Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
The Yankees won the first game of today's double header with ease, thanks to yet another stellar pitching performance by the Big Easy himself, Chien-Ming Wang. Wang didn't allow a man past first base in his first seven innings, scattering just four baserunners. Carlos Guillen walked in the second and was thrown out stealing thanks to yet another perfect throw from Jorge Posada. Brandon Inge and Alexis Gomes singled in the third and sixth respectively, both on groundballs just beyond Alex Rodriguez's reach at third (Alex also made a couple of nice stops, one to his left, one to his right). Finally, Sean Casey reached on an error in the fifth when a sinking throw from Derek Jeter skipped through Craig Wilson's legs at first (Jeter got the error).
With Wang dominating, the Yankees got all they needed in the bottom of the fifth when Wilson, making up for the play on Casey, drilled a 1-0 pitch from lefty Nate Robertson deep into the left field box seats to start the inning. Johnny Damon then drew a seven-pitch walk (the only one Robertson issued all day), Jeter singled him to third, and Jason Giambi plated him with a sac fly to make it 2-0.
And that's how it ended. On to start the eighth inning having already thrown 97 pitches, Wang got Casey to ground out on his first pitch, the 13th Tiger groundout of the day. He then walked Neifi! Perez on five pitches and nearly threw away a 0-1 pitch to Inge (nice backhand stop by Posada) before getting him to fly out to Damon. Curtis Granderson followed by getting the first fly ball hit of the game, a double that split Damon and Cabrera in the left field gap and pushed Neifi! to third. Joe Torre then called on Scott Proctor who got pinch-hitter Magglio Ordoñez to fly out on his first pitch to end the inning. Mariano Rivera worked around a two-out single by righty-hitting switch-hitter Carlos Guillen for a 14-pitch ninth and that was that.
The Yankees now have an 8 game lead in the AL East (nine in the loss column) and are just two games behind Detroit for the Major Leagues' best record. Wang, meanwhile, won his 16th game, tying him for the major league lead, and has been dominant in his last two outings despite now having thrown thirty more innings than his previous career high.
What's more, the Yankee bullpen remains rested for tonight's nightcap. After two days off thanks to last night's rain out, Scott Proctor has thrown one pitch and Mariano Rivera has thrown 14. No one else even warmed up during this afternoon's game. Mo won't be available, but Torre has everyone else ready to go for tonight's game, which pits Jaret Wright against Wilfredo Ledezma.
Wright has been terrible in his last two starts, but they were separated by eight days and two relief appearances. That is to say, the most recent could be excused due to rust, while the one prior to that was a scheduled disaster after three straight wins in which he allowed just one run per game. Not that I expect much from him tonight.
Ledezma, meanwhile, is a busted starting prospect who has finally put it together out of the bullpen at age 25. Ledezma has made just one other start this year, holding the powerful Indians offense scoreless on a pair of walks and six hits over 5 2/3 innings earlier in the month. In his most recent appearance, five days ago, he held the defending World Champion White Sox scoreless in four innings of relief, thus stealing the rotation spot of that day's starting pitcher, Zach Miner (1 1/3 IP, 6 R in that game). Ledezma also posted a 2.52 ERA in twelve starts with triple-A Toledo with a 2.87 K/BB ratio. Could be he's not a busted prospect, but merely a delayed one. Lord help the AL if the Tigers come up with yet another dominant young pitcher.
Incidentally, Ledezma is no URP (Unfamiliar Rookie Pitcher). The Yanks tagged him for seven runs in four innings in the Bronx last May. In that game, both Posada and Rodriguez took Ledezma deep, Rodriguez twice. Of course, Ledezma appears to have been a different pitcher last year, when he struggled both in the majors and at triple-A, than this year, when he's dominated both.
"It's funny when Jeter walks in the morning and says "What up Wang?" and Chien says "Nothing, Dog""
10 games with just a hair over 30 to play! - make that fork a large fork.
It was bound to catch up with them. I figured injuries would, too. We had our share early in the season. Now it's their turn.
Still...the magnitude of the collapse is even more than I expected.
And it sure has made the Red Sox trolls scarce.
Cabrera, Melky LF
Jeter, Derek SS
Giambi, Jason DH
Rodriguez, Alex 3B
Cano, Robinson 2B
Williams, Bernie RF
Wilson, Craig 1B
Fasano, Sal C
Granderson, Curtis CF
Monroe, Craig LF
Young, Dmitri DH
Ordonez, Magglio RF
Guillen, Carlos SS
Casey, Sean 1B
Perez, Neifi 2B
Inge, Brandon 3B
Wilson, Vance C
Hard to believe its almost time for game 2.
