Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Five unearned runs, that was margin of victory for the A's last night as they took the opening series from the Yankees with a 9-4 victory. The Yanks did well to get out to a 4-0 lead after three against Dan Haren, but from there the A's hurlers tightened up and the Yankees' pitching and defense fell apart.
Chien-Ming Wang got his ground balls (9 of 12 outs in the field came on the ground) and came through with strikeouts, K-ing three in his 4 2/3 innings for a 5.79 K/9, but he also walked three and allowed seven hits in that short span. From what I could tell watching the game on MLB Gameday (due to a misbehaving cable box), he left too many pitches up in the zone.
It all came apart in the fourth after a ground out and a single when Derek Jeter bobbled a would-be inning-ending double play ball for the Yankees' first error of the night. Dan Johnson followed by working a full-count walk and Milton Bradley singled home the two runners that should have been retired by the double play. Wang then got the final two outs, but not before a third run scored on the second out of the inning.
In the fifth, Wang had a stirring confrontation with Frank Thomas with one out and men on the corners, eventually getting Thomas swinging for the second out, but then a pair of walks loaded the bases and forced in the A's fourth run and Tanyon Sturtze was brought in to get the final out.
With his starter out of the game after five and the score tied, Joe Torre turned to Jaret Wright in the sixth. One could have argued for two innings each from Farnsworth and Rivera had Farnsworth not pitched the night before. Another option would have been to stay with Sturtze, who only needed three pitches to finish the fifth, but all of that would be second guessing. As it stood, Wright looked sharp in his final two spring starts and seemed like as good a choice as any. Indeed, Wright made Torre look good by pitching around a walk for a scoreless sixth then recording a 1-2-3 seventh against the heart of the A's order.
With the game still tied and the bottom of the order coming up, it seemed safe to let Wright have one more frame, but Milton Bradley started the eighth with a triple just beyond the reach of Johnny Damon in center and scored when Robinson Cano booted a would-be Jay Payton groundout. A pair of singles plated another run and drove Wright from the game with men on first and second and none out. Mike Myers then did his job by striking out Kotsay and Torre turned to Farnsworth to keep the A's lead at 6-4. Farnsworth's first pitch was wild, sending Jason Kendall to third, and his next three were out of the zone, loading the bases, which Frank Thomas then cleared with a two-out double to run the score to 9-4, chasing Farnsworth from the game.
And that was that. Unlike Tuesday night, the Yankees left just four men on base and Joe Torre's pitching changes were logical and timely. Last night's loss was no fun, but the loss in and of itself doesn't bother me all that much. It does, however, make Tuesday's ninth-inning defeat all the more bitter. Last night was a winable game, but the pitching and defense kicked it away. If the players lose, so be it. Tuesday night, however, was a game the manager lost, and that's inexcusable, especially when his team has an opportunity to take a series from a team as good as the A's. As it stands, the A's took two of three from the Yankees without Mariano Rivera throwing a single pitch.
In other news, Dr. Robert Watkins did not recommend surgery for Carl Pavano, which is good news for his career, though perhaps bad news for the Yankees who won't be able to recoup his salary via the insurance policy on his contract. This news makes me no more confident that we'll see Meat in action anytime before September call-ups. Pavano has returned to his core stabilization program and is throwing off flat ground in the hope of getting back on a mound next week. Brian Cashman insists it's not, but that sounds an awful lot like square one to me.
I kind of posted this at the end of yesterday's thread, but I'll say it again here where it fits better:
If there's one thing that should be obvious to any sports fan, it's that games, contests, whatever -- in any sport -- usually hinge on one or two key plays. Teams / individuals who consistently make those plays, win.
Last night, Jeter's error was that play. Take away his error and the rest of this game never happens. Wang gives up 1 run, pitches into the 6th, everything plays out completely differently. Wang wasn't "electric" last night, but he certainly pitched well enough to win. The booted double play was the turning point of the game. If you're going to hang that loss on someone, hang it on Jeter. Hey, it happens to the best of them. Shake it off and get ready for the Angels.
