Rough outing for Coke. Not 1 but...2 costly errors, both of them 100% mental. This is not what you want from a potential postseason lefty coming out of the pen.
Get your mind right.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Miranda right on the money (Yanks 4, Royals 3)
The Yankees have won another game in the 9th at the Stadium, this time off the bat of Miranda, a September call-up. That's 15 walk-offs this year. He's the 9th different Yankee to do it, and here's the greatest stat of all: The Yankees have won 57 games at home this year...and 15 of those wins were walk-offs.
That's clutch...and clutchness is what Yankee baseball is all about, especially in October.
As an aside, here's the ceremony for Jeter, Mo, and Melky for their accomplishments this year.
That's clutch...and clutchness is what Yankee baseball is all about, especially in October.
As an aside, here's the ceremony for Jeter, Mo, and Melky for their accomplishments this year.
Would you have had it any other way?
Those patched up red socks are an eyesore, I know. Sorry Yankee fans. But it must be acknowledged that the Sox are in, and will face the Angels. Problem for them is...the Angels are very tough, especially at home. Good luck with that.
Angels who aren't on our side
We knew this was coming. The Angels are in. They've played inspired baseball this year (great article here about what the Angels have had to overcome this year, and how the most difficult hardships have brought the team together), and they'll face the Red Sox in the ALDS for a chance to challenge the winner of the Yankees/Tigers/Twins series.
These Angels probably represent the gravest threat to a Yankee pennant. When and if they meet, let's hope the Yankees can match the Angels' toughness, heart, and intensity.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Pena's first homer
Congrats to Ramiro Pena, who hit his first home run today. Video of the home run and the silent treatment that followed...
Taking it easy (Yanks 8, Royals 2)
For the next few days these posts are going to be short and sweet. The next big news will be when the Yankees announce their official playoff roster (if they haven't already).
So today we got to watch and experience some baseball without the high drama, just baseball for the sake of baseball. Guys playing hard, swinging the bat, throwing, catching, running, making plays just because they're playing a baseball game. And we still watch because, maybe in our hearts, we just like watching the game itself.
I guess this is what it's like for a lot of baseball teams and their fans. Just watching some baseball, no matter if the game is big or small, important or meaningless.
So in this game, one that did not impact the standings, Robinson Cano hit a grand slam and led the Yankees past the Royals. Gaudin pitched well again, further making his case for the postseason roster and perhaps the 4th starting spot. Even Shelly Duncan, the AAA MVP this year, had a thing or two to say, lacing a go-ahead single in the 6th. But mostly...the Yankees rested their key players and just sort of took it easy today.
Sounds good to me.
Monday, September 28, 2009
A Retrospective, 2009
The season isn't over. There's still 6 games to be played, and then the Yankees will go to the big dance to decide the world champion.
But today we can celebrate. A division crown and title as the team with the best record in baseball is an enormous accomplishment. The Yankees will probably finish the season with at least 5 more wins than any other team in baseball. Vegas will have them as the favorites (maybe the prohibitive favorites) to go all the way. But the playoffs are a funny place, where inches are the difference between champions and forgotten contenders. As John Sterling said, the time to be happy, to take pride in what the Yankees have accomplished, and to look back on how they got where they are today, is now. So let's take a look.
April: April started with a stumble. CC botched his debut and Wang was getting hammered repeatedly. Teixeira couldn't get over .200 and wasn't even hitting for power. The bullpen was a mess: Veras, Bruney, Marte, and Coke were the set-up men, and none of them were particularly consistent. Nady's elbow problems ended his season. Matsui couldn't play the field. A-Rod was out with hip surgery. Joba was hot one day, cold the next.
In April the guys carrying the team were Jeter, Burnett, Pettitte (to an extent), Nick Swisher Johnny Damon, and Melky Cabrera. Those were the guys who got it done, who were there to beat back the Devil Rays early in the season.
But that consistent core was not enough to beat the Red Sox, and in 5 straight games in April, one of which was the infamous Jason Bay home run off of Mariano, the Yankees were soundly beaten. By the end of April the Red Sox were already well ahead, while the Yankees were barely above .500, with several high-profile, low-performance free agents botching the early stages of their Yankee careers. Some even speculated that Girardi's job could be in jeopardy.
May: Though the Yankees performed well against the Tigers, they seemed to find a nemesis once more in the Anaheim Angels, who seem to have built a franchise on scratching and clawing their way through baseball games in the most obnoxious way possible. Then in 4 straight rain-soaked games at their gleaming new palace of a stadium, the Red Sox and Rays took four miserable games from the Yankees. With few fans in the stands many in the media thought that the Yankees had been greedy in their ticket pricing. And with losses to their arch-rivals in the American League East, and a worst in the league team ERA, still others were whispering that maybe, just maybe, the Yankee organization itself was to blame.
But a funny thing started happening at around that time. The Yankees started playing better. A-Rod came back and hit a home run on the first pitch he saw. Teixeira, whose fly balls were consistently reaching the warning track, started getting some of those balls to go over the wall. CC and Burnett started to settle in, Wang went to the bullpen, Hughes was brought in, and a couple of other guys came up to solidify the bullpen. And suddenly the Yankees looked better. And if Serena Roberts' scathing book about A-Rod was supposed to impose as a distraction, perhaps it wasn't after all. Perhaps it was part of what brought the team together, part of what helped the team rally.
Manny tested positive and was kicked out of baseball for 1/3 of a season. Hughes came up. Wang went down before returning. The Yankees played well against the Blue Jays and the Orioles. And then they swept the Twins in a four game massacre, three of those games being won in walk-off fashion. In retrospect this might have been the first real turning point in the season. Of course, there would be another.
Before that, though, the Yankees were severely tested by the Phillies, who, at the time, were considered probably the best team in the National League besides maybe the Dodgers. The Yankees only won 1 of the 3 games but played very well. You could see that the Yankees weren't quite there yet, while the Phillies were rolling.
June: With help from a resurgent Wang out of the bullpen, the Yankees beat Texas, Cleveland and the Rays (the latter in a dramatic set of performances by Mo), all punctuated by Joba's famous dive and double-play throw-out. At the same time the Yankee defense broke the record for consecutive games without an error...and even better, the record had been held by the 2006 Red Sox.
But then the Yankees went to Fenway and were drubbed again in 3 straight. Though the Yankees played well for long stretches in those games, they fell to 0-8. Girardi seemed to reliant on CC and too reluctant to use his bullpen. And whispers that Girardi's days as the Yankees' manager were numbered, again grew louder. It was just embarrassing, and infuriating, not being able to get even one of those games. But they just couldn't do it. It was mental, physical, everything. It was awful to watch.
And then came turning point #2. The drop by Castillo of the A-Rod pop. Perhaps the most unforgettable, exhilarating play of the season. And as a fan you really didn't feel bad about it, because you knew the Yankees were due, that they'd somehow been robbed in that game and that they should have been better, should have been more dominant, should have been in first. After losing the second game the Yankees destroyed Johan Santana, the man they passed on two years before, and won 15-0. Oh what a glorious victory that was...and another turning point.
It should be noted that at the time the media had caught on to the fact that the Yankees were getting along better than they had in years past. They were going around shooting pool together, Nick Swisher was clowning around and easing tensions in the clubhouse, and the even started a kangaroo court in which they busted on each other for all sorts of funny things. I remember it mattered a lot in Little League if the team was tight. And I guess it matters in the big leagues too.
June was an eventful month, now that I think about it. Because after the Yankees beat the Mets in the way that they did, it looked like things were turning around. Then they lost 2 of three to the Nationals at Yankee stadium. Then they lost two more to Florida. And then they lost again in Atlanta, getting shut out 4-0.
