Archive for A.J. Burnett
A day after the Yankees disappointed by losing the finale of the Mariners series, they came back to impress by taking the series opener from the Blue Jays, 4-2. The Yanks had it working from both sides of the ball, riding solid pitching for all nine innings and getting a few key offensive contributions along the way.
Robinson Cano staked the Yanks to an early lead, taking a first pitch from Brian Tallet deep for a 1-0 lead. That would last A.J. Burnett for a few innings. He had a slip-up when Lyle Overbay doubled to open the fourth. While Burnett quelled a threat when Marco Scutaro doubled to lead off the previous frame, he ran into some bad luck with a wild pitch, and then Alex Rios took advantage with an RBI single. It was the closest the Jays would get for the rest of the game.
Tallet seemingly lost it in the fifth, walking Brett Gardner and then Derek Jeter to put two runners on with none out. Johnny Damon wanted to make that second and third with one out for Teixeira by bunting, but Tallet rolled his underhand throw to Overbay and everyone was safe. Tex drew a walk to take the lead back, and a passed ball gave the Yanks a 2-1 lead. Vernon Wells would get one back with a no-doubt-about-it shot in the sixth, but Burnett would easily finish that inning and the next.
Girardi continued his love affair with match-ups, trotting out Phil Coke to start the eighth and then calling on Phil Hughes once Coke retired Adam Lind. Hughes started off rocky with a single to Scott Rolen, but he retired the next two batters to hand the ball to Mo. A-Rod would tack on an insurance run with an opposite-field homer off Jeremy Accardo in the eighth to ice the Yankees 4-2 win.
The Yankees face two games straight which they should have one, and it’s a bit disappointing that they only took one of them. Yeah, it happens. Teams lose games they’re supposed to win. But tomorrow they not only face Roy Halladay, but have a handicap on the mound with Chien-Ming Wang. Who knows. Maybe Wang works some July Fourth magic. He’d better. We don’t want our team losing to a bunch of Canadians on Independence Day.
(I say that in drunken jest. Please take it as such.)
Last night’s start by A.J. Burnett was a very positive sign for the Yanks regardless of the fact that the team lost. Simply put, for the first time all season, Burnett pitched well in a loss. In games the Yanks won, Burnett has been lights out. In those eight starts, he has throw 53.1 innings with a 2.70 ERA and a .653 OPS against. Before last night, in the five Yankee losses he had started, he had thrown 27.1 innings with a 7.90 ERA and a .995 OPS against. When he was bad, he was really bad. Against the Marlins, though, Burnett had his best stuff, but he was simply out-pitched. If he can bring that to the table every five days, the Yankees will be a good position to win indeed. Consistency is king.
When Mike previewed the Subway Series on Friday, he didn’t have to work too hard to determine who had the pitching advantage. WIth Joba vs. Livan, Pettitte vs. Nieve, and Burnett vs. Santana, the advantages clearly went: Yanks, Yanks, Mets. The Yanks took Friday’s game, though the pitching advantage was essentially a push (Joba only allowed two runs, but his short outing exposed the bullpen). On Saturday they couldn’t get anything going off a guy who hadn’t started a game since 2006. And then on Sunday they laid into arguably the best pitcher in the league to take a landslide victory in the series’ decisive game.
There’s not much left to say about the game itself. The Yanks came out guns blazing and had one of their best offensive games of the year against Santana. While nearly everyone on the offense contributed to the onslaught, the key — as it is in most blowouts — was production from the bottom of the order. Matsui hit a big two-run homer, Melky went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, and Frankie Cervelli went 3 for 5 with a RBI. There was no reprieve when the lineup turned over, as Derek Jeter went 4 for 4, bringing his average to .310 and further demonstrating that he is a huge threat out of the leadoff spot.
