Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
A couple of pitches in the second inning gave the Angels all the offense they would need tonight as they stifled the Bombers 4-1 at the stadium. Garet Anderson opened his stance and stroked a high, inside fastball to right for a two-run homer and then Benji Molina turned on another inside pitch for a solo dinger to left. Neither pitch was that bad at all. As Jim Kaat and Paul O'Neill commented on the YES broadcast it was as if both hitters had read Mussina's mind and were sitting inside--the pitch to Anderson was particularly tough. His quick, fluid swing belied just how difficult it was to hit a home run on that pitch.
Those three runs would do the trick. Mussina ended up pitching well over eight innings, but Ervin Santana, a lanky right-hander with a good breaking pitch and a zippy fastball, was better. The Yanks put two runners on with nobody out in the first and third innings only to come away with bubkus. They had two men on in the sixth but couldn't get a run in either. Tino Martinez did line a solo homer into the right-centerfield stands in the seventh, then Derek Jeter doubled to right with one out. However, Brenden Donnelly got Robinson Cano to line out sharply to first and Sheffield to pop out to first to end the inning. And dems the breaks, bro. (Sheffield hit another seed tonight, but this time it went right to Steve Finley for an easy out leading-off the sixth inning.)
The Angels added a run against Tanyon Sturtze in the eighth while the Yanks went quietly against Scot Shields and a far more subdued Francisco Rodriguez. I don't want to go so far as to say that the Yanks were listless tonight but they didn't have much punch either. You would never have known that the Angels were the team who played 18 innings last night. Right now, the Angels simply have the Yankees' number. New York fell another game behind Boston who beat the Twins at Fenway Park. The Yanks now trail the Red Sox by two-and-a-half games.
Um...darn.
If it goes through, the Sox get much stronger defensively (esp with nixon out), and Huff is actually an excellent hitter (this is an off year for him). It's a small drop-off for them hitting-wise, but I think it will make them better overall.
Go Chacon!
I don't like him pointing fingers at Jetes and ARod... it;s bad taste... but in truth, they are not only oversold by the media but by Fox and ESPN broadcasters as well.
Anybody married here? How you treat the wives is VERY important (ask Alex B.). It was ARod's wife who suggested the therapy that turned him around. Is what he said TRUE? Are his comments about family and chemistry TRUE? Because if they are, it is important to know and for the Yankees to address.
Funny how this site literally (and sometime ignorantly) bashes Torre daily. He, one of the few men who would get the respect from this group of overpaid stars. Torre we can bash endlessly. But speak your mind about Jetes.... BLASPHEMY!
Sheff's mouth IS out of control. It sounds especially poor from a man who is not well spoken... a man of color. But we should be more concerned about whether he has valid critism, then about his 'nerve' in speaking up.
I believe, and it has been said repeatedly on this site (especially early in the year), that this team lacks 'chemistry'. That they are not 'coming together'. That they are not 'cohesive'. After all, how to you have SO MUCH TALENT on one team and produce the way we have?
I think we should shoot Sheffield. Then we should discuss if we are respecting the wives, if maybe there is too much media with access, if we can foster some team time off the field, and question how we might get our team to play up to it's talent level.
We just read Alex's excerps for "Juicing", which talked about some of Bond's and Sheff's issues about being Black in baseball. I just wonder if a good looking, soft spoken white player had said the same thing, if our reactions would be just as violent.
Here is a guy who is just begging for wives to be included and supported more, for more team chemistry, and for casual 'bullshitting around the lockers without reporters lurking around'.
What a bastard!
To tell the truth, I have never liked Sheff.
But he plays hard and I believe he has done the Pinstripes proud.
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