08/22: Pot? Meet Kettle
Posted by: James
I am becoming more and more amused at John Sterling getting annoyed at home plate umpire Paul Emmel for calling balls and strikes clearly. Really John? You're gonna get on someone for not being clear? John Sterling gets so amped up for his (patented) HR calls that he breaks them out on seemingly all deep fly balls. I mean, how often can someone hear "It is High, It is Far...It is...Caught (Several Steps In Front of the Warning Track)" before getting confused? Really, I don't mind Sterling most of the time - it's just apropos that he's getting a little annoyed.
And as an aside, to any Yankee management who reads this, I get that you need other revenue streams just to cover the payroll but still, the sheer volume of ads during the radio broadcasts is just...wow.
And as an aside, to any Yankee management who reads this, I get that you need other revenue streams just to cover the payroll but still, the sheer volume of ads during the radio broadcasts is just...wow.
08/22: It Could Have Been Worse
Posted by: James
The Orioles lost 30-3 today. 30-3. Texas went 29-for-57 with 8 walks, 2 doubles and 6 home runs. Jeez, just look at these pitching lines:
Cabrera 5 IP, 6 ER, Burres 0.2 IP, 8 ER!, Bell 1.1 IP, 7 ER, Paul Shuey 2 IP, 9 ER. See: Ron Villone isn't that bad in comparison!
On a brighter (for the Yankees) note, Gary Sheffield will probably be sitting out the rest of the Detroit homestand. He's had a bum shoulder for a couple months now apparently and they're gonna sit him for a little bit. I say, great. As Yankees fans, we've seen what Sheff has done with a bat, even with a bum shoulder so if he's out of the line-up, I'm all for it.
Cabrera 5 IP, 6 ER, Burres 0.2 IP, 8 ER!, Bell 1.1 IP, 7 ER, Paul Shuey 2 IP, 9 ER. See: Ron Villone isn't that bad in comparison!
On a brighter (for the Yankees) note, Gary Sheffield will probably be sitting out the rest of the Detroit homestand. He's had a bum shoulder for a couple months now apparently and they're gonna sit him for a little bit. I say, great. As Yankees fans, we've seen what Sheff has done with a bat, even with a bum shoulder so if he's out of the line-up, I'm all for it.
Sheffield said he aggravated the injury on Tuesday when he tried to lift weights for the first time in a month and a half, trying to speed up his strength program to regain the power in his shoulder. He had said Sunday that while the pain and numbness were largely gone, his shoulder was still weak, and he was playing because the team needed his presence in the lineup.
After lifting on Tuesday, he said he "felt a little pop" in his shoulder during batting practice. He had it treated and played in the game, but went 0-for-3 with a walk and three fly balls Tuesday night against Cleveland's Fausto Carmona.
After lifting on Tuesday, he said he "felt a little pop" in his shoulder during batting practice. He had it treated and played in the game, but went 0-for-3 with a walk and three fly balls Tuesday night against Cleveland's Fausto Carmona.
08/22: There's Vizcaino
Posted by: Patrick
It was over real quick on Tuesday night as the Angels came out and scored early and often, putting the game at 13-5 after 4 innings. Ouch. It would end at 18-9. Ouch again. We trotted out Moose (1.2 IP, 7 ER), Villone (.1 IP, 4 ER), Edwar (2 IP, 2 ER), Henn (3 IP, 3 ER) and Vizcaino (1 IP, 0 ER) in this beating.
The offense did manage to score 9 runs. Of course, that doesn't mean much when you allow 18. A-Rod hit 2 bombs, bringing his total up to 42. He drove in another 3, putting him at 121. Betemit also homered and drove in 3, Abreu doubled and drove in 2 and Matsui had an RBI, as well. Garrett Anderson drove in more runs than our entire team - going 4 for 6 with 3 runs, 10 runs batted in, 2 doubles and 2 home runs (one of which was a grand slam). So... yeah, not a bad night for Anderson.
Of course, the Red Sox and Mariners had to win, so we fall to 6 games back in the division and 2.5 games back in the Wild Card. Tonight at 10:05 PM, we'll throw Andy Pettitte (10-7, 3.80 ERA) against John Lackey (15-7, 3.32 ERA). If we win, we'll avert a sweep and, after a day off, will be headed to Detroit for a 4 game set.