Let's hope the defense improves. At least Giambi turned a nice 3-6-3...which was surprising and encouraging. :)
And thanks Ken at the Stew for the headline! Good times!
The play in the 4th I also pin on Cano because if you saw the replay, you'd notice that Cano stuck out his BARE HAND to try and accept the eventual flip from Derek.
Hey, Robbie - see that big brown thing on your other hand? Then of course we were treated to another miscue in the 5th with the go-ahead run on 3rd, who incidentally wasn't moving at all.
I also am losing my patience with A-Rod and his strikeouts the last few days - I think the Yanks get their momentum back if Alex drives in Sheff from 2nd after the A's came back to tie it up.
Of course, we're only 3 games into the season, but this is looking remarkably like the same exact team I was cursing at last October in Anaheim...
For years I've ignored the claims of Jeter being a sub-par fielder. He's always seemed to make the clutch plays to me, and that's what mattered. Still, I must admit, he looks a bit lethargic, no?
By the way, Wang K'd Thomas on a sick 76mph changeup, which was somewhat puzzling to me. I had no idea he even had a change in his arsenal.
Agreed about Cano. True, Jeter bobbled the ball initially, but he did have the wherewithal to shovel it to Cano for a sure out at second. All Robbie had to do was catch it WITH HIS GLOVE. The play could've easily been scored an E4.
Also, lethargic? Expect to see a lot of that this season due to the ban on amphetamines. I'm not saying Jeter used them, but then all reports are that the majority of players would pop 'em at least on occasion. It's on these West Coast swings that we're likely to see the Yanks most effected by that.
Finally, I've seen a lot of complaining about the Yankees hitting over the past two games, but no one's bothered to recognize that the A's have some incredible pitchers (Harden, Haren, Duchscherer, Street). They say good pitching stops good hitting. I'm willing to give the A's the credit rather than the Yanks the blame there.
Good point about the pitching. The A's 1-3 is as good as any team's.
By the way, if you're going to put the blame on A-Rod for whiffing last night, you've also got to look to Bernie, who watched three strike threes zip by his buckling knees last night. Then again, one could make the argument that Bernie shouldn't even be in the starting lineup, but...
And I guess we're still not bunting much at all this year...
I didn't really see it that way. Robbie had both hands up when Jeter made a desperate flip to him that all but hit Robbie's bare hand directly. Yes, he could've caught it, but it would've been a really good play if he did, and while it would've saved Jeter an error, it still would've been a blown double play.
Robbie was in position to maybe salvage an out from what should've been a 6-6-3 DP that didn't even involve him. Don't hang Jeter's error on him -- Robbie made his own later. ;)
Jeter blew the DP, but IMO it didn't have to be a 6-6-3 - the ball ricocheted towards 2B off Jeter's head/body, and he fumbled with it towards the bag in hopes of getting the one out. Cano would have been near (or on) the base anyway, as that's what the second baseman should do when there's a man on first and the ball is hit to short.
I'm not disputing that's where Robbie should be -- that was my point in fact -- he did everything right except make what would've been a very difficult bare-handed play. Even if he makes it, the inning continues because no way he turns the DP.
It didn't have to be a 6-6-3? I'm not sure what that means...you turn a DP the easiest way available. If you don't need to make a toss, you don't make one. That was as routine a "step on the bag and throw on to first" play as they come. Once Jeter booted the ball, it wasn't any kind of DP. :P
Forget it -- Jeter made an error. He's made a thousand great plays too, so I'm cool with it. But it wasn't Robbie's fault no matter how much you want it to not be Jeter's. :D
And on that offense note, I am generally encouraged by the hitting. Yes, there could have been more timely hits and fewer untimely K's, but overall, for the first 3 games of the season when bats are still a bit rusty, not too bad. In a playoff situation, I would probably be thrilled with 3 runs in 5 innings and 4 in 6 off of Oakland's top 2 pitchers (not to mention 7 runs off their "ace"). Plus Unit, Moose, and yes, even Wang, pitched decently. Of course, you can't win if your best pitcher sits on the bench.
