Game 18 Recap

1. Scott Kazmir started off the second inning by throwing a fastball high and inside to Robinson Cano. It looked like it might have gotten away from him but Kazmir then plunked Cano square in the backside with an 89mph "heater" and walked right towards home plate after the pitch and it didn't look like he was delivering an apology. Jorge Posada made him pay for his aggression as he took the first pitch from Kazmir - a belt-high fastball right down the pike - into the forest of arborvitaes in centerfield to put the Yankees up 2-0.

Marcus Thames followed that with a double to left center. With Curtis Granderson at the plate, Francisco Cervelli on deck and still no one out, Joe Girardi called for a sacrifice bunt. Curtis laid down a very nice one up the first base line that Kazmir scooped to first and beat him out by a split second. Fransisco Cervelli drew a walk and brought up Derek Jeter who grounded into what was very nearly a double play but ended up as an RBI force out to extend the Yanks lead to 3-0.

2. Javier Vazquez struck out the side in the third inning but in between the second and third K's, he allowed bomb to his noted foe Bobby Abreu. Javy has now allowed 10 home runs to Abreu, four more than he's allowed to any other player.

3. The bottom of the fourth brought more offense for the Angels. Vazquez allowed a single to Kendry Morales and caught a piece of Juan Rivera's elbow guard to put runners on first and second with one out. Howie Kendrick poked a single through the left side, scoring Morales and cutting the Yanks lead to 3-2.

Next up, Brandon Wood hit a sharp line drive to left field that Marcus Thames got a terrible read on and allowed to drop. Two runs scored in the process and Wood was awarded a highly questionable double (it should been at worst a single given where it was hit). Macier Izturus then grounded out to second, driving in another run and giving the Angels a 5-3 lead. With Bobby Abreu due up, Girardi called for Boone Logan and Vazquez was done for the day. Abreu lined out sharply to Jeter to end the inning.

4. Robinson Cano got his own revenge for Kazmir's HBP by smashing a 1-1 slider for a home run deep to right field, bringing the score to 5-4.

5. Alfredo Aceves replaced Boone Logan with two outs in the fifth inning and came out to begin the 7th. After getting Izturus to line out to second, Girardi went to the bullpen for Damaso Marte to face Babe Ruth Bobby Abreu. Marte promptly walked Abreu and hit Torii Hunter with a pitch, bringing up Kendry Morales. For whatever reason, Marte and Cervelli begun the process of intentionally walking Morales despite the fact that right hander Juan Rivera was on deck. After some confusion and a mound visit by Cervelli, they resumed the at bat with Frankie squatting behind the plate, having given Morales a free ball for no good reason.

Also for no good reason, when the count was 1-0, Torii Hunter took off for third with two outs and would have ended with inning if Cervelli had made a better throw. Instead, he slid in under the tag and the at bat continued. That pitch was a ball and Marte threw another fastball low and outside to make the count 3-0. The YES cameras showed the Yankee dugout and Tony Pena and Girardi were signaling to Cervelli that Morales is prone to swing on 3-0, instructing him to convey the message to the pitcher. Despite the warning, Marte spotted a fastball down and away but Morales yanked it over the left field wall for a three run homer.

IFs, ANDs, & BUTs

• The decision to bunt in the second inning worked out fine, but you've gotta wonder what Girardi was thinking there. Granted, Granderson is not a great hitter against lefties, but having him bunt to get to Cervelli? I know he's a "hot" hitter, but is passing the buck to him to drive in that run really worth giving up an out for?
  
  
• Abreu has owned Vazquez throughout their careers but it's been even worse this year as Bobby is 4-5 off of Javy this year with a homer and a double.
  
  
• This is the second time Thames has screwed over Vazquez with his shitty defense. In his first start against the Rays, he let a double by Jason Bartlett fall in for what was probably the biggest hit of the game. Again, the "double" by Wood was a huge swing in momentum as it took the Angels from one down to one ahead.
  
  
• To be fair, Vazquez was his own worst enemy today and couldn't seem to get it right no matter what he did. When he got ahead in the count, he struggled to put hitters away and part of his undoing in the 4th inning was the fact that he was pitching from behind. He walked three, and aside from the third inning, didn't strike out anyone.
  