The offense did manage to score 9 runs. Of course, that doesn't mean much when you allow 18. A-Rod hit 2 bombs, bringing his total up to 42. He drove in another 3, putting him at 121. Betemit also homered and drove in 3, Abreu doubled and drove in 2 and Matsui had an RBI, as well. Garrett Anderson drove in more runs than our entire team - going 4 for 6 with 3 runs, 10 runs batted in, 2 doubles and 2 home runs (one of which was a grand slam). So... yeah, not a bad night for Anderson.
Of course, the Red Sox and Mariners had to win, so we fall to 6 games back in the division and 2.5 games back in the Wild Card. Tonight at 10:05 PM, we'll throw Andy Pettitte (10-7, 3.80 ERA) against John Lackey (15-7, 3.32 ERA). If we win, we'll avert a sweep and, after a day off, will be headed to Detroit for a 4 game set.
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
James scored a slim victory over EJ (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) by the score of 5-4, largely in thanks to his domination of the offensive side, where he won 4 out of 5 categories and tied in the other. Lance Berkman (9 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, .400 AVG) was the star. Mike Lowell (3 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .348 AVG) was the leader on EJ's side.
Meanwhile, EJ dominated the pitching categories, winning 4 out of 5. The one category that he lost was saves, but his pitchers put in a very good performance overall (5 W, 2 S, 67 K, 3.09 ERA, 1.14 WHIP). Johan Santana (21 Ks), J.J. Putz, Eric Gagne, Ian Snell (17 Ks) and Rich Hill picked up victories with Putz picking up both of his saves. James had victories from Kelvim Escobar (9 Ks) and Matt Garza and saves from Billy Wagner (3) and Jose Valverde (2). Jake Peavy and Chad Billingsley each had 11 strikeouts.
My team had a horrible week and Jen (NoSenseWorrying.com) had her way with me, winning 8-2. Check out my offensive line: 28 R, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 3 SB, .244 AVG. Argh. Really, it was pretty ugly all the way around for both teams as Jen's team wasn't much better (they won runs by 1, home runs by 1, stolen bases by 1 and average by 10 points). In the end, 4 categories were decided by 1. Her offense was led by Miguel Cabrera (4 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .227 AVG) and Orlando Cabrera (5 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, .350 AVG) and mine was led by Hideki Matsui (4 R, 5 RBI, .346 AVG).
My pitching wasn't that pretty, either (3 W, 6 S, 39 Ks, 4.93 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) while Jen's was a bit more solid (5 W, 2 S, 40 Ks, 3.34 ERA, 1.23 WHIP). My victories came from Mariano Rivera, Brian Bannister and Andy Pettitte and I had saves from Joe Borowski (2), Manny Corpas (2), Mo and Huston Street. Jen's wins were pitched by Shaun Marcum, John Maine, Pat Neshek, Roy Halladay and Chien-Ming Wang. Both of her saves were recorded by Trevor Hoffman.
Seamus lost to first place Mike (River Ave. Blues), 9-1. Mike dominated all aspects of the match, except for batting average, which Seamus won - .288 to .249. Seamus' team hit 0 home runs and recorded 0 saves. Adam LaRoche (5 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .355 AVG) and Russell Martin (7 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB, .240 AVG) led Mike's offense. Orlando Hudson hit .417 for the week. David Wright continued to be a force for Seamus, hitting .423 with 6 runs and 5 runs batted in.
For Mike, victories were pitched in by John Smoltz (16 Ks), Fausto Carmona (10 Ks), Francisco Rodriguez, Felix Hernandez (11 Ks), Derek Lowe and Cole Hamels. Francisco Rodriguez (2), Jeremy Accardo (2) and Joe Nathan had saves. Seamus' one victory was picked up by Brandon Webb.
Top 3 teams in the league:
1. Mike (116-76-8)
2. James (106-81-13)
3. Ben (103-88-9) (River Ave. Blues)
Clinched playoff spots (5 available): Mike.
