Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
For the second time in as many series, the Yankees open a three-game set with a significant roster change. On Friday, they promoted Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom at the expense of Melky Cabrera and Richie Sexson. Today, they've activated Hideki Matsui from the disabled list and optioned Justin Christian back to triple-A.
Matsui has been on the shelf since late June due to inflammation in his left knee, but was one of the Yankees best hitters over the first three months of the season, going .323/.404/.458 and failing to reach base in just eight of his 69 games before succumbing to his injury. Matsui has slowly and steadily rehabilitated his knee since then, concluding his work over the weekend by playing in three rehab games with high-A Tampa in which he went 2 for 8 with a solo homer and two walks.
With Matsui back in the fold, two big questions need to be answered. The first is, obviously, "will he hit." The second is, "if he hits, who sits?"
There's no question that Matsui will DH and DH only, that's been stated explicitly by the team, but with Gardner having just been installed in center field and having picked up five hits (including a double, a triple, and a game winner) in the final two games against the Royals, the big question is whose at-bats will Matsui might be taking.
Tonight the answer is Gardner, as Johnny Damon starts in center flanked by Xavier Nady and Bobby Abreu with Jason Giambi at first. To his credit, Joe Girardi has put his best offense on the field (including Ivan Rodriguez behind the plate) against A.J. Burnett, turf be damned. Still, one suspects that if that lineup was intended to be permanent, Gardner, who's being groomed to start, would have been sent down in stead of Christian, who has emerged as a viable bench player. Instead, Gardner's continued presence suggests an intended rotation that will see Girardi continue to rest his stars, be it by giving Damon or Matsui days off, or giving Nady some work at first base in place of Giambi.
No one really knows what to expect from Matsui any more than they know what to expect from Gardner 2.0. If Matsui picks up where he left off and Gardner continues to hit .400 with runners in scoring position, resting Damon and Giambi won't hurt. If Matsui struggles and Gardner's weekend proves to be a fluke, resting Damon and Giambi could undermine what little fight this team seems to have left in it.
Still, replacing Cabrera and Christian with Matsui and Gardner sure feels like a hefty upgrade, even if the offense's biggest problems remain the catchers, Robinson Cano, and Jason Giambi's poor performance with runners in scoring position (which has allowed teams to pitch around Alex Rodriguez in such situations).
The Yanks will need all the pop they can get in Toronto as they have to face not only Burnett tonight, but Roy Halladay on Thursday. The last series between these two teams was also played in Toronto with Burnett and Halladay pitching the bookend games. The Jays won both of those games, while the Yankees pounded Jesse Litsch in the middle match. On the season, the Jays, who are just two games behind the Yankees in the standings, have won four of the nine games between the two teams, with either Halladay or Burnett getting the win in all four victories. The Yankees have won just one game started by either of the Jays' top two starters all year, that coming on Opening Night, when Chien-Ming Wang out-dueled Halladay, 3-2.
The Jays are a better team than they seem. Since Cito Gaston returned to the site of his past glories by replacing John Gibbons as manager at the end of a miserable June for the Jays, Toronto has won at a .580 clip. Had they done that over the rest of the season, they'd be leading the Red Sox in the Wild Card race (only one team in the NL has a winning percentage higher than .580). Over the same stretch, the Yankees have played .520 ball, which is actually worse than their overall winning percentage of .532.
Halladay and Burnett have obviously been key to that run under Gaston (Burnett is 9-2 under Gaston, Halladay has a 2.24 ERA since Cito's return), as has the Jays' dominant bullpen (a MLB-best 3.02 ERA). As for the offense, Vernon Wells spent most of Gaston's first 50 games back at the helm on the DL and has only recently returned. Scott Rolen hit .229/.338/.382 under Gaston before landing on the DL himself. Instead it's been left fielder Adam Lind who has been sparking the lineup, hitting .329/.363/.587 since being recalled two days after Gaston's return. Gaston's other big lineup change was to bench David Eckstein in favor of starting first Marco Scutaro and, with Scutaro now needed in Rolen's place at third base, John McDonald at shortstop. Neither player provides much offense, but Scutaro has out-hit Rolen under Gaston, and McDonald's defense makes Halladay all the more dominant.
Every little bit helps, which brings us back to Matsui. The last time he returned from a long DL stay he went 4 for 4 on his first night back. Of course, that was in mid-September 2006, when the Yankees had a double-digit lead in the AL East. Things are a bit different this year.
