Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
The Yankees left ten men on base last night, six of them in scoring position, but what cost them an otherwise thrilling game was the same old bullpen mismanagement that has long plagued Joe Torre's stay in the Bronx.
Give the A's credit. They can pitch. Rich Harden wasn't dominating, but as he showed in the first by striking out Sheffield, Rodriguez and Giambi to strand Damon and Jeter at second and third, even on an off night he has the stuff to get the job done when he needs to. Of course, he got a big assist in the third when Rodriguez cracked a two-out hit to right with Sheffield on second, then proceeded to run into an out between first and second to end the inning. That stopped the Yankees at one run in that inning. Harden continued to struggle in the fourth, but got three straight outs with men on second and third, though another run came home in the process. When the Yankees finally got another RBI hit in the sixth (Posada's first safety of the season, but second RBI of the game) followed by yet another single, A's manager Ken Macha took it as a sign that Harden was cooked. Justin Duchscherer came on and struck out Cano to end the inning.
Duchscherer can pitch too, as he proved again the next inning by retiring Sheffield and Rodriguez to again strand Damon at second. In the eighth, the Yankees had Hideki Matsui at second with two outs and lesser pitcher Joe Kennedy on the mound, but their worst batter was up and Bernie flied out to end the inning. In the ninth it was ace closer Huston Street who would strand Damon at second, this time walking Sheffield, but retiring Jeter and Rodriguez around him.
As for the Yankees, Mike Mussina exceeded expectations by holding the A's to three runs through seven full while striking out six, a very solid outing for Moose despite homers by Swisher and Chavez. The key is that, since he only allowed two walks and three other hits, the two dingers were solo shots. With Mussina out of the game after 102 pitches (63 percent strikes), Torre expertly managed his pen in the eighth, bringing in Myers to face the lefties Kotsay (strikeout) and Chavez (walk) and then calling on ace set-up man Farnsworth to get the right-handed Frank Thomas despite the temptation of lefty Dan Johnson hitting behind him.
Unfortunately, that's where Torre's wisdom ran out. It took Farnsworth all of ten pitches to retire Thomas and Johnson, yet for some reason Torre decided not to use him in the ninth inning of a game that remained tied. That was mistake number one. Mistake number two was who Torre brought in instead.
We've seen this before, most famously in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series. On the road in a tie game, when the time comes to use Rivera, Torre thinks to himself, "I have no idea how long this is going to go. I'm not going to burn Mo here. I'm going to save him to get those last three outs once we get a lead. In the meantime, I'll use my long man because he can pitch all night while we wait for the offense to score." Usually that long man only gets an inning or two of work in because, with no room for error in a game that will end the second the home team scores, that's exactly what happens. The home team scores off the sixth best man in the pen and the game ends without Rivera throwing a pitch. We saw it with Jeff Weaver in the 2003 Series and we saw it again last night.
Torre should have left Farnsworth in for the ninth and used Rivera for the tenth and eleventh before resorting to his lesser relievers. Rivera last pitched on Saturday and threw just 12 pitches in that game against the Diamondbacks. Farnsworth last threw on Friday, using just 20 pitches against the D-Backs. What's more, the Yankees have an off day on Thursday. To make matters worse, the A's had already blown their best set-up man (Duchscherer) and were an inning deep on their closer. The Yanks end-gamers had every opportunity to outlast their Oakland counterparts. There's simply no excuse, especially in a game that could have clinched a series win from the league's top team.
Instead, Torre turned to Scott Proctor, literally the last man in the pen both by virtue of his making the 25-man roster at the tail end of spring training and his recent absence from the team to attend to his newborn daughter in the wake of her cardiac surgery for a congenital heart defect. Proctor's daughter, Emmy, is expected to make a full recovery, but it doesn't take the most sympathetic soul around to imagine that Proctor's focus may not yet be as sharp as it might be after he's had a few more days to lose himself in his daily routine with the team (he rejoined the Yankees after the pre-game introductions on Monday night).
Not that Proctor's mental state should have come into play. Nor should have Proctor himself. But he did. Twelve pitches later, only eight of them thrown with purpose, the Yankees, or more accurately, Joe Torre had blown a winnable game.
Nevermind the fact that Joe had Cairo playing first base!
I wanted 12 pitchers on the roster instead of a 3rd catcher, but Torre would have found a way to misuse him too.
Four rings...
second: i realize i am in the minority, thinking that the importance we place on closers is ridiculous, but last night was just further evidence of not only this problem, but also the fact that torre is the biggest culprit in elevating the closer. it only makes sense that you'd want your BEST reliever in NOW as opposed to waiting for the "right" (read: save) situation.
grr. argh.