Along with THE SWEEP this has to be one of the biggest stories of the year. The kind of baseball they have played the last 6 games has just been embarassing.
For an organization that states that it relies on intelligence rather than money (!!!???) they have to be humiliated.
But it looks like Craig Wilson is cultivating one...
14 The real question is, did we send 'em that direction, or did we catch them at the right time. Didn't the White Sox tumble a bit after we swept them?
Sunday's pitcher hasn't been decided, but it sounds like they're still leaning toward Villone.
But Joe no doubt prefers Villone's veteran-ness...
Speaking of which, any September callup predictions?
If Cairo's not ready to return, maybe Menechino. He got off to a rough start, but has been hitting better lately. And he's always dreamed of being a Yankee, so I kind of hope he gets a chance, even if it's only for a few weeks.
Wow. It's worth reading just for the vitriol.
Can't say I disagree either.
http://tinyurl.com/hl6q5
Whether that article is true or not, I don't see him being much help this season. I say we put him on the 60-day DL, and call up a pitcher who'll help us now.
You are essentially suggesting that the guy broke a pretty serious rule without offering one shred of evidence, and i think that's a horseshit move.
WTF?!
The next year he had a 2.42 ERA as a starter in AA with a 4.11 K/BB when not struggling in the majors. Last year he was bad in the majors and AAA, this year he's been excelent in both.
Take out his being rushed to the majors due to the Rule V pick and you see the steady progression of a good pitcher. And it's not just me, the guy pitched in the Futures Game a couple of years back.
And as I type, Sal Fasano of all people hits a double.
Meanwhile, Magglio's hair has gone from cool and shaggy to silly and begging for a hair net.
Are the Yanks purposely trying not to get too large a lead on Boston and make it interesting?
http://tinyurl.com/zzgbc
"The Yankees are 3.5 games behind the Tigers for home field in the playoffs. That's the race now. The Red Sox are a bigger mess than Pavano's Porsche. They'll be lucky to finish ahead of the Blue Jays."
http://tinyurl.com/ptqp2
When Wang is on, it's nice n'easy.
When Mussina is on, it can be a beauty.
When Unit is on, well, it's more like a wild ride nowadays no matter what.
Wright...just boring...why is that? Am I the only one who feels that way?
With Wright, even when he's pitching well, I'm just worried that he's going to blow up for an inning.
IP H R ER BB SO
5 2 0 0 0 5
The two hits were both singles.
One was erased by a double play.
16 batters faced on over the minimum
7 groundouts and 3 fly outs
1 flyout to second and one was to the catcher.
I feel like I say this all of the time, but if he is going to throw 20-25 more innings for Trenton, then he should be promoted and pitch some innings out of the bullpen.
Pavano? He will be fixing his Porche. It already sounds like the Yanks don't want him anymore.
nice work getting a "Peanuts" reference in and by "contribute" I meant hurt the team less...
just jokes....it was not a serious question as we are talking first ballot HOFer vs. an absolute comedic tragedy without a heart in Pavano...
"The Yankees don't know it, but we've secretly replaced their regular Jaret Wright with Folgers Crystals. We'll see if they can see the difference."
Hey, I can dream, right?
Seriously though, could the Yanks please score some runs on Wright's good day??
"Pavano has complained of a variety of ailments this year, including a pain in the buttocks."
It's getting too easy to make fun of this guy.
Dammit.
Oh well, a nice thought.
Joke:
Giambi, Fasano and a glacier had a foot race. The glacier won, we're still waiting for second place.
anything to get him started for the stretch run...he could be a big bonus if he returns for Sept.
(horrible hit)
Go get 'em, JW.
It's so strange, this guy used to have one of the most fluid and graceful swings in the game. What happened? I gotta believe it's something physical in addition to whatever else is ailing him mentally...You don't just ruin your swing like that for no reason.
194 JW for now.
you are right, this whole thing has been amazing for a top 10 all time type...it is not Ankiel or Knoblauch type guy
LOL...it is total edge of the earth type stuff...I wonder if they found Wright in the lockerroom dressed in his street clothes and had to tell him that it is possible to go more than 4 2/3 in a start
Jeter's limping.
Wright just broke out of his shameful streak.
Ugh, why is Bernie in right field, again?
I miss Abreu in RF.
Bernie should have had that.
without a doubt....he walked on the dark side of his own personal moon
1)D.J. = MVP
2)Bernie in RF = Kill Me Now
3)Allowing Neifi Perez to get on base = Herecy
It's interesting, at the beginning of the season, when it wasn't yet known whether Pavano would be in the rotation or not (pushing JW to the pen), Wright was horrible. As soon as his place in the rotation stabilized, he started doing much better. Then, recently, with all the Pavano talk anew, he started being horrible again. With Pavano now on the shelf, will we see a good JW in the stretch run?
