Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Through the first 16 games of June, the Yankees went 13-3, scored 6.94 runs per game and drew 4.31 walks per game. In the last two games against the Rockies, the Yankees have gone 0-2, scored exactly one run in each game, and drawn exactly two walks per game. Against the two Colorado starters, Josh Fogg and Jeff Francis, the Yankees drew a total of two walks in 14 innings. Of the four walks the Yankees have drawn in the last two games, three of them were by Alex Rodriguez, and one of those was an intentional unintentional pass (that came with two outs and a man on second in the sixth inning of a still-scoreless game and was the only free pass Jeff Francis issued in seven innings). It seems that the Yankees approach at the plate appears to be largely to blame for their power outage in this series.
This afternoon, the Yankees face Rodrigo Lopez. Lopez has had decent control in his career (2.82 BB/9IP), but that number jumps to 3.42 BB/9 in his career against the Yankees. Lopez also has a career 6.02 ERA against the Yanks and has given up 30 homers in just 121 innings against the Bombers, more than double his total against any other team, Boston included. Familiarity should help the Yanks this afternoon. Hopefully it will also give them the confidence to take a few more pitches. That said, Lopez is having a solid season in Colorado, perhaps buoyed by having finally escaped Baltimore. He spent nearly all of May on the DL, but has turned in three quality starts in four tries since.
On the flip side, Roger Clemens is two-for-two in quality starts in his second tour of duty in pinstripes. Based on the last two games, however, he may need to contribute even more than that to prevent a sweep. Clemens last faced the Rockies one week shy of two years ago and held the Rocks to a Preston Wilson solo home run, two walks and a trio of harmless singles over seven innings while striking out seven. His bullpen then gave up five runs in the eighth to blow the game.
Hacking Macht Frei!
good thing we've got the Gnome playing 1st today
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Matsui LF
Cano 2B
Cairo 1B
Clemens P
go rocket. here's to 350 wins!
1 Nein! Kein Hacking: Geduld!
Meanwhile, what happened on Jeter's CS? 1-6-3?
I bet we see Farnsworth today. Let's hope it's in the proper Farnsworth situation: five run lead in the eighth.
But now I'm thinking, if Jeter doesn't steal and Abreu manages to get one more ball...
I guess that's a stupid way to think about baseball.
nice to leave for work with a lead : )
Cano and Cairo didn't get the memo.
Hmmm, Rockies seem to be lining up Clemens this inning.
37 Sorry, it wasn't like he hauled it in from over the wall or anything. Just a good play.
Another bomb, for those who are Gamedaying.
Poop.
i guess coors is a launching pad during the daytime... : /
48 Yeah, no point in ruining an evening just for the sake of symbolism.
I'm more of Jungian.
Can we get a Johnnny Da-mon
No really...it's Torre' mission to call up Thompson and never let Thompson play this year. It's an ongoing "prank of the year" in the clubhouse and I have to admit, Joe, got him GOOOOOD!
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2911830
/sarcasm
exactly "who" still needs convincing of that is the thing i'm trying to figure out ...
62 Yeah. Will he go on waivers?
Yanks suckin' again, no doubt.
Cripes. Not a good situation. I hate to say it, but Taveras has almost single-handedly developed this two-on, no-out situation. Weepingforbrunnhilde would love this.
And smart by the Rox, they didn't send the runners on 3-2 with a great contact hitter up! Would have been a DP.
But Clemens gets out of the jam anyway with an easy grounder!
Won't you come out to playhehay.
Dearrr Melky.
Greet the brand new dayyyaayyy!
So, is the virtue of the day Patience, or (Dear) Prudence???
Damon DPs this.
What I mean is that if I absolutely had to have a run, I'd ask a good-bunting speedster to bunt, steal a bag and then take my chances that someone can bloop a single.
If they hit it out, great, but I'll take my chances with that scenario.
Uh oh, Clemens is out. Carp.
You watch a good bunter bunt and it certainly looks like they're taking things more into their own hands than a guy who swings away. I would think that bunting would be less susceptible to being shut down by a nasty pitcher than hitting.
So if guys have been taking weak hacks all day, I'd think a good bunter would have at least the same chances as he'd ever have to get a hit by bunting.
It evens to odds a little in any given ab.
But you have to know what you're doing.
So, yeah, Myers, nice job. Also, no way that run scores if Melky is playing, because Holliday wouldn't have gone to third on the single.
Now let's see if we can "play A-B-C ball," as Sterling likes to say, after the Jeter double. Whoa, Bobby would have had a hit if that stayed fair!
Hoping, hoping, hoping...
142 If I must relive it:
Clemens gave up another run, then Torre brought in Myers to do his usual job: putting a lefty on base. Damon then did his usual, allowing the runner on first to go to third on the single. And then a sac fly.
This inning Jeter led off with a double, but Abreu struck out and the Jeter stumbled into an out on a grounder to short, so Posada's single didn't score a run. Very, very ugly.
I would bench Proctor just for that!
Well, I'm gonna pull a monkeypants and go drive for a while, I probably won't get back to a computer until the end of the game. Somebody do something. Weeping, can you get us a couple of bunt singles? Anybody?
See youse.
Jeez.
But thats not the issue. Krazy Kyle is in!
And follows it with a crapped pickoff exchange with Damon.
At least he struck out the scrub.
But he can hit, I tellz ya!
I really thought they were going to send Basak back down, rather than DFA Phelps. Torre did use Phelps on occasion, after all. I was wondering if Basak was still alive.
As a kid I remember reading that Rod Carew was an excellent bunter and used the bunt when he was slumping.
I would think bunts are a valuable part of any hitter's repertoire (provided, of course, they have some speed) both to be used when their mechanics are off, whether due to injury or just because.
If a guy's hurt and realizes that even if he hits the ball squarely it has a good chance of not making it out of the infield, why not bunt?
Again, I just think that there are lots of situations in which a bunt might be your best chance of getting something going, so if I ran the zoo I'd make sure each member of my team could do it, but especially the faster ones.
Anyway, I barely caught any of today's game, but it would seem that's just as well.
Now what?
We have to sweep SF just to break even?
God, this sucks.
'Tis but a scratch, a mere fleshwound!
And it's great to have if the guy on the mound is wearing a bloody sock or is 45 years old and doesn't get around that much anymore.
So Igawa. Everyone as excited as me?
Ahh, that was sweet.
Igawa.
Ra Ra.
Sis boom ba.
...
Win in spite of him guys.
Clemens is making $875,000 per start (based on his projected 20 starts).
Yesterday he made $213,414 per inning(4 1/3)
$9,722 per pitch (90)
$15,909 per strike (55)
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