Posted by: James
The first seven innings are a breeze to recap.
Chien-Ming Wang: He's GRRREAT. For the Yanks, Wang carried a no-hitter through 6 innings (not a perfect game as he had control issues for much of the game - 4 BBs over 7 innings). Wang gave up a single to Mike Lowell in the 7th to break up the no-hit bid, putting runners on first and second with no out (error by Jeter had put Youkilis on earlier). Of course, he's the Worm Killer, so he was able to induce a ground ball DP and a strikeout of Jason Varitek to get out of further trouble.
As good as Wang was, Schilling was just as good against all the Yankees... except for Robbie Cano who took him deep TWICE (in the third and the fifth and the second shot was longer than the first). Schilling also had issues with Jeter who was 4-for 4 for the game but was stranded early by Abreu and A-Rod.
Joba came in for the 8th and, though he gave up a 2-out double to Dustin Pedroia, got through the inning unscathed.
The same can't be said for the Red Sox pen as the Yankees scored a couple of insurance runs to try to put this game away. Okajima comes on for the 8th and after getting Damon to ground out, gives up a single to Jeter, a double to Abreu (scoring Jeter) and intentionally walked A-Rod. With Hideki Matsui up, Abreu and A-Rod advanced on a double steal and scored when Varitek threw the ball away making the score 5-0.
Top of the ninth... and to everyone's surprise Joba comes out. I dunno why. I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to pitch him one inning and give him a days rest so he can be ready when IPK is pitching on Saturday? It's not like like there's no one else in the bullpen, i.e. FREE CHRIS BRITTON! In any case, it works out to be an abbreviated inning as, after a Ortiz fly-out, Joba gets tossed from the game. Why, you ask? Well, according to the ump, he was deliberately throwing at Kevin Youkilis... whatever. Edwar comes in and walks Youkilis before striking out Mike Lowell and getting J.D. Drew to pop out to foul territory. 5-0. Yankees Win. Yankees Sweep. Yankees take first in the WC by percentage points. A good game and a good day for Yankees fans...well, except for maybe Joe P.
Chien-Ming Wang: He's GRRREAT. For the Yanks, Wang carried a no-hitter through 6 innings (not a perfect game as he had control issues for much of the game - 4 BBs over 7 innings). Wang gave up a single to Mike Lowell in the 7th to break up the no-hit bid, putting runners on first and second with no out (error by Jeter had put Youkilis on earlier). Of course, he's the Worm Killer, so he was able to induce a ground ball DP and a strikeout of Jason Varitek to get out of further trouble.
As good as Wang was, Schilling was just as good against all the Yankees... except for Robbie Cano who took him deep TWICE (in the third and the fifth and the second shot was longer than the first). Schilling also had issues with Jeter who was 4-for 4 for the game but was stranded early by Abreu and A-Rod.
Joba came in for the 8th and, though he gave up a 2-out double to Dustin Pedroia, got through the inning unscathed.
The same can't be said for the Red Sox pen as the Yankees scored a couple of insurance runs to try to put this game away. Okajima comes on for the 8th and after getting Damon to ground out, gives up a single to Jeter, a double to Abreu (scoring Jeter) and intentionally walked A-Rod. With Hideki Matsui up, Abreu and A-Rod advanced on a double steal and scored when Varitek threw the ball away making the score 5-0.
Top of the ninth... and to everyone's surprise Joba comes out. I dunno why. I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to pitch him one inning and give him a days rest so he can be ready when IPK is pitching on Saturday? It's not like like there's no one else in the bullpen, i.e. FREE CHRIS BRITTON! In any case, it works out to be an abbreviated inning as, after a Ortiz fly-out, Joba gets tossed from the game. Why, you ask? Well, according to the ump, he was deliberately throwing at Kevin Youkilis... whatever. Edwar comes in and walks Youkilis before striking out Mike Lowell and getting J.D. Drew to pop out to foul territory. 5-0. Yankees Win. Yankees Sweep. Yankees take first in the WC by percentage points. A good game and a good day for Yankees fans...well, except for maybe Joe P.
08/29: IPK Speaks
Posted by: James
Jim Baumbach from Newsday talked to Ian Kennedy in Syracuse and the video was just posted at On The Yankees Beat. He seems pretty soft-spoken, polite and genuine. It's definitely worth a look if only to get a feel for what kind of guy he seems to be. Everyone will see what kind of pitcher he is soon enough.
