Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
The Yankees won ugly yesterday afternoon, beating the Mets 11-8 in a game that saw almost constant scoring by both teams. The Mets scored in each of the first four frames, driving Tyler Clippard from the game in the fourth after taking a 5-4 lead on a one-out, two-run Ramon Castro homer and then putting two more men on base. Luis Vizcaino shut the door and the Yanks took back the lead for good in the bottom of the frame on a two-run Derek Jeter homer, but at 6-5 the game was far from over. Tom Glavine got bounced in the fifth and the Yankees scored two runs in each inning from the second through the sixth to build their lead to 10-5, but even that wasn't all.
Kyle Farnsworth was up to his old tricks in the eighth, walking the leadoff man and number eight hitter, then watching him come around to score before striking out Carlos Beltran and David Wright to end the inning. The Yankees got that run back in the next half inning, but Mariano Rivera followed with his worst outing since April. Entering the game, Rivera hadn't allowed a run in his last 10 1/3 innings and had allowed just six base runners and struck out 12 over that span. Yesterday, Mo was greeted by back-to-back singles by Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca, then, after a Shawn Green fly out, Ramon Castro singled to load the bases. Mo bore down and struck out Ruben Gotay on three pitches for the second out, but Carlos Gomez reached on yet another infield single (his fourth in two games) to plate Delgado and Jose Reyes singled off Rivera's ankle to plate Lo Duca before Mo finally got Carlos Beltran to pop out to end the game.
The good news on Rivera is that there's no conern over the ankle and he didn't allow any extra base hits or walk anyone, and he was able to bear down and K Gotay (who had singled, homered, and walked twice in his previous four plate appearances), so odds are the outing was just a fluke, though the 33 pitches he threw likely eliminate him from tonight's rubber game.
In other good news, Luis Vizcaino, who picked up the win yesterday, hasn't allowed a run in his last five outings and has a 1.13 ERA over his last seven. He's still walking a ton of batters, but he's striking out even more, suppressing hits, and getting the job done. In other words, he's gone from being a Kyle Farnsworth imitator to being a Brian Bruney imitator. Supposedly some coaching from Rivera has made the difference.
Finally, Clippard's poor outing yesterday has opened the door for the return of Kei Igawa. In his last two starts, Clippard has a 14.14 ERA and a 2.43 WHIP. Igawa, meanwhile, has reworked his mechanics and posted the following line over his last three starts in triple-A Scranton:
20 IP, 15 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 21 K, 1.05 WHIP, 1.80 ERA
The Yankees won't need a fifth starter again until Saturday, but all signs point to the return of Iggy. Clippard has already been demoted, with the Yankees bringing up Kevin Thompson to finally expand their bench back to four men. With Randy Johnson back on the DL, Vicaino pitching well, Igawa due to return, and Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez carrying the team, Brian Cashman could look a whole lot smarter a week from now than he did just a few short weeks ago.
As for tonight's game, this should be a real treat. Not only is it the rubber game of the home half of the subway series, with the Yanks poised once again to hit their high-water mark of the season by going three games over .500 with a win, a win which would also earn them a split of the season series with the Mets, but the pitching match up is Chien-Ming Wang versus El Duque. Seriously now, could it get much more fun than that?
The one concern going into tonight's game is the fact that the Mets, particularly rookie speedster Gomez, have been getting an unusual number of infield hits and have stolen ten bases in two games against Jorge Posada and the slow-to-the-plate Yankee pitchers. Wang has allowed just five steals all year, but his ground ball tendencies could make him susceptible to the turnaround in the Mets line-up with Gomez and Reyes legging out infield hits. As for El Duque, he allowed just two runs in his first 19 innings after coming off the DL in late May, but had a rough go in his last outing against the Dodgers, though he still hasn't allowed a home run in his last 38 2/3 innings. Here's hoping he breaks out the eephus against Rodriguez and Alex gives it a ride.
diet dice-k... thats awesome :)
The problem, of course, is that Farnsworth too often doesn't have the slider working, and yet Joe keeps running him out there in the 8th.
