Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
The Devil Rays roster remains the same as it was on Opening Day, but the way Joe Maddon is using it has changed. To begin with, he's switched Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford in the order, leading off Baldelli and putting Crawford in the three-spot. He's also been working his four-man bench into the starting lineup with regularity, alternating Brendan Harris at shortstop with the struggling Ben Zobrist, starting Josh Paul behind the plate in two of the last four games in place of the scuffling Dioner Navarro, and setting up a rotation at DH that has allowed him to keep Baldelli and Ty Wigginton in the lineup on a daily basis while also working Elijah Dukes and Carlos Peña in at center field and first base respectively. Maddon will also use Wigginton at second base on occasion to give B. J. Upton a day off or at DH, and has also started Harris at third to give Akinori Iwamura a breather. As a result Jonny Gomes is last on the team in plate appearances, which is good news for the Yankees, though I must admit, I, like Alex, enjoy watching Gomes play.
Thus far Upton has been a world beater at the plate, but has committed five errors at second base. Iwamura has been the quiet surprise I anticipated. Peña has just six hits, but three of them are home runs. Paul is hitting for high average and getting on base, but has no extra-base knocks. Duke and Baldelli have both been struggling, and the team as a whole has been thrown out on 47 percent of its stolen base attempts.
The pitching, meanwhile, has been abysmal outside of the dominant performance of ex-Yankee and current closer Al Reyes. James Shields has been the team's best starter thus far, but has also allowed six homers in four starts. Tonight's starter, Casey Fossum, is the only other Ray with as many as two quality starts in the early going and, in fact, has piched very well after an opening week drubbing at the hands of the Blue Jays. In his last two starts against the Twins in Minnesota and the Orioles at home, Fossum has assembled this line:
14 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, 6 K, 0.86 WHIP, 3.21 ERA, 1-0
The good news, of course, is that the Cherry Hill native will have to face a Yankee lineup that's back at full strength. Hideki Matsui returns to left field tonight and is reportedly all the way back from the hamstring injury that place him on the DL during the frigid opening homestand. Joe Torre has said that Jorge Posada will be back in the lineup tonight. Jorge could return as the DH, pushing Jason Giambi into the field, but if he's able to catch, the lefty Fossum will draw Josh Phelps at first base for a line-up that looks like it did on Opening Day
L - Johnny Damon (CF)
R - Derek Jeter (SS)
L - Bobby Abreu (RF)
R - Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L - Jason Giambi (DH)
L - Hideki Matsui (LF)
S - Jorge Posada (C)
L - Robinson Cano (2B)
R - Josh Phelps (1B)
Yum.
Kei Igawa takes the mound for the Yanks. He's improved across the board in each of his last two starts (IP, K, ground ball rate up; H, R, HR, BB, fly ball rate, pitch total down). Here's hoping that trend continues tonight.
By the way, Alex Rodriguez hasn't gone more than two consecutive games without a home run this season. He homered twice on Friday night, but was kept in the park over the last two games in Boston. He has four career dingers off Fossum in 34 at-bats.
Update: Chase Wright was optioned back to double-A to make room for Matsui. That means Kevin Thompson's still around, which suggests that Johnny Damon and his achy back may get the night off against the lefty Fossum on the Tampa turf (even if it's fancy new turf). I would expect Darrell Rasner to be recalled to make Friday's start against Matsuzaka at the Stadium.
Upupdate: Posada catches, Damon sits. Melky starts in center and leads off. Harris, Dukes and Paul start in the field for the Rays. Baldelli is the DH.
Upupandawaydate: Scratch Rasner. Phil Hughes makes his Yankee debut on Thursday against the Blue Jays. Karstens moves to Friday against Matsuzaka. More on Hughes after the game.
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phelps 1B
Pitching matchups seem much more even this time around, though Wakefield's performances can vary greatly start to start and it's not yet clear how much rust Wang will need to shake off.
And I suppose the jury is still out on the japanese pitchers. So I suppose when I say even I mean equally filled with question marks.