  
• The 8th inning was a complete clusterfuck. The decision to yank Aceves was questionable at best considering the right handed Hunter was behind Abreu and there was only one out so Marte was going to have face him anyway. The choice was between a right hander facing a batter from each side or a lefty doing the same and considering that Aceves had already got 5 outs without giving up a baserunner, it probably made more sense to stick with him.
  
  
• Maybe the false start on the intentional walk was the result of miscommunication but it's still absolutely inexcusable. Give a batter a free ball in a dangerous situation when the game is slipping away and you deserve what comes of the at bat.
  
  
• Probably because Marte made Girardi's decision look bad, he left him in to face Juan Rivera after the home run to Morales. David Robertson had already warmed up in the bullpen and was ready to go, but all of a sudden Girardi doesn't want to make a mid-inning pitching change?
  

This loss was pretty tough to stomach and there will be no shortage of negative pieces about Vazquez and the 8th inning tomorrow, especially because the Yankees aren't playing until Tuesday night in Baltimore. Hang in there. The Yanks still went 3-3 on this swing and the Red Sox lost in the 10th inning at home.

Game 18: When The Lights Go Out

The Yankees have won their first five series of 2010. If they're going to open the season with six straight series victories for the first time in club history, they'll have to capture their fourth rubber game of the young season.

Javy Vazquez goes to the hill for the Yankees this afternoon. His three starts in 2010 have gone from poor to mediocre to satisfactory. Today he'll try to continue his upward trend and turn in his first quality start of 2010 after recording 22 quality starts in 32 outings last year. Vazquez faced these Angels eleven days ago, getting booed off the mound at Yankee Stadium after allowing four earned runs over five and a third innings. I'd tell you what his career numbers are against the Angels, but b-r.com is having all sorts of server problems today, and the splits pages have disappeared. He's made only one other start against the Angels since 2005, getting a no decision with two earned runs over six and two thirds in 2008.

Scott Kazmir gets the ball for the Halos. The lefty made his 2010 debut in the series finale against the Yanks just over a week ago, and they abused him to the tune of eleven baserunners, six runs, and three homers over four innings of work. He rebounded to pick up the win against the Tigers on Tuesday, going five and two thirds of shutout ball, giving up six hits and no walks against seven Ks. While with Tampa Bay, Kazmir had a great deal of success against the Yankees, but has lost both his starts against them since moving out West. He also had an ugly go of it in last year's ALCS, surrendering five runs, four of them earned, over four innings in a start and two thirds of an inning of relief. Overall though, the Yankee hitters do not have good numbers against him.

So as the lights go out on both the west coast portion of the Yankees' road trip and their only visit to the Big A during the 2010 season, the Yankees will try to win yet another rubber game to take yet another series. As such, we'll turn to The Black Keys and the lead track from their album Rubber Factory.

You can be, oh so mean
I just can't see, no in between
You know what the sun's all about
When the lights go out

-Lineups-

Yankees:
Nick Johnson's stiff back keeps him out of the lineup for the second consecutive day. Combined with tomorrow's off day, Johnson will have three days to rest. Nick Swisher moves up the two spot in the order, where he can further showcase his bunting skills. Jorge Posada takes Johnson's spot as the DH, giving the Cisco Kid his third start behind the plate in the last four days. Facing the lefty Kazmir, Marcus Thames is predictably in the lineup, playing left field. It's a bit of roll of the dice with flyball pitcher Vazquez on the mound for the Yanks, which says nothing of the hot bat Brett Gardner's been swinging this weekend.

Jeter SS
Swisher RF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada DH
Thames LF
Granderson CF
Cervelli C

Angels:

Maicer Izturis SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Hideki Matsui DH
Kendry Morales 1B
Juan Rivera LF
Howie Kendrick 2B
Mike Napoli C
Brandon Wood 3B

Game 9 Recap

1. After sitting the top of the Angels' order down in dominant fashion in the first inning, Phil Hughes faced Hideki Matsui to lead off the second. Hughes threw two consecutive fastballs, the second one breaking right over the middle of the plate and Matsui smashed it into the Yankees bullpen to put the Angels up 1-0.