As with most of you, I am still upset about Tuesday's loss, and Joe Torre. No need to rehash what has already been (better) said by others, but is there any chance Torre will hear at least a filtered portion of what is on every Yankees blog? Can Brian Cashman call Torre into his office and tell him to cut that s%@! out? In a perfect world, Joe would handle the media, and someone else would handle the day-to-day lineups, pitching changes, etc.
Finally, if Beckett stays healthy (big if, of course) and pitches like he did last night, the Red Sox will make this another race to the wire. Good stuff. Let's go, Yankees...
Or has it made me worse, because instead of my immediate friends and family telling me to shut up, I now have a forum to b1tch unceasingly about the second (or third) game of a new season?
These are the things I think about when I go to bed at 1am on a weeknight.
I need to stay out of the 'comments' section during West Coast games...
http://tinyurl.com/pkt2x
He takes Torre to task for his nonuse of Rivera the last 2 nights. If you can't read it, follow the link below and see what happened on Opening Day in 1978, before the 'pitch a closer only when he can get a save' garbage plagued MLB:
http://tinyurl.com/hst9p
I'd like to see a prominent national columnist write an article about how getting wins, not saves, should always be the primary goal of the baseball manager.
Behind the plate, he hasn't been taking charge, doesn't seem to be engaged and communicating with the pitchers, not his usual self.
Wang is as cool as they come, but he really looked rattled after the Jeter error. Did Posada go out there to settle him down? If he did, I missed it because I left the room for a moment.
I saw Guidry come out later, but that was only to get Sturtze ready.
Anybody else observe Posada as a little disconnected? Maybe the day off today and Saturday will do him good.
Out of curiosity, did the Yanks ever say why they took a pass on Thomas?
Sure, it's only been three games, but it's already clear Bernie is going to be an offensive black hole in the DH slot, and it's damn frustrating to think we could've had Thomas' bat in our lineup for $500k cheaper.
From what I gather, Beckett used good defense and some timely outs to get around a lot of hits. Which of course still translates to only 1 run, but not sure he can count on that all season. We shall see...
Everytime I start to bitch about Torre, which is often, I then sit back and realize that it ain't gonna change until he is gone. For ten years he has done the exact same things, and now that they are grooming Donnie to replace him, He'll probably follow in those footsteps.
Torre has never been a great in game manager, and that has certainly shown up the last season or so. I have always wondered if another manager could get more out of these guys. Yes, Joe is a great ego manager, and that can't be underestimated, but this is also a team that should be able to win at least 90 games just by showing up, so has Joe actually been limiting their potential? Who knows...
The funny thing is Torre's success probably has more to do with having the greatest closer in history who's numbers actually improve dramatically in the post-season. Indeed, we could have won maybe three more Serious if Mo doesn't blow crucial save opps (1997, 2001, 2004). And if he performs like typical closers, or even at his season averages, we win only one or two Serious and Torre is less a Saint/HOF and more a good manager.
But you're right - we have what we got.
Any one know if there's SABR stuff looking at the effect of managers and GM's? But that's a tough analysis.
I didn't say Jeter wasn't to blame - he definitely screwed up the DP. However, it's my opinion that Cano screwed up the chance to get the one out...
And yes, Jeter didn't have to take the ball himself and step on the bag - it's not unheard of for a SS to flip to the 2B within a few feet of the base.
>>The starting lineup is too good to waste outs by bunting.
Personally, I'm tired of that excuse. If you've done poorly the entire game against the opposing pitcher (see: A-Rod last night), I'd rather see a bunt laid down in the late innings than a completely unproductive strikeout.
Meanwhile re: 27, I'm sure the Yankees passed on Thomas because of his injury problems. It's a minor miracle that Thomas was healthy for opening day and will be a far greater one if he hasn't hit the DL by the All-Star break. He's a huge guy on a very bad ankle. Watch him "run" if you catch the A's on TV again. One bad step and he's done. That's not to say he wasn't worth the risk the A's took on him, because as long as he can stand, he can hit. The Bernie signing, meanwhile, remains the worst move the Yankees made this offseason.