Turning point #3. Brian Cashman came to visit. Girardi blew his stack. And the Yankees responded with a flourish to end play in June, winning the series against Atlanta and sweeping the Mets, while Mo got his 500th save and first RBI in the same game.
July: With a solid performance against the Blue Jays and securing the season sweep over the Twins, the Yankees finished the first half of the season by getting wiped out by the Angels in Anaheim, swept for the first time since the Red Sox had done it to them more than a month before (making the Yankees wait a whopping 50 days before playing them again). The Yankees entered the All-Star break at about 13 games over .500 but in second place. More importantly, the entered the break with a lot to prove.
And so the second half began. Wang was out, Nady wasn't coming back, but other than those two and a few day-to-day strains and old-man injuries, the Yankees were reasonably healthy and positioned well for a stretch run. Their starting pitching, anchored by CC, Burnett, and Pettitte, had long-since settled in. Their bullpen was putting up great numbers. And the hitting had become spectacular, with the one-two punch of Teixeira (who catapulted himself out of .200 territory and hasn't stopped since) and A-Rod leading the way.
The Yankees came out of the gate in the second half with a tremendous three-game sweep of the Tigers. HOPE week began, and with it came total Yankee domination at home. It seemed that the Yankees had been inspired by the week's events. And to finish July, Joba made his best start of the season, overwhelming the Rays and leading the Bombers to yet another series win against the defending pennant winners, who were learning the hard way that...staying on top is a lot harder than getting there.
August: The Yankees went 21-7 in August, against teams with a combined .525 winning percentage. Mitre and Gaudin introduced themselves to Yankee Land. Melky Cabrera hit for the cycle, the Yankees roughed up Roy Halladay. But the real excitement came agaisnt the Red Sox.
Oh yes, though the Yankees were down 0-8 against the Red Sox for the year, the August winds had shifted, and the fortunes in this long, ferocious rivalry shifted with them. In four straight games the Yankees humiliated Boston in every way possible. A blowout. A pitchers duel, a 15 inning marathon. A comeback. Total domination in every phase of the game, involving everyone on each team. 4 straight games of Yankee magic, of the mystique returning, of vindication and catharsis. Of smacking down the Red Sox like the second class chumps they are. Glorious! Oh it was glorious.
After that the Yankees went to town. Walk-offs. Blowouts. Mitre, Gaudin, whomever. The Yankees just trounced everyone. And soon, it would be Jeter's time...
First Jeter broke Aparicio's record for the most hits ever by a shortstop. The most hits EVER BY A SHORTSTOP. Stop and think about that for a second. Just unbelievable. Of course, he wasn't done but...
The Yankees had some more games against the Sox, and this time at Fenway. So in the first game the Yankees scored 20 runs. Then they bombed Beckett for 5 home runs and an easy win to take the series 2-1. Matsui, who has been killing Red Sox pitching for his entire career in the States, went on a familiar Godzilla-like rampage in Fenway, and the Yankees, who had long since captured first place in the AL East, looked like they were destined for another division championship.
To finish August the Yankees swept the White Sox, a team that had given them some trouble at the beginning of the month. Rumors of Jeter's engagement surfaced and were debunked by none other than Jeter himself. And the team entered September on a warpath, determined to fly into the postseason and crush anyone standing in their way.
September: AJ Burnett started the month dubiously, with an admission that he hadn't had his mind right for quite some time (possible translation: I'm rather bored of winning so often). It was brave of him to do so, now that I think about it, though I killed him at the time for being so seemingly irresponsible.
But enough about AJ. Maybe the highlight of the Yankee season was when Jeter broke Gehrig's record for the most hits ever by a Yankee. For it was at that moment that Yankee fans had the chance to just stand and applaud in awe of the greatest shortstop of the modern era: Derek Jeter, captain of the NY Yankees, 4-time champion, all-time Yankee.
And so September, and magic numbers, and scoreboard watching, the seemingly endless march to the division title, began. They won some, they lost some. Anaheim stayed close. Boston heated up. They met Halladay twice and lost both times. They stayed ahead, though an 8 game lead became a 5 game lead rather quickly. Tensions were high going into the final series against the Angels, the team that had swept the Yankees there already.
But the Yankees did not lose in Anaheim. They beat the Angels in 3 of the 4 games they played in September, and therefore were able to stay ahead of the Red Sox. It would all come down to the final series against Boston for the year. If the Yankees could win just one of those games, they'd be a virtual lock to finish with the best record. If they had lost all three, they would have been just two in front with 6 to play and all the momentum on the Red Sox side.
So rather than getting swept, the Yankees did the sweeping themselves. While the Sox had a chance to get back into the race by sweeping the Yankees, before the series few observers remembered to acknowledge the other side of the coin: if the Yankees swept, they would clinch EVERYTHING. So that's what they did. They swept. They clinched everything.
And that's what we're celebrating today. This great season, so full of twists and turns and adversity, just as all seasons are when you think about it. The Yankees are going to the playoffs, and they're going there as, hands down, the best team in baseball. Of course, anything can happen when the playoff start, but even if the Yankees lose, fans should not despair. This was an epic season, a truly magnificent performance by a team that came together on and off the field, led by a manager and guided by a system they trusted, and grateful to have the chance to play on a team put together with such care and with such a commitment to winning.
Victory in the postseason cannot be guaranteed. Like I've said, it's a game of inches, and in the postseason series are decided often by even less. But if the Yankees perform bravely and at their best in the biggest moments of many of their careers, I'll be proud of what they've accomplished, no matter the outcome. Just as I'm proud of what they've done today.
That, to me, is what Yankee baseball is all about.
But today we can celebrate. A division crown and title as the team with the best record in baseball is an enormous accomplishment. The Yankees will probably finish the season with at least 5 more wins than any other team in baseball. Vegas will have them as the favorites (maybe the prohibitive favorites) to go all the way. But the playoffs are a funny place, where inches are the difference between champions and forgotten contenders. As John Sterling said, the time to be happy, to take pride in what the Yankees have accomplished, and to look back on how they got where they are today, is now. So let's take a look.
April: April started with a stumble. CC botched his debut and Wang was getting hammered repeatedly. Teixeira couldn't get over .200 and wasn't even hitting for power. The bullpen was a mess: Veras, Bruney, Marte, and Coke were the set-up men, and none of them were particularly consistent. Nady's elbow problems ended his season. Matsui couldn't play the field. A-Rod was out with hip surgery. Joba was hot one day, cold the next.
In April the guys carrying the team were Jeter, Burnett, Pettitte (to an extent), Nick Swisher Johnny Damon, and Melky Cabrera. Those were the guys who got it done, who were there to beat back the Devil Rays early in the season.
But that consistent core was not enough to beat the Red Sox, and in 5 straight games in April, one of which was the infamous Jason Bay home run off of Mariano, the Yankees were soundly beaten. By the end of April the Red Sox were already well ahead, while the Yankees were barely above .500, with several high-profile, low-performance free agents botching the early stages of their Yankee careers. Some even speculated that Girardi's job could be in jeopardy.
May: Though the Yankees performed well against the Tigers, they seemed to find a nemesis once more in the Anaheim Angels, who seem to have built a franchise on scratching and clawing their way through baseball games in the most obnoxious way possible. Then in 4 straight rain-soaked games at their gleaming new palace of a stadium, the Red Sox and Rays took four miserable games from the Yankees. With few fans in the stands many in the media thought that the Yankees had been greedy in their ticket pricing. And with losses to their arch-rivals in the American League East, and a worst in the league team ERA, still others were whispering that maybe, just maybe, the Yankee organization itself was to blame.
