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Worst. Recap. Ever.
The team you were last month, even yesterday, isn’t the team you are tomorrow. The question facing the Yankees right now: When does tomorrow become today? Things could be going worse, but not by much. No one is hitting, which means that even if the pitching staff does well they can’t win ballgames. Last night was no different, as they couldn’t plate a single run against a wild Tommy Hanson in a 4-0 loss to the Braves.
Who wants a full recap of this one? No one? That’s what I thought. A couple of bullet points will suffice.
- Chien-Ming Wang’s start was odd, to say the least. It looked like he was leaving everything up early, but guys were pounding it into the ground. Then, in the third, he delivered pitches at or below the knees to Brian McCann and Garrett Anderson, and they both drove them for doubles. Go figure. CMW’s day ended with just 62 pitches and five innings, but that’s because the Yanks couldn’t afford to waste a baserunner when Brett Gardner reached in the sixth.
- This means that Wang will certainly get the start Sunday at Citi Field. The man who would have replaced him, Phil Hughes, pitched damn well yet again. He was a bit shakier than his last few bullpen outings, but the Braves got nothing off him. Please, more Hughes.
- Team RISP: 0 for 8. Tommy Hanson walked five guys. That pretty much sums up the night for the offense. Oh, four hits, and none off the bullpen.
- From April 6 through June 8, no team shut out the Yankees. From June 9 through last night, three teams have accomplished the feat. Also from June 9 on, a span of 13 games, the Yanks have scored three or fewer runs seven times.
Something is horribly, desperately wrong with the Yankees offense. They scored 43 runs over the first seven games in June, and have scored 52 runs in the next 13. And that 13 games includes the 15-0 shellacking of the Mets.
What in the hell can makes this team change so suddenly? Many blame Girardi and staff, but if they’re to blame now, well, then what happened in May and the beginning of June? Did Josh Beckett’s dominance really put this team in an irrevocable slump? Geez, I hope not. If one game can get in a team’s head, then I fear I won’t be enjoying the rest of the season.
Again, I ask: When will tomorrow be today?
If you didn’t like that recap, you can always check out the alternate one.
GCL Yanks start season off with a win
One year ago today, I posted the longest DotF ever.
Triple-A Scranton (6-1 loss to Syracuse)
Kevin Russo: 1 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 K
Austin Jackson & Cody Ransom: both 0 for 4 – Jackson K’ed & committed a fielding error … Ransom K’ed three times
Shelley Duncan, Juan Miranda & John Rodriguez: all 0 for 3 – Shelley drew a walk & K’ed … Miranda drew a walk … J-Rod K’ed twice
Colin Curtis: 2 for 3, 1 2B, 1 K
Justin Leone: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 E (fielding)
Kevin Cash: 0 for 2, 1 BB, 1 K
The Ghost of Kei Igawa: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 4-8 GB/FB – 56 of 86 pitches were strikes (65.4%)
Romulo Sanchez: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 0-3 GB/FB – 21 of 36 pitches were strikes (58.3%)
Paul Bush: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0-1 GB/FB – 12 of 17 pitches were strikes (70.6%)
Game 70 Spillover Thread II
Hey look, Phil Hughes.
Game 70 Spillover Thread
Hanson’s asking for it, but they’re not giving it to him.
Game 70: Party like it’s 1999. Or even 1996, either one works.
It’s been a long time since the Yankees have visited Atlanta: 1,402 regular season games, in fact. Chien-Ming Wang was just a 20-yr old kid pitching for the Staten Island Yankees the last time these two teams met south of the Mason-Dixon line, but now he’s on the mound for the big boys. Wang completed five innings for the first time all season in his last start, and the team will certainly look for him to build on that and pitch into the (gasp!) sixth inning this time around.
Not only will the Yanks have to deal with the uncertainty of a CMW start tonight, they’ll also have to deal with Atlanta’s rather unique closer situation as well. The Braves, you see, have two closers in righty Rafael Soriano and lefty Mike Gonzalez. Depending on the matchups, Bobby Cox will summon either pitcher from the bullpen in either the 8th or 9th innings. Gonzalez leads the club with eight saves, but he’ll be on to face Johnny Damon, Robbie Cano or any of the Yankees’ other lefties whenever they’re due up at the end of the game. Soriano is second on the club with six saves and will face the tough righty swingers whenever Gonzalez isn’t doing his thing. Two relievers, neither one married to a specific inning or the save stat, yet somehow the world hasn’t ended. Amazing.
Here’s tonight’s lineup. They’ll have their hands full with Tommy Hanson, arguably the best righthanded pitching prospect on the planet coming into the year. Something tells me we won’t see Wang take the bat off his shoulders, except for maybe a bunt situation.
Jeter, SS
Swisher, RF
Teixeira, 1B
A-Rod, 3B
Cano, 2B
Posada, C
Melky, LF
Gardner, CF
Wang, SP
Yanks’ protest denied; Teixeira leads in All Star voting
Just a few quick notes before the game thread: MLB has denied the Yanks’ protest of Sunday’s game. Joe Girardi filed a formal complaint with the league on Sunday after the Marlins messed up a double switch. The denial is unsurprising; I can’t pinpoint the exact date, but it’s been around two decades since the Commissioner upheld a protest.
In other news, Mark Teixeira leads AL first basemen in the All Star voting. After finding himsef 1300 votes behind Kevin Youkilis last week, the Yanks’ slugger now has a 35,632-vote cushion. While Joe Mauer has himself a comfortable lead, Jason Varitek is second, and 1,108,054 fans think Varitek is an All Star. Remember: This time it counts!