I have to hand it to you for holding back the "I told you so's" with MIL-ton BRAD-ley having his coming out party last night (you did give the shout out to Ken at Catfish Stew I saw). I know I had some pangs of jealousy last night thinking about him patroling center field for the Yanks, but maybe sometime this year he'll blow his top and make me forget all that.
By the way, I don't think I've ever noticed a player take a walk like Milton. He launches the bat to the dug out, and runs to first in such a way that it almost seems like a home-run trot or some other kind of show boat manuever. I'm sure that's just my emotions talking because he got some hope-killing walks the last two days.
You know, I still think the Cairo signing was the worst, but the Bernie effect will be far far worse. i.e., I can understand why Bernie was signed - Cairo I can not.
32 Marcus -
After one night, nah! I'm saving that for our post-season analysis (with a brief stop at the All-Star break). That however doesn't wash the bile taste from my mouth. Each hit and headline makes me throw up. And even when that temper rears, I saw that as a benefit - this is a team of PUSSYcatS. They could use the fire.
27 Thomas would have a been nice. Better than Nomah and there was serious consideration there.
The Yankees were lucky to stumble upon Wang last year, but I'm not sure he's really a known quantity yet. His strikeout rate is very low, so he has to be just about perfect to do as well as last year.
And on another note: I wouldn't ever have expected to say this, but that was a pretty nice 3-6-3 Giambi turned yesterday. Granted, he looked a little terrified when he turned to run back to the bag, but all in all it was pretty sweet.
As for A-Rod's swinging K in the 8th, I don't see what a bunt would have done there. Duchscherer, not Haren (who had given A-Rod trouble all night), was pitching. Chavez is an excellent defender at third. Kendall is a very good defensive catcher. What are the odds that A-Rod, who probably hasn't bunted in years, lays down a perfect bunt and beats the throw/whoever fields it screws up the throw? Probably a hell of a lot less than the odds of A-Rod getting a hit.
Again, I'm not against bunting, but with this lineup it should happen only when the situation calls for it. To me, 1 out in a tie game in the top of the 8th, a man on second and your best hitter at the plate is not such a situation.
The only difference is, the Yanks are the away team this year. The A's are a great team, and Ken Arneson is right; they are going to sit back and wait for opposing teams to make mistakes. They've got the pitching and the defense to do that. The Yankees are designed to pound the ball around the field. It will happen, I'm relaxed again.
Someone please tell me that the Angels suck this year. Please?
How was that? =)
2) bunting and such. Yes. It makes me crazy to see all of these "great hitters" fail to do the timely little things. Especially in the Post Season. Somehow I know how this is all going to turn out in the end.
There, I said it. I feel better now.
"Yankees claimed catcher Koyie Hill off waivers the Diamondbacks.
Extra catching depth for the Yankees, who were worried about losing Wil Nieves, who was also out of options, on waivers. Nieves will probably be sent down on Friday to make room for Hill on the active roster, and then Hill could be demoted when Aaron Small comes off the DL in a week or two. As long as the Yankees are able to keep one of the two players, they should be content."
I don't get it though. If Hill has options, which the item above suggests, why would Arizona DFA him? Sounds like Hill is a better option than Nieves. Possibly even better than Stinnett? Probably not, but it sounds like Hill was highly regarded when he was in the minors, so maybe he'll show us something interesting.
At the moment the entire right side of the field is a liability, Giambi is a below average fielder at best (and that's putting it kindly.. if u saw he's cartoonish scramble back to first to make that double play last night), Cano seems to make silly mistakes with alarming frequnecy (although unlike Giambi.. his mistakes are fixable once... espically for one he's age) Sheff is getting old with poor field coverage and a reduced (albit still very impressive) arm
Then they have Matsui, who is also not a great fielder.. he have good enough read and discipline, but just not enough range... (that game 2 walk out dunk was certainly catchable by better OFs..)
