Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Offense: The Yankees only scored 4.67 runs per game, but that's actually excellent considering the fact that the Sox have allowed just 3.63 runs per game since the All-Star break. Not only that, they did it against the Sox's three best starters, beating Matsuzaka and Beckett, and tagging one of the league's best relievers in Hideki Okajima in the finale.
Studs:
Derek Jeter 7 for 11, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB
Melky Cabrera 4 for 8, RBI, R, BB, SacB, CS
Robinson Cano 3 for 10, 3B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB
Johnny Damon 3 for 13, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Duds:
Bobby Abreu 2 for 11, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, 2 K
Jason Giambi 1 for 6, K
Andy Phillips 1 for 5, K
Wilson Betemit went 0 for 1 with a K and a run scored as a pinch-runner after entering the opener in the seventh inning. Jose Molina and Shelley Duncan did not play in the series.
Rotation: Outstanding. Pettitte came up huge with seven strong innings in the opener, limiting the Sox to six leadoff hits (though two were homers and a third was a triple, which also scored) and a pair of walks while striking out six. Clemens then no-hit the Sox for 5 1/3 innings before allowing his only run (and one of only two hits) in six innings on a David Ortiz homer. Chien-Ming Wang then no-hit the Sox for six innings and shut them out for seven on a single hit while striking out five. Sure, Clemens and Wang walked a combined nine men in 13 innings, but I'll take nine walks and three hits in 13 innings any time. The last time the Yankee starter earned the win in three consecutive games? Pettitte, Clemens, and Wang against the Tigers two weekends ago. On both occasions the Yankees allowed just six runs total across the three games.
Bullpen: Well, Kyle Farnsworth turned back into Farmaduke, but otherwise, excellent, which is how it tends to go when the starters are strong and the lesser arms in the pen aren't required. Remember in my series preview when I said, "If Torre needs Britton tonight, something's likely gone wrong?" Well nothing went wrong. Though here's hoping Britton and Brian Bruney get some work in against the D-Rays this weekend, but not because things have gone wrong. The good news on Bruney, by the way, is with rosters expanding tomorrow, he's here to stay. I just hope Torre gives him the opportunity to succeed or fail legitimately.
The Good:
Mo pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings and struck out two to pick up saves in the first two games. His four-out save in a one-run game in game two was huge, even if he did face the turnaround of the Boston order. Those four outs took him 14 pitches, 11 of which were strikes. Joba Chamberlain actually allowed four baserunners and struck out just two in his 2 1/3 innings, but one of those baserunners was the walk of Youkilis after he got tossed in the finale, and he still hasn't allowed a run in 11 1/3 major league innings. Edwar Ramirez threw that ball four to Youkilis as well as a pair of wild pitches, but struck out the hot-hitting Mike Lowell and stranded Youkilis at third to wrap up the shutout in the finale. Luis Vizcaino walked one and struck out one in a scoreless inning in the middle game to the delight of Roger Clemens.
The Bad:
Farmaduke faced five batters in relief of Vizcaino, one struck out, one walked, one singled, one homered. Fortunately the walk came after the homer. Still, he nearly blew the middle game and didn't even finish his inning, necessitating that four-out save from Mo.
Conclusion: The Yankees quite simply played great baseball over the last three games and swept the best team in the majors as a result. I don't know what more there is to say. As a special bonus, they are now a game up in the Wild Card race and tied in the loss column with the Mariners, who were swept by the Angels and have lost six straight.
As I posted in the previous thread, I hope Joba won't be afraid to come inside in his next outing.
But the Angels are clearly the best team in the majors right now.
At the time I remember thinking that he was purposely trying to take time and trying to mess with Wang's rhythm. I was thinking to myself "what a dick maneuver."
If Joba was throwing at Youk I imagine this was why.
actually, as a red sox fan, i just wanted to commend your work. a very fair assesment as always.
Anyways: Let's get another sweep this weekend! and Go Blue Jays!
Youkilis is a whining drama queen, so his reaction means nothing. Francona on the other hand was probably simply trying to turn the media's attention toward a non-incident and away from the embarassment of the 3-game sweep.
On the other hand, with Hughes going today and Kennedy on Saturday, and considering the three extra runs the Yanks tacked on in the 8th, would it not have made more sense to save him for Saturday (when in fact two innings might be needed)?