A.J. Burnett was partly frustrating but mostly awesome. He made some trouble for himself in the third and fourth innings, but worked out of both jams using his stuff to get some key strikeouts. He finished the day with eight in seven innings, though the four walks don’t look pretty. That’s what you get with Burnett, though. Sometimes he’ll let a couple of those runs cross, but he’ll mix that with a few games where he bears down and gets the guys at the plate. He needed a game like this after his debacle in Boston, and that’s what he got. Hopefully he can bring it again when he faces his old gang in Florida next weekend.
David Robertson and Phil Hughes capped off the day with matching scoreless innings. These are two guys the Yanks are simply going to have to use more. Robertson is basically third on the depth chart right now, behind Coke and Aceves, and could be rising. Hughes needs to get innings, and it’s useful to see him pitch one in a game before an off-day. WIth Bruney back on Tuesday, the Yanks bullpen all the sudden becomes a bit deeper. Mo-Bruney-Coke-Aceves-Robertson-Hughes and one of Tomko/Veras (more on that tomorrow) looks much better. Much better.
Yesterday, I was flipping out — and yeah, I was bitching about everything. Today, that’s all gone. It goes to show that baseball seasons unfold in strange ways. The team looks like crap against the Sox and for the first two against the Mets, but they come back and show you what they can do — and against Johan Santana, no less. Thanks to a lucky break on Friday they took two of three from the Mets, and that’s big for this team. Like Greg Schiano they’re chopping wood, taking two out of three in series after series. They could use a few sweeps in the next few, though, as they play the weaker portion of the NL East.
Programming note: It’s 7:00, and we’re going to open this up for a Cardinals-Indians discussion. The Sunday Night game features Cliff Lee vs. Chris Carpenter, so it should be a good one. Also, Boston lost, which is another good thing.
The Yankees were the April Yankees, at least for one night. After a couple of encouraging victories over the Rays, the Yanks went into Boston riding high. The Red Sox seemed prepared, though, and laid into the Yankees, putting up runs early and riding superb pitching to a 7-0 victory. It was the first time this season that the Yankees had been shut out. Worse, it was their sixth straight loss to the Red Sox this season.
The game started off in identical fashion, with both Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett retiring the first two batters, walking the third, and finishing off the fourth. From there, though, their games could haven’t been more different. Beckett was dominant, allowing just one hit through six innings. The Yanks did run up his pitch count, but they couldn’t get anything going. Even in the eighth, when they had two on and one out, Johnny Damon grounded into a rare double play. So not only were the Sox doing well, but the Yanks weren’t catching a single break.
Unfortunately, the game got out of hand pretty quickly. After a scoreless first, Burnett fell apart. It was clear early on that Burnett was going to have control problems, but we’ve seen him overcome that in the past — most notably in his last start, when he overcame some control problems to pitch seven strong innings. Tonight, though, it was beyond repair.
Control was the big story, obviously. A.J. did something I haven’t seen a pitcher do…ever, as far as I can remember. Of his 84 pitches, just 40 were strikes, meaning 44 were out of the zone. That’s just something that shouldn’t happen. However, it’s not the strangest part of his performance. Of the 84 pitches he threw, 68 were fastballs, and of the 16 curve balls just five were strikes. “I didn’t have a curveball,” A.J. said after the game, which explains the pitch selection. He also said that he didn’t know how to adjust, which is understandable. When you’re a two-pitch guy and one of them isn’t working, it’s tough to figure out what to do.
(When asked about how it felt to be so bad when the other guy on the mound was doing so well, Burnett scoffed. “I got nothin’ to do with Josh Beckett,” he replied. I quite like that.)
As was mentioned on the the Twitter feed, A.J. actually picked a good game to have no stuff. The offense couldn’t get anything going, so A.J. could have pitched his damnedest and still fallen short. Might as well take your lumps when the offense doesn’t show up, too. That is, if we’re to believe that he’ll even this out at some point. Given his second-half splits from last year, that’s certainly within the realm of possibility. It doesn’t excuse a thing, and A.J. said as much. But if he’s going to suck, it might as well be on a night the offense couldn’t manage a thing.