But a funny thing started happening at around that time. The Yankees started playing better. A-Rod came back and hit a home run on the first pitch he saw. Teixeira, whose fly balls were consistently reaching the warning track, started getting some of those balls to go over the wall. CC and Burnett started to settle in, Wang went to the bullpen, Hughes was brought in, and a couple of other guys came up to solidify the bullpen. And suddenly the Yankees looked better. And if Serena Roberts' scathing book about A-Rod was supposed to impose as a distraction, perhaps it wasn't after all. Perhaps it was part of what brought the team together, part of what helped the team rally.
Manny tested positive and was kicked out of baseball for 1/3 of a season. Hughes came up. Wang went down before returning. The Yankees played well against the Blue Jays and the Orioles. And then they swept the Twins in a four game massacre, three of those games being won in walk-off fashion. In retrospect this might have been the first real turning point in the season. Of course, there would be another.
Before that, though, the Yankees were severely tested by the Phillies, who, at the time, were considered probably the best team in the National League besides maybe the Dodgers. The Yankees only won 1 of the 3 games but played very well. You could see that the Yankees weren't quite there yet, while the Phillies were rolling.
June: With help from a resurgent Wang out of the bullpen, the Yankees beat Texas, Cleveland and the Rays (the latter in a dramatic set of performances by Mo), all punctuated by Joba's famous dive and double-play throw-out. At the same time the Yankee defense broke the record for consecutive games without an error...and even better, the record had been held by the 2006 Red Sox.
But then the Yankees went to Fenway and were drubbed again in 3 straight. Though the Yankees played well for long stretches in those games, they fell to 0-8. Girardi seemed to reliant on CC and too reluctant to use his bullpen. And whispers that Girardi's days as the Yankees' manager were numbered, again grew louder. It was just embarrassing, and infuriating, not being able to get even one of those games. But they just couldn't do it. It was mental, physical, everything. It was awful to watch.
And then came turning point #2. The drop by Castillo of the A-Rod pop. Perhaps the most unforgettable, exhilarating play of the season. And as a fan you really didn't feel bad about it, because you knew the Yankees were due, that they'd somehow been robbed in that game and that they should have been better, should have been more dominant, should have been in first. After losing the second game the Yankees destroyed Johan Santana, the man they passed on two years before, and won 15-0. Oh what a glorious victory that was...and another turning point.
It should be noted that at the time the media had caught on to the fact that the Yankees were getting along better than they had in years past. They were going around shooting pool together, Nick Swisher was clowning around and easing tensions in the clubhouse, and the even started a kangaroo court in which they busted on each other for all sorts of funny things. I remember it mattered a lot in Little League if the team was tight. And I guess it matters in the big leagues too.
June was an eventful month, now that I think about it. Because after the Yankees beat the Mets in the way that they did, it looked like things were turning around. Then they lost 2 of three to the Nationals at Yankee stadium. Then they lost two more to Florida. And then they lost again in Atlanta, getting shut out 4-0.
Turning point #3. Brian Cashman came to visit. Girardi blew his stack. And the Yankees responded with a flourish to end play in June, winning the series against Atlanta and sweeping the Mets, while Mo got his 500th save and first RBI in the same game.
July: With a solid performance against the Blue Jays and securing the season sweep over the Twins, the Yankees finished the first half of the season by getting wiped out by the Angels in Anaheim, swept for the first time since the Red Sox had done it to them more than a month before (making the Yankees wait a whopping 50 days before playing them again). The Yankees entered the All-Star break at about 13 games over .500 but in second place. More importantly, the entered the break with a lot to prove.
And so the second half began. Wang was out, Nady wasn't coming back, but other than those two and a few day-to-day strains and old-man injuries, the Yankees were reasonably healthy and positioned well for a stretch run. Their starting pitching, anchored by CC, Burnett, and Pettitte, had long-since settled in. Their bullpen was putting up great numbers. And the hitting had become spectacular, with the one-two punch of Teixeira (who catapulted himself out of .200 territory and hasn't stopped since) and A-Rod leading the way.
The Yankees came out of the gate in the second half with a tremendous three-game sweep of the Tigers. HOPE week began, and with it came total Yankee domination at home. It seemed that the Yankees had been inspired by the week's events. And to finish July, Joba made his best start of the season, overwhelming the Rays and leading the Bombers to yet another series win against the defending pennant winners, who were learning the hard way that...staying on top is a lot harder than getting there.
August: The Yankees went 21-7 in August, against teams with a combined .525 winning percentage. Mitre and Gaudin introduced themselves to Yankee Land. Melky Cabrera hit for the cycle, the Yankees roughed up Roy Halladay. But the real excitement came agaisnt the Red Sox.
Oh yes, though the Yankees were down 0-8 against the Red Sox for the year, the August winds had shifted, and the fortunes in this long, ferocious rivalry shifted with them. In four straight games the Yankees humiliated Boston in every way possible. A blowout. A pitchers duel, a 15 inning marathon. A comeback. Total domination in every phase of the game, involving everyone on each team. 4 straight games of Yankee magic, of the mystique returning, of vindication and catharsis. Of smacking down the Red Sox like the second class chumps they are. Glorious! Oh it was glorious.
After that the Yankees went to town. Walk-offs. Blowouts. Mitre, Gaudin, whomever. The Yankees just trounced everyone. And soon, it would be Jeter's time...
First Jeter broke Aparicio's record for the most hits ever by a shortstop. The most hits EVER BY A SHORTSTOP. Stop and think about that for a second. Just unbelievable. Of course, he wasn't done but...
The Yankees had some more games against the Sox, and this time at Fenway. So in the first game the Yankees scored 20 runs. Then they bombed Beckett for 5 home runs and an easy win to take the series 2-1. Matsui, who has been killing Red Sox pitching for his entire career in the States, went on a familiar Godzilla-like rampage in Fenway, and the Yankees, who had long since captured first place in the AL East, looked like they were destined for another division championship.
To finish August the Yankees swept the White Sox, a team that had given them some trouble at the beginning of the month. Rumors of Jeter's engagement surfaced and were debunked by none other than Jeter himself. And the team entered September on a warpath, determined to fly into the postseason and crush anyone standing in their way.
September: AJ Burnett started the month dubiously, with an admission that he hadn't had his mind right for quite some time (possible translation: I'm rather bored of winning so often). It was brave of him to do so, now that I think about it, though I killed him at the time for being so seemingly irresponsible.
But enough about AJ. Maybe the highlight of the Yankee season was when Jeter broke Gehrig's record for the most hits ever by a Yankee. For it was at that moment that Yankee fans had the chance to just stand and applaud in awe of the greatest shortstop of the modern era: Derek Jeter, captain of the NY Yankees, 4-time champion, all-time Yankee.
And so September, and magic numbers, and scoreboard watching, the seemingly endless march to the division title, began. They won some, they lost some. Anaheim stayed close. Boston heated up. They met Halladay twice and lost both times. They stayed ahead, though an 8 game lead became a 5 game lead rather quickly. Tensions were high going into the final series against the Angels, the team that had swept the Yankees there already.
But the Yankees did not lose in Anaheim. They beat the Angels in 3 of the 4 games they played in September, and therefore were able to stay ahead of the Red Sox. It would all come down to the final series against Boston for the year. If the Yankees could win just one of those games, they'd be a virtual lock to finish with the best record. If they had lost all three, they would have been just two in front with 6 to play and all the momentum on the Red Sox side.
So rather than getting swept, the Yankees did the sweeping themselves. While the Sox had a chance to get back into the race by sweeping the Yankees, before the series few observers remembered to acknowledge the other side of the coin: if the Yankees swept, they would clinch EVERYTHING. So that's what they did. They swept. They clinched everything.
