Yanks Drop Opportunity To Win

My favorite type of game to watch is a good pitchers duel. The game moves quickly, both pitchers are usually dealing, and you might even get a few defensive highlights.

Coming out on the losing end of a pitchers duel isn't quite as entertaining. And the difference for the Yankees last night wasn't a defensive highlight, but rather a lowlight on a blown routine flyball.

A.J. Burnett pitched extremely well: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K. He surrendered a solo HR to Dan Uggla in the second, then rebounded by recording 8 of his next 10 outs via Ks, including all three outs in both the third and fourth innings. His second run, an unearned run, came in the sixth, as Johnny Damon lost a Jorge Cantu flyball in the lights, allowing Hanley Ramirez to score from first. It's the second dropped flyball from Damon in less than two weeks and I can't help but wonder if he's still having trouble with his eyes.

As good Burnett was, Josh Johnson was better: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. The Yankees couldn't touch him early on, as he put down 11 in a row at one point, and 19 of the first 22 he faced. The Yankees finally pushed a run across in the seventh, using an RBI single from Nick Swisher to plate Jorge Posada.

With Johnson out of the game in the eighth, the Yankees threatened again. Hideki Matsui laced a pinch hit, leadoff single. Brett Gardner pinch ran and stole second. A-Rod pinch hit and worked a walk, putting two on with no one out. Derek Jeter was the next batter, and after showing bunt for a few pitches, grounded into his second doubleplay of the night. With the tying run on third, a Johnny Damon strikeout ended the inning.

The Yankees put the tying run on again in the ninth, this time with a Mark Teixeira leadoff single. But Jorge Posada popped to short and Robinson Cano grounded into the Yankees third doubleplay of the night to end the game.

A loss is never fun, but sometimes a team is just going to run into great pitching. The Yankees did last night, and they failed to capitalize on the few opportunities they had. There are a few positives to take out of the game: Burnett turned in a second straight outstanding start. Jorge Posada threw out both would-be base stealers, and worked extremely well with Burnett. Burnett was certain to give credit to Posada, both as he left the mound in the seventh and in his post-game comments. Phil Coke and Phil Hughes continued their stellar pitching out of the bullpen, combining for 1.2 IP of perfect relief, including 3 Ks.

In the end though, it was still a loss. The Yankees will need to take the rubber game today to avoid a second straight series loss to a sub-.500 team.

Game 68: Scene of the Crime

Did you know that Joe Girardi once managed the Florida Marlins? No kidding. The media hasn't played that angle up at all entering this series. All joking aside, Girardi's somewhat tumultous one year tenure with the Marlins has been well documented. No one knows the exact the specifics of what went wrong, but the basics are that the strong-headed Girardi and butt-in-ski owner Jeffrey Loria did not get along, NL Manager of the Year award be damned.

Today, the Yankees will face Josh Johnson, one of the four rookie pitchers that made up Girardi's starting rotation in 2006. Girardi came under fire for his handling of Johnson, running the then 22 year-old rookie back to the mound after a lengthy mid-game rain delay. Johnson would encounter elbow difficulties in 2007, eventually undergoing Tommy John surgery in August of that year. Johnson made an unusually fast recovery, returning to the mound in just eleven months. Thus far in 2009, Johnson has been one of the top starters in the NL: 6-1 with 2.76 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, and a 3.6 K/BB.

When interviewing for the Yankee job following the 2007 season, Girardi assuredly had to address the Johnson situation, as the Yankees were undoubtedly concerned about young starters Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy. While all three have suffered injuries under Girardi's watch, it wouldn't be fair to say that Girardi's handling of those three had any bearing on their injuries.

Where crticism is due however is in Girardi's handling of a still-rehabbing Alex Rodriguez. Until last night, A-Rod had started all 38 games since his return from hip surgery, 35 of those starts coming at 3B. He received the late innings off in blowouts only, completing all but 10 of those games and only twice exiting before the 8th inning. A-Rod will get his second consecutive day off today, suffering from both fatigue and an extended slump.

A.J. Burnett will take the mound for the Yankees. After facing the Mets in his last start, the franchise that originally drafted him, today he will face the Marlins, the team with which he made his Major League debut and spent the first seven seasons of his career. Burnett got out of Florida just before Girardi arrived, so his lengthy injury history, which caused him to miss the 2003 World Series against the Yankees, cannot be pinned on Girardi.

Johnson, Girardi, and Burnett all return to the scene of the crime today as the Yankees try to keep yesterday's momentum going. Here are The Stooges; you may want to turn the volume down if you have the kiddies around.

Can't come back,
A second time,
Gotta get away from the scene of the crime,
Scene of the crime.