Johnny Damon put the offense into the best perspective: “We didn’t hit many balls hard, and when we did we hit them right at guys.” That pretty much sums it up. Cano hit a couple of balls real hard and got just one infield hit out of it. Damon hit a few hard, but saw no positive results. It happens, especially when you’re facing Josh Beckett at his best.
Emotionally, the worst part of the game was David Ortiz’s two-run shot in the second. The guy has been struggling mightily, so a homer against the Yanks, especially to drive in the first runs of the game, hurts, and it hurts bad. There’s no use harping on it. Those two runs are the same as any other two runs, but that doesn’t ease the pain. The only solace in this is if the Boston/national media goes nuts over this, and Ortiz goes 0 for the rest of the series. Only consolation.
After the game, the Yanks seemed as upbeat as possible considering the circumstances. Everyone talked about forgetting it and moving on to tonights’ game. It’s tough to argue with that. If the players can put the game behind them, the fans should, too. There was nothing pleasant about the game, but they do play another one tonight. And then again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day…
For the first few innings of last night’s one-sided Yankee-Ranger game, it seemed as though a back-and-forth affair was in the works. While A.J. Burnett had his strikeout pitch working, Padilla didn’t have much, and both pitchers had allowed a few baserunners while limiting the damage.
The Yankees struck first in the bottom of the second. The Yankees put together four singles, but a baserunning blunder by Jorge Posada cost the Yankees a run. However, Vincente Padilla made up for it with a balk with a runner on third, and then he hit Mark Teixeira to load the bases. Little did anyone realize how important that HBP would be.
In the top of the third, the Rangers got those two runs back, plus one more. A walk, a double and a Nelson Cruz home run gave Texas a 3-2 lead. At that point, A.J. Burnett had given up six hits through 2.2 innings but, with the game on the precipice of disaster, he reeled it back in. He got the last out in the third and breezed through the fourth before turning things over to the offense.
Two walks and a Derek Jeter single tied the game before Mark Teixeira came to bat. For the second time, Vincente Padilla hit his former teammate with a pitch, and Teixeira was livid. On the next play, the Yanks’ first baseman busted up a potential double play with a great take-out slide. The Yanks took the lead, and Teixeira was pumped. A few batters later, Hideki Matsui blasted another home run against the Rangers, increasing the Yankees’ lead to 9-3.
They would tack on three more on an utter blast by Jorge Posada in the bottom of the sixth, but those three would just be icing on the cake. A.J. Burnett didn’t need more than those runs in the fourth, and he cruised through the final few innings en route to his first win at Yankee Stadium.
Burnett gave up eight hits in seven innings today, but he walked just one. While he didn’t have his stuff early on, he was able to limit the damage by striking out eight. Over his last two outings spanning 13 innings, he has racked up 15 and seems ready to hit his pitching stride.
For the Yankees, this game featured a few milestones — one dubious, one not. In the top of the fourth, Jorge Posada tried to nail Elvis Andrus stealing second. Instead, the ball sailed into center field for the Yanks’ first error in three weeks. The Major League record for errorless games comes to rest at 18.
More festive, though, was the run Derek Jeter scored in the bottom of the fourth — the 1,500th run of his career. Only three active players — A-Rod, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Gary Sheffield — have scored more. Just on Monday, Jeter joined Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron as the only players in baseball history with at least 2600 hits, 200 home runs and 1000 RBI in just 15 seasons. Rarefied air for the captain indeed.
With their win tonight, the Yanks moved ten games over .500 for the first time this year. They are clinging to a one-game lead over the Red Sox who beat Rick Porcello tonight, but the Bombers have the best record in the AL and the second best in the Majors. I like the sound of that.