And that's what we're celebrating today. This great season, so full of twists and turns and adversity, just as all seasons are when you think about it. The Yankees are going to the playoffs, and they're going there as, hands down, the best team in baseball. Of course, anything can happen when the playoff start, but even if the Yankees lose, fans should not despair. This was an epic season, a truly magnificent performance by a team that came together on and off the field, led by a manager and guided by a system they trusted, and grateful to have the chance to play on a team put together with such care and with such a commitment to winning.
Victory in the postseason cannot be guaranteed. Like I've said, it's a game of inches, and in the postseason series are decided often by even less. But if the Yankees perform bravely and at their best in the biggest moments of many of their careers, I'll be proud of what they've accomplished, no matter the outcome. Just as I'm proud of what they've done today.
That, to me, is what Yankee baseball is all about.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Clinched!!! (Yanks 4, Red Sox 2)
And with an emphatic sweep of the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees have won their 100th game, tied the season series against their arch-rivals at 9-9, clinched the best record in baseball, clinched AL East, and sent a message across the league: The Yankees are back.
Todays game featured clutch hitting by three guys we've come to rely on all year long in big spots: Matsui, Teixeira, and Melky Cabrera. Pettitte pitched well, Bruney and Coke followed.
Of course, in the ninth Mariano shut the door on the Red Sox once again, and the party was on.
Mo's message to the fans: "Thank God. We fought hard for this one. I think everybody who has watched this team should be proud of what we have accomplished."
The players, despite the exhuberance and champaign spraying everywhere, were reflective about just what made this team so special. Most of the guys said the same thing: that the guys came together and enjoyed each other's company and enjoyed playing together. In addition, the Yankees, as A-Rod said, bought into Joe Girardi's system and played hard for him. Maybe these are the things that matter most when champions are decided. More from the video here.
Out by out..
8 outs to go: Brian Bruney, wearing no. 99, just struck out Guzman.
7 outs to go: Ellsbury grounded to Jeter, and Teixeira scooped it to get Ellsbury by a step. This infield is just awesome.
6 outs to go!: Bruney gets PEDroia to ground out weakly to Cano! 6 more outs and 3 before Mariano! What a crazy year Bruney has had. First he comes out dominating, then has a phantom injury. He gets some rest, comes back and starts making comments about K-Rod. After that he pitched very poorly for a solid 2 or 3 months. And now he seems to be getting himself together again...I guess he likes wearing 99. It's funny how things have worked out in the bullpen. We started with Marte and Veras and Albaladejo and Bruney. Now we've got Hughes Robertson (who we haven't heard from lately), Coke, Aceves and maybe Bruney, all trying their best to get the ball to Mariano in the 9th. And Marte is so good against lefties, he may make the postseason roster after all.
5 outs to go!: Bruney is still out there, and this time he got Bay to pop out to Tex! He's now ahead of Youkilis. Coke is throwing in the pen.
4 outs left!: 5 in a row for Bruney! Youkilis flies out to Swisher in right! Wow Bruney killed out there today, and he's getting a nice applause. Coke will come on to face Ortiz. He's ahead of Ortiz now. Coke is the lefty go-to guy in the pen now, apparently. Struck him out swinging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3 outs left!: Coke blew Ortiz away, Yankees will turn to Mo in the ninth to clinch the division and the best record in baseball!
You're on the mark, Teixeira!!!! 4-2 Yankees, a Tex message to Boston and the whole league, and now the Bombers have a cushion. Oh it's glorious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgs5_YSVjtE
No Im not tryin to be rude,
But hey pretty girl Im feelin you
The way you do the things you do
Remind me of my lexus coup
Thats why Im all up in yo grill
Tryin to get you to a hotel
You must be a football coach
The way you got me playin the field
Now gimme that toot toot
And Ill give you that beep beep
Runnin her hands through my fro
Bouncin on 24s
While they say on the radio...
This is the remix to ignition
Hot and fresh out the kitchen
Mama rollin that body
Got every man in her wishin
Sippin on coke and rum
Im like so what Im drunk
Its the freakin weekend baby
Im about to have me some fun
Bounce-Bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce-Bounce-bounce-bounce!!!!
2 outs left!!!! Mariano is shutting the door!!!!
Now its like murder she wrote
Once I get you out them clothes
Privacy is on the door
Still they can hear you screamin more
Girl Im feelin what you feelin
No more hopin and wishin
Im bout to take my key and
Stick it in the ignition
Now gimme that toot toot
And Ill give you that beep beep
Runnin her hands through my fro
Bouncin on 24s
While they say on the radio...
This is the remix to ignition
Hot and fresh out the kitchen
Mama rollin that body
Got evey man in her wishin
Sippin on coke and rum
Im like so what Im drunk
Its the freakin weekend baby
Im about to have me some fun
One more out to go, but men on second and third....
Crystall poppin in the stretch navigator
We got food every where
As if the party was catored
We got fellas to my left
Honnies on my right
We bring em both together
we got drinkin all night
Then after the show its the (after party)
And after the party its the (hotel lobby)
And round about 4 you gotta (clear the lobby)
Then take it to the room and freak somebody
Can I get a toot toot
Can I get a beep beep
Runnin her hands through my fro
Bouncin on 24s
While they say on the radio...
This is the remix to ignition
Hot and fresh out the kitchen
Mama rollin that body
Got evey man in her wishin
Sippin on coke and rum
Im like so what Im drunk
Its the freakin weekend baby
Im about to have me some fun
It's all over!!! Yankees win theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!keep it bangin
7 outs to go: Ellsbury grounded to Jeter, and Teixeira scooped it to get Ellsbury by a step. This infield is just awesome.
6 outs to go!: Bruney gets PEDroia to ground out weakly to Cano! 6 more outs and 3 before Mariano! What a crazy year Bruney has had. First he comes out dominating, then has a phantom injury. He gets some rest, comes back and starts making comments about K-Rod. After that he pitched very poorly for a solid 2 or 3 months. And now he seems to be getting himself together again...I guess he likes wearing 99. It's funny how things have worked out in the bullpen. We started with Marte and Veras and Albaladejo and Bruney. Now we've got Hughes Robertson (who we haven't heard from lately), Coke, Aceves and maybe Bruney, all trying their best to get the ball to Mariano in the 9th. And Marte is so good against lefties, he may make the postseason roster after all.
5 outs to go!: Bruney is still out there, and this time he got Bay to pop out to Tex! He's now ahead of Youkilis. Coke is throwing in the pen.
4 outs left!: 5 in a row for Bruney! Youkilis flies out to Swisher in right! Wow Bruney killed out there today, and he's getting a nice applause. Coke will come on to face Ortiz. He's ahead of Ortiz now. Coke is the lefty go-to guy in the pen now, apparently. Struck him out swinging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3 outs left!: Coke blew Ortiz away, Yankees will turn to Mo in the ninth to clinch the division and the best record in baseball!
You're on the mark, Teixeira!!!! 4-2 Yankees, a Tex message to Boston and the whole league, and now the Bombers have a cushion. Oh it's glorious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgs5_YSVjtE
No Im not tryin to be rude,
But hey pretty girl Im feelin you
The way you do the things you do
Remind me of my lexus coup
Thats why Im all up in yo grill
Tryin to get you to a hotel
You must be a football coach
The way you got me playin the field
Now gimme that toot toot
And Ill give you that beep beep
Runnin her hands through my fro
Bouncin on 24s
While they say on the radio...
