Posted by: Patrick
This is my weekly recap of the performance of the YanksBlog.com teams in the Yankees Bloggers Fantasy Baseball League.
Last Week
I defeated the 1st place (and still 1st place) Mike (River Ave. Blues) in a dogfight, 5-4. We tied in runs and with most other categories being pretty close. I won 3 out of 5 offensive categories and he won 3 out of 5 pitching categories. All I can say is thank goodness for Alex. His 9 runs, 5 home runs, 13 RBIs and .370 average led my offense, although Abreu and Thome both hitting over .400 didn't hurt, either. Jose Reyes was the dominant performer on Mike's side, scoring 8 runs, hitting a homer, driving in 5 and swiping 4 bases while hitting .464. On the pitching side, Mike's combination of Joe Nathan (3 saves), Francisco Rodriguez (2) and Jason Frasor (1) led to him taking the saves category. Led by 17 K's by a Red Sox pitcher and 15 K's by Cole Hamels, he also took strikeouts in addition to WHIP. On my side, Barry Zito rebounded in a big way, being the only 2 win player on either side and having an ERA of 0.00 on top of that. Verlander, Igawa and Freddy Garcia each had a win of their own, giving me just enough wins to take that category.
Seamus was victorious over Dave (Pride of the Yankees) by the score of 6-4. Despite hitting just 2 home runs, Seamus' team was able to take 4 out of 5 offensive categories. They racked up 11 stolen bases, led by the 6 run, 7 RBI, 2 SB, .524 AVG performance of Joe Mauer. Hanley Ramírez was probably the biggest star on Dave's side, scoring 7, hitting 2 home runs, driving in 3, stealing 1 and hitting .357. Seamus' pitching staff only had 1 win (Ervin Santana) and 1 save (Todd Jones) the entire week (compared to 3 and 8 for Dave), but they did manage to squeak out the ERA and WHIP categories. Meanwhile, Dave had 5 pitchers with saves: Al Reyes, Armando Benitez and Solomon Torres each had 2 while Jason Isringhausen and Akinori Otsuka picked up 1 a piece. Isringhausen, Haren and Glavine each had a win.
Finally, in the most lopsided game (final score wise) of the week, James topped Aziz (Pride of the Yankees), 8-2. The pitching and hitting from both teams was excellent with a number of categories being narrowly taken. On James offense, Michael Barrett scored 5 runs, hit 4 homers, drove in 10 and had a .381 AVG. Travis Hafner led Aziz's offense with 5 runs, 3 home runs, 8 RBI and a .545 AVG. Peavy, Penny and Cain (11 K's, 0.56 ERA, 0.75 WHIP) had 1 win a piece for James with Bobby Jenks having a 3 save week (Jose Valverde also had 1). Aziz's only win came from Ben Sheets while he received a 3 save week of his own from Francisco Cordero with Tom Gordon and Takashi Saito having 1 to give him the saves category.
It was a good week for the YanksBlog.com teams as it was the first one where we won all 3 games (also the first one where we won at least 2 out of 3, hehe). We have a team at .500 (James)! Yay!
Top 3 teams in the league:
1. Mike (20-9-1)
2. Ben (River Ave. Blues) (19-10-1)
3. EJ (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) (17-11-2)
This Week
Patrick (6th, 13-14-3) vs. Dave (10th, 10-19-1).
James (5th, 14-14-2) vs. Seamus (7th, 12-17-1). Nooooooooooooo...
Last Week
I defeated the 1st place (and still 1st place) Mike (River Ave. Blues) in a dogfight, 5-4. We tied in runs and with most other categories being pretty close. I won 3 out of 5 offensive categories and he won 3 out of 5 pitching categories. All I can say is thank goodness for Alex. His 9 runs, 5 home runs, 13 RBIs and .370 average led my offense, although Abreu and Thome both hitting over .400 didn't hurt, either. Jose Reyes was the dominant performer on Mike's side, scoring 8 runs, hitting a homer, driving in 5 and swiping 4 bases while hitting .464. On the pitching side, Mike's combination of Joe Nathan (3 saves), Francisco Rodriguez (2) and Jason Frasor (1) led to him taking the saves category. Led by 17 K's by a Red Sox pitcher and 15 K's by Cole Hamels, he also took strikeouts in addition to WHIP. On my side, Barry Zito rebounded in a big way, being the only 2 win player on either side and having an ERA of 0.00 on top of that. Verlander, Igawa and Freddy Garcia each had a win of their own, giving me just enough wins to take that category.
