, a pitchers’ duel did not appear on the horizon. Justin Verlander had his A-game, which CC Sabathia struggled, throwing 51 pitches in the first two innings. He didn’t appear to be long for the game. A 10-pitch third certainly helped out, as did Joe Girardi’s willingness to let him start an inning with 100 pitches already thrown. In the end he finished seven without allowing a run. He handed the ball off to Aceves and Mo, who had enough cushion to finish off the game.

One thing about pitchers’ duels — perhaps my favorite part — is that there’s not much left to say afterwards. Both pitchers pitched well. Verlander made his pitches most of the day, and Sabathia made pitches when he needed them. They actually allowed the same number of baserunners, eight, but the difference was that Sabathia kept the ball in the park, and got grounders and short flies with runners in scoring position. Verlander faced fewer of those situations, which was to his advantage, and allowed just one hit with at least a runner on second. Unfortunately, that one hit cost them the game.

It was a strange hit, Melky’s in the seventh. Upon first appearance it seemed like a routine grounder to short. Once Everett fielded it, though, it was clear that the grass had slowed it down, and that Nick Swisher had caused some soft of diversion by tip-toeing over it. How much he had to do with that play I don’t exactly know. But the throw was low, and by the time it landed in Miguel Cabrera’s glove, Melky had already touched first base. The umpire called him safe, and the Yankees had a 2-0 lead.

(Two minor comments on the play: 1) the replays that I saw showed that he was safe, and 2) one has to wonder, if Mark Teixeira was at first, would he have made a better scoop? Cabrera’s one-knee act might help him keep balls in the dirt in front of him, but it doesn’t appear to be the optimal setup. In other words, playing first base leaves his defense less exposed, but he’s still pretty bad in the field.)

Some will surely say that A-Rod’s homer was a New Stadium Special, and it’s tough to argue with that. We know the walls are in and down a bit compared to the old home, and it’s questionable whether his homer would have left the park across the street. In the same way, though not exactly, Marcus Thames got lucky with his homer in the eighth, which left the park with about as much clearance as Alex’s.

More than anything, yesterday’s game put on display the effect of luck in baseball. Both teams got lucky with homers that squeaked out of the park. The Yankees got lucky on a slow grounder to short which Melky just happen to beat out for an RBI single. The Tigers were in that position a few times, too — runners in scoring position and two outs — but couldn’t catch that lucky break. LIke many other elements, it’s what separates baseball from the other sports.

Hopefully you’re reading this on Sunday morning after celebrating the fine summer evening. It’s Old Timer’s Day tomorrow, and the festivities begin quite early. Gates open at 10, ceremonies begin at 11:45, and the actual game — Joba Chamberlain vs. Edwin Jackson — starts at 2:05. Yanks go for the sweep, and Joba goes for redemption. Should be a nice afternoon cap to Old Timer’s Day.

By the way: I went down to the Mohegan Sun bar for the last inning of the game. The view from there is incredible. They also have Bass and Newcastle on tap, so it’s a nice break from the Bud and Miller Lights you see all around the concourses. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who can score tickets, but whether it’s worth the price is up to personal preference.