This is the remix to ignition
Hot and fresh out the kitchen
Mama rollin that body
Got every man in her wishin
Sippin on coke and rum
Im like so what Im drunk
Its the freakin weekend baby
Im about to have me some fun
Bounce-Bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce-Bounce-bounce-bounce!!!!
2 outs left!!!! Mariano is shutting the door!!!!
Now its like murder she wrote
Once I get you out them clothes
Privacy is on the door
Still they can hear you screamin more
Girl Im feelin what you feelin
No more hopin and wishin
Im bout to take my key and
Stick it in the ignition
Now gimme that toot toot
And Ill give you that beep beep
Runnin her hands through my fro
Bouncin on 24s
While they say on the radio...
This is the remix to ignition
Hot and fresh out the kitchen
Mama rollin that body
Got evey man in her wishin
Sippin on coke and rum
Im like so what Im drunk
Its the freakin weekend baby
Im about to have me some fun
One more out to go, but men on second and third....
Crystall poppin in the stretch navigator
We got food every where
As if the party was catored
We got fellas to my left
Honnies on my right
We bring em both together
we got drinkin all night
Then after the show its the (after party)
And after the party its the (hotel lobby)
And round about 4 you gotta (clear the lobby)
Then take it to the room and freak somebody
Can I get a toot toot
Can I get a beep beep
Runnin her hands through my fro
Bouncin on 24s
While they say on the radio...
This is the remix to ignition
Hot and fresh out the kitchen
Mama rollin that body
Got evey man in her wishin
Sippin on coke and rum
Im like so what Im drunk
Its the freakin weekend baby
Im about to have me some fun
It's all over!!! Yankees win theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!keep it bangin
Godzilla!
Yankees down 2-1, 2 out in the 6th, men on 2nd and 3rd, Matsui up. He fell behind 0-2 but battled back to 2-2 and smoked a single into right off of Saito. 3-2 Yankees in the 6th, and they're 9 outs away from clinching home field in the postseason, the AL East title, and a dead even record against the Sox this year.
But let's not count our chickens. 9 outs are a lot against this lineup.
By the way, Sterling is waxing now about the "brightening skies" at Yankee stadium. Yes, the sun is peeking through the clouds in Yankee land.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Joe Torre's Dodgers have reached the Big Dance
Here come the Dodgers. In the first half of the season they looked like the best team in the National League, and maybe in all of baseball. Now they're considered the #2 team in the NL, behind the Cardinals.
But Torre's teams usually excel in the playoffs. He has a talented, balanced, poised group out there in LA. They've been there before. And anyone who challenges them must be prepared for war.
The Cardinals have won the NL Central
We knew this was coming. Albert Pujols, the best player in the National League, and a tough group of starting pitchers have led the Cardinals to the playoffs once again. They won the World Series in 2006, and there's no reason to believe this team isn't as strong or stronger than that championship bunch.
If the Yankees win the pennant, this is the team they are most likely to face, in my opinion. And it would be very, very tough.
Magic Number: 1 (Yanks 3, Red Sox 0)
The game:
All the Yankees needed today was for CC to pitch brilliantly and for someone to come through and get some runs off Dice-K, who has made a nice comeback from a long stint on the DL.
CC did his part, striking out 8 over 7 innings of 1-hit ball. Hughes and Rivera backed him up to combine for the shutout.
And at the plate, just one swing of the bat was enough, and that swing came from Robinson Cano, don't you know?
The Aftermath:
The Angels now cannot finish the season with the best record in the American League. It's down to the Red Sox and Yankees, and the Yankee magic number is 1. My prediction was that the Yankees would clinch in the first game or two against the Royals next week. It would be much sweeter if they could do it sooner, on the field in front of the Red Sox.
Current record: 99-56
AL East Lead: 7.5 games
Games remaining: 7
AL East magic number: 1
Magic number over the Angels: 0!
The Angels now cannot finish the season with the best record in the American League. It's down to the Red Sox and Yankees, and the Yankee magic number is 1. My prediction was that the Yankees would clinch in the first game or two against the Royals next week. It would be much sweeter if they could do it sooner, on the field in front of the Red Sox.
Current record: 99-56
AL East Lead: 7.5 games
Games remaining: 7
AL East magic number: 1
Magic number over the Angels: 0!
A Proper Thrashing (Yanks 9, Red Sox 5)
Wow. This game wasn't as close as the final score, and several details showed how thoroughly the Yankees thrashed the Sox into oblivion and, hopefully, acceptance of their second-best status in the AL East. It's obvious now.
The Yankees had 7 stolen bases off of Varitek, more than against any Yankee opponent in 13 years. Michael Kay eventually remarked, "they're not even close to getting thrown out."
Melky drilled Lester, capping a pounding of the Sox's prized #2 starter, who had already been rocked for 5 runs by the 3rd inning.
A well-rested A-Rod totally dominated this game: 3 for 3 with two walks, 3 stolen bases, a home run, 4 RBIs, 3 runs scored. And Jeter wasn't far behind: 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 stolen bases, 2 runs scored and 1 RBI and a base hit on the first pitch of the game. Incidentally this is the second game in a row he has done this against the Red Sox...last time he hit Becket's first pitch into the bullpen in right field at Fenway. Maybe I'll just tune in to the first pitch of the game tomorrow. If Jeter gets a hit, the Yankees will win. It's just such a great way to start a game, isn't it?
And Joba Chamberlain pitched a quality start against maybe the best non-pinstripe-wearing offense in the league: 6 IP and 3 earned runs. Even more encouraging, before Martinez's home run he had retired the first 11 Red Sox hitters. Joba has been telling the media that he's ready to "step up". Well this is the time. And if he can start a game four and pitch like this, the Yankees will be in very good shape.
By the way, if you're still counting the Yankees are 7-1 since the All Star break against the Red Sox. After starting the season 0-8 against them, the Bombers are now 7-9, two away from tying the season series with these guys. Should they win the next two games, they'd also clinch the AL East at Yankee stadium against their arch rivals, ensuring that a game 7 between these two teams would be at the new, glimmering throne in the Bronx, rather than at that old crumbling reminder of a Red Sox history that should be forgotten.
But enough about that. Here's the final play of the game. A fitting showcase of Yankee talent and a nice end for a very satisfying day.
Current record: 98-56
AL East Lead: 6 games
Games remaining: 8
AL East Lead: 6 games
Games remaining: 8
AL East magic number: 3
Magic number over the Angels: 2
Magic number over the Angels: 2
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Angels and Demons (Yanks 3, Angels 2)
The Yankees have demons in Anaheim. Years and years of futility, all of which started with Scioscia's appearance as manager of the club and the 2002 buzz-saw that ripped through the league and the postseason, have made it mentally very tough to win in that ballpark. Maybe it's the sinister irony of the halos and the suspicions that the players wearing those halos arouse with their incredible physiques, too-good-to-be-true hitting numbers and close geographic proximity to the Mexican border. Maybe it's the rally monkey. Or maybe it's just the fact that the Yankees have been outplayed there, and along with a bunch of bad luck, have lost such a large percentage of their games in that place. Being there just brings up the old demons every time.
Well today the Yankees took an important step toward overcoming those demons. Cano and Melky lead the way at the plate, both with run-scoring hits in the 4th inning, and on the mound AJ Burnett did what I expected him to do in a big spot: perform at his best. Yes, I expected this from him, and here's the link to prove it!
OK I'm over myself. It's not about me, it's about the Yankees, after all, and today, with a lineup full of bench players, Hughes unavailable, and the dreadful Ian Kennedy on the mound trying to protect a 1 run lead, the Yankees STILL beat the Angels in Anaheim.
