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No No-No
2006-09-29 07:23
by Alex Belth

Robinson Cano broke up Daniel Cabrera's bid for a no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning when he slapped a humped-back line drive to left field for a single. Bobby Abreu followed and hit into a game-ending double play. Final Score: O's 7, Yanks 1 (the Bombers scored a run, thanks to three Baltimore errors). Exhale. And good by Bollymore.

Comments (54)
Show/Hide Comments 1-50
2006-09-29 07:33:59
1.   kylepetterson
From yesterday:
"59. BklynBmr
Yanks are not only not gonna get no-hit, they are going to win this friggin' ballgame."

In the old testament you would've been taken outside the city gates and stoned. False prophet.

2006-09-29 07:37:12
2.   unpopster
Last night sucked, but it was nothing compared to the news that came out of Shea. All I can say is WOW! The team that seemingly had the road to the WS paved for them back in July looks very, very vulnerable without Pedro. And don't look now but the trio of Clemens, Pettitte and Oswalt may very well be the thing standing between the Yanks and another championship.

WOW!

2006-09-29 07:38:29
3.   Chyll Will
1 What would they have done in Vegas?
2006-09-29 07:40:43
4.   kylepetterson
3 He would've still been stoned, only afterwards he would've been really hungry and have an unquenchable desire to watch tv.
2006-09-29 07:41:44
5.   kylepetterson
4 Preferably something on TV Land. Sanford and Son maybe.
2006-09-29 07:42:09
6.   Chyll Will
2 If I recall, Pedro had trouble getting up to speed in the beginning of the season as well. To me, losing Duaner Sanchez was a bigger hit on their chances than losing Pedro; mind you a major setback, but not a Ded Sox-kinda setback.
2006-09-29 07:43:49
7.   Chyll Will
Maybe Dobie Gillis...
2006-09-29 07:48:46
8.   vockins
2 I am the only one freaking out about the Twins? It's going to take some voodoo to get by that rotation if the Yanks see them in the ALDS.
2006-09-29 07:53:44
9.   unpopster
8 The Twinkies are going to win the AL Central. You heard it here first.
2006-09-29 07:54:32
10.   jayd
No, vockins, you're not. What I hate about the twins is their relief corp. the kind of team that even if you get the starter out there might be more bad news coming at you.
2006-09-29 07:59:35
11.   kylepetterson
8 10 You guys are forgetting one thing. We have Wheels! What could possibly go wrong?
2006-09-29 08:02:13
12.   unpopster
8 um, I may have to imnmediately backtrack on 9 since I just looked at the remaining games for the Tiggers and Twinkies. While Detroit has three left against the woeful Royals, Minny plays the White Sox. And since the Tigers hold the season series vs. the Twins, I think the Twins might have to sweep Chicago to win the division. ugh!

Therefore, I now half-heartedly retract 9.

2006-09-29 08:02:35
13.   pistolpete
9 Way to go out on a limb when they're tied for the lead with 3 games to go. Where were you in May? ;-)
2006-09-29 08:12:05
14.   pistolpete
12 Hey, those Royals can be pesky. Ask Boston.
2006-09-29 08:12:14
15.   Jen
I have an extra ticket for tonight.

jen@nosenseworrying.com

2006-09-29 08:30:20
16.   joejoejoe
15 Jen - Your blog 'No Sense Worrying' is great. I love the recount of what it's like to actually be at the game complete with the details of all the people around you. Nice job :).
2006-09-29 08:32:42
17.   singledd
I would prefer to face Detroit as the WC in a 5 games series, but Detroit has a big advantage over Minn (playing KC as opposed to playing the White Sox.. and lead the season series).

The magic number for HFA, for both teams, is 2. Can we win 2 from Toronto? It would be nice, but they we may hand 2nd place to Boston.

2006-09-29 08:36:39
18.   rabid stan
8 The "terrifying" Minnesota rotation goes no deeper than Johan Santana, thanks to Liriano's injury.

After the '06 Cy Young award winner, the Yanks may draw a guy that's gotten hit more often than Rodrigo Lopez, a guy with a broken shoulder, and one or two of three rookies.

Santana will go twice as long as there's a game 4, but aside from him, I actually like our matchups (even Randy) who will not draw Santana. And Wang has an honest shot to take game one.

2006-09-29 08:44:34
19.   Sandman42
They've been rigging the great New York Subway race. The D train has won the past two nights, but the wins were credited to the 4 train. So the 4 clinched last night if anyone cares.
2006-09-29 08:49:42
20.   Shaun P
18 While Garza scares me and Boof maybe does too, the best news the Yanks could have gotten is that Radke pitched well and will start a game in the ALDS. Garza thus gets bumped to the pen so Silva (who blows) can pitch - and that makes the Yanks' path easier. As does having to face Radke, who is the kind of pitcher the Yanks just destroy with this lineup.