Maybe if Jeff K. hits it big, I can email him and offer him his rightful address.
At any rate, I am not Rob Gee, Jim Dean, Debris, or Monkeyball, though I would be extremely surprised if those 4 log-ons are actually comprised of 4 separate individual people.
Also, please do no confuse me (Monkeypants) with Monkeyball!
I do agree that he doesn't need to be "babied" any longer, but simultaenously I don't want to see a Liriano/Hernandez/Prior/Wood or even Garza situation.
It's not like they can limit his innings either. That's clearly not the answer. What good is another 5 inning pitcher? Hell, Jaret Wright might have made us all cry, but he usually pitched 5 pretty decent innings. Hughes for 5 is not really helpful. Especially if the kid is lights out.
Now, if spots 1-4 were doing their jobs, he would make a slick 5-inning #5 starter.
Thurs: Hughes
Fri: Karsten
Sat: Igawa
Sun: Wang
You can get jeffkarstens@gmail.com and I can't even get any variation of Bama Yankee at Yahoo or Gmail without adding a number to it. I guess Jeff does not use the free email sites and there must be only one Jeff Karstens in the world (unlike the Karim Garcias of the world... BTW, karimgarcia@yahoo.com and whoiskarimgarcia@yahoo.com are both taken).
Should've gotten a taste of the show last September, and I was in favor of him pitching in Oakland last weekend, where he could benefit from a weak hitting team and a pitcher's park, but better late than never.
28 my bad. wasn't funny and very vague.
Next time the Yankees play the Red Sox, I hope that they hit Ortiz and Manny to help Dice-K control his pitches.
Kruk made some good points. I just hope the Sox play a team with a manager with some balls. Dice-K has hit far too many people, all studs by the way, and hasn't even been warned, while others this year have been ejected for doing just that following home runs.
Look, he's going to hit you anyway, so you are not putting your lineup in danger by hitting Manny and Ortiz. This boy needs an education. He may have learned how to pitch in America, but he hasn't learned the consequences. You cant pitch inside if you dont know how to do it. Which I dont think is the case. I think he's hit every one of those five batters on purpose, and its time someone stood up and said, enough before he hurts someone. He missed Ichiro's head by 2 inches for Christ's sake. But then again, he is making money for MLB, so I am sure the Umpires have been told to go easy on him by the Commissioners office. What other explanation is there for the disparite treatment? He hasn't even been warned, let alone tossed. God I hope Barry breaks the record in Milwaukee. He is just a big enough ass to do it to make a point, and I hope he does. It's all in your lap Bud.
2) Jim Dean can't be Rob Gee. Rob Gee called me an "ignorant stathead" while Jim Dean has been known to use SABR stats and occasionally agrees with me. So there.
3) Those cowbells are freaking annoying.
Pinch run for him!!!!
When the Sacramento fans used to ring cowbells to rattle the opposing team, Phil Jackson called Sacramento, a "cow town" and that their fans "semi-civilized" and "maybe redneck in some form or fashion." That insult always stuck in my head. Very appropriate for Tampa and their fans.
soooo nice to see mats and jorgie back! a-rod killin' it on both sides of the ball. simply unreal! jason showing off the wheels, yo!
so wright was wrong and phil franchise is on his way. it's a new in Yankee South and hopefully we'll crush fossum. he was on the shit sox and the shit bax, so i'm not a fan!
boston down early. it'll be a long night with sut on the suds, but hopefully we get the W and gain a game back in the standings.
let's go yan-kees!!!
ah, just settin' up the double play. good thinkin' quest! ; )
Those walks...
Those base stealing...
I, mehmattski, will come out of retirement to pitch for the NY Yankees. Fear no more.
Also I am right-handed.
Melky lays it down...
ugh on igawa.
i love cowbells (have 5 of them on my drumkit), but this is ricockulous!
yeah, phelps! actually a nice bunt for melk. if we don't score here, i'm lighting myself on fire...again. hey schteeve, hope you don't mind passing the, um, torch! ; )
Good, chippin' away...