Left bracket [ then number then right bracket ]
Gulp.
How did we get him? Where did we get him?
Is he GOOD?
Bruney is fearless.
D'Backs refugee....24 years old or so...throws serious cheese
Is Bruney any good? He looked good. Sometimes I get worried that a lousy pitcher is "earning Joe's trust".
--Farris Beuler
maybe he can smack Pavano in the ribs to blow off some steam and get a laugh out of his teammates
Attitude problems I can live with, if he gets guys out.
He threw one high and tight on Vlad, and then got him to bail out into a ground out.
Then, as if his mission was not yet accomplished, he threw one behind Juan Rivera, which got both teams up in their dugouts, then threw another one that made Rivera dive backward, and proceeded to strike him out scared.
Jeter loved it, hell, the whole team loved it including Guidry, who was never the avenging type.
Bruney is the nuts. (even if he coughed up a shot to, who was it, Kendrick? the following inning. The Yanks need guys like that in certain situations. Angels never came close to Jeter the rest of the weekend.
I missed all that. I was incommunicado this weekend.
And he's 24. I'm loving our 2008 pitching staff.
Pudge did play 2b for an inning or two...probably do not want to see Sal out there
Been along time since the yanks had an enforcer.
Right, I am shutting down and am going to watch the game on the boob tube. Go Yankees!
-----
If you ain't first, you're last
If you have yet to see "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" this won't make much sense to you.
But if you did, you'll find it amusing to know that Johnny Damon now walks through the clubhouse yelling "Shake and bake!" whenever the Yankees win.
-----
Yeah, even when Damon was with the enemy, it was hard to dislike the guy. He's a ballplayer...
Hopefully, he'll expand his game for the Yanks. I like his style, not always the results.
Why the f is Mo not available tonight? Win this one, and you take the series.
I think I'd go with Farns, too. Because a K would be valuable.
Best AL record and homefield throughout
Mo isn't available because he threw 14 pitches in the first game!
Oh, but I hate the IBB here. Oh, come on. Jeez.
I still don't like the IBB.
Okay, I like it better now. Dang, what did Villone have for breakfast??
I may get blasted here, but I almost feel sorry for the Sox. Their fall from grace has been hard to believe. Currently, they are on a 6 game losing streak. Manny may be out a while, and who knows whats up with papi.
Seems to me the AL East race is over, and it's a question of rooting for the White Sox to beat out Minn. for the WC.
307 Karstens is starting on Saturday in place of Moose; they need another starter for Sunday because of the doubleheader today, I believe.
he is not a "Pavano"
Wilson...you may be at risk of turning into the next Andy Phillips...Guiel might be taking over.
I'm glad that wasn't Giambi at 1B.
Cano = $
Guiel = nails
What an inning!
we are going to need some more runs....Jeter, Giambi and A-Rod coming up
No bunt here, Cap. Please...
Fun inning; fun game. I know this is an important game, really, but there's no tension left in the regular season. I... I... Okay, I admit it, I miss the Red Sox.
..
That was sarcasm.
agreed...he should be fine. At least he has a heart...poor Manny is missing a brain
I am really happy they fell so hard and fast and that the yanks can have a slightly "tension free" September for a change.
Now, having said that, I want the yanks to continue to kick ass and win home-field advantage for the playoffs without forcing their bullpen (mainly villone, proctor and mo).
Farnsworth needs to work on pitching back-to-back. its indispensable for the playoffs.
Michael Kay sounds like he's gloating every time he mentions Arod's 1-20something. Meh.
(I'm watching but listening to Sterling.)
Perhaps spending some quality time with his daughter on the beach in Florida in November will really do him good. Forget what I said about the shrinks, at this point, Arod's probably got enough therapy that he can become a shrink now.
Sterling's about right, maybe three seats wide, but Bklyn was probably more accurate 6-8 feet.
BTW, how can you deal with the delay?
are you going to want to deal with him if he Ks in softball ?
too funny
96 mil from Proctologist.
Now Granderson, no pop. Go after him.
Now Gunderson for the game.
It's 2-1...
Monroe can tie it with a single or put them ahead with extra bases.
(Three run dinger for Monroe, first pitch.)
413 Kevin Gunderson was the closer for the Oregon team that won the College World Series this year. Incidentally, I believe he got drafted by the Tigers...kid looked real good in the CWS.
But I digress....c'mon EDSP!!!
I don't blame Proctor. He was looking gassed.
Asshole! First you walk INGE, and then GRANDERSON, and now THIS?!
FUCK!
A perfectly good win turned into a guaranteed loss. Idiot.
Those fans booing suck. Talk about what have you done for me lately.