Encouraging signs: he pitched well, and the bullpen looked good up until Jedi Joe pulled the lever marked "Do Not Pull."
An interesting note, I was listening to the radio broadcast from Oakland on my XM (don't have a real radio near my bed)and not 10 seconds before Mussina gave up his first hit (on a 1-2 count no less) their guys in the both were waxing poetic about the 26 batters Mussina retired before Carl Everett came to the plate. I know it was the A's broadcast team, but when will they learn not to jinx no-hitters or perfect games?! Sorry about the rant, but it's one of those things that bothers me.
Is that quote from:
A.) a Three Stooges movie "Larry, Curly, and No" -- nyuck, nyuck.
B.) a "South Park" episode in which Chef (Sheff?) accidentally shoots and kills Larry Hagman.
C.) Joe Torre (as quoted in The Journal News) explaining why Sheffield held at third after Larry Bowa waved him home -- yuck, yuck.
Ledger also reports Al Leiter is expected to officially join the YES broadcast team today -- unless he suddenly decides to take Katie Couric's "Today Show" gig.
Biggest things I took away from my first game of '06...
1) This team looks pretty crappy on defense.
2) Mike Mussina is not a #2 starter -- despite the fact that he only gave up two earned runs, he looks like more of the same from last year. When he makes a mistake, it goes over the wall. Nearly every time. As Cliff mentions, his saving grace last night was he made the mistakes with nobody on.
3) Farnsworth looked good -- he should have come back for the ninth after only 10 pitches.
4) Damon looks really good, and happy too. I think he's going to win over most of the naysayers before it's all said and done.
5) GOB cannot play over 100 games this year -- he looks like a .250 hitter with about 15 HR over 400+ ABs. Totally unacceptable from a DH.
All in all it wasn't a bad game other than the Proctor incident. But hey -- a week ago many of you were saying this guy needs to be the fifth starter and wanted him on the roster. If you're going to tell me how he deserves a chance, then you can't cry when he gets into a meaningful game situation and blows it. It was the bottom of the order for crying out loud -- he got beat by the 6, 7, 8, 9 hitters in a rather weak bottom of the order. Marco...Scutaro. If you can't get Marco Scutaro out in a meaningful situation, exactly who can you get out? If he's only there to pitch innings in a blowout, you're better off with Mendoza.
Personally, I see Proctor as a career minor leaguer, but maybe that's just me. :)
Now maybe someone talked about it on the postgame, but I wasn't going to stay up till three o'clock to find out.
Proctor certainly pitched well enough this spring to earn his temporary spot on the roster, but he wasn't the right guy for the situation he was placed in last night.
As Cliff suggested, the Yanks should have been going for the throat last night, looking to win the series in 2 games. Farnswacker (a proven closer) should have pitched the ninth, as you noted. Proctor has not yet proven his reliabilty in late-inning situations, so why give him an audition in a game in which the team should have been maneuvering for the kill?
Mussina might not be a number 2 starter in your eyes, but he's the number 2 starter on the Yankees, and he certainly pitched well enough to win last night. The bats let him down again.
But then again, it is Joe Torre we're talking about here and he might just run Proctor back out there again tonight. ugh!
You'd think with a supporting staff of 4 ex-managers on the bench next to Joe, one of them would have questioned Joe's move after the game or is that just wishful thinking?
14 Mendoza, exactly, I think he should have made the roster instead of Proctor. But neither should have been pitching the ninth last night.
I started to swear when I saw Jeter square to bunt in the 7th, but I caught myself, as I was feeding my daughter at the time. With all the 'managerial experience' on that bench, you'd think someone would say to Torre, "Hey Joe, maybe giving up an out needlessly in this situation is a BAD idea." Then again, Bowa and Pena (who obviously weren't on the bench at the time) strike me as guys who would recommend sac bunts. Sigh.
Can't wait to read the comments from last night!
This time of year when arms aren't fully stretched and the weather is cold it's a little more excusable to baby guys a little and find out what they have. I can see Mr. Torre's rationale for not bringing Farnsworth back out for the 9th or why Villone didn't go back to back. I wasn't happy about it but then again I don't have to get this team through a 162 game marathon and engage in an October death struggle. I really do hate loosing them that way. I can't believe there was anyone in that clubhouse that was all that pleased either.
April 2004 ERA: 6.14
April 2005 ERA: 4.97
Moose's ERA as of last night: 3.86
If Moose continues to pitch like he did last night, the Yankees will be in pretty good shape, Torre's ineptitude notwithstanding.
Everything you say is true. Exactly. My buddy Joe, once again, blew it.
However....
