"What did I miss?"

Oh not much, just an outstanding pitching performance by Moose (Robertson wasn't shabby, neither), clutch hitting by A-Rod late in the game, oh, and Moose telling Torre to sit down.

Missed another Yankee win without a home run. Take that, Joe Morgan.

A "Mooooooose" call in the 9th in an away game. Don't get that too often.

But of course the highlight was Moose yelling at Joe to "stay there" and then finishing the game with a called strike three.

A nice clean win.

BP

Indeed, the highlight of the game came with two outs in the ninth after the first Tiger run had scored. One of Torre's bullpen quirks is that if he has a pitcher cruising to a shutout and that pitcher suddenly gives up a run in the ninth, he hooks him, regardless of the score or the game situation (outs, runners on, opposing hitter).

Last night, Ordonez singles home the first and only Tiger run with two outs and Torre started his way up the stairs when Moose spotted him and shouted, pointing his finger at the Yankee manager, "No! Stay there!"

Joe froze in his tracks and put up a hand as if telling Moose to calm down, said "okay," spun on his heels and retreated into the dugout, at which point he and Gator bust out laughing. Moose then returned to work and struck out Carlos Guillen to end the game.

Money.

Incidentally, Alex, you're dead on about the Tigers impatience. In a surprisingly long postgame interview Moose explained his efficiency by saying, I threw strike one and they swung at it.

I was going back and forth between games last night so I had to think for a second about what stood out in the Yanks' game. Then Melky's throw popped into my head, probably the most electric moment of the game. Ooop. Heh. You know what? That wasn't Melky's throw at all, but rather Millidge's. See what happens when you flip back and forth? But man, they were both exceptional baseball games.

Ok, here's what stood out, and it's to do with Melky again. The kid can't bunt. I was very disappointed to see two bunt attempts so terrible that Pudge nearly caught both of them. It's a shame because he's so solid otherwise.

So here's the thing: whenever I see someone make a miserable bunt attempt I have to ask, didn't they ever learn how to bunt? Especially a young kid just up; they, of all people, should be well equipped to contribute with a bunt if called upon to do so.

So what's the deal? How can you run a baseball organization without teaching young players, all young players, to bunt? It's really not that hard at all, with some practice. I used to bunt in little league a lot, because I was fast, and was pretty good at it. If I could lay down a nice bunt as
an eleven year old, why the hell can't major league hitters do the same?

So that's my rant about Melky not being able to bunt. I'm going to let him slide though, because I just love this kid and find him a joy to watch. He so rarely has a bad at-bat and is expert at putting the ball in play and seeing a lot of pitches. That ball he squeezed through the middle the game before, that drove in--two, was it?--wasn't too well hit, but had eyes to make it through the drawn in infield. See? Put the bat on the ball, for God's sake, above all else, and good things can always happen.

2 bp1, yes, yes yes!!

Absolutely. That occurred to me last night when I was thinking about what a crisp, enjoyable game that was. I loved watching them get that first run on three singles early one.

That was nice. So much more enjoyable to watch than the long ball, if you ask me.

See, this is the reason I'm always dubious of the sluggers in the lineup: while it's nice to have them around, it's become clear over these past couple of weeks that the team can win without them.

Please, before anyone protests, I'm not saying that Andy Phillips can win the world series, but what I am saying is that a team can win games with fundamentals and consistency (and duh, good pitching) and doesn't need to be feast or famine.

I'd much rather watch this kind of team than a team with sluggers 1-9. It's just baseball with far more character.

5 Well - I'm not a chick - but I dig the long ball. I just get chaffed when knuckleheads like Joe Morgan get on the Yankees for not being able to "manufacture" runs. I mean - geez. But I'd be crazy to say I'm not enjoying these two out rallies that seem to be coming out of nowhere. Giambi hits an "off the end of his bad" bloop with two outs, and the next thing you know we've got a run on the board. This is good stuff.

BP

For anyone who's interested in seeing Moose bark at Torre, you can watch the video at Yankees.com, or stop by Canyon of Heroes and click the link which reads, "shouting to Joe Torre". It's highlights of Mussina's outing, which culminate in a slow mo replay of Moose's outburst. Classic. Brilliant. Academy Award Winning stuff.

Mussina barking at Joe to "stay there", and the manager's jokingly sheepish retreat was a classic exchange.

Moose was like a confident teenager standing up to his meddling dad. Funny and revealing moment.

Another standout image was the expression of intense rage on Pudge's face after his sprawling, diving stabs at Melky's consecutive foul (in every sense of the word) bunt attempts.