Ultimately, this probably won't matter much anyway. I suspect that there is a special rule that says if your get rung after throwing five pitches, the inning doesn't count.
Even so, offensively the Sox aren't a shark I'm too afraid to swim with.
The Tigers and Angels lineups are much more imposing, and each team has more than a few excellent pitchers. Fuck the stats. In my eyes, both of those teams are better than the Red Sox. The Yankees are better than the Red Sox. Here's hoping they prove me right over the next 8 weeks.
Cliff, I understand your studs-duds designations are based on the entire series, and despite going 2 for 11 I just don't see Abreu as a dud. His double against Okajima was tremendous. Then, he's in on the double steal, inducing an errant throw from Varitek (BONUS!) to blow the game open. When a player comes up big, even once in a series, I can't classify them a dud or a goat, so I very respectfully disagree.
bottomline: They were up 5-zip, and Joba didn't look particularly sharp in the 8th. And now I deeply regret that his 9th inning fiasco had been avoided.
"Joba could be seen wiping his hand after the pitch, implying the ball was slipping out. It was a terrible, hasty call from Hernandez."
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And as Emma Span notes at Eephus:
Chamberlain's demeanor suggested it was an accident -- he looked really confused and surprised and kind of awkward when he got tossed from the game, and in his interviews afterwards seemed genuinely worried that people would get the wrong idea.
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Production from homegrown Yankees during the 3-game sweep of Boston:
Homegrown Yankee pitchers threw 19.1 innings with 9 H, 8 BB, 3 ER, and 16 K (WHIP: 0.88; ERA: 1.40)
Homegrown Yankee hitters went 21-of-54 with 2 2B, 3B, 4 HR, and 6 BB.
(.389 BA /.450 OBP /.630 SLG / .980 OPS)
I like the Joba rules. Keep 'em healthy, especially with the expanded rosters. Then use him like crazy in the playoffs.
Really, if Minky comes back they could carry five 1B--the mind biggles at the PR options that Torre would have.
I know, a few days doesn't mean he's turned into a great fielder (though he's looking pretty slim and agile, for Giambi). But it may convince the Yankees that they can afford to put their best lineup on the field every day.
>> The good news on Bruney, by the way, is with rosters expanding tomorrow, he's here to stay. I just hope Torre gives him the opportunity to succeed or fail legitimately. >>
I agree; I hope it doesn't compromise his ability to go inside, and likely some hitters are going to try and exploit that next time he does, but I definitely admire his get up, so I don't think it's likely.
Also, I noticed this wording in an AP article in the Metro on my way into work this morning. In the recap of yesterday's game, they write how Francona was ejected following a "controversial play involving Alex Rodriguez" without any mention of Youkilis at all.
I looked at the past 4 seasons to see how many times Jeter and A-Rod have been hit by Sox pitchers and how many times Manny and Ortiz have.
HBP Since 2004:
v. Red Sox
Jeter-8
A-Rod-6
v. Yanks
Manny-1
Ortiz-0
Thats our 2 biggest targets versus their biggest targets. 14-1.
With that said Manny and Ortiz do not get hit often so the total is expected to be low, while Jeter and A-Rod do get hit pretty often so their totals are expected to be high. In the past 4 years A-Rod has been hit every 11.82 games and Jeter has been hit every 12.46 games. Against the Sox A-Rod has been hit every 12 games and Jeter every 8.5 games. So it doesn't look like they go after A-Rod anymore than he would get hit on avergage. But you could have a bit of a case with Jeter. Or it could just be their philosphy to really pound him inside.
If the Yanks were into sending messeges one would think the Sox' 2 best players would be hit more than 1 combined time. Which makes me think that people like Youkilis should stop flattering themselves and realize they may not be as important as they think they are.
I'm not trying to provide a stance I just thought it was interesting to look at and I wanted to share.
And I would also like to point out that the Angels have hit Jeter every 7.6 games so maybe we should keep an eye on that one ;)
But for the love of Babe Ruth, please send him away.
I'd rather see Mussina take his at-bats.
If he uses Minky as the DR instead of Phillips, I don't have a huge problem with that. Otherwise, I'm hard pressed to see what you're worried about.
also, am i the only one concerned that even an effective clemens may only last 6 innings a start, especially in the playoffs (i hope)? he's appeared in 16 games and exceeded 6 innings 3 times. that's not a small request for this yankee bullpen, joba notwithstanding.
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