We have sacrificed defence and paid BIG money for a tremendous offense. Having men in scoring position with ZERO outs, and having 3 strikeouts (no less with the 55 million$ heart-of-the-order up) is unforgivable.
As Jorge did, you must put the bat on the ball. a LONG drive is not always necessary.
I think these guys have a poor average with 'men in scoring position'. And if you take away the hits with 'men in scoring position' when we are already up by 3 or more, I think the numbers are terrible.
I don't know if it's available, but I'd love to see our team's average with 'men in scoring position' when we are BEHIND. I think we are the Devil Rays farm club in this situation.
There's one of Torre who blew it. But we had numerous opportunities to win. We count on our offense. Mariano might have given up a run. It may have gone many innings past Mariano. Maybe one day Proctor won't give up any runs. But it's moot.
We should have won that game with offense.
We weren't shut down... we choked.
Our pitching is not good enough to go all the way unless the offense steps up when the opportunity is there.
When Shef, ARod and Giambi (or Matsui) ALL strike out with men on base, they should be fined 10,000 each!!!!!
Put the God-Dammed bat on the ball!!!!
We weren't shut down... we choked."
Who's "we," white man?
He got fooled by a good pitch. He looks a bit rusty as far as selecting his pitches to swing at. He's had a couple half swings that are totally unSheff like. Same with Giambi. They are swinging at pitches they normally would not swing at. I expect that to go away as they get more into the season.
A-rod - well - A-Rod. Nothing more to say there. People said just yesterday that he was padding stats with his slam, but my God. The game was 3-0 - hardly out of reach. His slam essentially put the game away. Tonight - he didn't. That's life. Nobody does it every game. Mickey Mantle didn't. Reggie didn't. A-Rod won't.
Three K's in a row hurt. I agree that you have to put the bat on the ball. But I also saw that Harden is the real deal. Good pitchers can make good batters swing and miss.
BP
It was tied 2-2 after 4, and 3-3 after 6.
We scored ONE run in the last 5 innings.
While Proctor sucks and Torre needs a bullpen manager, this one was lost by not-hitting.
Cliff... you are extremely astute with numbers. Are you telling me this team does not have a problem with 'men-in-scoring-position-when-behind'?
It must be part of the down side of your position to be a professional observer and a fan at the same time. I imagine you loose a little of the "we' feeling as you get a closer look at the man behind the curtain than most of us do. Be patient with us Cliff, the day the Yankees become a "them" instead of a "we" most of us won't be here.
You're comparing one-game ERA against a whole season?!? Mind-boggling.
Look -- Moose did pitch a pretty good game last night. He deserved to win. BUT if you actually watched the game, you saw what I saw:
1) His velocity is around 87-88 on his fastball -- he can't throw the ball by anyone except that...
2) He was locating well and changing speeds very effectively -- which makes his fastball look half-decent
3) He's very smart...and he's leveraging that to try and win with diminished skills
4) When he makes a mistake in the zone...hanging knuckle curve...fastball in the heart of the plate...he can't get away with it because it looks like BP. Every time he throws a mistake, it goes yard.
This is exactly the same thing as last year -- how many runs he gives up depends entirely on how many men he allows to get on base prior to making that mistake...which he always makes at some point in the game. He can't pitch out of jams by getting strikeouts against good hitters (like he used to), and he can't get away with mistakes.
He was not (and never again will be) dominating. The days of 200K+ seasons are gone for Moose. Thanks to his command, ability to change speeds, and guile, he can be an effective starter with 12-15 wins. But he's not a #2 by the standards of any good pitching staff.
I recall that, in the first half of 2003, Torre would handle these tie-game situations with Hammond in the 8th and 9th and Rivera in the 10th and 11th before going to the "long man."
When did this "one inning pre reliever" orthodoxy come about, and when was Torre smitten by it?
As I detail in my Stevie Hearsay piece on the sidebar, Torre's bullpen fell apart in 2003 with the departure of Stanton and the beginning of Karsay's long DL stay. Hammond was the only solid non-Rivera option he had, but Hammond made the mistake of having a bad outing against the Red Sox on July 27 of that year and Torre burried him after that (much like he did Andy Phillips after his five-K day against Kazmir and company last May). Perhaps it was after he (incorrectly) decided that Hammond was unreliable that he felt the need to adopt a new tied-on-the-road strategy.
True story: After Proctor gave up the double to Suckatero, I stumbled into the living room, half-asleep, and mumbled two words to my girlfriend. "Jeff Weaver."
Joe Torre, some days you're hard to like.
And 29, Cliff had the line right. Lone Ranger: Well, Kemosabe, it looks like we're surrounded. Tonto: What do you mean "we," paleface?
