Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Mike Mussina didn't just pitch well last night, he turned in his best start of the season, holding the Orioles scoreless over seven innings while striking out six. After walking Brian Roberts to start the game, Mussina allowed just three singles, one of which didn't leave the infield, and didn't allow a man to reach second base until there were two outs in the seventh. Along the way, Mussina got nine of his outs on the ground, two of them on a double play he turned himself. Indeed, in addition to his great pitching, Moose put on a clinic in the field, making three assists (one a screaming liner at his face that he knocked down for an easy 1-3 putout) and two putouts. The one infield single he allowed came when he ranged far off the third base side of the mound to glove a grounder by Tejada and attempted something of a Jeter jump throw while falling toward the foul line. That came in the seventh inning in which the two other batters grounded back to the mound and the fourth struck out. Put simply, it was an outstanding night for Mussina, who had great movement on his fastball, which dove back over the plate after coming in on the lefties, solid velocity around 90 miles per hour, and a sharp 70-mile-per-hour curve. Moose will make one more start this season in the finale of the Yankees' series in Tampa Bay. It will likely take two great starts from Ian Kennedy and a complete collapse from Mussina his next time out for Moose's performance last night not to have earned him a spot in the postseason rotation.
While Moose was cruising, the Yankees were moleicesting Jon Leicester, dropping a six-spot on the Baltimore starter in the fourth inning with Doug Mientkiewicz delivering the big blow in the form of a three-run homer to the upper deck in left. The Yanks plated a leadoff walk by Posada in the sixth, then lept all over Cleveland castoff Fernando Cabrera in the seventh, scoring five more times against him and Rob Bell to put the final score at 12-0. Jose Veras and Ron Villone swept up, with a Alberto Gonzalez error leading to the only base runner, one quickly erased by a double play.
The Orioles seem to heal all the Yankees' wounds last night. Not only did Mussina have his best game of the year, but Hideki Matsui went 2 for 5 with a double and three RBIs, and even Melky Cabrera came up with a two-RBI single in the five-run seventh, which snapped his 0-for-16 skid. Melky also had a sac fly for three RBIs on the night. Elsewhere, Mientkiewicz drove in four, and both Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano went 3 for 4 with a double, while Shelley Duncan struck out in his first plate appearance since September 5 and Bronson Sardinha did the same in his second major league at-bat.
Oh, and the Red Sox and Tigers both lost, so the Yanks are 2.5 games back (two in the loss column) in the East (which is nice, but with just ten games left, likely meaningless), and have a 4.5-game lead (five in the loss column) in the Wild Card (which, with just ten games left, all but guarantees them a playoff spot), while the Indians will remain tied with the Angels for the second seed in the AL should the Angels hold on to their 2-0 lead against the Devil Rays.
No mention of Arod's slump, or is not long enough yet? I don't know, he hasn't had an XBH in almost 40 PA now. I'd give him the day off (but get Giambi in the lineup to compensate).
All right, I'm sleeping early for once. Go Yanks.
When I was in California, Alex Rodriguez hit .515/.579/1.273 with 8 home runs. Since I've returned, he's hit .200/.323/.200 with no extra-base hits and 9 Ks.
So who wants to pay for me to take another vacation?
I think going off the rails a bit put a bit of fear in Mussina like 'Whoa! I don't want this to be over.' and he found a new focus and another gear. He'll finish 12-10 and a 4.75 ERA and it won't look like such a bad season.
Q: How good were Mussina's fielding plays? The guy fields his cranky ass off.
I just realized that, of all the amazing pitchers the Yanks have had over the last dozen years, outside of Pettitte and Mo, no one has been on the Yanks longer than Moose. Not Coney, not Boomer, not Duque, not Rocket. Not Stanton or Nelson or Mendoza. Who'da thunk it?
4 And miss out on your must-read series previews and recaps? HA! A-Rod can bust out of his "slump" on his own.
I disagree.
4 Wait for the playoffs. Take all of October off.
This was no small feat by Moose. Even though everyone says the Birds are a mess, etc. — they've been a splinter in our eye all season. A Moosterpiece and a 12-0 beatdown was exactly what we had to do.
6 "When Moose is on, its a joy to watch him pitch." Truer words never spoken. When all 32 of his pitches are crackin', it's better than watching a home run barrage. How about how he abused Freddie Bynum tonight? That was borderline illegal...