2. Leading off the bottom of the 2nd inning, Robinson Cano leveled the score at 1-1, redirecting a 90MPH fastball that Scott Kazmir left over the inner half out into the right field seats.

3. In the bottom of the third, Derek Jeter joined the lead off home run party, taking two fastballs from Kazmir before smashing a line drive to right that gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. After Nick Swisher flied out to center, Mark Teixeira and A-Rod worked back to back walks, but Cano and Posada grounded out back to back to end the inning.

4. Marcus Thames came to the plate to lead off the fourth, but instead of jacking a home run he managed only a lowly single. It was okay as Curtis Granderson followed him with a triple down the right field line. Randy Winn grounded out to second without scoring Granderson from third, but Jeter got the job done with a single in the next at bat. 4-1 Yanks.

5. Kazmir gave up yet another lead off hit to start the 5th, this time a double to A-Rod. Cano followed with his second homer of the game, sending Kazmir to the showers and putting the Yankees ahead 6-1.

6. After expending 26 pitches to get through just four hitters in the top of the 5, Phil Hughes came back out for the 6th inning, having already thrown 97 pitches. He had Torii Hunter 1-2 but ultimately surrendered a single and then walked Matsui on 6 pitches. That free pass ended Hughes night and bought in David Robertson, who gave up the inherited runner before getting out of the inning. 6-2 Yanks.

7. The Yanks' bullpen came together to close down the game from there. Robertson got two outs in the 7th before turning it over to Damaso Marte, who retired Abreu. Marte gave up two straight singles to start the 8th before getting one out and passing the baton to Joba Chamberlain. It only took 3 pitches for Joba to get Howie Kendrick to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Chamberlain came back out for the ninth inning but Mike Napoli worked a walk and Eric Aybar singled with two outs, bringing on Mariano Rivera for the ol' one out save. Four pitches later, Mo retired Bobby Abreu and the Yanks won 6-2.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• It was quite poetic that Robinson Cano (who was named after Jackie Robinson) had two home runs and Mariano Rivera (who is the last active player to wear #42) nailed down the save. Of all the games played in the Majors last night, the Robinson's surviving family chose to attend this one. That's pretty cool.
  
  
• Hughes struck out 6 batters but also walked 5 in 5 innings. The only of the three hits he allowed that went for extra bases was the homer to Matsui. A respectable sixty six of his 108 pitches went for strikes but the Angels extended a lot of at bats by fouling good pitches off. Hughes might not have been efficient, but he was effective. His fastball seemed extra live in the first inning, getting two swinging strikeouts, but lost a little life as the game progressed. Hopefully that will change as we get deeper into the season and he develops a little more stamina.
  
  
• Hughes had a balk in the 4th. Hideki Matsui was on first, and it wasn't like Matsui forced him to make a mistake; it appeared that Hughes just forgot he was there.
  
  
• Mike Napoli lined a single up the middle that very nearly scored Matsui but Curtis Granderson gunned him down at the plate.
  
  
• Curtis Granderson added a second triple with two outs in the 5th inning, that one standing up. The ball bounced around against the wall in right center for a moment and by the time Abreu had fielded it, Granderson was already around second.
  
  
• Randy Winn went 0-4, rapping three groundballs and striking out swinging once.
  
  
• Girardi pinch hit Nick Johnson for Marcus Thames against right hander Matt Palmer in the 6th inning with the Yanks already up 6-2. During a game with a four run lead might have been a good chance to give Thames an AB against a righty, but Girardi was unwilling to sacrifice that potential advantage. That's fine, but what happened to the philosophy of using these early season games to find out what guys are capable of doing?
  
  
• Bringing in Rivera for the save was probably equally unnecessary, but it was a nice moment considering his uniform number and the occasion.
  
  
• The Yanks won their third straight series via a third consecutive rubber game and now sit at 6-3.

The homestand continues tomorrow at 7:05 as the welcome C.J. Wilson and the Rangers to town.

Game 9: Four Sticks

As the Yankees attempt to take their third straight rubber match to begin the season, both teams send young starting pitchers to the mound to make their season debuts, albeit a little bit late.