Posted by: Patrick
The final episode of The Bronx is Burning aired last night. And the Yankees won! I knew they would. Good team. ;)
At any rate, I thought I'd see what everyone thought about the series, now that it's over. I enjoyed it and, in all, have the same thoughts I had after I watched the first episode. It was about the Yankees and I'm a Yankees fan. I'm not going to take it as the gospel, but I'm going to sit back and enjoy it for what it is and that's what I did.
Favorite moments? The funny ones tend to stick out to me. Munson and Lou in the shower, Steinbrenner watching the game with the college kids and Reggie and Billy telling Gabe Paul to relax a bit. The part with Joe D and Reggie in the last episode was cool, too.
"When haven't we been friends, Gabe?"
At any rate, I thought I'd see what everyone thought about the series, now that it's over. I enjoyed it and, in all, have the same thoughts I had after I watched the first episode. It was about the Yankees and I'm a Yankees fan. I'm not going to take it as the gospel, but I'm going to sit back and enjoy it for what it is and that's what I did.
Favorite moments? The funny ones tend to stick out to me. Munson and Lou in the shower, Steinbrenner watching the game with the college kids and Reggie and Billy telling Gabe Paul to relax a bit. The part with Joe D and Reggie in the last episode was cool, too.
"When haven't we been friends, Gabe?"
08/29: Joba vs. Gagne (8/29/07)
Posted by: Patrick
Since the trade deadline:
Joba: 8 G, 0-0, 0 S, 0 BS, 10.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 3 BB, 17 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, .121 BAA.
Gagne: 11 G, 1-1, 0 S, 2 BS, 10 IP, 18 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 13 K, 9.00 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, .383 BAA.
Baseball Tonight had a great stat, care of Brent Nycz:
Joba: 8 G, 0-0, 0 S, 0 BS, 10.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 HR, 3 BB, 17 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, .121 BAA.
Gagne: 11 G, 1-1, 0 S, 2 BS, 10 IP, 18 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 13 K, 9.00 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, .383 BAA.
Baseball Tonight had a great stat, care of Brent Nycz:
Joba Chamberlain is the first pitcher since 1900 to start his career with 8 scoreless appearances with one strikeout in every appearance.
08/29: Just 1 GB in Wild Card
Posted by: Patrick
After going down 5-0 after the 1st inning, the Angels outscored the Mariners over the next 8 innings, 10-1, to win 10-6. With our win, we are just 1 game back in the Wild Card.
Posted by: Patrick
Men (that's Mike plus Ben) have word that Ian Kennedy will take Mike Mussina's next start on Saturday.
Going into this season, who would have thought that all 5 of Joba, Phil, DeSalvo, Clippard and Kennedy would see Major League action... it's been an interesting year.
Going into this season, who would have thought that all 5 of Joba, Phil, DeSalvo, Clippard and Kennedy would see Major League action... it's been an interesting year.
Posted by: Patrick
Behind 7 good innings (6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks) from Andy Pettitte, the Yankees took the first of the final 6 games against the Red Sox, 5-3. They got on Matsuzaka early. After loading the bases with 1 out, Matsui grounded into a fielder's choice for RBI number 91 and Posada doubled to score Abreu to make it 2-0 to end the first inning.
The Red Sox picked up 1 run in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, thanks to a Manny Ramirez home run and a David Ortiz sacrifice fly. Manny would leave the game in the 7th with back spasms. The score remained 2-2 until the Captain took Dice-K deep to right to get the lead once again, 3-2. The Red Sox would tie it up once more with a Jason Varitek lead off homer in the 7th.
But, the Yankee struck right back in the bottom half of the inning. It started with an Andy Phillips single. Wilson Betemit ran for him and Melky sacrificed Betemit to second. Johnny Damon came up and came through with a huge 2 run shot to make it 5-3.
The Red Sox got their first taste of Joba in the top of the 8th. He faced (and walked) Kevin Youkilis first. He then got a fly out from Ortiz and a strike out from Eric Hinske. After a Mike Lowell single, he K'ed J.D. Drew to end the 8th. That's 10 innings for the big man - and 0 ER.
Mo came in to face the bottom 3rd of the Sox order in the 9th and it couldn't have gone better. He struck out Varitek and Crisp before retiring Lugo on a line up.
Both teams had 7 hits and 3 walks. The Red Sox left 15 runners on base to the Yankees 8. Damon (2 for 4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Jorge (2 for 4, 1 2B, 1 RBI) were the only Yankees to collect more than one hit. Jeter, Cano and Phillips each had a hit.
Tomorrow at 7:05 PM ET, we have Roger Clemens (5-5, 4.34) up against Josh Beckett (16-5, 3.21). It'll be Roger's first start against Boston this season.