Everyone who's hit the skids for a while seems to be getting their groove back, and the timing couldn't be better. That stiff at third base is also due to carry his weight again, so I ain't too worried right now...
And since our magic number is 2, I'm lovin' the fact 'Big Game' Andy is going next, 'cause they all big games from here on out...
Yankee tradition! Mutts suck!
"Yeah. Mike Mussina."
16 Thanks for the heads up, just tuned it in on EI. Let's go Phill-eees...
Come on, Cliff, a little faith!
Can't you just taste it?
Come on, admit it!
Dare to dream!
The Yankees seem like a pretty cohesive group right now, and are playing well and seem to have the right attitude (we haven't won anything yet, .......wait until the games have all been played...etc.)
I'm very impressed with the combination of veterans and youth. In a rebuilding year, no less. Hopefully, this will be a winning combination come October.
By the way, will there be November baseball this year if the Series goes 7?
Keep up the good work.
And, despite the acquisition of Lyle Overbay, we would eliminate the Toronto Blue Jays from playoff contention.
today, however, whenever i looked up from my book, i was surrounded by this image:
http://tinyurl.com/2xtweh
i am doing my best not to get too excited, but it is nice to see the people around here sweat a little. i had been on the receiving end of a lot of trash talk all summer long.
it has been pretty quiet recently.
Not a Met-hater at all, but it's fun to hear how irrational fans get when things are not going right (when it's not your team, of course). However, I take it more a little personally when they get on Willie Randolph. That's our guy you're beating on, Mr. Met, and maybe you don't deserve a winner like Willie.
On the Yankee side of the tracks, I'm doing my best not to get too excited myself.
All night, I'm watching Moose pitch this gem, and thinking, let's see him do this against a team that isn't playing out the string. Let's see him do this against a team of sluggers. Thankfully, the Tigers probably won't get another shot at Moose next month.
Like most pitchers, especially #4 pitchers, Moose is generally effective when there are no runners on, and he's ahead in the count.
But in stickier situations, and tougher lineups Moose isn't as lights out as he was last night. Not saying he can't win us a game in October, just saying I still think he can go either way in a Game 4 situation, same as all #4 pitchers.
...Arizona is 18 games over .500 while they have allowed 22 more runs then they have scored.
...2 teams are tied for the NL Central. Both are all of 6 games over .500
...The Yanks are 3.5 games ahead of the Mets. Boston is only 0.5 game ahead of both Cleveland and the Halos.
...The Yanks lead MLB in RS with 891. I don't think we will make 1000, but 950 looks reasonable
...Papi is making an MVP push, 2nd in OPS and only 31 pts behind a lost ARod.
... The great Sheffield and the slumping Matsui have basically identical season numbers (except for ABs).
... Surprisingly, the Yanks are 4th in the AL in FPct.
From a WW reader:
"My personal opinion is that Torre has done an absolutely superb job this year. Some may argue about the bullpen, but I see that as the pitching coach's responsibility, as much as the managers. The core job of a manager, in any field, is to keep his people focused, ready to compete, and to get the best out of them. Torre was the exact opposite of a quitter this year, and he calmly and resolutely infused that attitude into the players.
"
According to baseball-reference.com, here are the career leaders in Wins for the Yanks :
1. Whitey Ford 236
2. Red Ruffing 231
3. Lefty Gomez 189
4. Ron Guidry 170
5. Bob Shawkey 168
6. Mel Stottlemyre 164
7. Herb Pennock 162
Andy Pettitte 162
9. Waite Hoyt 157
10. Allie Reynolds 131
Mussina's win last night gives him 102 career wins with the Yanks (w/ 147 wins as an Oriole).
Also, if Pettitte comes back next season, he should pass Gator and move into 4th place in wins for the Yanks, with a chance to pass Lefty Gomez in 2009.
I can assure the non-New Englanders that losing the Division will/woud be devastating, even if the Sox coasted into the play-offs. It would matter. It would make it harder for them to win in the post-season. There's no doubt in my mind.
"Moosterpiece" is not one of them. The coinage is sublime, indeed, a moosterpiece in its own right.
Moosterpiece.
Say it soft and it's almost like praying.
Good playoff perks, but that's about it.