Let's not forget that the Twins have not only struggled to score runs at home versus the Royals the past 3 days - two of those starters were lefties. That would seem to bode very well for the Unit vs Silva? matchup in Game 3.

Of course if the Twins win the Central, this is all moot . . .

In retrospect I would like to see that. How great would it be to see Wang vs Kenny Rogers in Game 1 of the ALDS at the Stadium?

2006-09-29 08:56:53
21.   Chyll Will
19 Nah, I'm on the 2 (an also-ran)...
2006-09-29 09:00:40
22.   David
I wouldn't count Pedro out. He is arguably the greatest pitcher of all time. At the beginning of this season, Pedro's Adjusted ERA+ of 166 ranked #1 all time, well ahead of Lefty Grove's 148 and Walter Johnson's 146. Pedro's won-lost percentage is #3 all-time, behind Al Spaulding and Spud Chandler, and just ahead of Whitey Ford.

Pedro has performed heroically many big games. The Mets could get through the playoffs without him, and he could come back and win the Series for them.

2006-09-29 09:12:30
23.   unpopster
22 he's got a torn calf muscle. he's d-o-n-e.
2006-09-29 09:24:24
24.   Dan M
6 Pedro was 5-0 in April. I think he was up to speed.
2006-09-29 09:32:23
25.   rbj
I know, Pedro will have the calf muscle stapled back together. This way, he can have a pair of bloody pants.

And thank you Robby Cano (phew, that was cutting it close)

2006-09-29 09:47:53
26.   pistolpete
I also thank you, Robbie Cano - that was shaping up to be just the type of game where a no-hitter happens, too. All those hard shots off the bat right at fielders, the freaky errors, you name it.

Although by the 9th I was really tired of seeing Jim Palmer and his limp wrist.

2006-09-29 09:59:00
27.   jayd
10 18 20 I worry about guys named Crain, Rincon, Neshek. Santana and Nathan we already know about. I don't worry about the Tigers and any National League teams. The twinkies remind me of those gd Angels. Good pitching beats good hitting, witness last night.
2006-09-29 10:04:49
28.   Count Zero
27 Couldn't agree more.
2006-09-29 10:36:07
29.   Jen
16 Thanks joe.

19 I didn't even notice that. I can't really get a good view of the standings where I sit. I did notice that there's a pattern. If the Yanks win, they usually have the same train win the next night. They do that until the Yanks lose, so look for a different train to win tonight.

2006-09-29 10:51:51
30.   Mike T
The Twins could still be in good shape to win the central, because the White Sox are playing awful ball right now. They just got their butts handed to them by the Indians, who outscored them a combined 21-3.
2006-09-29 11:16:25
31.   pistolpete
30 Yeah, ChiSox pitching ain't what it used to be - only Contreras seems to show flashes of his 2005 self.
2006-09-29 12:13:59
32.   Shaun P
31 And he's out for the rest of the year!

We need to pull for the Royals to sweep this weekend, and the Twins to win just once, to make the Tigers the Wild Card. Let the A's and Twins duke it out while the Yanks get to face Kenny Rogers. In game 1 of the ALDS. Instead of Cy Santana.

I am literally salivating over that possibility.

2006-09-29 12:47:12
33.   C2Coke
Not that I want to take over randym77's specialty, but again with that killer lineup:

Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Gary Sheffield 1B
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B

Mike Mussina RHP

2006-09-29 12:58:11
34.   C2Coke
33 Such a beautiful balance between left and right.
2006-09-29 13:03:00
35.   Sliced Bread
33 That really is something to behold.

Here's the bigger picture using the digits going into last night's game, which did not count, and shall never be spoken of again.

Damon .289/.360/.489
Jeter .340/.414/.483
Abreu .303/.413/.508
A-Rod .286/.389/.514
Sheff .303/.363/.423
Matsui .307/.398/.509
Posada .277/.375/.481
Cano .343/.367/.530

GOOOOOOO MOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!

2006-09-29 13:05:40
36.   Sliced Bread
Oops, forgots Giambi.

Damon .289/.360/.489
Jeter .340/.414/.483
Abreu .303/.413/.508
A-Rod .286/.389/.514
Giambi .254/.413/.560
Sheff .303/.363/.423
Matsui .307/.398/.509
Posada .277/.375/.481
Cano .343/.367/.530

2006-09-29 13:16:32
37.   Yank Fan From Rhinebeck
Notice who's leading the team in slugging?
2006-09-29 13:22:45
38.   Maniakes
Our leadoff man has the lowest OBP on the team?
2006-09-29 13:26:27
39.   wsporter
I love that lineup: lefty, righty, lefty, righty ...