The Yanks got just what they needed last night. After a night of frustration they pulled it together and decimated the Rangers in the series finale, 9-2. The Yanks have now won 13 of their last 17 games and are now tied with the Red Sox atop the AL East. Just three weeks ago, on the heels of a sweep by the Red Sox and amid a five-game skid, few thought this possible. But the Yanks came alive after leaving the Stadium, and have been on a roll ever since.
While the Yankees offense was impressive, the story of the night is A.J. Burnett. The $82-million man hadn’t recorded the meaningless stat known as a win since April 14, and has struggled a bit recently. He stepped up last night, pitching six solid innings of no-run ball. In typical A.J. fashion he struck out seven and walked four. As we’ve seen in almost all of his starts, efficiency was a bit of a problem. He threw just 70 of his 118 pitches for strikes (59%). Still, it was the kind of showing the Yanks needed out of Burnett tonight.
The offense took advantage of rookie Derek Holland and the Rangers’ bullpen, striking early and then striking hard, scoring eight runs before Burnett’s official exit. With such a lead it seemed like a given that Chien-Ming Wang would get an opportunity to finish the game. Yet, much to my surprise, Jose Veras stood on the mound when YES came back from a commercial. Why? Who knows. He was terrible, though, and David Robertson had to come in to clean up the mess against the middle of the order. He did, which makes me happy even in a blowout.
Wang finally did make an appearance, starting the top of the eighth inning. He looked a bit shaky, but was able to overcome his deficiencies to retire the Rangers in order. Overall he did a better job of keeping the ball low. His sinker sat around 90 to 91 mph, with his 4-seamer hitting 92 on occasion. That might seem low, but check out this start from last April. Seven innings, nine strikeouts, no earned runs, and he was sitting at around the same speed. He did, however, certainly throw a bit harder in 2007.
It’s always nice to see an offensive explosion, especially when it comes from the bottom of the order. In typical RAB fashion, right when we rip on someone he starts to hit. It started with Doug Mientkiewicz in 2007, and has moved through a few players before settling on Kevin Cash, who went 2 for 4 with a run scored an a pair of RBI. Perhaps, then, it’s our long-standing criticism of Melky Cabrera which has lit a fire under him this season. Hey, anything we can do to help.
Also nice was watching Nick Swisher collect a single. WIth Melky out he’s going to continue to get playing time, so he’s going to have to find his own way out of his funk. A hit and a walk tonight help. Plus, that last called strikeout looked a little suspicious. Sure, a slumping guy doesn’t have much room to complain, but I feel for him.
Add homers for Teixeira, his 15th, Cano, his 9th, and a pair for Matsui, his 6th and 7th. Hideki has looked poor at the plate at times in the past few weeks, but just when you start to get frustrated with him he smacks an RBI double one night and socks two dingers the next. Props also go to Jeter, who had three impressive hits in his first three at bats. His average is up to .297.
Also of note: The Yanks were a respectable 3 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Apparently Ken Singleton said the Yanks had 50 hits in the series. He was a bit off. They had 47, which is still remarkable. The offense is simply rolling.
So the Yanks take a positive into the off-day as they head north to face the last-place Cleveland Indians in a four-game set starting Friday. My only question is, what the hell am I going to do tomorrow night?
Nothing compares to the emotional payoff of a walk-off win. Once that final run scores and the game is over, it feels like there’s not a worry in the world. Even after the initial emotional high wears off, there’s still a sense of joy, a knowledge that the team has registered yet another win, and in this case have guaranteed taking at least three out of four. The Yanks are rolling, and the nature of their past three wins makes it that much sweeter.
Yet by nature walk-off wins bring their fair share of tension leading up to the payoff. Today the Yankees caused their fans a great deal of frustration, blowing a number of late-inning opportunities to take the game before Johnny Damon planted one over the right field wall. Thankfully, those frustrations disappeared once the ball hit Damon’s bat, but before that there were a number of players were the cause of a collective case of agita.