Thanks for taking some of the heat off A-Rod, Scotty.
But a little too late.
Well, can we get two in bottom? Or three?
Cano and Abreu have to get on base, both of 'em.
No prob. At least 2 runs? Doable.
Oh well, I wanted this one because I want to win series and build towards October, but what can you do?
Farnsy's sitting in the bullpen. If he were injured, wouldn't he be in the clubhouse getting treatment or something?
I didn't think it would be a three-run job, though. :-P
Stupid loss.
This loss, if it comes to it, is on Joe. And if Farns is hurt, no way should Joe have shut down Mo after what? 14 pitches in the first game.
Why the fuck is Mo sitting in the bullpen then? To watch Proctor flush the save?
What a waste. Rant off.
Whatever.
Seems a little harsh to boo, or blame Proctor too harshly for this one.
Plus, his arm is probably a little fried.
I feel awful for Proctor, he didn't deserve that...of course walking 2 people doesn't help but whatever.
I bet ESPN loved that ending, didn't they?
But thinking about this. This is the 4th of these "OUCH!" losses. The other three being the Farns blown save, the MO blown save in ChiTown, and the Umpire-Assisted MO blown save in Minnesota.
459 He's 29. Is it that hopeless that he can't be developing into a good set-up man? He's been on top of game appearances, he gets to be tired from time to time right?
It's hard to get too worked up over this loss, for me. I mean, we've lost two to the Tigers, both very very winnable. So the result is bad, but the signs are pretty good.
And the Red Sox are in death throes, and September looks like a cake walk.
But on the whole, as long as he's been rested, I really like what he's done this year. I don't want to see him as a closer, though.
"Wells is from San Diego and has pitched for the Padres in the past, and it may be best for all parties that he winds up going where he wants to go, because there is the possibility that at age 43, Wells would simply retire if he didn't like the team to which he was traded."
472 As what we have developed previously, Myers's Boston.
Dotel? He may still be polishing Torre's shoes to get in the door of being his man since he doesn't have the right attitude of Bruney.
473 If the Red Sox do send Boomer to the Padres, that is conceding the season. Surprising.
Why was Mariano Rivera in the bullpen while Proctor was flushing the game?
However, he needs a quick hook when he's not on, as I said earlier, unless Joe doesn't have a choice (extra inning game, for example). Letting him screw around with the Tigers in the ninth was the equivalent of watching him tie a noose around his own neck.
Interesting that Joe is so concerned with protecting Mo's arm that he's been experimenting with other bullpen arms in the ninth -- Dotel and Villone in Anaheim, Proctor tonight.
If Joe was so intent to rest Mo, why was he suited up in the bullpen in the 9th?
I don't think anybody asked that.
We'll get 'em tomorrow then, eh?
Let's just hope Randy doesn't get rocked tomorrow because it doesn't get any easier from an opposing pitching standpoint.
Oh wait....
The loss doesn't bother me as much as what led to it. Two days off is plenty of rest, but you can't have the guy pitching twice in a day.
I am still in awe of the fact that Brian Bruney has "earned" Joe's trust while Dotel was supposed to be "such an addition to the team" and he just sits and watches. I want to throw bricks at Torre's face right now.
1. Mariano will aboslutely 100% NOT pitch. And, he shouldn't have. With an 8 game lead in September, and the Red Sox without most of their top players, it's not necessary.
2. Proctor should not pitch. He only threw one pitch in the opener, but he still warmed up, and he still leads all relievers in appearances and innings pitched. Give the guy a break before the stretch run.
3. Villone should be limited to one inning. He is also overworked.
4. Bruney pitches if the team is losing or Wright gets knocked out early.
5. Myers/Villone, Dotel, and Farnsworth should be the rotation for the 7th, 8th, and 9th.
What happened was unfortunate. Farnsworth apparently couldn't go so we saw Proctor. To that point, Joe made the right choices. Bruney came in with a one run lead, which was a bit of a risk, but he did his job. Villone got one inning of solid work. The next move was to go directly to Dotel for the 9th. No Mo and no Farnsworth makes Dotel next in line. He should be able to protect a 2 run lead in the 9th on 3 days rest. Joe F-ed up by dipping his wick once too often in Scott Proctor.
When a guy throws 31 pitches in one inning of work and walks two guys, he's cooked. A decent manager should be able to sense that from the jump. Joe can't evaluate his pen, and someone needs to save him from himself. It should be Guidry, but he has no experience as a Coach. He'll always defer to Torre. The best guy to raise that concern is probably Bowa. He's a very good lieutenant.
Anyway, it's a HUGE disappointment, but matters very little in the grand scheme of things. Our lead is pretty safe, and it's important that we kept Mo on the bench. We'll get them tomorrow.
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