After beginning the season on the 15 day DL with a left shoulder issue, Scott Kazmir takes the ball for the Angels tonight. The 26 year old lefty had a rough go in his time with Tampa Bay last year, amassing a 5.92 ERA in 20 starts and spending almost a month on the DL with a quadriceps injury before being traded to Anaheim at the wavier trade deadline. Kazmir saw his strikeout rate dip below one per inning for the first time since his rookie season in '09 as his hit rate jumped over that 9/9IP mark for the first time in his career.

In six regular season starts with the Angels, Kazmir pitched 36 innings and gave up just 7 ER, good for a 1.73 ERA. It would appear that he found his groove out in California but judging by xFIP, the two parts of the season were virtually indistinguishable. Kazmir made three appearances in the postseason (including a start and a relief appearance against the Yankees) and didn't fare well, allowing 9 ER in 10 2/3 innings.

Given that Kazmir is due $20M over the next two years, the Angels took on significant risk when they acquired him and the early season trip to the DL isn't a good sign considering he's battled shoulder issues before. If he can stay healthy, though, Kazmir has proven he is a valuable commodity in the past. He has also had quite a few of the Yankees' numbers, Derek Jeter in particular, so it will be interesting to see if that trend continues.

For the Yankees, Phil Hughes makes his much-anticipated 2010 debut. Although he's still only 23 years old, this will be the fourth season in a row that Phil has been given a chance to start a game in April.

Back in 2007, he went on 4/28 against Toronto before the infamous hamstring injury in Texas on May 1st. In 2008, he had a 9.00 ERA after 6 April outings and was placed on the DL, supposedly with a broken rib and some other ailments although many suspected that it was just a case of "bad pitcheritis". Last year he was called up from the minors after Chien-Ming Wang came down with that same ailment to make another April 28th start and stayed in the rotation for a total of 7 games before being relocated to the bullpen in early June.

It was his performance as a reliever last year that has been the most encouraging sign of his young Major League career. In 41 appearances spanning 51.1 innings, Hughes tallied a 1.40 ERA and held opponents to an anemic .456 OPS against, allowing just 5 extra base hits. Starting is going to be a different sort of challenge for him, but Hughes says he feels much more ready than he has in the past.

After being awarded the 5th starter's job in Tampa in March, Hughes made two starts in extended Spring Training attempting to refine his pitching arsenal while the team played the Red Sox and Rays. Now he's back with the club and about to be given his fourth shot to become a full time member of the starting rotation. Let's hope he sticks there this time around.

Oh, Baby, the river's red, Oh, Baby, in my head.
There's a funny feelin' goin' on, I don't think I can hold out long.

-Lineups-

Yankees:

There's a lot going on here. Nick Johnson is on the bench (just a regular day off), and Nick Swisher moves up to take his place in the two hole. Marcus Thames will DH as Randy Winn plays left field (his first start of the season), which is clearly the better choice defensively. In between those two in the bottom third of the lineup, Curtis Granderson occupies the 8th spot, one position higher than he's batted against the other lefties the Yankees have faced.

Jeter SS
Swisher RF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Thames DH
Granderson CF
Winn LF

Angels:

Erick Aybar SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Hideki Matsui DH
Kendry Morales 1B
Howie Kendrick 2B
Mike Napoli 2B
Brandon Wood 3B
Reggie Willits LF

ALCS Game 4: Climb To Safety

The first five games of the 2009 postseason weren't a cake walk for the Yankees, but they had made it through them unscathed. They were like a prizefighter, working his way through the early rounds, landing some good shots and avoiding getting hit. Well, the double 12th inning by Jeff Mathis last night was a clean shot to the jaw and the Yankees were left sitting on the mat.

It was a wake up call to a team who had found a way out of tight spot after tight spot, including the one that Mariano Rivera wriggled his way out of in the 10th inning. But when Alfredo Aceves left that four-seam fastball up in the zone and it hit the wall in left center, just out of the reach of Jerry Hairston, Jr., the invincibility was gone and the Yanks were getting the standing eight count.

Tonight they'll try to shake it off and prove they don't have a glass jaw.