Notice Robby's slugging ave. at .530. BBA and Sickles can't scream about his power numbers anymore. I guess they'll start ragging his math skills next cause there ainn't much left to quibble with on the ball field. Oh that's right I guess he needs to walk more, to hell with those silly doubles.

2006-09-29 13:26:50
40.   David
33 and 36 Another way to evaluate that lineup is using Sagarin's Markov RPG, as shown on the USA Today site. The Markov RPG for a player is the average runs per game that a lineup consisting of 9 clones of that player would score.

I took the average of the Markov RPG for the lineup shown. It should be a plausible estimate of their ability to score runs. Their average is 7.02, which should mean that this lineup will score an average of 7 runs a game. (Hopefully they won't achieve this average like the last 2 days, alternating 14 and 0.)

2006-09-29 13:26:51
41.   Bama Yankee
37 Karim Garcia?
2006-09-29 13:29:24
42.   mehmattski
38 You forget, it's trademarked, as in LeadoffMan (TM). Only characteristics are 1) scrappy 2) fast and 3) able to bunt for hit. See: Juan Pierre, "Sean" Figgins, Coco Crisp, Chuck Knoblauch. Ability to get on base? Hah! I laugh at your new age, stathead suggestion that we shut down the traditions of our great game in an effort to get a few more people on base before the big bats in the first innning! What next? Laser-enforced strikezones? Instant replay on questionable home runs in the playoffs? Non-guaranteed contracts? My God, man, that would be anarchy! Just close your eyes and repeat after me: Tradition. Tradition. Tradition.

...I think I might need to have my tongue surgically removed from my cheek now. Is there a doctor in the Banter?

2006-09-29 13:34:54
43.   Bama Yankee
42 Doctor Pepper?
2006-09-29 13:38:45
44.   David
Abreu has a much higher OBA than Damon, but Damon has more HRs. The stats say the lineup would be better if they switched places in the batting order.

I think they'd both be unhappy if they were switched. Damon sees himself as a leadoff hitter and Abreu doesn't. Maybe keeping them happy is more important than an apparent statistical edge.

2006-09-29 14:02:30
45.   randym77
Apparently, Cabrera and Cano are neighbors back in the old country. Cabrera said that he's not going to be friends with Cano any more, since he ruined his no-hitter. (He was joking.)
2006-09-29 14:12:03
46.   RIYank
40 David, surely a reasonable estimate would be higher than the one you generated, since the better hitters bat more often, higher on-base guys come before sluggers, and so on.
Of course, our current line-up doesn't exactly work that way, so your 7 is probably only a little bit low.
2006-09-29 14:17:32
47.   C2Coke
According to Pete Abraham, we can be tied for best record in the league and still has HFA. And by doing that, I think we can also make sure that Toronto finishes second...wouldn't that be nice?
2006-09-29 14:40:20
48.   3rd gen yankee fan
47 That's exactly what I'm hoping for.
2006-09-29 14:42:11
49.   RIYank
Right -- head-to-head is the first tie-breaker, so we have the advantage over the Tigers; the Yankees split the season series with the Twins, but the second tie-breaker is intradivision record. So beating up on our weak-a$$ division(!) was important.
2006-09-29 14:54:26
50.   Bama Yankee
38 Damon may be 9th in OBP in that lineup, but (if my math is correct) he is 5th in the AL among leadoff hitters.

Comparing Damon (who is 32nd overall in the league) to a lineup with the 5th, 6th, 23rd & 28th best OBP guys in the league (among qualified batters) is like comparing models in the SI swimsuit issue...
The ninth best one is not that bad ;-)

Show/Hide Comments 51-100
2006-09-29 15:01:09
51.   RIYank
Okay, so how would you (plural) arrange this line-up?
I'll go first.

Abreu
Jeter
Giambi
Cano
Matsui
A-Rod
Posada
Sheff
Damon

So I have the huge OBP guys at the top, with Jeter after Abreu because you want the hits to come after the walks. Giambi should be higher by pure OBP, but I want his homers to come with men on base. Robbie clean-up mainly because es en fuego. After that more or less by overall quality of hitting (esp. these days).

2006-09-29 15:32:52
52.   singledd
from ESPN: NEW YORK -- New York Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson has a herniated disc in his lower back, but he still may start Game 3 of the American League Division Series next week.
2006-09-29 15:45:27
53.   randym77
Pssst. There's a new game thread open.
2006-09-29 16:09:54
54.   Eirias
Wait, I missed what Kay said. What can pitchers do today that would normally be called a balk?

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