The Red Sox picked up 1 run in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, thanks to a Manny Ramirez home run and a David Ortiz sacrifice fly. Manny would leave the game in the 7th with back spasms. The score remained 2-2 until the Captain took Dice-K deep to right to get the lead once again, 3-2. The Red Sox would tie it up once more with a Jason Varitek lead off homer in the 7th.
But, the Yankee struck right back in the bottom half of the inning. It started with an Andy Phillips single. Wilson Betemit ran for him and Melky sacrificed Betemit to second. Johnny Damon came up and came through with a huge 2 run shot to make it 5-3.
The Red Sox got their first taste of Joba in the top of the 8th. He faced (and walked) Kevin Youkilis first. He then got a fly out from Ortiz and a strike out from Eric Hinske. After a Mike Lowell single, he K'ed J.D. Drew to end the 8th. That's 10 innings for the big man - and 0 ER.
Mo came in to face the bottom 3rd of the Sox order in the 9th and it couldn't have gone better. He struck out Varitek and Crisp before retiring Lugo on a line up.
Both teams had 7 hits and 3 walks. The Red Sox left 15 runners on base to the Yankees 8. Damon (2 for 4, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Jorge (2 for 4, 1 2B, 1 RBI) were the only Yankees to collect more than one hit. Jeter, Cano and Phillips each had a hit.
Tomorrow at 7:05 PM ET, we have Roger Clemens (5-5, 4.34) up against Josh Beckett (16-5, 3.21). It'll be Roger's first start against Boston this season.
08/28: It's About Time
Posted by: James
Eagle-eyed Joe P. over at River Ave. Blues points out that Chris Britton has finally been recalled. He found the blurb at the end of Tyler Kepner's game recap. I would read the rest of the article - Moose's quotes seem so desperate. As someone who has liked him for a while, I honestly feel for the guy.
Mussina is the most analytical of pitchers, but he seems mystified by this slump. He talked about the small slice of the game that pitchers actually control. But even that much has gone awry, shaking his confidence deeply.
“Right now, I let go of it and I don’t feel like anything good is going to happen,” Mussina said. “It’s tough to pitch that way. You can’t play the game that way to feel like you have no control over anything, and that’s how I feel right now.
...
The Yankees owe Mussina more than $11 million for next season, but he seems to be nearing the end. It is a scary and sudden reality, and it has knocked him as low as he has ever been.
“It feels like I’m never going to pitch well enough to get to the sixth or seventh inning again,” Mussina said. “That’s just how it feels right now.”
“Right now, I let go of it and I don’t feel like anything good is going to happen,” Mussina said. “It’s tough to pitch that way. You can’t play the game that way to feel like you have no control over anything, and that’s how I feel right now.
...
The Yankees owe Mussina more than $11 million for next season, but he seems to be nearing the end. It is a scary and sudden reality, and it has knocked him as low as he has ever been.
“It feels like I’m never going to pitch well enough to get to the sixth or seventh inning again,” Mussina said. “That’s just how it feels right now.”
08/28: It Is What It Is
Posted by: Patrick
Here it is. 2007 New York Yankees, this is your life. I feel pretty good about these next 31 games because of who we are playing. We have 6 with the Red Sox and 3 with the Mariners. Besides those 9, we have 22 games against bad or mediocre teams: 6 games with the Devils Rays (.389 winning percentage), 3 with the Royals (.442), 6 with the Blue Jays (.504) and 6 with the Orioles (.450).
I believe we can still win the division. Even at 8 games back. Crazy? Maybe. Optimistic? Yes. But, the reason I feel that way is because of those 6 games with the Red Sox. We can get it down to 2 games back all on our own. But, I think that that is what we need to do - win all 6 games. That's not gonna be easy, but it can be done. We swept them in a 5 game series last year - different time, different circumstances, whatever, I don't care - we can do 6 this year. If we do that, I think we'll win the division. If we lose one game (if we win 5 out of 6), we'll be 4 games back and, though we could make that up, I don't see it happening. So, we take those 6 games, we win the division. The Red Sox also have a weak schedule the rest of the way out, except for us, so we need to sweep them twice.
Even if we fail to do that, we're only 2 games back of the Mariners (thank goodness). I've said all along that all we need to do is get in the playoffs. Get in the playoffs and anything can happen. We have 3 games against the Mariners, as I said. So, that'll be our opportunity to gain ground. Hopefully we can maintain pace with them to where we don't need to sweep them, but at least we'll have the chance. In their final 33 games, they have 6 against the Angels (.588), 3 against the Tigers (.542) and 5 against the Indians (.562), in addition to the 3 against us. So, they've got a bit tougher schedule than we do.