The Angels chose to hold Scott Kazmir back until Game 4 of this series instead of throwing him at Yankee Stadium, so he will be the one facing down the Bombers tonight. Since Kazmir had spent his entire Big League tenure in the AL East before being dealt to the Angels in a post-non-waiver deadline deal, the Yankees have a pretty long history against him - at least for a 25 year old. In 87 IP against the Bombers, Kazmir has a 2.67 ERA and nearly one strikeout per inning pitched.

He was having a pretty terrible season with the Rays before being traded to Anaheim, sporting a 5.92 ERA and a WHIP of 1.58. However, in the six September starts he made with the A's, Kazmir had a 1.73 ERA with an opponents' line of .212/.273/.288 and a WHIP under 1.00.

The start that he made against the Red Sox at Fenway in the ALDS resembled the portion of the year with the Rays much more than his month with the Halos. He was tagged for 5 runs in 6 innings and only struck out one batter. Which Kazmir is going to show up tonight is anyone's guess.

As has been discussed thoroughly since the series began, the Yankees are starting CC Sabathia on short rest tonight in lieu of trotting out Chad Gaudin on 16 days rest. Seems like a pretty obvious decision to me, but get ready for a deluge of second-guessing should this go the slightest bit awry.

You can look at Sabathia's performance on short rest, which has been quite good, but this is a much different year than 2008. The Yankees have taken care to keep the Big Fella's workload down during this season, spacing 12 of his 34 starts on 5 or more days rest. The result is that he threw 230 regular season innings, his lowest total in the past three years. And unlike the time he made a start on 3 days rest in the postseason last year, this won't be his 4th start in less than two weeks.

The Yanks offense has scored 4 runs in each of the first three games of the series, despite putting 42 men on base in 29 innings and hitting 6 home runs. Needless to say, they need to start knocking some dudes in. Contributions from Mark Teixiera, Melky Cabrera and Nick Swisher in particular would be much appreciated tonight.

It goes without saying that tonight is a pivotal game in the series. A win puts the Angels on the brink of elimination and a loss evens up the series. The Yanks are in danger of losing the advantage they gained during those bitter battles in the Bronx. Hopefully some timely hitting and a solid performance by Mr. Sabathia can return them to safer grounds.

[Note: Oddly, FOX has been playing this song (Climb To Safety by Widespread Panic) coming in and out of commercial breaks during the ALCS. Not exactly a song you'd expect to hear from a major network so apparently somebody there enjoys a little Panic.]

Scream at the conductor,
He's been deaf for 20 years,
Hear the other people laughin',
As it grinds to where it began.

Go to grab your nerve,
You find that it's been missin',
See you've lost your faith,
In everyone you know.

Well I surely hope,
That you dont plan on winnin',
There's no payin more attention,
Won't until you care,
You are seconds from the impact,
And were movin' way too slow.

Escape From L.A.

Don LaFontaine (R.I.P.): After dropping the first game against Joe Saunders and the Los Angeles Angels of Whereverthefuck, the New York Yankees had their work cut out for them if they wanted to escape the City of Angels with a series win. It took every last ounce of their strength they could muster, and a little bit of good fortune, too...

Nine inning getaway games with a total of 5 runs scored don't usually last 3 hours and 37 mins. Then again, the two pitchers on the mound in L.A. today both tend to record strikeouts by the bucketful and toss more than their fair share of pitches. There was also a lot of pride at stake in this one, which also contributed to the Yanks vs. Red Sos type of pace. Joe Girardi did his part to slow the pace down by using 6 pitchers as well.

Both Scott Kazmir and A.J. Burnett brought the best stuff in the early going. Kazmir worked his way through three scoreless innings, dancing around a walk to Jerry Hairston, Jr. (who is scheduled for an MRI) in the first and erasing a single by Brett Gardner by getting Derek Jeter to ground into a double play in the third.

The Yanks finally got to Kazmir in the 4th, starting with a one out double by Mark Teixeira. Hideki Matsui worked a walk, bringing Shelley Duncan to the plate. The Forearm Basher turned out a fastball, lining it right just over Chone Figgins' head. It hit his glove, but glanced off into right field, trickling towards Juan Rivera. Since Teixeira thought the ball was going to be caught by Figgins, he had taken a step back towards second and didn't get a great jump on his way home. Rivera's throw was on the money and Teix slid feet first and Mike Napoli applied the tag. A better jump or a head first slide might have been enough to score, but the Yanks blew a good chance to pick up a run.

