Triple-A Scranton (2-0 loss to Durham)
Brett Gardner & Juan Miranda: both 0 for 2, 2 BB – Gardner K’ed once & was caught stealing
Justin Christian, Shelley Duncan & Cody Ransom: all 0 for 4 – Christian threw a runner out at the plate from LF … Shelley K’ed once
Eric Duncan: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS
Greg Porter & Chad Moeller: 1 for 2, 1 BB – Porter doubled & K’ed
The Ghost of Kei Igawa: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 3-9 GB/FB – 65 of 95 pitches were strikes (68.4%)
Chris Britton: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – way to not allow a ball to be put into play
Jon Albaladejo: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Game 13: Changing things up
As the Yankees and the Red Sox prepare for a battle amid the cold and the rain tonight, both teams are going with some lineup changes. The Yankees, mercifully, have pushed Jason Giambi down in the order while David Ortiz is on the bench for the Sox tonight.
The big story, of course, as is the case every five days is Phil Hughes. The 21-year-old is the youngest Yankee pitcher to face the Red Sox since Jose Rijo in 1985, and Peter Pascarelli in previewing the game sees big things in the future for young Mr. Hughes.
The Red Sox counter with Daisuke Matsuzaka. In three starts this year, Matsuzaka has been the pitcher the Sox thought they were getting last year. He’s 2-0 in 18.1 innings with a 1.47 ERA. He’s struck out 22 and walked nine while giving up just eight hits. The Yankees in the past have hit Matsuzaka hard. So we’ll see if the Sox’s expensive import has turned a new page or simply enjoyed facing the A’s a few times.
Game time is at 8:05 p.m., and we are stuck with the ever-talented Joe Morgan.
Yankees
Johnny Damon CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada DH
Jason Giambi 1B
Jose Molina C
The Former Attorney General SS
Phil Hughes P
Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury LF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
J.D. Drew RF
Manny Ramirez DH
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Sean Casey 1B
Jason Varitek C
Coco Crisp CF
Julio Lugo SS
Daisuke Matsuzaka P
Game Notes: The loser of this game will land in sole possession of last place in the AL East but just 1.5 games behind the first place teams. How’s that for a tight division after two weeks of the season?
Remember Yankee Stadium history
Nostalgia reigns supreme in the Daily News these days. This Sunday’s paper saw the second part of their magazine honoring Yankee Stadium history, and they now have a special Yankee Stadium tribute page set up on their website. I like the old photos best.
More about this stupid T-shirt “curse”
Most fans felt the story of the Red Sox shirt embedded in the concrete slab of the visitor’s clubhouse at the New Stadium was just a laughable “exclusive” by the Post that was a few days late for April’s Fools. Turns out the Yankees weren’t taking any chances:
It took about five hours, but the Red Sox jersey that was embedded in the concrete of the Yankees’ new stadium to place a curse on the New York franchise has been unearthed with jackhammers, according to a published report.
…
“They absolutely pinpointed that if it was in the ground, that’s where it was,” Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion told the newspaper.
As always, Hank Hal Steinbrenner provided the money quote: “I hope his co-workers kick the [expletive] out of him.” Hank’s great when he isn’t talking about making trades and stuff, isn’t he? Hal just earned all sorts of street cred in my book. Sox fans did what they do best, the turned the story into another patently lame T-shirt. Where’s the “David Ortiz is hitting 0.70-.231-.140 and Francona still has him batting third” swag?
Manny Ramirez 1, Joe Girardi 0
Is the honeymoon over? Are we allowed to criticize Joe Girardi yet? Today, I’d like to criticize Girardi.
When Mike Mussina and Josh Beckett face off, it’s tough
Joe Girardi went with what Mike Mussina wanted to do. The Moose was more comfortable going after Manny than facing the ever-selective Kevin Youkilis with the bases loaded.
“I’ve been pitching a while, so he asked me what I felt like doing,” Mussina said. “I told him what I thought.”
Girardi after the game took the blame, but he has to know Mussina’s limitations. He has to know Manny Ramirez’s ridiculous history against the Yankees. He has to take the ball from Mussina in that situation.
In the end, Mussina wasn’t terrible. He gave up 4 runs in a 5.2 innings largely because Brian Bruney didn’t get the job done either. But again, Mussina went to his fastball too often. That 87 mph meatball he threw to Manny Ramirez was simply indicative of a less-than-stellar Mussina outing.
After the game, Girardi and Moose both said the right thing. Too bad they didn’t do the right thing during the game.
Okay Jesus, this is getting ridiculous
Triple-A Scranton (16-6 beatdown of Durham) how’s 11 XBH as a team sound?
Brett Gardner: 3 for 4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 BB – he’s slugging .833 … no joke
Justin Christian: 2 for 4, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 1 BB – 10 RBI in 9 games
Juan Miranda: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 HBP
Shelley: 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB – 4 doubles, 3 homers and 21 total bases in 3 games since being sent down
Jason Lane: 1 for 5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Cody Ransom: 3 for 6, 3 R, 1 2B
Nick Green: 4 for 6, 4 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI – Nick Green, Nick frickin’ Green is 9 for his last 17 with 2 doubles, 2 homers and 5 RBI
Chris Stewart: 4 for 6, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI
Jeff Marquez: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 E (throwing), 11-2 GB/FB – sinker’s workin’
Scott Patterson: 0.2 IP, zeroes, 0-2 GB/FB
Ben Kozlowski Heath Phillips: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – the “he’s going to be used as a lefty specialist only” plan went out the window two weeks into the season
Scott Strickland: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1-3 GB/FB
Game 12: Hoping for a Bull Moose
For some reason, this game sticks out in my mind from last year. We were kind of rolling, leading 5-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth. And then Moose blew it, giving up back-to-back shots to Lowell and Varitek. I also probably remember it because we bombed Schilling that day — or, rather, Jorge bombed Schilling. Of course, Proctor went and blew it some more, and we went on to lose a winnable game.
That was Mussina’s last start at Fenway. We’ll need a much better job out of him today. Hopefully he can keep the Sox hitters as off-balance as he did the Rays hitters last time out. With Wang giving the bullpen a full night off, Moose just has to give us six solid…considering the offense can muster a few runs off Beckett.
Here’s the lineup. Looks pretty standard considering the injuries.
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Melky Cabrera, CF
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jason Giambi, 1B
6. Jorge Posada, DH
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Jose Molina, C
9. Alberto Gonzalez,SS
And on the mound, number thirty-five, Mike Mussina.