As Singleton observed, there probably isn't another catcher in the league who could have come nearly as close to catching those balls as Rodriguez did, and Pudge seemed furious at himself for failing to send the novice hitter back to the bench.

6 Heh. I'm not a chick, either, but my formative baseball years were during a different era (i.e., the '80s) and remember when you could lead the league with 32 homeruns, as Reggie did one year, IIRC. I'm a traditionalist, what can I say? I loved those Cardinals (1982, was it?) whose big slugger, Jack Clark, hit all of 22 homeruns.

Speaking of the old days, you know who turned up the other day? Bobbie Meacham! Good old Bobbie Meacham, anyone remember him? He was one of my favorite players because he was a shortstop. He's coaching third base for Florida, I think it was.

I remember one game when the Yanks were chasing Toronto late in the season--maybe 1985?--they were like 2 or three games back and had a big four game series with them in August or September. I think they lost three out of four or something and the low point was a messy game wherein Bobbie Meacham, trying to make some play at home, threw the ball up on the backstop where it rolled on up the net. Good old Bobbie Meacham.

:)

And as to the homeruns, the thing is to know when to try to hit them and when not to. Sometimes it's enough to just go with the ball instead of swinging from the heels. I don't mind the homerun per se, but I do mind when guys try to pull pitches they can't pull and end up hitting weak groundballs when a single would suffice.

And the thing about manufacturing runs is that that's the most reliable way to score runs off of good pitching, which is how you win in the postseason. It's a critical skill to have, is all.

Remember how we used to just eat up Texas in the first round, with all their power? That was because our good pitching stopped their power. That's all I'm saying.

A good hitter, a truly good hitter is able to do more than hit a pitcher's mistake out of the ballpark; he's able to hit a good pitcher's pitch with authority because he's not looking to hit the thing out. I'm far more impressed when I see a hitter hit a pitcher's pitch the other way or up the middle because first of all, it's just a beautiful thing to see such execution and second of all because that's how you win the close games.

7Thanks Mike. I missed the part were Bobby and Ken said "No.....YES!" when Mussina got one of his Ks. Classic.

Also, they have the post-game interviews with Moose and Torre up at the Yes site.

http://www.yesnetwork.com/yankees/

I saw that footage of Mike barking at Joe. That WAS great.

4 I'm with you on the bunting fundamentals. I grew up watching Brett Butler step up to the plate and the entire infield knowing he was going to lay one down...and he'd put it in a perfect spot for a base hit. It was a thing of beauty and I wish there was just one MLer who could pull that off these days. Sadly, I fear that will never happen and the art form has gone the way of the Dodo.

4 weeping, you made me flash back to Scooter berating hitters for not bunting correctly. Melky was not trying to catch that ball with the bat.

7 Thanks for the link....that was great.

Alex, I agree...the Tigers are way aggressive and as the clip from CanyonOfHeroes shows there were a number of times that the Tigers swing at those high fastballs.

What you missed Alex and I don't think I am overstating it, is Yankee baseball at it's finest. Mussina missed his location ONCE on a pitch to Thames. He kept his cool all game - it was a clinic for youngsters to watch the effectiveness of the mixing of pitches vs. power. Yankee hitters were outstanding in their approach at the plate, taking the nasty lefty up the middle and to all fields with short swings. Any less discipline and they would have been in for a long night. The maturity shown last night reminded me of the 2000 Yanks. Just real cerebral baseball. Most enjoyable game I have watched all year.

9 Yeah - I'm a product of the 80's as well. Started watching the Bronx Bombers in the late 70's whenever I would stay over at my grandmother's house. It always seemed like she had a yankee game on the tv, light off, just the glow of the tube. That festered into a full blown obsession in my early teens, when I would go to bed before school and quietly turn on the radio and listen to Rizzuto, White, and Messers call the game.

But even back then - the raw power of Reggie's swing - or even Jim Rice - was thrilling to a skinny little kid.

It is amazing how ballplayers have changed. Jeter, at 6'3", would be a giant amongst shortstops back then. Literally. You watch the old games, and what shocks me is how many really skinny guys were on the field. It seemed as if you were either real skinny, or had a pot belly. The few bulky guys (Reggie, Rice) were the exception for sure.

But yeah - I hear ya. I appreciate the chess match of a "move the runners over" type of game, but I still dig the long ball. I blame it on Reggie.

BP

I like how the oft maligned Yankee farm system will shortly produce almost an entire first place team:

P - Wang
C - Posada
1B - Phillips
2B - Cano
SS - Jeter
3B - A-Rod (a 1-for-1 swap w/ Soriano)
LF - Cabrera
CF - Williams
RF - Crosby
DH - The only free agent acquisition - Giambi

All in all, not a bad team from such a terrible farm system. If only they could bunt!