This Week
James (2nd, 106-81-13) vs. Aziz (Pride of the Yankees) (8th, 91-101-8)
Patrick (5th, 96-97-7) vs. Mike (1st, 116-76-8)
Seamus (10th, 72-117-11) vs. Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (4th, 101-88-11)
Last Week
James scored a slim victory over EJ (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) by the score of 5-4, largely in thanks to his domination of the offensive side, where he won 4 out of 5 categories and tied in the other. Lance Berkman (9 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, .400 AVG) was the star. Mike Lowell (3 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .348 AVG) was the leader on EJ's side.
Meanwhile, EJ dominated the pitching categories, winning 4 out of 5. The one category that he lost was saves, but his pitchers put in a very good performance overall (5 W, 2 S, 67 K, 3.09 ERA, 1.14 WHIP). Johan Santana (21 Ks), J.J. Putz, Eric Gagne, Ian Snell (17 Ks) and Rich Hill picked up victories with Putz picking up both of his saves. James had victories from Kelvim Escobar (9 Ks) and Matt Garza and saves from Billy Wagner (3) and Jose Valverde (2). Jake Peavy and Chad Billingsley each had 11 strikeouts.
My team had a horrible week and Jen (NoSenseWorrying.com) had her way with me, winning 8-2. Check out my offensive line: 28 R, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 3 SB, .244 AVG. Argh. Really, it was pretty ugly all the way around for both teams as Jen's team wasn't much better (they won runs by 1, home runs by 1, stolen bases by 1 and average by 10 points). In the end, 4 categories were decided by 1. Her offense was led by Miguel Cabrera (4 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .227 AVG) and Orlando Cabrera (5 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB, .350 AVG) and mine was led by Hideki Matsui (4 R, 5 RBI, .346 AVG).
My pitching wasn't that pretty, either (3 W, 6 S, 39 Ks, 4.93 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) while Jen's was a bit more solid (5 W, 2 S, 40 Ks, 3.34 ERA, 1.23 WHIP). My victories came from Mariano Rivera, Brian Bannister and Andy Pettitte and I had saves from Joe Borowski (2), Manny Corpas (2), Mo and Huston Street. Jen's wins were pitched by Shaun Marcum, John Maine, Pat Neshek, Roy Halladay and Chien-Ming Wang. Both of her saves were recorded by Trevor Hoffman.
Seamus lost to first place Mike (River Ave. Blues), 9-1. Mike dominated all aspects of the match, except for batting average, which Seamus won - .288 to .249. Seamus' team hit 0 home runs and recorded 0 saves. Adam LaRoche (5 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .355 AVG) and Russell Martin (7 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB, .240 AVG) led Mike's offense. Orlando Hudson hit .417 for the week. David Wright continued to be a force for Seamus, hitting .423 with 6 runs and 5 runs batted in.
For Mike, victories were pitched in by John Smoltz (16 Ks), Fausto Carmona (10 Ks), Francisco Rodriguez, Felix Hernandez (11 Ks), Derek Lowe and Cole Hamels. Francisco Rodriguez (2), Jeremy Accardo (2) and Joe Nathan had saves. Seamus' one victory was picked up by Brandon Webb.
Top 3 teams in the league:
1. Mike (116-76-8)
2. James (106-81-13)
3. Ben (103-88-9) (River Ave. Blues)
Clinched playoff spots (5 available): Mike.
This Week
James (2nd, 106-81-13) vs. Aziz (Pride of the Yankees) (8th, 91-101-8)
Patrick (5th, 96-97-7) vs. Mike (1st, 116-76-8)
Seamus (10th, 72-117-11) vs. Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (4th, 101-88-11)
08/20: Joba vs. Gagne (8/19/07)
Posted by: Patrick
Since the trade deadline:
Gagne: 8 G, 1-1, 0 S, 2 BS, 7 IP, 16 H, 10 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, 12.86 ERA, 2.71 WHIP, .444 BAA
Joba: 5 G, 0-0, 0 S, 0 BS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, .091 BAA
Gagne: 8 G, 1-1, 0 S, 2 BS, 7 IP, 16 H, 10 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, 12.86 ERA, 2.71 WHIP, .444 BAA
Joba: 5 G, 0-0, 0 S, 0 BS, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, .091 BAA
08/19: Rizzuto's Age
Posted by: Patrick
From Murray Chass:
Via Steve.