Seamus was victorious over Dave (Pride of the Yankees) by the score of 6-4. Despite hitting just 2 home runs, Seamus' team was able to take 4 out of 5 offensive categories. They racked up 11 stolen bases, led by the 6 run, 7 RBI, 2 SB, .524 AVG performance of Joe Mauer. Hanley Ramírez was probably the biggest star on Dave's side, scoring 7, hitting 2 home runs, driving in 3, stealing 1 and hitting .357. Seamus' pitching staff only had 1 win (Ervin Santana) and 1 save (Todd Jones) the entire week (compared to 3 and 8 for Dave), but they did manage to squeak out the ERA and WHIP categories. Meanwhile, Dave had 5 pitchers with saves: Al Reyes, Armando Benitez and Solomon Torres each had 2 while Jason Isringhausen and Akinori Otsuka picked up 1 a piece. Isringhausen, Haren and Glavine each had a win.
Finally, in the most lopsided game (final score wise) of the week, James topped Aziz (Pride of the Yankees), 8-2. The pitching and hitting from both teams was excellent with a number of categories being narrowly taken. On James offense, Michael Barrett scored 5 runs, hit 4 homers, drove in 10 and had a .381 AVG. Travis Hafner led Aziz's offense with 5 runs, 3 home runs, 8 RBI and a .545 AVG. Peavy, Penny and Cain (11 K's, 0.56 ERA, 0.75 WHIP) had 1 win a piece for James with Bobby Jenks having a 3 save week (Jose Valverde also had 1). Aziz's only win came from Ben Sheets while he received a 3 save week of his own from Francisco Cordero with Tom Gordon and Takashi Saito having 1 to give him the saves category.
It was a good week for the YanksBlog.com teams as it was the first one where we won all 3 games (also the first one where we won at least 2 out of 3, hehe). We have a team at .500 (James)! Yay!
Top 3 teams in the league:
1. Mike (20-9-1)
2. Ben (River Ave. Blues) (19-10-1)
3. EJ (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) (17-11-2)
This Week
Patrick (6th, 13-14-3) vs. Dave (10th, 10-19-1).
James (5th, 14-14-2) vs. Seamus (7th, 12-17-1). Nooooooooooooo...
Posted by: David
Chase Wright had the "Right Stuff" until the third inning. With the Yankees ahead 3-0, Wright got the first two outs before facing Manny Ramirez. Ramirez hit the first of four consecutive home runs to give Boston the lead at 4-3. He was followed by J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek.
The Yankees scored two in the first on a double from Jason Giambi which scored Abreu and A-Rod. Giambi later singled over the dive of the second basemen to extend the Yankees lead to 3-0.
After the third inning fireworks from the Red Sox, the Yankees were able to take the lead at 5-4 with a homer from Derek Jeter and a double play ball scoring the go ahead run.
The lead lasted until the seventh inning when overused Scott Proctor gave up three consecutive hits to Ramirez, Drew and Lowell, the last being Mike Lowell's second homer of the game to give the Red Sox the lead at 7-5.
The Yankees pulled to within one at 7-6 in the eighth but Dustin Pedroia's diving grab of pinch hitter's Josh Phelps' liner up the middle prevented the tying run from scoring.
Papelbon saved the game for Boston by ending the night by getting A-Rod to ground to third, having Abreu forced at second.
It was the first time the Red Sox had swept the Yankees in Beantown since the 70's.
The Yankees now head to Tampa Bay with Kei Igawa on the hill tonight followed by the return of Chien Ming-Wang on Tuesday.
The Yankees scored two in the first on a double from Jason Giambi which scored Abreu and A-Rod. Giambi later singled over the dive of the second basemen to extend the Yankees lead to 3-0.
After the third inning fireworks from the Red Sox, the Yankees were able to take the lead at 5-4 with a homer from Derek Jeter and a double play ball scoring the go ahead run.
The lead lasted until the seventh inning when overused Scott Proctor gave up three consecutive hits to Ramirez, Drew and Lowell, the last being Mike Lowell's second homer of the game to give the Red Sox the lead at 7-5.
The Yankees pulled to within one at 7-6 in the eighth but Dustin Pedroia's diving grab of pinch hitter's Josh Phelps' liner up the middle prevented the tying run from scoring.
Papelbon saved the game for Boston by ending the night by getting A-Rod to ground to third, having Abreu forced at second.
It was the first time the Red Sox had swept the Yankees in Beantown since the 70's.
The Yankees now head to Tampa Bay with Kei Igawa on the hill tonight followed by the return of Chien Ming-Wang on Tuesday.
Posted by: Patrick
Peter Abraham also mentions that the last Yankee to have as good a month as Alex is having was Roger Maris in July of '61. Maris had 13 home runs and 32 RBI. A-Rod has 12 and 30. His 21 game hit streak is the longest of his career.
Abraham also points to something I hadn't heard about, yet... Jeter has hit safely in 51 of his last 53 games (starting August 20, 2006). Not bad.