I hope VizcaiNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO keeps up his good(?) pitching. The number of balls and strikes he throws still bothers me, though. Too many balls. I suppose one could say the same for Bruney, so maybe it shouldn't bother me.
Worst of all was Castro's single, which really alarmed me. It looked like it wasn't more than 3 feet to Jeter's right, and he barely waved at it. To his right? If he isn't moving well that way, either, then there's big trouble. It would be nice to see him dive for a ball once in a while.
I just realized that the two Yankees most of us would like to see out of prominent roles (Cairo and Krazy Kyle) are also the only two ex-Cubs on the roster. Hmmm . . .
In defense of Mo, he got robbed and should have had a couple of pitches called for strikes.
Last year he wanted the Yankees to trade A-Rod, now he wants the Yankees to make Barry Bonds their DH next year. Ugh.
...and, oh, what: Barry Bonds is a cancer.
Other than that, brilliant thinking by S.P. per always
noun
"One deficient in judgment and good sense: ass, fool, imbecile, jackass, mooncalf, moron, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool. Informal: dope, gander, goose. Slang: cretin, ding-dong, dip, goof, jerk, nerd, schmo, schmuck, turkey. See Steve Phillips , redundant , ad infinitum "
Apparently the Yankees are used to soap operas, so Barry wouldn't be a problem.
Now I understand why Philips was a horrible GM -- he was worried more about the personalities in the clubhouse (where could A-Rod fit, where could Barry fit) and not so much about the needs of the team on the field in terms of winning ballgames. Yankees have Giambi under contract (no trade) for next year (very good OB guy, bad legs) at DH. Yankees have Damon (no trade?) under contract for next year (fine OB guy, bad legs) at DH/1B. A ha, the Yankees should go and pay ubergobs of money to have an extremely great OB guy - with bad legs at DH for next year.
Will Pettitte exercise his player option?
if not
Who fills his spot in the rotation?
Will Alex opt-out, re-up or play it out?
and
If he does opt out, who plays third base?
Does the club exercise Abreu's option?
if not
Who plays right field?
The question of Jonny Damon...what position will he play? Is he a solution at first? If not, who is?
Should the club go after one of the top-tier free-agent center fielders, Ichiro or Jones?,
---
There are probably some I'm leaving out(what to do with Colter Beane?)Of course, these matters will be much easier for Cashman to deal with if the Yanks have a good run in October, as the goodwill will be flowing along with the champagne. However, if they fail to make the postseason, Cashman won't have to worry because someone else will be dealing with these issues.
c'mon a-god!
HA! A-God!
It's amazing
Oh, and A-Rod is kinda good in the field too. And RJ is on the DL. Its a happy day :)
a-god! Ha!
It had so much lateral movement, it was just unfair.
Great pitch.
I forget, why did the Yanks let El Duque go?
BTW, the hard core anti-SABR crowd, are probably the same people who are anti-evolution. They just don't get science, nor do they want to learn new facts. Sigh.
He's just pissed that they're never on ESPN and the Yankees are weekly.
And everyone is a better option that Mink the Stink.
Not that I'm complaining, mind you. In fact I'll try and keep doing it.
El come dulce!
HA!!
Yep, 41 according to b-r.com; born in 1965, which I believe is correct.
I do recall he even posted later saying how wrong he was.
Look if you want to do a real analysis with the number of runs Cairo saves at 1B versus the number that Phelps give you, I'm game for that. But stop telling me how clutch/gutsy Cairo is and that's why he should play.
Oh well.
And the thing is, we have the 5 run lead. He could now throw 30 sinkers, down but in the middle of the plate, and that would be it. Don't you think? Maybe the Mets hit 7 singles in six innings, but so what?
Second, ground, ground, K.
Third, fly, ground, K.
And fourth, caught, ground, K.
So that's two flies and five grounders, the grounders accounting for six outs, plus three K and the caught stealing.
i'd like to see Gator, myself! : )
167 perfect!
Dang, now he's faced over the minimum. We'll settle for a CG.
As for the starter in 2009, I hear Boggs has one heck of a knuckleball.
ok. back on track with the scoring every inning thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq54jhaHdC8
Miggy Mantle would have swung at the first pitch and let fate decide the result.