2008 Record: 64-60 (.516)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 68-56 (.549)
Manager: Cito Gaston
General Manager: J.P. Ricciardi
Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Rogers Centre (100/99)
Who's Replaced Whom:
Vernon Wells (DL) has replaced Scott Rolen (DL)
Marco Scutaro has repalced David Eckstein in the lineup
John McDonald has replaced Brad Wilkerson in the lineup
Shaun Marcum (DL) has replaced John Parrish (minors)
David Purcey (minors) has replaced Brian Tallet in the rotation
Tallet has replaced Brian Wolfe (minors)
Opening Day Roster:
1B - Lyle Overbay (L)
2B - Joe Inglett (L)
SS - John McDonald (R)
3B - Scott Rolen (R)
C - Rod Barajas (R)
RF - Alex Rios (R)
CF - Vernon Wells (R)
LF - Adam Lind (L)
DH - Matt Stairs (L)
Bench:
R - David Eckstein (IF)
L - Brad Wilkerson (OF)
R - Kevin Mench (OF)
S - Gregg Zaun (C)
Rotation:
R - Roy Halladay
R - Shaun Marcum
R - Jesse Litsch
R - A.J. Burnett
L - David Purcey
Bullpen:
L - B.J. Ryan
L - Scott Downs
R - Jason Frasor
L - Jesse Carlson
R - Shawn Camp
R - Brandon League
L - Brian Tallet
15-day DL: R - Scott Rolen (3B), R - Dustin McGowan, R - Jeremy Accardo
60-day DL: R - Aaron Hill (2B), R - Casey Janssen
Typical Lineup:
L - Joe Inglett (2B)
R - Marco Scutaro (3B)
R - Alex Rios (RF)
R - Vernon Wells (CF)
L - Matt Stairs (DH)
R - Rod Barajas (C)
L - Adam Lind (LF)
L - Lyle Overbay (1B)
R - John McDonald (SS)
"Joe Girardi said that his plan was to play Matsui as the DH every day, use Damon in center and bring Gardner off the bench."
Where's Devon White? Where's Ed Sprague?
I used to have the whole 91/92 Blue Jays lineup memorized, for some reason.
if giambi fails to get the runner home, the only unpredictable thing about this inning would be jeter failing to GiDP with JD on first ...
As for Gardner, I guess the deal is that the mL season is almost over, so why not go with the superior player in the PR/defensive replacement role since he'd only have two weeks of starting left in Scranton anyway. This way he keeps that good taste from the weekend in his mouth and could open next year as the team's CF.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08192008/sports/yankees/pavano_skips_bullpen_session_125164.htm
As for 16 , the Post calls Phil Hughes "not-major-league-ready." While it's to argue with the statistics, saying Hughes isn't ready is simply revisionist history. Hughes's minor league stats were insanely good.
i for one, welcome the coming of our roboump overlords ...
Damn. Good play, hard luck for Cano. Why has Cashman never tried to get Scutaro?
Which is what a guy who has a lifetime OPS+ of 85 should be- a backup. He's a modern day Bobby Richardson...
btw ... i think razzler is going to be my nickname for darrel ... it reminds me of the Dazzler, that crappy infomercial product that sounded like it ought be something great (i mean, who doesn't want something that beDAZZLES?!?!?) but that turned out to just be some cheap plastic PoS that affixed crappy shit with even crappier shit; sorta like how rasner seemed like such a good idea for those first few starts, then turned into late-night-shopper's regret ...
(and yes, i know, he's been adequate for a 5th starter, but dammit, work with me here, i'm making up nickames!!!)
"I thought I was looking at my mother's old douche bag, but that's in Ohio." Guess who watched Revenge of the Nerds last night?
Burnett has a tOPS+ against of 60, the worst of the teams he's faced more than once this season. The Yankees have hit .216/.259/.353 off Burnett (54 PA) versus .263/.340/.420 against everyone.
Blue Jays announcers mistakenly called it the first RISP for the Yankees tonight. Abreu has been here before. And was so lonely out there....
*probably not, but i'm too lazy to look ...
/sarc
A-Rod and Giambino each whiffed in the 2 ABs...ahh, nice to see things are still the same...
http://www.statcorner.com/batterAJAX.php?id=116539&team=NYA&leag=MLB
See "IF%" Yes, Jeter has more infield hits this season, than last season. But he's had seasons with more.
