Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
While the Yanks remain in first place, the one-game lead they had on the Red Sox disappeared yesterday as Jaret Wright and B.J. Ryan each suffered a meltdown that would be directly responsible for handing their teams a loss. Wright's was almost tragicomic.
In his previous start, also against the Blue Jays, Wright was forced to leave the game with one out in the third when a broken bat lacerated his pitching elbow. Less than three weeks before that, he had a start shortened when a comebacker ricocheted off his collarbone. This after spending more than three months on the disabled list with a reoccurrence of the shoulder problems that have plagued him throughout his career. Yesterday, Wright was again hit by a comebacker, this time in the chest. This time, however, the projectile did not prompt his removal from the game, though in retrospect, it might have benefited the Yankees if it had.
Wright surrendered singles to the first four batters he faced yesterday, putting him down 1-0 with the bases loaded and no one out by the time he had thrown a dozen pitches. Two pitches later, Erik Hinske hit what looked to be a sac fly toward the foul line in left field, which would have made the game 2-0 with one out and men on first and second. But Hideki Matsui, perhaps bewildered by the mid-afternoon sun, closed his glove before he had the ball, effectively swatting it toward foul territory, allowing two runs to score and putting runners at second and third, still with no outs. Two pitches later, Gregg Zaun hit a shot off Wright's chest for a 1-3 groundout. Wright then surrendered a sac fly to Reed Johnson that made it 4-0 and struck out Gabe Gross to get out of the inning.
The Yankees got right back in it in the bottom of the first when Derek Jeter was hit in the back foot with a Scott Downs curve ball and Alex Rodriguez cashed both the Captain and himself in with a two-run dinger into the Yankee bullpen (tying Joe DiMaggio's record of 46 home runs for a right-handed Yankee batter in the process). Unfortunately, Wright couldn't get it together, allowing two more singles to start the second then walking Frank Catalanotto to load the bases. That was enough for Joe Torre, who replaced Wright with displaced starter Aaron Small. Brought into an unfair bases-loaded, no-outs situation, Small got Vernon Wells to foul out to Giambi at first, and got a hard ground ball to second base from Shea Hillenbrand. Unfortunately, Hillenbrand's grounder was a little too hard and Robinson Cano, rather than getting his body in front of it, tried to scoop it to turn two and wound up having the ball ricochet off the inside of his elbow and into right field, scoring two runs and placing runners at the corners. Erik Hinske followed with a sac fly to make it 7-0 and Small struck out Zaun to end the inning.
Without the errors by Matsui and Cano (the first of which was far more egregious than the latter) the game would have been tied 2-2. Had Zaun's comebacker driven Wright from the game, prompting Torre to bring in Small with one out in the first, the game likely would have stood at 4-2 after an inning and a half. Instead, it was 7-2 and, despite a tremendous performance from Small, who pitched 5 2/3 more scoreless innings, allowing just four singles, striking out three and walking none, the Yankee offense just couldn't make up the difference.
The Yanks eeked out a run in the bottom of the second when Bubba Crosby reached on an infield single with two outs (he hit a hard shot back to Downs, who, in an attempt to glove the ball, looped it back to the catcher), moved to second when Jeter was hit with another pitch, and was plated by an Alex Rodriguez single. Downs then cruised through the next few innings, a one-out Rodriguez walk and two-out Sheffield single going to waste in the fifth.
With two outs in the sixth, Bernie Williams reached on a bobble by out-of-position rookie second baseman Aaron Hill. Torre then sent up Ruben Sierra to hit for Crosby, and Ruben came through with a single to put runners on the corners and drive Downs from the game. Derek Jeter then picked up an RBI infield single off reliever Justin Speier to push the score to 7-4 where it would remain.
With one out and runners at the corners in the seventh, Jorge Posada swung at the first pitch he saw from lefty Scott Schoeneweis and grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. Miguel Batista then struck out Jason Giambi with two-out and the bases loaded in the eighth and struck out Sheffield, Matsui (on a combined six pitches) and Posada in the ninth.
Later last night in Baltimore, the Orioles entered the ninth inning in a 2-2 tie with the Red Sox. Joe Perlozzo put in his closer, free agent-to-be B.J. Ryan. The big lefty got Buell Mueller to pop out but then surrendered an infield single to Trot Nixon, another single to Tony Graffanino and walked Johnny Damon on four pitches to load the bases. Edgar Renteria then hit Ryan's very next pitch into short left for a two-RBI single that would give the Red Sox all the runs they would need to pull even with the Yankees in the AL East (for what it's worth, Ryan and Todd Willams then retired both Ortiz and Ramirez and the Orioles did rally for a run off of Mike Timlin in the bottom of the ninth--all too little too late).
The Indians and White Sox also won, putting the Red Sox and Yankees 1.5 games back in the Wild Card and keeping the White Sox 1.5 games up in the Central and three games ahead of the Yanks and Bosox.