Abraham also points to something I hadn't heard about, yet... Jeter has hit safely in 51 of his last 53 games (starting August 20, 2006). Not bad.
Posted by: Patrick
Peter Abraham reports that Wang has been cleared to start on Tuesday against Tampa Bay. Could we have our original 5 man rotation back together by May 1?
04/21: ESPN "Betrayal" Commercial
Posted by: Patrick
Have you seen the ESPN commercial with Jorge Posada and David Ortiz? You can watch it here. Hilarious. My favorite part is when Wally (the Green Monster) drops what he's carrying. I watched that part on replay like 20 times last night. Good stuff.
While you're there, you can also check out the next commercial, "Hip Hip Jorge" - another one staring Posada.
Via noMaas.org.
While you're there, you can also check out the next commercial, "Hip Hip Jorge" - another one staring Posada.
Via noMaas.org.
Posted by: Patrick
Jorge left last night's game in the 4th with a bruised thumb. He'll miss a couple of days.
Also, Colter Bean was promoted yesterday with Darrell Rasner receiving a demotion.
Also, Colter Bean was promoted yesterday with Darrell Rasner receiving a demotion.
Posted by: David
Mariano Rivera simply does not have command yet and as a result he allowed two inherited runners to score and two that he let on to score as well and the Yankees lost 7-6 to the Red Sox on Friday night.
A-Rod connected for two more homers off Curt Schilling a bases empty shot early and a two run shot the very next inning. He also scored the sixth run of the game after doubling down the line.
Luis Vizcaino started the eighth and allowed one run and left with runners on first and third and only one out. Torre had specifically mentioned all of spring training that Rivera would not be used except for the ninth inning. That changed on Friday night as he was summoned and he simply let pitches get too much of the plate and got hurt.
He gave up a single to Varitek to make it 6-4 and then Coco Crisp bounced a ball down the line in right which tied the score and left him at third with a triple. Joey Cora blooped a single over a drawn in infield and the Red Sox had the lead at 7-6.
The Yankees has a chance in the ninth since Jonathan Papelbon was not available but could not tie the score and lost 7-6.
The series resumes tomorrow afternoon with Jeff Karstens vs. Josh Beckett and Sunday night Chase Wright faces off vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka.
A-Rod connected for two more homers off Curt Schilling a bases empty shot early and a two run shot the very next inning. He also scored the sixth run of the game after doubling down the line.
Luis Vizcaino started the eighth and allowed one run and left with runners on first and third and only one out. Torre had specifically mentioned all of spring training that Rivera would not be used except for the ninth inning. That changed on Friday night as he was summoned and he simply let pitches get too much of the plate and got hurt.
He gave up a single to Varitek to make it 6-4 and then Coco Crisp bounced a ball down the line in right which tied the score and left him at third with a triple. Joey Cora blooped a single over a drawn in infield and the Red Sox had the lead at 7-6.
The Yankees has a chance in the ninth since Jonathan Papelbon was not available but could not tie the score and lost 7-6.
The series resumes tomorrow afternoon with Jeff Karstens vs. Josh Beckett and Sunday night Chase Wright faces off vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka.
04/20: Congrats Alex and Emily!
Posted by: Patrick
I know that James mentioned it, but I just wanted to offer congratulations, from everyone at YanksBlog.com, to Alex and Emily, who tied the knot Thursday. We wish them both a long, happy life together.
04/19: Down Goes Sanchez!
Posted by: James
Well, this is pretty much the book on Humberto Sanchez. The kid, who was the headliner in the Gary Sheffield trade, just can't stay healthy. Humberto had elbow ligament-replacement surgery Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season. As Mike A. points out, Sanchez is the fourth in a line of VERY talented Yankees arms to go down this season (Mark Melancon, Christian Garcia and JB Cox are the others).
I wonder if Cashman kept the receipt - maybe he can get an exchange.
Cashman said Dr. James Andrews operated Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala. While three scans didn't show ligament damage, Cashman said the need for ligament replacement became clear when Andrews operated Wednesday.
I wonder if Cashman kept the receipt - maybe he can get an exchange.
04/19: April 19th vs. The Indians
Posted by: James
First off...Wow. Just wow...what an amazing end to this game. By now, you probably know that the Yankees won but here's how it went down.
Darrell Rasner started (the first time since 1991 three rookies had started in a series for the Yanks) and was fairly effective for the first four innings. He got into trouble in the fourth, giving up a solo home run to David Dellucci and then loading the bases with one out. He was able to get out of that by getting Casey Blake to pop out and then setting Johnny Peralta down on strikes. In the fifth with one on and one out and sitting at 81 pitches, Joe decided to pull Rasner, which begs the question of if there is something going on with Rasner. Does he not have enough arm strength to throw more than 80 pitches? He's thrown 76, 78 and now 81 pitches in each of his three starts so far.