A.J. Burnett held the Twins scoreless through the first six innings, but it wasn’t uneventful. It started at the beginning, when he walked two and uncorked a wild pitch in the first. Thankfully no one came around to score. It looked like Burnett settled down after that, retiring the Twins on six pitches in the second. He took 17 pitches to retire the side in order in the third, but most of that was attributable to Nick Punto’s 10-pitch at bat.
Runners reached base in each of the next three innings, but none came around to score. Then came the seventh, where things got a bit hairy. With one out A.J. allowed a single to the .222-hitting Carloz Gomez. Once he’s on base he’s a major threat with his speed, so walking Nick Punto, the number nine hitter, hurt so much more, since it put Gomez in scoring position. Things looked better after Burnett struck out Denard Span for the second out and the .179-hitting Matt Tolbert strolled to the plate. But he lined one to center, and Gomez was assured to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. Thankfully, an atrocious throw by Melky didn’t cost the Yanks any further bases. A.J took care of that himself, throwing two wild pitches during Joe Mauer’s at bat, allowing the second run to score. After issuing his sixth walk of the game, A.J. left in favor of Jon Albaladejo, who ended the bases-loaded threat.
WIth the way Kevin Slowey was pitching to that point, the game seemed lost. Not only had he held the Yanks scoreless to that point, but he did it in efficient and dominating fashion, tossing just 73 pitches and striking out eight. A-Rod, though, would have none of it. He smacked the second pitch of the 7th over the right field wall to cut the lead in half. Hideki Matsui followed with a double, Swisher sacrificed him, and Melky Cabrera hit a medium fly, one that probably wouldn’t have scored Mastui if the throw wasn’t a mile off line. No matter the circumstances, the score was tied. Unfortunately, the game was in the hands of the Yanks bullpen.
Somehow, they came through. Albaladejo, despite a heads up play to erase Mike Cuddyer, still loaded the bases with one out. Who else could Girardi go to? Apparently the answer was Brett Tomko, who was aided by a great diving play by Mark Teixeira, who got the force at home and kept the Twins from capitalizing on the bases loaded situation.
The Yankees answered with their own bases loaded situation in the eighth, but like the Twins they could not make the most of it. Hideki Matsui worked a 3-0 count, but swung once, and perhaps twice, at ball four. Instead of walking to bring in the go-ahead run, he looked foolish striking out on a pitch in the right-handed batter’s box. And so the game went to the ninth, where Mariano efficiently retired the Twins.
The bottom of the ninth is an inning most fans would like to erase from their collective memories. The inning unfolded in a fashion which would leave fans to believe the Yankees were readying for yet another walk-off win. Nick Swisher worked a full count, no big sweat for him, and took ball four. With Gardner running, Melky sacrificed him to second, giving the Yanks two shots for a base hit to plate the winning run. Unfortunately, Frankie Cervelli was the first one to give it a try. Things looked promising when he hit one off of Jose Mijares’s glove. With the ball rebounding halfway back to home, the Yanks looked to have runners on first and third with one out (it was quite doubtful that Mauer could have thrown out Cervelli). But Gardner tried to be a hero and sneak in behind Mauer to score the winning run. Only Mauer caught on in time, diving across the basepath to tag Gardner in plenty of time. So instead of first and third with one out and Robinson Cano at the plate — a deep fly away from winning the game — the Yanks had a runner on first and two outs. That would not get them their third straight walk-off win.
How about that Al Aceves? The dude has been nothing but spectacular since being recalled earlier this month, providing the Yanks not only with a long man but a guy who can get three outs. One has to wonder at this point if he’s going to see regular innings out of the bullpen. Surely the Yanks can’t send him to Scranton once Bruney returns. How could they justify that when they could just as easily send down Edwar? Anyway, Aceves downed the Twins 1-2-3 in the 10th, giving the Yanks yet another shot at victory.