Rizzuto was then a Yankees broadcaster, but he was also a bunting instructor in spring training. One day, he stood at the net as players bunted in the batting cage under the stands along the right-field line at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Scooter knew better, but he absent-mindedly held on to the net behind home plate, putting his hand through an opening between the cords.
A foul ball came off the bat and smashed Rizzuto’s finger. ...
When we arrived at the hospital, the nurse at the outpatient desk asked Rizzuto for the usual information. Date of birth was one of her questions.
“Sept. 25, 1916,” Rizzuto replied without hesitation. With “16” hardly out of his mouth, he turned to me and said sternly, “Don’t you tell anybody.”
A foul ball came off the bat and smashed Rizzuto’s finger. ...
When we arrived at the hospital, the nurse at the outpatient desk asked Rizzuto for the usual information. Date of birth was one of her questions.
“Sept. 25, 1916,” Rizzuto replied without hesitation. With “16” hardly out of his mouth, he turned to me and said sternly, “Don’t you tell anybody.”
Via Steve.
Posted by: Patrick
From Dan LaTorraca:
Via Steve.
Veteran outfielder Jose Cruz Jr. has signed a minor league deal with the Yankees organization and was in the lineup tonight for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
Via Steve.
08/18: Yankees Beat Tigers, 5-2
Posted by: Patrick
Posada started off the scoring with a solo homer in the 2nd. Posada was 3 for 4 on the day with 2 runs. Detroit took a 2-1 lead thanks to them scoring a run each in the 4th and 5th. But, in 6 innings, that is all that Clemens would allow. He scattered 10 hits, walked none and struck out 8.
But, the Yankees roared back for good in the 6th, batting around and scoring 4 runs. Here's how it shook out:
- Jeter single.
- Abreu 2 run home run.
- A-Rod single.
- Matsui pops out for the 1st out.
- Posada single, moving A-Rod to second.
- Giambi pops out for the 2nd out.
- Cano single, scores A-Rod and moves Posada to second.
- Phillips single, scores Posada and moves Cano to second.
- Cabrera strikes out for the 3rd out.
Kyle Farnsworth threw a great inning in relief in the 7th, retiring Sean Casey, Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez in order. The latter two struck out swinging. Vizcaino threw a scoreless inning of his own and Mo did the same, for his 20th save of the year. The Yankees pitchers only walked 1 batter all day while striking out 11. Every Yankee had a hit except for Matsui, who was 0-4.
But, the Yankees roared back for good in the 6th, batting around and scoring 4 runs. Here's how it shook out:
- Jeter single.
- Abreu 2 run home run.
- A-Rod single.
- Matsui pops out for the 1st out.
- Posada single, moving A-Rod to second.
- Giambi pops out for the 2nd out.
- Cano single, scores A-Rod and moves Posada to second.
- Phillips single, scores Posada and moves Cano to second.
- Cabrera strikes out for the 3rd out.
Kyle Farnsworth threw a great inning in relief in the 7th, retiring Sean Casey, Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez in order. The latter two struck out swinging. Vizcaino threw a scoreless inning of his own and Mo did the same, for his 20th save of the year. The Yankees pitchers only walked 1 batter all day while striking out 11. Every Yankee had a hit except for Matsui, who was 0-4.
Posted by: David
Andy Pettitte pitched eight strong innings and Jason Giambi hit two home runs and the Yankees ended a three game losing streak on Friday night vs. the Tigers with a 6-1 victory.
The Tigers struck first with Brandon Inge scoring Ryan Rayburn on a double down the line. It looked like they had a chance at the plate, but Andy Phillips cut off the throw trying to catch Inge going to third. Unfortunately, he was able to return to second safely.
The Yankees caught a break when they scored their first two runs. Bobby Abreu hit a bouncer up the middle which struck a hard spot and bounced over shortstop Guillen's glove into center to tie the game. A-Rod followed with a doulbe to the wall in left to give the Yankees the lead.
Giambi followed later with the first of his two home runs and the Yankees tacked on three more insurance runs to end the scoring at 6-1. Pettitte was strong all night long and the ninth was wrapped by rookie phenom Joba Chamberlain.