32 JohnnyC, Torre had Farnsworth warming in the pen during the 7th before Myers came out there, then in the 8th Kotsay and Chavez were coming to bat, so I don't think we can start the "Torre doesn't know what a LOOGY is" bashing just yet. He was in there to face Kotsay and Chavez and that was it.
By the way, I don't know if it was caught on TV, but during the top of the 9th Proctor and Mo were both warming in the pen, while the Yankees were attempting a rally (if only that Damon double had about 3 ft more vertical...). Mo was tossing with a bullpen catcher and overthrew the ball twice, WAY over the catcher's head and into right field, causing a couple delays. Mo started laughing his ass off the second time, perhaps he was slightly embarassed. It was great to see that huge smile up close though, it's amazing that a competitor like him can have such a relaxed attitude at the same time.
Also, Cano hit two LASERS directly at Kotsay in center field, with nothing to show for it. He even took the two first pitches against Street for balls. I have good feelings about Cano, despite the lack of patience.
Get well soon. Please, for the love of god, get well soon!
Sincerely,
Shawn Clap
Interesting question...although I could see the SH there. I guess what bothers me is that it didn't look like having Damon steal second was an option...isn't that supposedly why he's in the leadoff spot? Is Kendall's arm that good?
Marcus, thanks for the at-the-game recap. That story about Mo is hilarious - I wish I hadn't deleted the game from Tivo, perhaps the cameras caught it.
And finally, to me it looked like that Torre jumped out of the dugout a millisecond after Myers walked Chavez. I think he knows what a LOOGY is, and I think he'll use him properly.
As for that bunt in the 7th, I was wondering the same thing. Does someone have Torre's work or home address? We could mail him a copy of the Book.
And Proctor, yeah, well lets just say when I saw him come in, I switched to my Tivoed episode of Robot Chicken, which ended just in time to see Proctor give up that hit. I really feel for the guy personally, and to his credit he made zero excuses about his pitching last night, but he should not be in the game at that point. Mazzili must know this, no?
I believe what Cliff had working there (consciously or otherwise) is the punch line of a joke about the Lone Ranger and Tonto being surrounded by "Indians". The Lone Ranger says something like "we're in trouble now Tonto" and Tonto replies "what do you mean WE, white man?"
torre's biggest mistake of the evening, i believe, was letting bernie williams hit off of joe kennedy in the eighth inning. there's one good bat on the bench - andy phillips - and he absolutely mashes lefties. if you're ever going to pinch hit, it's got to be there!
I found 15 road games (9 in '03, 6 in '04) where the game was tied going into the bottom of the 9th (including playoff games). 4 games Mo probably wasn't available to pitch, based on recent usage. 4 games Mo came in with the game still tied.
1 game Mo came in after the Yanks got the lead. And the other 6 games, Mo didn't see the light of day, because some other reliever blew the game - 5 games in '03 (including the Weaver game), one game in '04.
Are we quibbling too much here? 7 out of 175 road games (including the playoff road games) Torre should have used Rivera even though it wasn't a save situation, but didn't. 1 time it worked out, the other 6 it didn't. Is this really a trend, or are we remembering the Weaver game 'too much'?
I wish retrosheet had 2005 PBP data up.
I have to say I was not heartbroken not to see Mo out there with a temperature below 50 and raining. It's the second game of the year, late, cold and slippery out there.
However, if you are going to pay a middle reliever 6 Mil. per year, you may as well use him.
I hate to bash Joe this early, but what is this love affair with Scot Proctor, I just don't get it. Farnsworth should have pitched the 9th and let the chips fall where they may.
Futher, Andy Phillips doesn't "bash" anyone, lefty or righty.
Of course Mats should have had that ball. As the Chicago White Sox proved last year, defense wins you close games. If the Yanks cannot get those runners home with no out and one out, their shotty D will cost them more than a few games this year!
I agree 53. I just don't get the Proctor over Farnsworth decision.
For me, at least, if Mo had pitched the 9th and lost, no problem. If Mo had pitched the 9th, threw a lot of pitches, and then Proctor came out to pitch the 10th and lost, no problem. I'm not upset beacuse the Yanks lost, but that they lost with their worst reliever on the mound, when their best reliever was available.
If that only happens in 7 out of 175 road games 52 (now 8 out of 176), maybe its not worth getting upset about.
Thanks. Tremendous contribution.
Oh, and you can find 2005 box scores and PBP on ESPN.com.
And thanks for giving me something to do to kill time at work tomorrow 59!
I do recall Hammond going two innings, followed by Rivera, in a few instances previous to that one.
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