The rest, as they say, is history. Johnny Damon worked a full count of Jesse Crain and then pulled the next pitch to right, a no-doubt-about it shot right off the bat. The Yankees had won in storybook fashion yet again, their third-straight game with a walk-off hit. A.J Burnett, the guy who started the game with a ball to Denard Span, finished it with a pie to Damon’s face. This is a ritual I can certainly endorse.
As Mike said to me after the game, while these walk-off wins are a source of immense happiness (once they’re over, of course), it sure would be nice for the Yanks to crank out a 15-1 walloping. They’ll get a shot at that tomorrow, as Andy Pettitte takes on Glen Perkins. After facing three sweeps earlier this year, it sure would be nice for the Yanks to get one of their own. Keep the streak alive.
The writing was on the wall before the first pitch. With Roy Halladay on the mound and with the Yanks featuring the equivalent of three pitchers in the lineup, A.J. Burnett would have to spin a gem to give his team a chance. He didn’t quite accomplish that. A couple of walks led to three runs in the fourth, and that’s all Roy Halladay would need. He cruised through the Yanks lineup on the way to a 5-1 Blue Jays victory.
Not that Halladay did it against an impressive lineup. With Swisher sitting and Jeter getting scratched, the Yanks lineup featured Ramiro Pena, Kevin Cash, and Brett Gardner, the latest hitting leadoff. He’s fast, therefore he hits leadoff. I think Dusty Baker said that. They were a collective 1 for 9, with the only hit coming in the ninth, a leadoff double from Ramiro Pena. He was one of just five Yankee baserunners last night, and like three others he didn’t come around to score.
While the Yanks offense certainly sucked, most of what you saw was Roy Halladay. He did what he does best, which is get groundball outs: 16 to be exact, to 5 fly outs and 5 strikeouts. After a league-leading nine complete games last year, this was just his first this year, but it certainly will not be his last. The only descriptor necessary, really, for Halladay’s start is dominance. At least the Yanks can take solace in not having to face him again until July 4th weekend.
On the mound, A.J. was pretty solid, consistently pumping 96 mph fastballs. Speed doesn’t always lead to results, and some wildness on the part of Burnett led to a big fourth inning for the Jays. They capitalized on A.J.’s two walks when Scott Rolen doubled in two. That extended to three when Kevin Cash couldn’t handle a money throw from Melky Cabrera on a sac fly. A.J. gave up a couple of runs in the eighth, but they were ultimately meaningless. Discouraging for sure, but ultimately meaningless.
While the Jays scored on a double, sac fly, homer, and single, the difference was in the walks. A.J. walked four, three of whom came around to score. Specifically, walking Wells and Lind back to back hurt coming on the heels of an Alex Rios leadoff double. That started the big inning, one the Yankees could not survive. That, folks, is all there really is to talk about. Burnett was good, dominating at times, but ultimately didn’t get the job done.
There won’t be many instances where a team will face Roy Halladay and then face someone tougher the next, but tomorrow’s matchup features the Yankees kryptonite: a middling starter they have yet to see. Scott Richmond, who signed with the Blue Jays after the 2007 season age 27, is having a fine season, but if the Yankees’ recent history is any indication he’ll look like Pedro Martinez circa 1999. It’s pessimistic, sure, but when the Yanks get dominated by the likes of Matt Palmer it’s tough to get excited.
Notes: Hideki Matsui left the game with a hamstring injury. John Sterling reported that it was a “strained hamstring,” but that seems like that’s a bit premature a diagnoses. We’ll update when we have more specific information. Hammies are never good, though. Also joining the crew in the infirmary is Phil Coke, who has back issues. So where’s the trainer the team can fire this year as a scapegoat?