They still had runners on 2nd and 3rd for Robinson Cano, however. Robby's struggles with RISP have been well documented, but he laced a single to right, scoring both Matsui and Duncan to put the Yanks ahead 2-0. Melky Cabrera followed that with a double to the gap in left center driving in Cano for the 3rd run of the frame, all scoring with 2 outs. That hit snapped a 1-20 slide for Melky, dating back to their last game against the Angels 9 days ago. In the process, the Bombers drove Kazmir's pitch count up to 69. By the end of the fifth inning it was already at 92.

Burnett's dominance lasted a bit longer. Although he gave up at least one baserunner in each of the first four innings (3 hits and 2 walks), Burnett also struck out 8 during that span, including striking out the side in the 2nd and 4th.

In the fifth, the Angels got one across against Burnett. Napoli and Figgins began the frame with a single and a double, putting runners on second and third with no one out. Burnett struck out Eric Aybar for the second time in the game, temporarily stalling the assault. Bobby Abreu ripped a grounder but Cano snagged it and limited the damage to one run before Burnett for Torii Hunter to fly out to end the inning.

Burnett tallied his 10th and 11th strikeouts in the 6th but again allowed a single and a double, this time bringing the game to 3-2. After A.J. walked Mike Napoli, and with Chone Figgins who had recorded a hit in each of his three previous at bats on deck, Joe Girardi pulled him in favor of Damaso Marte. Burnett was visibly perturbed but Marte got Figgins to fly out to right, ending the inning and preserving Burnett's shot at picking up the win.

Marte came back out for the 7th, and started by giving up a single to Eric Aybar. He then got Bobby Abreu to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. With no one one base, Girardi called on Jonathan Albaladejo to face Torii Hunter. His mixing and matching finally backfired, as Hunter ripped a double to right. Girardi again tinkered by brining Phil Coke in to face Kendry Morales. Coke uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Hunter to move up to third but ultimately struck out Morales to escape trouble.

The parade of pitchers continued into the 8th inning, but the next to take the hill was a bit of a surprise. Ian Kennedy made his first appearance of the year after recovering from an aneurysm in his shoulder and pitching briefly in the playoffs for Scranton. IPK didn't look too hot. Ramiro Pena made a spectacular diving grab which saved an extra base hit while Kennedy also hit and walked a batter. But, he recovered with a strikeout and a fly out, then turned the ball over to Mariano Rivera.

Mo give up a flare to Abreu to begin the bottom of the 9th, which found some green area in short, left and center. But Mo being Mo, he struck out Hunter and Morales before getting Juan Rivera to line out to center. Case closed. Yanks won 3-2 and took the first series in Anaheim since the one that ended on May 20th, 2004. The magic number is down to 5 for now, as the Sox vs. Royals game will begin shortly.

The Yanks won two close games and got three pretty solid pitching performances out of their starters. As we mentioned coming into the series, there was going to be the temptation to make too much out of these three games one way or another. The last two games were good wins against a good team, on the road, in a relatively big spot. Taking two out of three against the A's while the Sox dropped two to the Royals was the best case scenario in the hopes for HFA. The Yanks get another day off tomorrow and can enjoy it after heading into it on a high note.

Game 153: Growin' Up

It's getaway day at the Big A, and I can't imagine the Yankees are too sad to leave it behind for the time being. With a playoff berth clinched and a win in Anaheim finally to their credit, Joe Girardi is giving some of the regulars an extra day off heading into tomorrow's off day. Jerry Hairson Jr subs for Alex Rodriguez at third. Jose Molina catches his second game of the series and will try to control the Angels' running game. Johnny Damon gets a day off, with Melky Cabrera in LF and Brett Gardner in CF. And with a lefty on the mound, Shelley Duncan gets his first start of the year as Nick Swisher grabs some pine. Wisely, Hideki Matsui, who has been destroying left handed pitching this year, remains in the weakened line up as the DH.

Old friend Scott Kazmir takes the hill for the Halos today. He's 2-0 in two starts against the Yanks this year, with a 2.63 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and a 10:1 K:BB in 13.2 innings of work. Those two outings aside, Kazmir was having a downright bad season for the Rays. He has battled injuries throughout his career, including missing a month this season, prompting some to question the wisdom of the Angels making a deal for him on August 29th.