And that's a part of my optimism here. The good teams that we play are the ones that we need to pass. Every other team we play is below .500 except for the Blue Jays, which are just above. It's funny how that worked out. The stage is set. Now, like always, all we have to do is go out and win. Easier said, then done. But, it begins with a single game. Let's go, Yankees...
I believe we can still win the division. Even at 8 games back. Crazy? Maybe. Optimistic? Yes. But, the reason I feel that way is because of those 6 games with the Red Sox. We can get it down to 2 games back all on our own. But, I think that that is what we need to do - win all 6 games. That's not gonna be easy, but it can be done. We swept them in a 5 game series last year - different time, different circumstances, whatever, I don't care - we can do 6 this year. If we do that, I think we'll win the division. If we lose one game (if we win 5 out of 6), we'll be 4 games back and, though we could make that up, I don't see it happening. So, we take those 6 games, we win the division. The Red Sox also have a weak schedule the rest of the way out, except for us, so we need to sweep them twice.
Even if we fail to do that, we're only 2 games back of the Mariners (thank goodness). I've said all along that all we need to do is get in the playoffs. Get in the playoffs and anything can happen. We have 3 games against the Mariners, as I said. So, that'll be our opportunity to gain ground. Hopefully we can maintain pace with them to where we don't need to sweep them, but at least we'll have the chance. In their final 33 games, they have 6 against the Angels (.588), 3 against the Tigers (.542) and 5 against the Indians (.562), in addition to the 3 against us. So, they've got a bit tougher schedule than we do.
And that's a part of my optimism here. The good teams that we play are the ones that we need to pass. Every other team we play is below .500 except for the Blue Jays, which are just above. It's funny how that worked out. The stage is set. Now, like always, all we have to do is go out and win. Easier said, then done. But, it begins with a single game. Let's go, Yankees...
Posted by: Seamus
After watching the first few months of the season where the Yankees struggled despite such a high scoring margin, a lot of Yankee fans probably thought that it's a shame that scores aren't cumulative over the course of the season and run into the next game. After an 18-9 roasting earlier in this road trip via the Angels and now a 16-0 loss in Detroit in the thick of a pennant race, the only consolation is that tonight's game against Boston will start with a score of 0-0. The loss last night puts the Yankees a full 8 games behind the Red Sox, deeming this upcoming series more important for the Yankees in terms of keeping up with the Mariners in the wild card chase than anything else. Seattle lost to the Angels, so they remain 2 back, but fell 4 behind the Angels, which can become significant should the Mariners catch them in the standings.
Mike Mussina logged yet another awful outing, going only three innings and allowing 6 runs off 9 hits in a game he knew was especially crucial, considering all the speculation about what may happen to his spot in the rotation. Obviously he's not going to be replaced by Kei Igawa (I say "obviously" but there are no surprises with this staff), but as we approach September 1, we may see a young guy like Ian Kennedy or Steven White get a shot once the roster expands to 40 players.
As for the Yankees' offense last night...oh wait, there was none (/paragraph).
The Yankees will be coming off a 2-5 road trip heading into tonight's game against the Red Sox, but on the bright side the momentum from other games always seems to be totally discarded coming into these series as if there is a separate season that consists only of Yanks. vs. Red Sox games. The Yankees will send Andy Pettite (11-7) to the mound to face Daisuke Matsuzaka (13-10) in a matchup featuring two pitchers who all in all have both pitched better than their won-loss records. Game starts at 7:05 ET.
Mike Mussina logged yet another awful outing, going only three innings and allowing 6 runs off 9 hits in a game he knew was especially crucial, considering all the speculation about what may happen to his spot in the rotation. Obviously he's not going to be replaced by Kei Igawa (I say "obviously" but there are no surprises with this staff), but as we approach September 1, we may see a young guy like Ian Kennedy or Steven White get a shot once the roster expands to 40 players.
As for the Yankees' offense last night...oh wait, there was none (/paragraph).
The Yankees will be coming off a 2-5 road trip heading into tonight's game against the Red Sox, but on the bright side the momentum from other games always seems to be totally discarded coming into these series as if there is a separate season that consists only of Yanks. vs. Red Sox games. The Yankees will send Andy Pettite (11-7) to the mound to face Daisuke Matsuzaka (13-10) in a matchup featuring two pitchers who all in all have both pitched better than their won-loss records. Game starts at 7:05 ET.