Now hopefully we'll take a lot of pitches, foul a lot off and be done with Burnett this inning! How about a 25 pitch inning?
Last inning (hopefully) for AJ.
very quiet at the Banter today, did everyone give up on the season last week?
very quiet at the Banter today, did everyone give up on the season last week?
everyone here in a tizzy about the Olympics and High School Baseball Tournament..no MLB on tv for awhile..
Boston UP 6-2 and rallying, top of the 5th.
Minn UP 3-1 after 2.5.
White Sox UP 3-0 after 3.5.
We gotta have this one.
I'll never forget his no-hitter, where he managed to walk 9 guys. (BTW OYF, that's why he has a 4.54 ERA - when the control is off, he is wild.)
i guess the blue jays are resigned to AJ exercising his option and leaving in the offseason ...
AJ is knocking our dicks in the dirt.
Burnett through 10 pitches that inning and is at 120. He appears to be done finally. I hate him.
Okay, Damon can learn to play first base any time now.
end of an era, folks--end of an era....
next up?
my hovercraft is full of eels ...
if you're going to play like this half of the time, play like this ALL OF THE TIME and SUCK bad enough to lock in a protected draft pick next summer.
either way, QUIT FUCKING AROUND.
Johnny Damon's CF Zone Rating, meanwhile, suggests he costs more than just one run...
But again, I expect more of our offense regardles of the game situation.
It just sucks, plain and simple, to lose this way. F--k.
Two Damon errors. Wonder if we'll be seeing Gardner in CF tomorrow?
this inconsistency is driving me crazy.
Damn but I really don't like the Blue Jays.
i'm going to go all out for the TB Rays come Sept, hope they hold off Boston..
See, thinking of tomorrow already? Ah, baseball.
It's hard for me to look at this as a tough loss because I haven't been able to fool myself into believing that a team that has played poorly for 120 games can put up a .700 winning percentage down the stretch.
169 I don't think it was a sensational play...it was a hustle play. Overbay went after the ball hard, while Arod took his time getting out of the box and then still didn't turn it on until he rounded 1B. Plain and simple, Overbay wanted the out more than Arod wanted the 2B. Not only have the Yankees been outplayed regularly, they have been outhustled. You can't quantify it, but this team seldoms gives a full effort.
176 They are a mediocre team that doesn't have much grit, but I think once you accept them for what it is, you can still stick with them. This is the end of a great run...kind of like watching Ali in his later fights. Hopefully, the Yankees have their eyes wide open and are prepared to make drastic changes (and are willing to consider a managerial change as well).
c: posada
1b: texiera
2b: cano
SS: jeter
3b: rodriguez
LF: damon
CF: some combo of christian/gardner/melky
RF: nady
DH: matsui
buc: molina
bench: duncan
bench: IF
bench: somebody
SP: sabathia
SP: wang
SP: pettite
SP: mussina/hughes
SP: joba
LRP: giese/rasner/ipk
RP: veras
RP: melancon
RP: ramirez
RP: robertson
RP: marte
RP: rivera
that's a pretty goddamn good team ... and it's not out of the realm of possibility, not at all ...
like i said ... next year's team doesn't exist yet and it's almost certainly going to be very different ... so why don't you do yourself a favor and wait until it takes shape before you start tormenting yourself with its shortcomings?
And Pete Abe reports Pavano missed his bullpen with a stiff neck. You kidding me? I mean are you kidding me?
(sigh)
Just dunno what to do. Should go for a walk.
I just can't give up, guys. Not until September 1. I would only torment myself, thinking, 'but it's still August!' Hell I used to brag that I didn't bother looking at the standings until August! It's not in me to quit. I just can't believe that these 25 rather talented guys can't put an offense together!
Does Cash go? Is there anyone left with enough juice to get rid of him? Does Prince Hal come out of the woodwork upon St. Christian's Day? Do we ship Hank off to Mars with Lance Bass and Paris Hilton? Tune in, same no-bat time, same no-bat channel...
Tonight, he was 1 for 4.
I'm thinking about going to see the SWB Yanks one last time this week. (They end their season on the road, so it's now or never.) Kennedy is supposed to start tomorrow, Igawa on Thursday.
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