Today, the Yankees play their final home game of the year and, barring a possible playoff appearance, what could very well be Bernie Williams' final appearance in pinstripes (though right now my gut is telling me Bernie will be back next year, for better or worse). Chien-Ming Wang has earned the start against Josh "Control" Towers (about 1 1/3 BB/9 both this season and for his career). Towers made a pair of quality starts against the Yankees in August, though his defense cost him a couple of extra runs in the first of those two outings at the Stadium. Wang is coming off a dominating eight-inning performance against the Orioles in which 23 of the 24 outs he recorded came via groundball or strikeout, and nine of the nineteen groundball outs were weak combackers that resulted in 1-3 putouts.
More importantly, I think the Yankees are worn out. Exhausted after so many close games with no days off. That's why they're making these goofball errors. That's why they aren't hitting better. Torre needs to find a way to rest his first-stringers, but with each game so close, and so important, and Sheff ensconced as DH, it's not easy.
I'm sure Wang will pitch great today, but his style means the rest of the team has to be on their toes. There are going to be a lot of grounders to chase down.
Unless Wang fields them all himself...
Jete's has the worst FB/GB ratio in the AL. He has turned from a line drive hitter into a ground ball hitter. He also has hit many weak ground balls the other way on pitches to far inside to swing at. It's great to able able to go the other way, especially when the pitch is outside, but Jetes has almost made this his mantra, as opposed to waiting for a better pitch he could pull or drive. While his overall numbers are good, his overall offensive effect has been way below his average.
ARod will have to be Superman in Boston to beat Ortiz for MVP. A strong case is made for Ortiz at: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=2169112... especially "hitting .345 with runners in scoring position, and with two outs, an incredible .370". McAdams is a Sox fan, and the numbers between Ortiz and ARod are much more even then he presents, but still...
I have a bad feeling in my gut about this year. Cleveland is possessed, and Chicago has picked a bad time (for us) to start playing well. It looks like beat Boston or else. Next weekend is not for 1st place, but for the PS, as the wildcard looks to come from the Central.
We will see if there is truly such a thing as "Yankee magic".
Come the 1st week in October, if there is anyone with 50 miles of Concord, NH, who will need to do some serious drinking, please let me know.
As someone mentioned in a recent thread, it seems like the Jays are committed to being a factor in this close AL East race -- where it also seems like the O's are not.
After today (which I have already assumed will result in the Yanks being a game back behind Boston), the Yanks have four straight against the O's while the Sox have four against the tougher Jay.
Even though the Sox have 7 straight in Boston, I have faith in the Yanks in both Camden and Fenway. Camden Yards is always Yankee Stadium South and I expect it to be even more so with the four games finishing up the season. Yankee fans had probably bought up the tickets months ago. Plus, we took 3 of 4 in Fenway last time there.
But more importantly, while both Mo and Gordo have been given a bit of a rest over the last few days -- and hopefully a Yankee laugher will give them rest today -- the Sox bullpen has been working hard again lately. Did anyone notice that Timlin has been closing out the last few games and throwing a lot of pitches (giving up runs in both outings)?
Have faith, every. Looking back at this season, we may just remember the Blue Jays as the ultimate difference makers!
Especially since New Yorkers are supposed to be fond of wearing black all the time. ;-)
I think the sun was definitely a factor yesterday. Not only for Matsui's error, but for the batters at the end. They just couldn't see the ball. They were swinging like blind men - because they were. They should have kept trying to get walks, because that was the only way they were going to score.
Today is supposed to be cloudy, so maybe the sun won't be a problem today. Just in case...the Yanks better get ahead early, before those @#$% shadows creep over the plate.
I do not care what a pitcher is being paid or what he thinks he "deserves". The manager's job is to put the best team on the field day in and day out. If Small, Chacon and Wang are better than Wright - which they clearly are - they should be in the rotation and the magnet for flying objects should be in the bullpen.
Not true, Unpopster. I watched the game yesterday, and, make no mistake about it, the Orioles played their hearts out. Expect them to do so today and through the Yankee series.
I agree that they are not as good a team as the Jays at this point, but I'd rather play the Jays at home than the Birds on the road.
Ramone - where did you hear this from?
Also, lets remember Torre wants to win this more then we do. He has a lot on the line and a lot to prove. If you think he's a lousy manager, thats fine... but for peaople to imply he doesn't manage to win is unfair.
The O's left a ton of guys on base last night, and Miggy threw away out #3, which allowed 3 unearned runs to score. It was big-time lucky for the Sox last night.
I can't see the Sox doing any worse than winning 3 out of 4 against the Jays. The Sox won 2 out of 3 at Toronto last time, and being at Fenway helps a lot.
All we can do is win today, and win at least 3 out of 4 vs the Os.