Great stuff from the Bombers. They've now won 3 of their last 4 games against the Angels and 6 of their last 7 against Boston. If I'm either of those teams, particularly the Angels now, I'd be worried. 2009 is quickly becoming a season where demons are overcome, and new Yankee heroes are born, seemingly every day.
Current record: 97-56
AL East Lead: 6 games
Games remaining: 9
AL East magic number: 5
AL East magic number: 5
Magic number over the Angels: 4
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Yankees are first in
The first team to reach The Show in 2009 is the New York Yankees, owners of the best record in the Major Leagues. Let's see who dares to step up to baseball's highest level and challenge the mighty Yankees, in the final tournament to decide the World Series Championship.
An A-Win in Anaheim (Yanks 6, Angels 5)
This one was a classic, but a tough one to watch.
I didn't see how the Yankees built a 4-0 lead. I only learned later that they had to wait until the 3rd inning for...
An A-Bomb from A-Rod!
Can't believe how these Angels announcers talk about the Yankees. Venomous stuff from those California clowns who can't even figure out how to have a normal government. Here's a Proposition for you....shut your mouth and get out of the desert, it's frying your tiny brain!
Anyway, Posada was next. A towering blast over the high wall in right, with Abreu plastered up against the wall like he was going to catch it. Sorry Bobby, that one's in the seats.
And as if that wasn't enough (and later we'd learn it indeed wasn't enough), Matsui crunched a fastball way deep into the seats. That one looked like something out of a home run derby.
That's when things got interesting...
Gaudin dominated until the 5th. And then our future 4th starter (that is, if the Bombers reach the ALCS) hit the wall and collapsed. Aceves came in but the Angels inched back into the game, getting timely hits, drawing walks, wreaking havoc on the bases and bewildering Posada, who could neither control pitches in the dirt nor throw accurately to second. Having had golden opportunities in the first and second innings to blow it open, Yankee frustration mounted, as inning by inning the Angels marched back.
With two outs in the 6th inning the Yankees were ahead 5-3. Abreu was up, Aceves was on the mound and Coke was in bed with gastrointestinal issues (flatulence?) and of course Robertson was still stiff. So the Yankees had nobody to go to before Phil Hughes in the 7th or 8th. Aceves had to get through it himself.
So he walked Abreu with the bases loaded. A run came in to score. Still two outs with Vladimir Guerrero up.
And that's when A-Rod struck for the second time in the game. What an amazing play, fully diving to his right to snag the line drive and then getting up and gunning down Guerrero. Awesome stuff.
The Yankees had regained some momentum by that point, but they were facing the prospect of 3 more innings, trying to hold a 1 run lead.
The bats went quiet, as they had been since the Matsui home run. On the mound Aceves could go no further, and Marte was asked to get one out, instead giving up a double and putting Hughes in a position where he would need to get some huge outs. Well, he got them.
I didn't see how the Yankees built a 4-0 lead. I only learned later that they had to wait until the 3rd inning for...
An A-Bomb from A-Rod!
Can't believe how these Angels announcers talk about the Yankees. Venomous stuff from those California clowns who can't even figure out how to have a normal government. Here's a Proposition for you....shut your mouth and get out of the desert, it's frying your tiny brain!
Anyway, Posada was next. A towering blast over the high wall in right, with Abreu plastered up against the wall like he was going to catch it. Sorry Bobby, that one's in the seats.
And as if that wasn't enough (and later we'd learn it indeed wasn't enough), Matsui crunched a fastball way deep into the seats. That one looked like something out of a home run derby.
That's when things got interesting...
Gaudin dominated until the 5th. And then our future 4th starter (that is, if the Bombers reach the ALCS) hit the wall and collapsed. Aceves came in but the Angels inched back into the game, getting timely hits, drawing walks, wreaking havoc on the bases and bewildering Posada, who could neither control pitches in the dirt nor throw accurately to second. Having had golden opportunities in the first and second innings to blow it open, Yankee frustration mounted, as inning by inning the Angels marched back.
With two outs in the 6th inning the Yankees were ahead 5-3. Abreu was up, Aceves was on the mound and Coke was in bed with gastrointestinal issues (flatulence?) and of course Robertson was still stiff. So the Yankees had nobody to go to before Phil Hughes in the 7th or 8th. Aceves had to get through it himself.
So he walked Abreu with the bases loaded. A run came in to score. Still two outs with Vladimir Guerrero up.
And that's when A-Rod struck for the second time in the game. What an amazing play, fully diving to his right to snag the line drive and then getting up and gunning down Guerrero. Awesome stuff.
The Yankees had regained some momentum by that point, but they were facing the prospect of 3 more innings, trying to hold a 1 run lead.
The bats went quiet, as they had been since the Matsui home run. On the mound Aceves could go no further, and Marte was asked to get one out, instead giving up a double and putting Hughes in a position where he would need to get some huge outs. Well, he got them.
But in the 8th the Angels struck one more time and tied it. This time Cano allowed Howie Kendrick's sharp ground ball to find it's way through his legs. Kendrick stole second and went to third on Posada's error. And with the tying run on first and nobody out, the Angels tied the game in style, getting a single from Izturus (whoever that is) and continuing the assault. But after a wild pitch and a walk, Hughes reached back, deep into that reservoir of Yankee power, and struck out the next two hitters, Guerrero and Torii Hunter.
Gardner lead off the 9th. He singled. Palmer threw to first base 4 times in a row. Then he threw a pitch to Jeter for ball one. Then he threw to first again. Gardner barely got back in time as the Yankee bench came alive with accusations of a balk. And with the next pitch, Palmer did an ultra-quick delivery. Gardner bolted to second. The Angels catcher Budde jumped up, stepping forward as the fastball quickly reached his glove at eye level. Pitchout.
The ball arrived at second base before Gardner. But Budde had pulled it wide! Gardner slid in and overshot the bag as Aybar twisted backwards to tag and hold the glove on Gardner's arm. But just as Gardner's extended fingers moved past the bag and towards left field, his foot caught a toe-hold on the corner of the bag and held on, all the while with Aybar's glove resting there.
Safe.
Jeter walked. Damon, in an unforgettable play, fouled off two bunt attempts but laid down the third perfectly, rolling it along the infield grass. Second and third with one out and Tex walked to bring up A-Rod, with a chance to take the lead. And he didn't disappoint, getting the sacrifice and putting his stamp on this game both from the plate, with his monster home run and sacrifice, and in the field.
Of course, we weren't done. We still had the 9th inning, where CB Bucknor, who had already put his stamp on the game by calling the Angels catcher for interference, missed a very easy called third strike on a 3-2 pitch by Mo to the leadoff man. It was a call that should have him barred from October baseball, mostly because this game was an excellent simulation of playoff intensity and Bucknor failed to keep his poise under that kind of pressure.
The Angels put in a pinch runner, the speedy Willets, all set to fully take advantage of the great fortune bestowed upon them, as is the Angels' custom.
But it was not to be! In a dramatic strike em out, throw em out double play Mo struck out the next batter while Posada gunned down Willets' feeble attempt at stealing second (was that a hit-and-run, Scioscia?).
Ball game over, Yankees win! A-Rod was the man today, that's the story of this game, folks. With the Sox's loss to Greinke, the Yankees moved 6 games ahead in the AL East while pushing the magic number down to 6.
Maybe most importantly, Texas's defeat clinched the playoff birth for the Yankees.
Welcome back, Bombers.
Current record: 96-56
AL East Lead: 6 games
Games remaining: 10
AL East Lead: 6 games
Games remaining: 10
AL East magic number: 6
Magic number over the Angels: 6
Magic number over the Angels: 6
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Yankees Win!