16 Heh, it's all Reggie's fault. :)

Seriously, it's amazing to see how skinny the guys were back then. Even the sluggers are lightweight.

Winfield, man was he wirey!

I wonder if Moose will sit down one day and write a book about his years on the Yanks? I bet it would be a fascinating read. I'd also bet that if he did, he'd write the thing himself - he just seems like that kind of guy.

I'm getting way ahead of myself, but the All-Star at end of last night's thread got me thinking - if Moose keeps this up, he's gotta be a lock to the start the All-Star game, right? I hope he does.

I didn't know the exact number on Clemens contract, but I just read in the NY Post and Boston Globe that it was 22 million. Holy cheetos, Batman....that's insane. I never wanted Clemens on the Yanks this year. It was cool when he was here, but after he left....I was ok with him spending his time with Kunty, Kocky, and Kockhead, but then he makes all these teams court him and make them all believe they have a chance for his services, but it's all a ploy to drive up the price on the Astros. It's a free enterprise system and I'm all for getting as much money as possible, but his speech about making this about his mom, his family and his teammates is such a slap in the face. Shut up already you stupid Texan!!!!

Clemens has become the Brett Favre of baseball. I'm sure many of you will say, "but at least he didn't go to the Sawx". That's not my point. It's his whole angle about making himself out to be this altruistic person and caring about his teammates and winning.

4 It seems the Yankees farm doesn't really teach the kids the basics. I've heard some suggest that the Yankees just want to teach their kids to hit, so they can trade them for veterans.

The silver lining is that they can learn.

20
It is a prorated $22 million. Winds up being $12 mil & change. Still a nice paycheck.

I've got no objection to Rocket getting that kind of dough. It is payoff for decades of hard work. I'm sure Roger's workout would kill you or me.

Alex-
I was in the upperdeck at Shea last night too. I couldn't pass up the free tix to a pitching matchup like that. How about that throw from Milledge to gun down the runner at 3B?

My wife waited up for me last night because she couldn't wait to show me the replay of Mussina yelling at Torre.

12 Melky is such a good contact hitter. Why should he bunt? I get mad when Jeter bunts over a leadof man all the time.

Plus, your example demonstrates the flaw in bunting strategy. There are some guys good at it and some guys who are bad at it. You want the good bunters (and not the bad bunters or bad hitters in good bunt situations) bunting.

Mussina has truly become a pleasure to watch this season. There's just this quiet confidence during his games now that even if there's a jam, Moose will get out of it with relative ease.

Here's hoping he finally gets his 20 wins and his ring.

Cabrera is good at quite a few "fundamentals". He's obviously learned the strike zone-a fundamental that wins MLB games. He's learned to make strong and accurate throws from the OF, a fundamental not a lot of guys have. He runs the bases very well for a 21 year old, another important fundamental.
Bunting is as much a small-ball tactic as it is a fundamental. Cabrera has been a middle-of-the-order type hitter his whole career. Bunting hasn't been that important to him (nor is it likely it was important to his previous managers.) Torre should already know he isn't a good bunter and not ask him to do things he isn't good at.

I know these impressions are notoriously unreliable, but Cairo at SS seemed to be a substantial upgrade over Jeter. I suppose I've gotten used to his lack of range, because when balls were hit last night I expected them to be headed out into the outfield, but amazingly they were often easy outs for Cairo. Does he get that much of a better jump on the ball than Jeter?

9 I agree 100%. It reminds of something MIT mathematician Alan Natapoff says when he explains why the Yankees lost in 1960 to the Pirates:

"A champion should be able to win at least some of the tough, close contests by every means available--bunting, stealing, brilliant pitching, dazzling plays in the field--and not just smack home runs against second-best pitchers."

18 I was just discussing that with an old-timer friend of mine. Someone - Murcer, maybe? - was saying that he thought Bubba Crosby could be a power hitter, but the Yankees didn't think so, because he was too little. But Hank Aaron was not a big guy. What changed? Is the pitching different? The equipment? What? Why are sluggers expected to look like Barry Bonds or Big Papi these days?

22

You missed my point. I'm sure my ability to read War and Peace in 4 days would give Roger an aneurism. Or how about growing up in Washington Heights during the crack epidemic of the 80's? Would any of that kill Roger? That's a pretty bad statement.

Again, I don't care about the money...it's his holier than thou attitude at the press conference which bugged me. He's using his dead mother as a reason why he needed work. That's an insult to his dead mother, at least in my book.