HA!
Baseball gods just like us today.
The Mig with a great DP throw.
HA!
(knocks on wood)
231 Are you judging?
Boras is planning on comparing Jones to Willie Mays when trying to sell Jones this offseason, and Stark's book shoots bigs holes in that.
What is EDSP going to do if Wang pitches a complete game tonight? The Yanks don't play again until Tuesday night in Colorado!
OK. Miggy Mantle or Ozzie Smith. That dude's glove carried his bat, and then some.
If Torre takes Wang out, I'm going to be royally pissed.
Anyway.
Disappointing, but only a blemish on the Big Picture.
264 Thanks RIYank. I'll take a look and see what I can find. Maybe ESPNRadio is streaming it.
I'm glad the Mets picked put that run. I feel really bad for them and their fans.
(Nice play, Wright.)
Remember how when nothing went our way and everything backfired and nobody was hitting?
Accordingly, we shouldn't get to cocky because basically this weekend we've been kicking a team when it's down.
Bring on Boston.
But it sure is nice to see.
I seem to recall he started getting up around .270 and beyond.
270 I know, I know. Ok, I'll take Detroit. Someone we're competing with.
It's time to see what we're made of.
Is he going to get better still as he ages?
He's sickly talented.
This game's just cruzing along is what I mean.
Can't believe it's the 8th already.
I found the game on ESPNRadio RIYank, but you wouldn't believe what I had to do to find a station with it. Short story - I'm listening to the LA ESPNRadio affiliate, and it seems to be a little behind Gameday! Can't win. =)
272 I think you're right, but Ozzie was sooooo good with the glove, and SS at the time were so poor with the bat, that all the Wiz had to do was hit .270 and he was still incredibly valuable. That he walked over 50 or 60 times a year also helped.
I think we can only do that for a long-term position player, not a rental.
If we're to trade such a player, we should do it for youth.
Like this guy on the mound here.
ESPNRadio guys are saying Wang doesn't quite look right; suggesting something's bothering him?
.270 was quite good in the '80s, a perfectly respectable average.
That looked both painful and humiliating.
There should be a mercy rule in baseball.
Poor Mets, poor Willie.
10 Ks!
Chien-Ming.
Ok, can he by Cy Young this year?
He has a great chance if he keeps this up and frankly, I see no reason he shouldn't keep this up.
Otherwise, leave it alone.
For instance, I'd rather just leave CAiro at 1B for this year than trade the farm for some big veteran bat at 1B or wherever.
If it's to be this year, it's to be. Otherwise, we're really on to something here with this team.
Giambi was a cloud, like RJ.
That was a laser.
He was all over that!
326 Weeping, I'm sorry. Jorge has disappointed you. But you'll have to settle for that non-double.
there it is!
He's just kind of emblematic of these new Yankees to me. The first guy to be signed who I really just thought was a bad fit for the team.
Never mind, just a stray thought.
And very nice hit, Hideki.
Poor Delgado, thought it was the third out.
We looked this bad not too long ago.
It'll look like a line drive in the box score!
it all happened 'coz torii got hit early in the game and had to come out. his replacement lost the ball in the roof...
If you can't let your guy go for the complete game with a seven run lead, then they should just abolish the practice altogether.
He has to go for the total game here.
Poor Mets.
Hm. Maybe that was one pitch too many for C-M.
Just last night I wondered whether he might reach 4000 hits.
Was I just wondering that because this is a conversation I'd heard before?--because it hadn't occurred to me to ask the question until last night and then here are Miller and Morgan talking about it on espn the next day.
Is this a widely-disussed topic?
How 'bout he gets one more run?
Oh, man. The fans are expressing my feelings, too.
Now Joe's coming?
Wtf?
HA
The Ways of Joe are not our own.
Chalk it up to the Tao of Joe.
Chien-Ming, you and Andy make me so happy.
Unless you think it's really important for Wang to get the stat, I don't see why it's a big deal to pull him.
WHY?
Can 5-10 pitches really make such a difference?
Formulaic, which is typical Joe.
Too bad Wang didn't order Torre back to the dugout a la Moose.