The Cardinals and Tigers (who blew the division) crawled into the playoffs last year, and ended up in the World Series. For the players 'first place,' or 'wild card' status doesn't matter once the games start. Bragging rights for fans is another thing.
I have no concerns about his stuff, but more about him losing his aggressive edge when runners are on, and the O's didn't challenge him at all.
No question the Yanks would be interested in him, but I have no idea where he'd stack up against Torre, Mattingly, and Girardi on their managerial wish list.
I'd hire him in a heartbeat to manage the Yanks, but that might be the 11 year old 2nd baseman in me talking.
11 And before Mussina, there was David Cone.
Great job by Moose, I think he was going through a "dead arm" period or something like that. Sure the Orioles are real bad right now, but the whole team did what they were supposed to do against real bad teams.
As protective as I feel about Willie when the Mets fans get on him, I also have to smile a "Welcome-to-our-world" kind of smile because his faults are the same ones Joe maddens us all with.
I love Joe, but when he goes, I'd like to see him replaced by a new sort of manager, not a disciple.
Then again, how invaluable is that steady hand, even-keeled approach of his?
Was 14 1/2, is 2 1/2.
The movement was down and in, I think, and didn't seem a familiar part of Mike's repertoire.
I was an eleven-year old second baseman myself.
I began as a shortstop, and had a great glove and great range. Unfortunately, I had a weak-ass arm, and it was wild to boot.
Next season they moved me to second base, where I thrived.
Ah, happy days.
Willie was a big, big hero of mine, albeit a quiet one in a lineup with Mattingly, Winfield and Rickey.
46 I was thinking El Duque, who doesn't actually throw that many pitches, but because of all the arm slot changes, hitters say it feels like he does.
Don't bring up Duque.
It's such a raw nerve of mine. Why the fuck did we ever let him go?
We've had to suffer a parade of underachieving, Next Big Thing pitchers for years and years while letting Duque (and especially Andy) walk away.
We should have locked up Duque back when we had the chance and it infuriates me that he's gone on to have a fine career since.
At least I get to watch him pitch across town, I guess that's better than nothing.
But still, who the hell wouldn't want the guy on your team to hang around and contribute whatever he's capable of contributing?
Hmph!
But to be honest, I stole it from NoMaas. They probably stole it from someone else.
With that said I still won't forget what he brought to the Yanks in the playoffs pre-2004.
Division 10.22900 WC 87.16942 Post Season 97.39842
The Tigers have about 2.5% for the WC.
tinyurl.com/7gjwz
Imo, you should hold onto a known quantity and take what he can give you.
I'm not saying he's a healthy pitcher you can pencil in 15 W to, but rather that, compared to the parade of duds we've had since, I'd keep him around for whatever he was able to offer, be it bullpen, spot start, the chance to shine in a key game, etc.
I think we'd have done well to keep him around as our fifth starter, is all I'm saying.
OPS = 1.001
OPS+ = 157
Small sample size, but still.
Oh wait. Maybe we should forget about him, but then again, without his one win, the Yankees would be 3 1/2 games back in the division.
HA HA HA HA ... I jest.
I tell ya, the last two nights of baseball has done wonders for my mood.
I think our Division chance would go up to somwehere between 25% and 30% if we win and Boston loses.
Pretty sure it was April 21/22, during that series with the Sox...
Look at the massive gap the Sox enjoyed most of the season, and the recent, steep narrowing of it...
If the Yanks win the division, I might just have to buy a print of it. Sure as hell would look better on my wall than most of the crap modern art that's out there these days- I'm calling YOU out, Rothko!
As much as Duque had done for the Yanks, I'd have let him walk after the 2004 season too, especially after his shoulder started acting up during the postseason.
That offseason was a mess anyway, what with letting Loaiza & Lieber walk, and not making a run at Pedro.
Certainly, Moose was great last night, but he was also getting the close calls from the ump which seem to have been going against him lately and causing him to get flustered. He even gave the ump a "thumbs up" and told him good job after he came out of the game.
Did anyone else see the MASN broadcast? Is it just me or does Gary Thorne us the word "literally" a little too much and in the wrong spots? IIRC (and maybe I misheard him), he said "Melky camps under the fly ball... literally". I expected to see a pup-tent getting pitched and a fire being built...
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