From Newsday's "Yankees Beat":

"Kevin Thompson is on his way to Detroit to be activated for tonight's game, and surely Yankee fans everywhere are rejoicing. While no one would trade Sheffield for Thompson, Yankee fans have been calling for Thompson's callup from Triple-A Columbus for ages, and they are frustrated each time he's passed over. Brian Cashman has even received emails from fans about this."

http://blogs.trb.com/sports/baseball/yankees/blog/

17 Bubba actually came up with the Dodgers and was traded with Proctor for Ventura. But still, the Yankees' youth movement these past two years have been really exciting. If only we could swap T Long for one of the Kevins...

27 I had a similar thought last night when one of the YES announcers (I forget which) commented on how good the Yankees' defense was. Cairo was like a ball magnet out there.

A key moment in the game was Andy Phillips' slick fielding of the attempted sac bunt to get the runner at 3rd in the bottom of the 6th. It was still a close game at that point, and there is no way Giambi makes that play.

Makes you think Giambi really should be a full-time DH ... next year?

Cairo had a great night. Besides Moose, he's what stood out for me in this game. I think the Tigers were intentionally hitting toward him, trying to take advantage of the scrub. Didn't work. :)

He didn't look as fluid as Jeter out there. I think that's why it was so surprising that he kept getting to those balls. He looked a bit awkward, but he got the job done. Three DPs, and a clutch hit. Go, Miggy!

That video of Moose is awesome. Didn't Torre tell him before the game "I need 8 from you and Gator pitches the ninth?" Apparently Mike doesn't think Gator's got anything left in the tank.

Watched parts of the game on TV. ARod's error in the 9th surprised me. He had made an excellent stop of a hard-hit ball and had plenty of time. His arm strength is great. Yet, his throw bounced a few feet in front of 1st base. He seemed unable to get balanced before the throw.

Also, although the error rightly was charged to the throw, it looked like the 1st baseman had some chance to dig it out. Maybe a great-fielding 1st baseman would have saved the error.

35. Agree on A-Rod's throw. Looked like the 3rd base bag caused a stutter step that led to the low toss. Andy Phillips had an opportunity to dig it out, but took his eye off the ball as the runner approached 1st.

Moose said that he didn't mean to yell at Torre. Torre was walking up the steps with his head down, and Moose had to get his attention quickly, since Torre had already been to the mound once.

29
What the h*ll are you talking about?
"Again, I don't care about the money"
vs.
"t was 22 million. Holy cheetos, Batman....that's insane"
Obviously it is partly about the money for you.
As for his statement about his mom, I have no reason to doubt that was what his sister said, why do you?
Roger already has rings, 300+ wins, 4000+ Ks, 7 Cy Youngs, the consensus pick as the greatest righthanded pitcher of all time. Why the need to slam him? He was asked why, and he answered, so why do you want him to "shut up"? That would be arrogant, at the press conference announcing your return to say "no comment, don't want to come across as holier than thou."

Or are you just peaved that he didn't sign with Boston?

Yankees - 1st in Runs Scored
17th in Home Runs

I find this very comforting. Seemingly un-Yankee-like, but in a good way.

"He has pitched at least six innings in each start this season and has 12 consecutive "quality" starts (I know that stat isn't especially impressive, but when you have a dozen straight in ain't bubkus either)."

I think it is extremely impressive stat. Especially since he is the ONLY starter in the league to have 100% quality starts. Also, it isn't like he is throwing up 6 IP 3 ER every game. Actually, only one of his starts had that line.

38 I don't think the Astros got the short end of the stick at all. They get a lot more sellouts and jersey sales go through the roof (again?). Rocket still can't fix their offensive woes and at this point he's just going to be stat-padding and looking forward to father-son day at the ballpark.

It cracks me up that some guys are such marks for their uniform numbers. A one-year deal for $22,000,022 pro-rated for the year? Too funny. I wish him well because I really liked him as a Yankee, but if he's coming back to win, I don't know that Houston is the place to do it this year. But I guess he has to say that, even though the schedule, the location, the lack of offense in the NL, and the catcher in single A who will probably get called up in September to form the first father-son battery probably have more to do with it. And I sure did like Pettitte a lot more when he was his own man, instead of Robin to Clemens' Batman. Oh well.

Glad to see Thompson get the call. Long hasn't been very good, although for some reason I kind of wish he would deliver--I kind of feel sorry for him for some reason. Well, anyone the Yanks put on their team I want to do well, but I've been pulling for the underdog Long. But the kids have delivered so far, let's try it again. And Phillips is starting to look like a major league hitter to me now.