The heartache continues as Yanks drop extra innings affair
Posted by: Joseph Pawlikowski | Comments (120)The Yankees are like a misbehaving child: I’m not angry, I’m disappointed. Frustrated too. After playing horribly for seven and two thirds innings the Yankees actually caught a break, but they couldn’t finish the job. In three straight innings they had the go-ahead, winning, or tying run in scoring position and failed to plate him. That gave Tampa Bay a few extra chances, and Carlos Pena took advantage in the 10th and gave the Rays the game, 4-3.
A.J. Burnett’s start was indicative of his season to date. At six innings, three earned runs it was technically a quality start, but it was yet another stat where Burnett hasn’t dominated. Six innings, three runs is fine if it’s mixed with a few eight innings, one run performances. Those we have not seem from A.J. yet. They’ll come eventually, but the Yanks could sure use a few right about now, with Jorge Posada out and the offense struggling to string together hits.
That’s not to say that he pitched badly. Through five he was going just fine. Maybe a tick high with the pitch count, but he’d allowed just one run, a forgivable one. A B.J. Upton infield single, a steal, a sac, and an Evan Longoria double are just parts of baseball. As long as it happens just once, no biggie. But then the sixth happened. It started with what looked like a strikeout of Pat Burrell, but was actually a walk. Single, sac, sac fly, single puts the Rays up 3-0. With the Yanks offense, the prospects weren’t promising.
The Yankees haven’t hit well with runners in scoring position lately. That was not as big a problem last night, because they didn’t have many runners to not drive in. Through seven innings Andy Sonnanstine retired the side in order five times. He did it quite economically, too, tossing just 84 pitches through the first seven. Little did he know that the eighth, with the bottom of the order due up, would be his undoing.
With one out Ramiro Pena found himself in an 0-2 hole. The rookie managed to foul off three and take two balls before getting a pitch he liked. That went to right for a single. Then Jose “Double or Nothing” Molina went the other way and put runners on second and third with one out. That was the night for Sonnanstine. After a Johnny Damon walk Mark Teixeira, 0 for 3 on the night to this point, stepped in. How the umps didn’t call a delay right there I don’t know, but they refrained and Tex took advantage, smacking a bases-clearing double to tie the game. Then, of course, the umps called for the tarp. But the Yankees were back. It was one of the best feelings from the past five days. It wouldn’t last.
After Mo quelled injury worries by striking out the side, the Yanks put runners on first and second with one out, but Pena and Molina could not deliver this time. Then disaster struck in the form of the AL home run leader. It was Coke’s only mistake, but it came at a terrible time. That was the difference, as the Yanks couldn’t plate Johnny Damon after he doubled with one out in the bottom of the 10th. Rays 4, Yanks suck. That’s exactly what it felt like.
On the upside, both Edwar and Albaladejo got the job done in signature fashion. Edwar induced two grounders and struck out two, while Albaladejo made ‘em put the ball on the ground. It’s only one appearance, but we’ll take that from the bullpen right now. They kept the Yanks in it, something they’ve had trouble doing all year. Other than that, though, there’s not much to be happy about. We can complain about the umps all we want, but that wasn’t the difference here. (Okay, maybe the Pena blown call turns into something, but it’s just as likely that Molina bounces into a twin killing right there.)
We’ll have to wait one more day for a win. Hopefully this forsaken rain won’t be an issue, but looking at the forecast it probably will be. Andy Pettitte will try to revive his old role as stopper. And think, just two more sleeps until A-Rod.
If you want something to cheer you up after last night read this. Hat tip YFSF.
Life is good when you’ve banked over $38M in your career and have a contract in place guaranteeing you another $82.5M despite having a 110 OPS+ ERA+, zero All-Star appearances and zero Cy Young votes. So what do you do with all that cash? Why have a ridicuously awesome home theatre custom built in your house of course. Electronic House toured AJ Burnett’s theatre, and let’s just say it’s plush. Despite all the cool stuff he had installed, Electronic House only gave Burnett’s set-up the Bronze Medal in the $250k+ category. For shame. (h/t Deadspin)