More later. This one was exciting, excruciating, enthralling, upsetting...a typical Yankee game in Anaheim, I guess. But they won.
C.B. Bucknor
The worst home plate umpire in baseball? How does this guy keep his job?
And in the 9th tonight Bucknor blew a very important 3rd strike call. Let's hope he's golfing next month (or whatever he does).
YES!
A-Rod comes through on the first pitch, a fly ball to center that gets Gardner in!
That looked pretty clutch from where I stand.
That looked pretty clutch from where I stand.
A-Rod's opportunity
Here we've got pressure near post-season levels. It's the 9th bases loaded 1 out, tie game, A-Rod up. Angels have come back from 5 down to tie. Mariano is warming. We need A-Rod now.
4th starter fretting
There's been some talk lately about who the Yankees will send out to the mound as their 4th starter in the playoffs. Yes, it's sort of important. But I think that if fans are really worried about it and complaining incessantly about it, then it should be noted that the 4th starter hardly ever makes or break a series. Here's the (almost) identical post I put up on the NYTimes blog, comment #35.
I checked. In all the playoff losses the Yankees have been involved in since 1995, the only time a 4th starter mattered at all was in 1995 and 2006.
Scott Kamieniecki was jacked up in game 4, 1995 and that cost the Yankees the series against the Mariners. But since then only in 2006 has a 4th starter even been a factor in a Yankee playoff loss. In the other losing years other much bigger factors took precedence.
In 1996 Kenny Rogers started 3 game fours and got abused by everyone, giving up a combined 11 earned runs in 7 innings. Result: World Championship
Gooden pitched well in game 4, 1997 and the Yankees still lost that series because of Jared Wright and Sandy Alomar.
From 1998-2000 the Yankees had Cone-Pettitte-Wells/Clemens-El Duque so that was that.
But in every series the Yankees have lost since then, not once can the series loss be blamed on the poor performance of a 4th starter.
The Yankees ran into buzz-saws in 2001 and 2002. Aging pitchers (Wells, Clemens, Brown, Johnson) broke down from 2003-2005. In game 4, 2006 Jared Wright was lit up like a cheap christmas tree but the Yankee offense was stagnant that day anyway. And forget the midges. The Yankees lost in 2007 because Chien Ming Wang repeatedly imploded.
The evidence is clear: The game 4 starter has not been a factor in any of the Yankee losses since 1996, and only in 2006 did that 4th starter have anything to do with it. The game 4 starter matters less than people think.
But lineup strength, top 3 starters and the bullpen DO matter. And this year the Yankees have them all in spades.
I checked. In all the playoff losses the Yankees have been involved in since 1995, the only time a 4th starter mattered at all was in 1995 and 2006.
Scott Kamieniecki was jacked up in game 4, 1995 and that cost the Yankees the series against the Mariners. But since then only in 2006 has a 4th starter even been a factor in a Yankee playoff loss. In the other losing years other much bigger factors took precedence.
In 1996 Kenny Rogers started 3 game fours and got abused by everyone, giving up a combined 11 earned runs in 7 innings. Result: World Championship
Gooden pitched well in game 4, 1997 and the Yankees still lost that series because of Jared Wright and Sandy Alomar.
From 1998-2000 the Yankees had Cone-Pettitte-Wells/Clemens-El Duque so that was that.
But in every series the Yankees have lost since then, not once can the series loss be blamed on the poor performance of a 4th starter.
The Yankees ran into buzz-saws in 2001 and 2002. Aging pitchers (Wells, Clemens, Brown, Johnson) broke down from 2003-2005. In game 4, 2006 Jared Wright was lit up like a cheap christmas tree but the Yankee offense was stagnant that day anyway. And forget the midges. The Yankees lost in 2007 because Chien Ming Wang repeatedly imploded.
The evidence is clear: The game 4 starter has not been a factor in any of the Yankee losses since 1996, and only in 2006 did that 4th starter have anything to do with it. The game 4 starter matters less than people think.
But lineup strength, top 3 starters and the bullpen DO matter. And this year the Yankees have them all in spades.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Don't mess with baseball Royalty!
The Royals staged a rousing come-from-behind victory over Boston, spoiling the Sox's bid to move to within 4 of the Yankees.
The victory was so rousing, in fact, that it needs to be shown here!
Yeah, Royals. You really never know what's going to happen next when watching this bunch.
The victory was so rousing, in fact, that it needs to be shown here!
Yeah, Royals. You really never know what's going to happen next when watching this bunch.
Sick of it (Angels 5, Yanks 2)
Since I'm in Taiwan and on my TV I can't hear the English broadcast, I listen to the Chinese. I don't understand most of what they say, so really when I'm watching, it's like I'm watching with the sound off.
Of course, this is unacceptable in the playoffs. And since the Yankees are going to the playoffs this year, I ponied up the 20 bucks to MLB.com so I could hear John Sterling while watching games on TV. I think it's money well spent.
Sterling today was absolutely furious about how the Yankees played this game against Anaheim in California. You could hear it in his voice from the beginning of the game to the end. He was beside himself, and rightfully so. And it really makes a fan feel better when his frustration is being so well articulated by the broadcaster. Sterling did his job well today.
He didn't like the way Melky played. He didn't like the way the Yankees failed repeatedly with men on base. He didn't like the fact that the Yankees didn't use their best pitchers. And he didn't hold back with any of these grievances. Anyone listening knew that Sterling was pissed, and that the Yankees really need to stop sucking so badly in Anaheim. Period. We're all sick of talking about it, and it really doesn't seem to matter who goes out there, or who's in the Angels uniform, or who is coaching the Yankees. The Yankees always suck in Anaheim and we're sick of it.
Let's hope the Yankees are sick of it too.
Current record: 95-56
AL East Lead: 5 games
Games remaining: 11
AL East magic number: 8
Magic number over the Angels: 8
Of course, this is unacceptable in the playoffs. And since the Yankees are going to the playoffs this year, I ponied up the 20 bucks to MLB.com so I could hear John Sterling while watching games on TV. I think it's money well spent.
Sterling today was absolutely furious about how the Yankees played this game against Anaheim in California. You could hear it in his voice from the beginning of the game to the end. He was beside himself, and rightfully so. And it really makes a fan feel better when his frustration is being so well articulated by the broadcaster. Sterling did his job well today.
He didn't like the way Melky played. He didn't like the way the Yankees failed repeatedly with men on base. He didn't like the fact that the Yankees didn't use their best pitchers. And he didn't hold back with any of these grievances. Anyone listening knew that Sterling was pissed, and that the Yankees really need to stop sucking so badly in Anaheim. Period. We're all sick of talking about it, and it really doesn't seem to matter who goes out there, or who's in the Angels uniform, or who is coaching the Yankees. The Yankees always suck in Anaheim and we're sick of it.
Let's hope the Yankees are sick of it too.
Current record: 95-56
AL East Lead: 5 games
Games remaining: 11
AL East magic number: 8
Magic number over the Angels: 8
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Joba issues (Mariners 7, Yanks 1)
Joba Chamberlain pitched poorly again today, and the Yankee bats were quiet in the loss. People are saying Joba's uneven, unpredictable schedule could be throwing him off his game. I don't buy it. I just think he's bad right now because he's immature. He needs to be in the bullpen.
The Yankees still have a 5 game lead in the division. It's very annoying that they have been unable to make more progress lately towards capturing the AL East. But there will be more opportunities. The Yankees will play the Angels and the Sox in consecutive 3-game series starting tomorrow. By the end of those series the Yankees should be much closer to finishing both teams off.