38 Saying the contract is "insane" is a way of putting an exclamation point on the entire thing. Did I ever say he didn't deserve the money? Find me those words. Again, what the hell are you saying with his workouts? His workouts have nothing to do with me. But his comments and him making himself out to be some noble dude is what bugs me. He ain't that. You can put a different color lipstick on the pig, but he's still a pig no matter how you dress him.

Roger is a tool and if it makes you happy to think that I wanted him to go to the Sawx, then fine by me. I wanted him to go to the Sawx. That's why he annoys me.

38 I don't doubt his sister "might have" told him that...but don't make it out to be the reason why he came back. It had to do with only one thing and this is my point, it's all about Roger. Nobody else. Roger gets to enjoy a 22 million dollar pro-rated contract, Roger gets to go home and not really have to be part of the team (he loves the players so much), Roger gets to play catch with his son, Roger gets to be with Andy Pettite and talk about how Pat Robertson showed them both how to leg press 2000 lbs, Roger gets to be in a no pressure enviornment, Roger is loved by all and can't do no wrong, Roger is doing this for his mom, Roger is doing this for his peeps that were killed in the Sudan, Roger....well...Roger is just a great guy.

Roger that, Roger!!!

39 I can explain that one:

1st in On-Base Percentage
Tied for 3rd in Walks

This Yankee team is winning for the same reason the Yanks have been winning for the last ten years - they get lots of guys on base, and lots of those guys come around to score runs. How the runs score doesn't matter, so long as they do score.

OBP is life.

Such bitterness Dimelo. Quite unbecoming.

And draging Roger's kids through your bitterness (Kunty, Kocky, and Kockhead) is pathetic.

39 Its also worth noting that the Yanks' pitching staff has surrendered the second fewest home runs in all of baseball. That goes a long way towards winning, too.

I'm just not a shill for Roger. If that makes me bitter…oh well. He's the one putting his kids in the public eye. If he didn't want them criticized then I know I wouldn't sit there and promote my family and put them at the forefront of every media picture possible. But again…that's all relative. Some athletes and celebrities know how to keep their families away from their very public persona. He can't, so the chicken will eventually come home to roost.

39 45 Interesting stuff. Subjectively speaking, it seems like the Yanks of the past couple of years are more intent on setting a record for runners left stranded than for runs scored (even with a man on 3B, no outs, and the top of the order coming up, mutter, grumble). But perhaps my expectations are too high.

Remember Neyer's "Beane Count"? It basically looked at a team's rank in HR hit and walks as well as HR allowed and walks allowed, and then ranked them. Yanks have in general been outstanding on this front since their run started in 1996, and it wouldn't surprise me if this year is the same.

49 I tend to think that all those LOBs are a product of that great OBP. It would be one thing if the Yankees were in the middle of the league in terms of runs scored, but they're not. They get men on and they get men home, somewhere in that process they make a few outs, every now and then that third out is going to come with some men on base. It's a side effect more than a symptom.

50 Ask and ye shall receive:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/beanecount

And you were right; Yanks are second in the major leagues, although the ChiSox lead by quite a bit.

52 Who says the White Sox are a small ball team again? One heck of a small ball team, leading the majors in home runs.

51 That's a great point, Cliff. Its also worth pointing out that the Yanks are hitting .304(!) with RISP - best in the majors so far! FWIW, the AL average is .267 so far in '06.

Wow. (Note to self: quit kvetching about the LOBs.)

53 Yanks hitting .304 with RISP

Wow, that is great. But that also worries me. That means that this little run that they have been on is a bit fluky. That .304 average will drop eventually. Let's hope that it does so AFTER we get some offensive players healthy. Then we can compensate by having more runners in scoring position.

55 I was thinking that the expected drop in BA w/RISP could be made up by an expected uptick in home runs/SLG. Yanks are only 7th in the AL in slugging, 10th in homers. That's bound to go up, especially once Sheff and Damon are 100% (or close to it).

It could also be improved by making Bernie a part-time DH (vs LHP), with the vs RHP part being Phillips or perhaps Carlos Pena or Durazo.

I'm also hoping that Melky (.394 SLG) and Cano (.383 SLG) will hit for a bit more power, too.

What was the Yankees' BA w/RISP last year?

57 No idea. I got the '06 numbers from the Hardball Times' website, but couldn't find the '05 numbers there. I also didn't see team numbers at retrosheet or ESPN.com, but I didn't look too hard.

Jeter's not playing again this evening.
Lineup
Damon
Cabrera
Giambi
A-Rod
Posada
Cano
Phillips
Long
Cairo