360 Thanks thelarmis.
I could be biased on the subject matter, though.
He's made the leap. I love this guy. Oh, and that Alex fellow too.
Hah ha ha ha haha ha ha!
That would have been priceless.
Here's one, I'm worried about Cano.
He doesn't look so hot these days.
Not cold, of course, but he's hitting too many weak rollers to second again.
John Turturro?
He's great, and that's great casting.
It's really something to behold.
Or maybe people forgot that Delgado hit Wang pretty well the last time up?
That's all I have to say...Joe's going to get plenty of grief before this season is over for various moves, but this seems particularly trivial to obsess over.
It's 'cause those who are hitting are actually on fire.
Even Damon got into the act this weekend a little bit, but I don't expect him to continue.
We'll be lucky to get, say, .280 out of him, which is fine, but it'll probably be more around .260.
Jorgie should keep hitting, as should Derek.
I'm a bit worried about Alex, because he's so hot and cold. He could have another May, which would really suck, but at least Abreu's hitting, so we can probably reasonably expect to have one of the two of them hitting at any given time.
Melky I don't know about.
Could just be a .250 hitter this year, and in future too, maybe. That would be ok if he excelled at fundamentals, plays a great center field and gets his walks.
Can he develop into a base-stealer? Is he fast enough for that?
Good stuff to watch.
We don't want to take this winning thing for granted!
I guess he could cool off, but he might also be exactly the player we see before us.
He seems to be playing like he did in what was it, 2004? 2005? Can't remember. The nice year he had for us.
Surely he's capable of continuing this for the rest of the season.
Not to say he will, but I don't think it's a foregone conclusion.
The thing that I don't like about Alex, the reason I give him a hard time and say he's not a good hitter, is because when he's not locked in, he's an easy out. He can be fooled and strikes out a lot.
Derek, for his part, saw his average drop thirty points, from the .350s down to like .325 or so, but he never seemed in a funk.
He still managed to look all right at the plate and could scratch out some infield hits and some ground balls could go throw. It's never quite clear why Derek cools off whereas with Alex, it's obvious he's just uncomfortable, off-balance, not seeing the ball well.
A guy like Adam Dunn must be a total automatic out when he's not locked in. At least, that's what I'd surmise from all those strike outs.
I don't know, those are my impressions.
Does anyone know the difference between hot Jeter and cold Jeter?
I love Duque. On his control: "Sometimes it's good, sometimes not good. I no worry."
I guess if he really starts feeling some debilitating pain or something, but as far as hitting, he seems to have a new approach at the plate or something.
He just doesn't seem like the same hitter. He seems to have grown or something rather than just being hot.
Duque made him look silly, but he's rarely, rarely looked bad at the plate all year.
He used to look like that regularly and then get hot for a little while.
I don't know, I feel really good about him.
He doesn't seem like that this year.
Moment I remember most was being at the game where Pedro at his greatest form struck out 17 batters. He made people look silly. He made one mistake which was to Chili Davis who promptly with a clean professional swing sent it out of the park. That was Chili Davis in a nutshell -- you had to be good to get him out. Even in his final season, he had an OPS+ of 115.
Yes, I do recall that game.
Was that '99?
Man, he was good then. Batters just had no chance.
http://tinyurl.com/3c5zcx
I'd be happy to have a dialogue about this, but first you need to actually understand what I mean by "good hitter."
I tried to explain what I mean, was it not clear?
To me, he most certainly has been an automatic out through long stretches, so I guess it comes down to the meaning of "automatic out."
But my point here isn't to bash Arod, but rather to try to articulate the kind of hitter he seems to be to me v. the kind Jeter is.
I'm by no means a blind Jeter fan, but honestly, when I think about his falling 30 points, it's not apparent to me why.
Whereas when Alex is in a funk, anyone with eyes to see can tell you why he's not hitting.
Anyway, as I say, I'm happy to have an enthusiastic exchange, but please make an effort to see my perspective before you set about eviscerating it because I'm pretty sure you're making me a strawman.
So I put it to you, why do you think Jeter fell thirty points? How did his game change?
If I sound like I don't know anything about baseball, so be it.
I don't have anything to prove.
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