It's been a great deal so far. Though he's just 1-1 in four starts since the trade, each outing has been a quality start. He's pitched to a 1.42 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and held opponents to a .540 OPS. The sample size is small, and he's benefited from a very pitcher friendly .247 BABIP, but for the time being at least, it would seem that the 25 year old Kazmir is back on track.

Looking to stay back on track for the Yankees is A.J. Burnett. Since the start of August, he's had some very bad starts. However, last Friday in Seattle, Burnett allowed just one run in seven innings of work, sparking hope that he's corrected whatever issues were causing his recent poor performances.

Prior to his start last Friday, Burnett had this to say: “I’m throwing the ball where I want to for the most part. You eliminate a couple of mistakes and everything’s great.” At the time, it was a bit of a tough statement to hear. Chris H at The Yankee Universe took him to task over it, and I included it in a link around here with a snide comment of my own attached to it. One start certainly doesn't prove Burnett prophetic, but if he is in fact back on top of his game, it wouldn't be the first time he's proven somewhat clairvoyant.

The low point of Burnett's season came in Boston on June 9th, when he lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing 10 baserunners and 5 runs (3 ER). After the game, Burnett copped to his struggles to that point in the season, saying his season to date was:

“Terrible. Glimpses of greatness but I’m not very consistent right now. I’m not a negative guy, so I’m not going to beat myself up over it. But when I do get on that run, it’s going to be impressive. I promise you that.”

It was a boastful, bold, and potentially risky statement at that point, but he backed it up, going on a tear that saw him go 7-1 with a 1.68 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over his next eight starts. Hopefully his statements last week and his start last Friday are indicative of another stretch of him putting his money where his mouth is.

Early in his career, Burnett had a reputation as a bit of a malcontent, culminating with the Florida Marlins excusing him from the team in late September 2005, following remarks he made that were critical of the organization. 28 years old at the time, it ended Burnett's Marlins career and prompted him to issue a fairly mature apology. That off-season, he signed with Toronto, where he had three good seasons. But more importantly, Burnett became a teammate of Roy Halladay, who Burnett credits with helping him mature as a pitcher and a professional.

By all accounts, Burnett has been an outstanding teammate and a positive influence in the clubhouse. Aside from his role as resident pastry chef for the littany of Yankee walk-offs this year, he's credited with being a big part of the team building that's happened over the course of the season, dating back to spring training. Burnett's chief protege has been Joba Chamberlain, who is seemingly always at the side of Burnett and/or CC Sabathia in the dugout. While the trio is likely talking pitching most of the time, young Joba should take some notes on poise and public relations from the two consumate professionals.

Chamberlain has spent much of the season making comments not all together different than what we heard from Burnett in June and again last week. While there may be some sort of double standard at play, there are two key differences here. First, Burnett has a track record that Joba has yet to develop. Second, and more importantly, Burnett backed up his comments with an extended stretch of dominance. Chamberlain had a three start stretch in late July where he was excellent and has been decidedly and frustratingly inconsistent otherwise. Yet start after start we get the same canned comments alternated with excuses: he had too much rest, there was a hitch in his delivery, etc.

I've not given up on Joba Chamberlain. 23 year old pitchers struggle. On top of that, he's being put through a very public experiment right before our eyes as it relates to his innings limit. It's been a unique and difficult situation to handle. The extra rest and truncated starts probably haven't helped him at all. The hasty transition to the rotation last year may or may not have contributed to the shoulder injury that may or may not still be impacting Joba this year. Some of Joba's off the field issues may or may not be creeping between the lines with him. His meteoric rise to the Majors and instant celebrity may have stunted his development as both a pitcher and a professional.

But the bottom line, as Brian Cashman laid out yesterday, is that Joba has to produce. And when he continues to fail to produce while trotting out the same wooden answers time and again, it becomes very frustrating to listen to as a fan.