Chamberlain only allowed a single in the ninth and constantly heard the crowd shout "Joba", "Joba", "Joba". He struck out Ivan Rodriguez to end the game.
The series resumes this afternoon with a nationally televised contest with Roger Clemens on the hill for the Bombers returning for the first time after his five game suspension.
The Tigers struck first with Brandon Inge scoring Ryan Rayburn on a double down the line. It looked like they had a chance at the plate, but Andy Phillips cut off the throw trying to catch Inge going to third. Unfortunately, he was able to return to second safely.
The Yankees caught a break when they scored their first two runs. Bobby Abreu hit a bouncer up the middle which struck a hard spot and bounced over shortstop Guillen's glove into center to tie the game. A-Rod followed with a doulbe to the wall in left to give the Yankees the lead.
Giambi followed later with the first of his two home runs and the Yankees tacked on three more insurance runs to end the scoring at 6-1. Pettitte was strong all night long and the ninth was wrapped by rookie phenom Joba Chamberlain.
Chamberlain only allowed a single in the ninth and constantly heard the crowd shout "Joba", "Joba", "Joba". He struck out Ivan Rodriguez to end the game.
The series resumes this afternoon with a nationally televised contest with Roger Clemens on the hill for the Bombers returning for the first time after his five game suspension.
Posted by: James
Well, that was anti-climactic. Here come the Tigers to start off a 4-game set and they lead off with their best starting pitcher, Justin Verlander. The Yanks countered with Mike Mussina, who had been pitching well (against lesser teams). Well, I'd love to be more explicit and go into detail but it was a really annoying loss and the losing streak has now hit 3. Honestly, most of the drama was taken out of the game in the first inning when Moose got into trouble (which was not helped by an A-Rod error) and ended up giving up a grand slam to Carlos Guillen. All told, Mussina was lit up for seven runs (six earned) and gave up nine hits, two walks and struck out two. Low K rates do not help Moose as his resurgence over the past month had a lot to do with him bringing his K rate closer to his career average.
The Yankees weren't getting horrible at bats against Verlander, they simply didn't capitalize when they could have. Leaving 11 guys on base certainly didn't help their cause. Still, the Yankees did what they usually do, i.e. work deep counts to try go get the starter out of the game...and it worked. However, Jim Leyland kept Verlander in for 5 1/3 innings and a 119 pitches and the Yankees continued to underperform against power pitchers (87 OPS+ vs. 112 OPS+ against finesse pitchers).
The bullpen was OK for the most part with everyone (including Farnsworth) working scoreless appearances except for Ron Villone who gave up a homer to Pudge Rodriguez in the seventh. The Yankees scored two runs off of Todd Jones (how is he still a closer?) in the ninth (RBIs from Matsui and Jorge ) but that just made the game seem a lot closer than it really was.
It was a disheartening loss and moved the Yankees to .5 back of Seattle for the Wild Card. Am I bummed about a 3 game losing streak? Yep. Am I in a panic? Nope. I fully expect the Yankees to bounce back to take the next three games and for Boston to lose 2 out of three to the L.A. Angels. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen...but I'm not panicking just yet.
The Yankees weren't getting horrible at bats against Verlander, they simply didn't capitalize when they could have. Leaving 11 guys on base certainly didn't help their cause. Still, the Yankees did what they usually do, i.e. work deep counts to try go get the starter out of the game...and it worked. However, Jim Leyland kept Verlander in for 5 1/3 innings and a 119 pitches and the Yankees continued to underperform against power pitchers (87 OPS+ vs. 112 OPS+ against finesse pitchers).
The bullpen was OK for the most part with everyone (including Farnsworth) working scoreless appearances except for Ron Villone who gave up a homer to Pudge Rodriguez in the seventh. The Yankees scored two runs off of Todd Jones (how is he still a closer?) in the ninth (RBIs from Matsui and Jorge ) but that just made the game seem a lot closer than it really was.
It was a disheartening loss and moved the Yankees to .5 back of Seattle for the Wild Card. Am I bummed about a 3 game losing streak? Yep. Am I in a panic? Nope. I fully expect the Yankees to bounce back to take the next three games and for Boston to lose 2 out of three to the L.A. Angels. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen...but I'm not panicking just yet.