Current record: 95-55
AL East Lead: 5 games
Games remaining: 12
AL East magic number: 9
Magic number over the Angels: 8
The Yankees still have a 5 game lead in the division. It's very annoying that they have been unable to make more progress lately towards capturing the AL East. But there will be more opportunities. The Yankees will play the Angels and the Sox in consecutive 3-game series starting tomorrow. By the end of those series the Yankees should be much closer to finishing both teams off.
Current record: 95-55
AL East Lead: 5 games
Games remaining: 12
AL East magic number: 9
Magic number over the Angels: 8
The Tex and Cano show (Yanks 10, Mariners 1)
I'm not sure how much of the pain from yesterday's defeat carried over to today, but let's just say today's victory was a cathartic hammering and another step towards the AL East title and the best record in baseball.
The perpetrators were Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano, who dominated this game at the plate and, backing up CC, in the field.
Tex homered twice, tripled and singled, achieving what I call a super cycle (more than 10 bases in one game). As a bonus, he also made a difficult catch in the stands, bending onto the crowd and corralling a foul pop.
Not to be outdone, Teixeira's compadre at second, Robinson Cano, had a similarly spectacular performance. He was everywhere tonight, putting together a 4-hit smackdown against anyone and anything Seattle threw at him. And in the field he may have one-upped Teixeira with an extremely slick play in the field, a nonchalant flip across his body that settled perfectly into Teixeira's glove, all while jogging towards center field.
In the end, it was another Sabathia-dominated, over powering performance by the Yankees, who started scoring in the first inning and never let up. Maybe most importantly, today's game was a thundering response to yesterday's disappointment. A very good sign of mental toughness, team chemistry, and championship poise.
Current record: 95-54
AL East magic number: 9
Magic number over the Angels: 8
Games remaining: 13
Friday, September 18, 2009
Still 10...(Mariners 3, Yanks 2)
This one didn't feel good.
Here's the bright side. AJ Burnett outpitched one of the best starters in baseball, Felix Hernandez. There's been some talk lately that AJ was becoming a concern for the bombers, but tonight's performance should ease some of those concerns. Yes, the Mariners are a light-hitting bunch, but the game was at Safeco and the Mariners are trying to make a late push. This was not an easy game for a visiting starter to pitch in.
So let's give AJ a pat on the back and a vote of confidence. Like I've said before, I think this guy will come through in the really big postseason starts.
The same can also be said of Mariano, who blew a save for just the second time this year. He got the first two outs but the third batter got a lucky double to right, where Swisher was playing too shallow. Then Ichiro came up, and anything goes with Ichiro.
Anyway, don't be concerned about Mariano. He looked ok, even with the hit and home run. These things happen. It's baseball, after all...and tomorrow there's another game to be played.
Current record: 94-54
AL East magic number: 10
Home field magic number: 10
Games remaining: 14
Here's the bright side. AJ Burnett outpitched one of the best starters in baseball, Felix Hernandez. There's been some talk lately that AJ was becoming a concern for the bombers, but tonight's performance should ease some of those concerns. Yes, the Mariners are a light-hitting bunch, but the game was at Safeco and the Mariners are trying to make a late push. This was not an easy game for a visiting starter to pitch in.
So let's give AJ a pat on the back and a vote of confidence. Like I've said before, I think this guy will come through in the really big postseason starts.
The same can also be said of Mariano, who blew a save for just the second time this year. He got the first two outs but the third batter got a lucky double to right, where Swisher was playing too shallow. Then Ichiro came up, and anything goes with Ichiro.
Anyway, don't be concerned about Mariano. He looked ok, even with the hit and home run. These things happen. It's baseball, after all...and tomorrow there's another game to be played.
Current record: 94-54
AL East magic number: 10
Home field magic number: 10
Games remaining: 14
Boston Lost, Magic Number is 10
Current record: 94-53
AL East magic number: 10
Home field magic number: 10
Games remaining: 15
AL East magic number: 10
Home field magic number: 10
Games remaining: 15
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Don't get it twisted (Yanks 5, Blue Jays 4)
You can sing the praises of Cervelli for his clutch hit and pie in the face today. You can talk about Gardner the X factor on the bases, stealing second before being sacrificed to third and setting up the Cervelli walk-off in the bottom of the ninth. Sure you can.But today's game was won by Godzilla.
Suzan Waldman asked Matsui after the game if he had ever been pinch hit for while in Japan. She said that Godzilla smiled and said, "I don't think so".
That's the kind of player Matsui was in Japan. You didn't pinch hit for Hideki Matsui.
I'm not saying the Sayonara Kid is still that kind of superstar player. But what I'm saying is that even at 35 and with bad knees, Matsui is a devastating weapon at the plate, able to take pitches , work deep counts, hit for average, power, sacrifice, and crush lefty pitching just as often as right handers. Don't get it twisted. Hideki Matsui is still one of the most skilled and dangerous hitters in the world. And when he gets going it seems like he just flattens the other team in a glorious, fiery rampage!
Today he laced a base hit to right field that put the Yankees ahead 2-0. And then when they were behind 4-2 in the 8th inning, it was Matsui who delivered the tying blow off the lefty reliever, a rifle shot that rocketed over the fence in right and several rows deep. That set the stage for Cervelli, who smoked a fastball through the infield to win the game, earn the pie facial, and deliver the Yankees their 14th walk-off win this season.
But again, this was Matsui's game. As long as his knees hold up, Matsui should be a Yankee now and in the foreseeable future. I mean, if he were gone wouldn't you miss all the silly Godzilla pictures each time he wins a game for them?
Current record: 94-53
AL East magic number: 11
Home field magic number (Magic number over the Angels): 10
Games remaining: 15
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Rumble in the Bronx (Blue Jays 10, Yanks 4)
Today's game will be remembered for the on-field fight that ensued when Posada and a Blue Jay reliever who doesn't deserve to appear in the same sentence with a Yankee player each took umbrage with the other's behavior.
Here's what I think happened. The Yankees were annoyed at the Halladay-Mitre matchup. Toronto was denying a youngster on their newly-expanded 40 man roster an opportunity to show his stuff, just so Halladay could go out and beat the Yankees, risking injury in the process. The Blue Jays are out of contention in the middle of September, while the Yankees are still trying to close out Boston and Anahiem. And if Halladay, who's trade value could net the team a bevy of prospects for the future, had gotten hurt, the Jays would only have themselves to blame. Having Halladay pitch this game seemed spiteful, and I think the Yankees were perturbed.
Halladay threw 100 pitches, giving up 11 hits and 2 runs. Mitre was shelled, as expected. The game was almost unwinnable from the start.
It's not clear whether Melancon threw at Hill on purpose. Even the Jays weren't sure. But that didn't stop them from throwing behind Posada.
When the Blue Jay threw behind Posada, Jorge took a few steps down the line so that the pitcher would hear what he had to say :"You don't want to do that." That's when Toronto's infielders mindlessly stepped toward Posada. Now the Yankees needed to come out of the dugout because Posada was outnumbered, the Jays came out of their dugout, and both bullpens emptied. It seemed that Toronto was trying to start something.
Once order was restored, Posada got on base and eventually scored. As he crossed home plate the reliever got in Posada's way on purpose. Rather than dodging him, Posada did what most guys would do in that spot. He continued on his path but defended himself with his forearm and elbow because the reliever, who had already attacked him with a baseball, was now purposefully moving into his personal space.
You know what happened next. The Toronto player realized that he might get what he'd wanted all along, a fight with a Yankee and maybe the opportunity to tear off a shred of pinstripes from someones uniform, like an obsessed stalker. So he charged Posada.
What he got instead was a huge, ugly welt on his head.
AL East magic number: 12
Home field magic number: 12
Games remaining: 16
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