It would seem reasonable that unless Bernie can find he's DH roles soon they should just make Crosby take turns switching between right and left field to give Matsui and Sheff more time DH... Crosby isn't a great hitter but neither is Bernie right now, but Crosby certainly give them at least another reliable OF that have range and someone that can actually run (and someone that you might actually want to put down a bunt with)... and keeping Matsui and Sheff healthy is going to be a major major issue for the Yanks this year who got off really lucky in terms of fielder injuries last year.
In terms of pitching, Wangs outting last night wasn't terrific but it was certianly far from horrific , it's was an outting that was enough to keep the team in the game... espically if Jeter didn't boot the big play.. he gave up 7 hits but none of them were extra bases and only one was even close to being extra base... he basically had nothing that made the outfielder even moving backwards after the first inning...
In fact, until the Jeter error he gave up 2 singles in 3+ innings with 1 k retiring 7 strait using less than 20 pitchs, and no BB, which is very good for a #3 starter.. Frank Thomas got nothing off him even when he's struggling (but belted a big double off Farnsworth)
Out of he's 3 walks, 2 were full count, and he was ahead in the count in both, one could attribute those walks more to somewhat bad luck than to actual control problems.
He did leave the ball up there a bit too much though, but it really didn't burn him until after the error.. again...
Cano already have 2 error in 3 game (And it's actually 2 and a half error).. in the 3rd inning the 3rd run could have also been saved if Arod and Cano pulled a double play, it would be a very tough play, but not an impossible one for MLB players...
We could look on the brighter side of things though, Wright pitched better than most of us dreaded ... Proctor's disastor is certainly more than forgivable from a guy who's daughter just had surgery... Wang's problem is really not THAT big and if he is really as calm as they say he is, it should be fixed very soon. While RJ pitched wonderfully and Moose appears to be good enough for another year (as many of us feared he might not be)
Not to meantion, the Yankees were playing against the A's, whom many pick to be super hot favorites to win it all this year... at their best... winning the first game in a blow out... and lose the other two that were both entirely winnable... I mean we can really start to panic if the Yankees drop the home opener series to the [b]ROYALS[/b] but i don't see that happening....
in another word, there are positive signs, and with the exception of Joe Torre's genius pitching change decisions and he's apparent concept that small ball = "making the ball look small as it cruise out of the park", all the other problems are still very fixable.
I see they sent DePaula down.
And everytime I hear about a Diamonbacks catcher coming over to New York, I think "Unit Caddy," even though this "Hill" has probably never caught for Randy.
Still, I always think it's heartening to claim players off of waivers. It's not like there's a limit, right? So if you don't like him, throw him back. But if it turns out he has something in him, he's ours.
And it shows - at least - that Cashman is aware of the BUC situation, and trying to think of something economical to do about it.
Hey, now that John Flaherty is retired, do you think we could convince him to. . .?
My fellow Dutchman 55 - Cliff had a post near the end of March that gave a little history on McDonald (http://tinyurl.com/jf433). Bottom line - ugh.
Cashman is clearly thinking about depth at catcher, as he should be, and mining the free talent market, as he should be, to improve the Yanks' pathetic catching ranks. What happens if Jorge gets injured this year and misses a month (or more)? Stinett is not a viable option. Nieves is worse. The Clippers starting catcher is David Parrish, who, to put it politely, blows chunks. Hill once showed some flashes of brilliance - which is more than any of the others can say - and he's 27, so if he's ever going to do something offensively, it'll be soon. Great move.
The Clips rocked last night check out the game at BBA or MLB. Checking out the Minor League Boxes on the Yankee affiliates became a welcome pastime of mine a couple of years ago. It's one more thing I have to look forward to in the Spring. I try to get to as many of the games as I can which makes it even more enjoyable. K Thompson rocked last nigh which may make our friend Rob G feel good about things. I hope he gets a shot at the Bronx this year. K.T. not R.G. that is.
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