Boston will win at least 4 of 5 going into the weekend. We lose 2 or 3 of 5, and we are one or two back, meaning we will need at least 2 out of 3 at Fenway, most likely. Boston is playing great offense, and the young arms out of the pen are getting their legs under them.
It's not impossible to be sure, and we could sweep at Fenway for all I know, but I wouldn't count on it. We need to win the next 5 games to keep pace.
Let's go Yanks!
Actually we don't need help yet. We still control the outcome. Pitching and defense must be sharp this week, and we'll be OK.
Double for Koskie.
We need to WAKE UP! We simply have no room for error. Does anyone think the WC will come from the East?
Following games on the net sucks--this doesn't even make sense. Cano was out at third trying to advance on an infield single? Did Sojo wave him on?
We'd be tied if Cano hadn't screwed up.
FUCKING LOOKING?
Let's get some insurance guys. A Bernie homerun would be nice.
Now that's what I call insurance!
Next inning we could see an outfield defense of Bubba, Lawton and Womack!
Do anything, but a DP.
Sucks Mo had to get that last out in the 8th...I would prefer to have stuck with Gordon, but if our infielders can't execute a relay, whose fault is that?
Torre has spit the bit many times with the bullpen, but in this case, I simply don't trust anyone outside of Mo or Gordon with even an eight run lead...maybe Tanyon lately, but he pitched 1 1/3 last night.
I didn't think the Tribe could beat KC 11 straight, but KC's doing everything they can to make it happen. I still think the best we can do is 3 out of 4 against the Os.
Cleveland comes back and ties it in the top of the ninth.
The only surprise is the Tribe didn't win it outright already.
The only thing more pathetic than this KC/Cleveland series is the fact that KC swept.
I said something like this a week ago, and we're still in the same place going down to the bitter end.
For a slight ray of hope, Toronto leads the season series with Boston 9-5, but most of those before the break when the Jays were a little more competitive.
Tomorrow is an off day for the Tribe, so we'll be rid of that 1/2 game...
Forget quitting smoking until this Yankee season is over...
Obviously, this was a more common situation when there was no wild card, but the drama of the last few weeks has been just amazing. Actually, any race that is so dramatic that it would compel me to listen to the KC Royals radio team is pretty amazing.
Now Cleveland gets to feel our pain...losing one game after an amazing run of wins, and feeling like you're thisclose to blowing it all and watching the playoffs at home.
"If three teams finish with the same winning percentage and one team will be a division champion and another will be the wild-card holder, the two teams tied for the division lead first play a one-game tiebreaker to decide the champion. Then the loser would square off with the team from the other division in one game to decide the wild card."
Anyone know how to post an external link?
http://makeashorterlink.com/?T10952CDB
Among them:
"What if, in a highly unlikely event, all three losers wound up with the same record?
That would set up the dreaded two-tier Wild Card playoff. The loser with the total of the best head-to-head records against the other two would have the choice of sitting out the first game or having home-field advantage in both games. The winner of the first game would then play the team with the bye to determine the AL Wild Card winner."
Gawd, I hope we can win the division outright.
From the AP account of today's game:
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Williams went 1-for-4 with an infield single. When the Yankees began the bottom of the eighth, fans chanted his name, reminiscent of their tribute to Paul O'Neill during Game 5 of the 2001 World Series. Sitting in the dugout, Williams wasn't sure what to do and turned to Torre for advice before walking up the steps for a curtain call.
"I was trying to make sure I was within protocol within the team, and trying not to disturb anybody," Williams said. "They were not going to stop, so I sort of looked at Joe and said, `Can I do this?' and he said, `Yes.' It was a great moment, and I appreciate it a lot."
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I dunno what will transpire over the next week and ensuing off-season, but I hope we can find a way to have him back for one more run. Tino, too, for that matter. If we can upgrade the pitching, we should be able to find a role both of them. But first things first — let's win this division — and make sure we haven't seen the last of Bernie in '05!
The fans said good-bye to Bernie, and the Yankees initiated Cano and Wang by making them dress up as cheerleaders:
//Then they found some flamboyant attire at their lockers for the start of the final trip, a rookie hazing ritual.
As Donna Summer's "Last Dance" played over the sound system in the clubhouse, Cano and Wang put on navy cheerleader outfits, with Yankees written on the fronts and "Robbie" and "Wanger" on the backs. They giggled as they wore metallic headbands, carried silver pompoms and posed for photos in manager Joe Torre's office. Then they went upstairs to sign autographs for fans before boarding buses. //
Photos:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z27C35CDB
http://makeashorterlink.com/?C1AC32CDB
Did they do that to Bernie, 14 years ago?
Looks like the Chargers are spanking the Giants. I kind of figured that would happen, what with the Manning thing and all.
Thanks for the post,
and, Thank You Bernie!
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