The Yankees scored their first run in the 3rd when Johnny Damon stole second after getting on with a single. A Bobby Abreu single (one of his four hits on the day) brought Damon home. Their second run came on Jason Giambi home run to right field in the sixth. Giambi is really getting hot now, with back to back games with homeruns and a 6 game hitting streak (3 HRs and 1 2B during the streak).
The Indians took the lead in the 7th when Luis Vizcaino came in. Luis had nothing today. He walked Jason Michaels to start, gave up a double to Grady Sizemore and a RBI groundout to Delluci. An intentional walk to Travis Hafner brought up Victor Martinez who promptly deposited a 3-1 pitch from Viscaino in right-center, 5-2 Indians. The Indians scored an insurance run in the 9th when after two singles by Hafner and Martinez. an A-Rod error allowed Hafner to score though it's debatable whether it should really have even been an error actually.
In any case, the Yankees started off the ninth against Joe Borowski and racked up two quick outs...but then Josh Phelps strode to the plate. He started the scoring with a deep home run to left and now has the same number of hits as Doug Mientkiewicz (in less than half the at-bats). Johnny Damon followed a Jorge Posada single (Jorge was down to his last strike) with a walk. Posada scored on a Derek Jeter single and Damon followed him in on Bobby Abreu's single (Bobby was also down 1-2 in the count). 6-5 Indians, two men on and two out and A-Rod stepping in. He had gone hitless in his first four at-bats (2 Ks) but redeemed himself in the best way possible by depositing a fat 1-0 fastball into the Yankees bullpen, extending his hitting streak to 19 games (dating back to last season). A-Rod and the rest of the players and coaches (and the fans that stuck around) had one heck of a celebration when he crossed home plate. It was simply amazing to watch and one heck of a wedding present for Mr. and Mrs. Alex Bleth. Big old congrats to Alex!
When it was all said and done, Yankees 8, Indians 6 and Sean Henn got his first major league victory in relief. Oh and A-Rod's line is now .351/.418/.965 with 10 HRs and 26 RBIs and moves one HR behind Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for 25th on the all-time HR list. Not too shabby.
Darrell Rasner started (the first time since 1991 three rookies had started in a series for the Yanks) and was fairly effective for the first four innings. He got into trouble in the fourth, giving up a solo home run to David Dellucci and then loading the bases with one out. He was able to get out of that by getting Casey Blake to pop out and then setting Johnny Peralta down on strikes. In the fifth with one on and one out and sitting at 81 pitches, Joe decided to pull Rasner, which begs the question of if there is something going on with Rasner. Does he not have enough arm strength to throw more than 80 pitches? He's thrown 76, 78 and now 81 pitches in each of his three starts so far.
The Yankees scored their first run in the 3rd when Johnny Damon stole second after getting on with a single. A Bobby Abreu single (one of his four hits on the day) brought Damon home. Their second run came on Jason Giambi home run to right field in the sixth. Giambi is really getting hot now, with back to back games with homeruns and a 6 game hitting streak (3 HRs and 1 2B during the streak).
The Indians took the lead in the 7th when Luis Vizcaino came in. Luis had nothing today. He walked Jason Michaels to start, gave up a double to Grady Sizemore and a RBI groundout to Delluci. An intentional walk to Travis Hafner brought up Victor Martinez who promptly deposited a 3-1 pitch from Viscaino in right-center, 5-2 Indians. The Indians scored an insurance run in the 9th when after two singles by Hafner and Martinez. an A-Rod error allowed Hafner to score though it's debatable whether it should really have even been an error actually.
In any case, the Yankees started off the ninth against Joe Borowski and racked up two quick outs...but then Josh Phelps strode to the plate. He started the scoring with a deep home run to left and now has the same number of hits as Doug Mientkiewicz (in less than half the at-bats). Johnny Damon followed a Jorge Posada single (Jorge was down to his last strike) with a walk. Posada scored on a Derek Jeter single and Damon followed him in on Bobby Abreu's single (Bobby was also down 1-2 in the count). 6-5 Indians, two men on and two out and A-Rod stepping in. He had gone hitless in his first four at-bats (2 Ks) but redeemed himself in the best way possible by depositing a fat 1-0 fastball into the Yankees bullpen, extending his hitting streak to 19 games (dating back to last season). A-Rod and the rest of the players and coaches (and the fans that stuck around) had one heck of a celebration when he crossed home plate. It was simply amazing to watch and one heck of a wedding present for Mr. and Mrs. Alex Bleth. Big old congrats to Alex!
When it was all said and done, Yankees 8, Indians 6 and Sean Henn got his first major league victory in relief. Oh and A-Rod's line is now .351/.418/.965 with 10 HRs and 26 RBIs and moves one HR behind Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for 25th on the all-time HR list. Not too shabby.