Wow, that was closer than I thought it should have been.
do i still rock even though i'm a guy???
Kei witda K...
Yeah I guess you can still rock. ;-)
nope, i'm just Thelarmis, some guy who plays drums for a living.
as far as you know... ; )
i mostly play jazz, so that's more swingin' than rockin', but on this thread, i'd be very afraid to use the word swing and not in baseball terms...! : ~
Arod. (I don't know what else to say.)
let's tie the biatch up!
it's gotta be the socks...
1-2-3 no contact, please!
his mom told him once he was as slow as molasses and adam asked, "Who's Molasses?"
pathetic thing is, i would've done the same! : ~
where'd everyone go?
ok, ok. my name is rob gee and i'm a girl...
211 Hit the pole.
if so, i missed it...
After an optimistic off season, somehow I've been transported back to 1988.
will igawa even get thru 5?
Nice sighting of Wang. He's sorely missed.
292 if the season depends on pavano being worth a damn, we should pack it in.
Proxy is slow today, so not much commenting for me.
A-God is...A God.
Go yankees! Go Quest!
I'll say it again. I'm not a fan of signing fourth and fifth starters. If you can't find someone good to fill out the rotation, save yourself the money and aggravation and pull someone of the minors. Let that guy give you 170 innings of below average pitching. Don't waste money on it.
blue jays go ahead, 3-2 on a big hurt homer!
"What is that thing?"
"It's a fish head and I'm scared."
SCREAM!
Case closed!
not so smart to have one hand in the water and one on a mic though...
Just call him Bean Daddy when he backs that ass up...
238, 251 If a pitcher can be # 1 or 2 on some other team, what makes you think he will sign with the Yankees and be the #4 and 5? There is a reason for 25 /40 men roster. Every player's got a role. How many great to excellent pitchers can you find in all of baseball?
Besides, it's too early to label Igawa anything like it's too early to proclaim Matsuzaka is the next Pedro. If we as the fans could survive watching Wright for the past 2 yrs, how hard is it to give Igawa a little more patience?
At least Bean is changing my mind.
Awful play by Posada...if you remove Arod from the equation this is a 4-13 team.
we need to destroy fossum. this is ludicrous.
And Matsui had him dead to rights. Damn.
And if you can't find a great pitcher, is it some rule that we have to waste alot of money on just anyone? If we have to sacrifice the spot, why do we have to sacrifice the spot AND waste a lot of money doing so?
I despised the entire Jaret Wright experiment. Another guy we signed "to be a fourth starter!"
He is not dominant, but if he can be a 4.5 ERA guy and go 6-7 innings, he will be a valueable #4-#5 guy. Bear in my we have already used 3 AAA guys (Ras,Wright,Karstens) and other is on the way. It's a good thing we have Iggy and he is healthy.
Giambi is also 2 for 3, right?
The offense is mad. They are hitting and running bases as a way to let their frustrations towards their pitchers out.
Jorge is still nursing his injury, isn't he?
(not sure why that matters right now)
The really sad thing about this team is that it has a GREAT offense and it is being completely wasted.
The guy is also an AWESOME base runner. Any other runner may have been out at 3rd on both those plays. One time he slides wide of 3rd to the outside, the next time he slides wide of 3rd to the inside. He is NOT the best hitter in baseball, but in the top 10. But considering D and running, he may be the best overall player.
And he also has a gun for an arm. What a talent. I'm soooooooooooooo glad I've gotten to see him play these years.
Who is Karim Garcia?
Guess I'm still nostalgic for #51.
Crawford didn't know where that pop up was, started jumping around.
I'm not a big Crawford fan. He lacks hustle at times, especially in the field, and a few years back I remember he sprained his knee jumping in the air to argue a call.
349 I am glad you are not an unhappy fan. Good for you!
our staff keeps giving up double digits hits. ugh.
356 i hear ya on crawford. plus, he's not the sharpest pencil in the box. but i'm a BIG fan of the 300-300 club and really enjoy 20-20, 30-30 and, of course, 40-40 seasons. i've pegged crawford as my young guy that could eventually make it to 300-300. of course, he's got to reach his 25 HR/year potential and match it for a decade... i've written like 3 essays on this stuff. sooo, i kinda root for the kid (exept when playing the yanks!).
who needs scrabble? a-rod's doing just fine w/out him on the field...
just tie it up a-rod.
4 DP's = DePressing
and stop it w/ the damn cowbells!
alex's entire demeanor is so much better all around. quite nice to see...
i'm not keen on these 7-6 games.
...As in, trade Melky, Clippard, and Wright for him.
426 It's on you!
so our pen was good for a week. now it's just weak.
this is really the new york yankees vs. tampa bay devil rays? really?!
i'm over it. this truly sucks ass...
CRIPES.
The Yankees NEED to make a move. It's time for Joe to Go.
More stealing?
We need a week of rain.
finally inning over. 6 outs, need 4 runs. has any team ever hit 4 solo homeruns in a row?! ; )
Stop hassleing Torre. We hve 12 pitchers, and 11 of them are shitting the bed (and the other one has pitched 2 innings out of the BP).
Torre's job is to give us a better opportunity to win. But the players do the winning.. or losing.
It really doesn't matter who Torre brings in. They all look the same to me.
462 pistolpete, as you wish, Mo is coming in.
I am impressed that you are able to dismiss Torre's bungling. I like the grandpa joe image too, but I don't enjoy watching him wreck the season.
I am impressed that you are able to dismiss Torre's bungling. I like the grandpa joe image too, but I don't enjoy watching him wreck the season.
manny made out. game over in beantown. jays win.
And up at the Fen......THEEEEEE BLUE JAYS WIN!!
And up at the Fen......THEEEEEE BLUE JAYS WIN!!
Damon, you can do it!
Nice try, Damon.
Is this rational?
tinyFUCK.com?
Not a terrible move, but I would have gone the other way.
If they can pitch at all, they will make the playoffs.
541 Hey Alex, welcome back, been here long?
And AROD does it AGAIN!!
Andre Dawson won the NL MVP with the Cubs when the Cubs finished 5th in their division. Could A-Rod win it if the Yanks win ONLY 80 games?
(or so you would think, dang...)
Boy are the Cubs cursed ...
We are NOT supposed to give up 10 runs. But with this offense, we don't HAVE to lose. How about that 8th inning?
Why did God invent Women?
(I'll have to do some research to find a longer stretch)
I've also sat through several years now of all the problems that occurred during non counting April games come back with a vengeance in october.
Wang will come and throw a 98 pitch SHO tomorrow. You heard it here first.
Coddmeyer will provide the offense. 3-4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI.
(sometimes the statgeek in me gets overhyped)
i'm off to prak. rock on everyone. let's get the split tomorrow, then off to da bronx - whaddya say?!
I laughed for the first time in an hour.
Better?
663 Hmmmmm...
I love watching him. We'll come around, and if we don't, hey, we got to see Arod do THIS. Wow. Still, I have faith.
And Christ help us if A-Rod finishes with 40 HR.
Some weird comments tonight. Something about Rob Gee getting a sex change and becoming thelarmis, who was in fact a man in a woman's wig all along?
Is this when most people start to turn in?
Boston got the breaks. A lot of the Yanks failure now is bad luck, when it's not the pitching."
That's some funny stuff. Have you ever played baseball? Luck? It goes both ways. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't. But jeter himself would laugh at that comment.
http://tinyurl.com/24xcbf
Think about it. If we do OK up to the weekend, and take 2/3 from the Sox, we're right back in it, if we aren't already.
Last year, Boston looked unstoppable. But many statheads pointed to the Pythagorean and other numbers, and said they had just been lucky. The WSJ called the Red Sox the "luckiest team in baseball" based on their analysis. Some Sox trolls came here while we were discussing it and laughed at the idea that luck could be behind their team's success.
But what happened at the end of the season? The Red Sox returned to their mean. "Unstoppable" Boston finished in third place.
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