Anyway, this preview has gone well off the rails. I'll finish by saying this. I can accept the inconsistencies better if there were more accountability. At some point in his career A.J. Burnett decided to grow up. Joba Chamberlain now has more than two years of Major League service time on his resume. He turns 24 today. He'd be wise to take the advice of fellow birthday boy Bruce Springsteen and to follow the example of fellow pitcher A.J. Burnett, and get to growing up soon.



I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade,
I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade,
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch,
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched,
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said "Sit down" I stood up.
Ooh-ooh growin' up.

Game 138: Working Class Hero

It might be Labor Day but unlike most of you, the Yankees will be putting in extra work today with a day/night double header against the Rays. The Yankees haven't seen the Rays since the end of July and as a result they still have 7 games remaining against them in the season series, the next four at home and a three game set to close out the regular season in Tampa from October 2nd - 4th. The Yankees hold the edge in the season set 6-5 as of now but it could tip pretty heavily either way depending on how these last 7 match ups go.

The Rays are quite unlikely to make the postseason at this point, trailing the Red Sox by 7 in the Wild Card standings with 26 games remaining and only 3 head to head meetings with the Sox. It would seem they are resigned to their fate, given that they shipped Scott Kazmir to the Angels for minor leaguers just before the waiver trade deadline hit. Despite numerous pundits picking the Rays to finished ahead of either the Yanks or the Sox or both this year, they never lead the AL East and currently trail the Yanks by 14.5 games.

Former Twin and consummate asshole Matt Garza takes the hill for the Rays today. He started against Joba Chamberlain in the last game contested between the two teams and was fined after he admitted that he intentionally hit Mark Teixeira in the shoulder with a 94 MPH fastball in retaliation for Evan Longoria being brushed back earlier in the game and hit earlier in the series. Garza is sporting a pretty solid 4.01 ERA but has won only one game in his past 11 starts watching his record fall to 7-9.

CC Sabathia will toe the rubber first for the Yanks today. Over his last 6 starts he's been everything the Yanks could ask for and then some, rocking a 1.83 ERA, striking out 53(!), walking just 7(!!) and averaging over 7 1/3 innings per start. He's picked up 5 decisions during that time and has put himself in position to chase 20 wins as the season winds down. He better get going those because he needs 4 more and probably has six more starts to go. The big man's ERA is about a run and a half higher during daytime starts this year, but September is has been his best month throughout his career.

Making his triumphant return to the Yankees after hitting the DL with a broken thumb and making the line up 11.1111% hustle-y-er in the process, is the one and only, the gritty and gutty, the scrappy and feisty... Brett Gardner, ladies and gentlemen! He'll be making the start in CF for the first game, getting his jersey dirty and doing the little things that help the team win. (Otherwise known as being short and white.)

While most people celebrate Labor Day by not working, the Yanks will be rolling up their sleeves twice as high and their getting hands twice as dirty, in the city where the very first Labor Day in the States was ever celebrated. Heroic, I say.

There's room at the top they are telling you still,
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,
If you want to be like the folks on the hill.

A working class hero is something to be.

Murphy's Game

Here are a few things some moron wrote on the internet in the past 24 hours:

• "Teixeria's glove probably helps, but Jeter has never made many throwing errors. He is on pace for 5 this year and has averaged 6.5 per season since 2001. His arm isn't the issue."
  
  
• About Scott Kazmir: "I would be surprised if he went more than 6 innings though, because he's only done it three times this year and the Yanks tend to work the count."
  
  
• About CC Sabathia: "Historically a second half pitcher, now is the time of year that the big fella tends to find his stride. He's thrown 14 innings since the All-Star Break, allowed 3 runs and accumulated two wins. He was just getting warmed up before.

If only Derek Jeter hadn't made a throwing error, Scott Kazmir didn't make it into the 8th inning and CC Sabathia didn't get bounced in the 5th after giving up 5 runs, I would have been right about all of those!

You can't get all the breaks in baseball and I guess if you could control it, you'd have an 11 game stretch were more everything goes right and then load all your bad luck into one game when every single event subject to chance blows up in your face.

The Yanks didn't help their cause either by making two errors that went in the scorebook, and a few more they slipped under the table.

In addition to Jeter's throwing error, A-Rod launched one into the stands in the 3rd inning which allowed Carl Crawford score and left Evan Longoria standing on second with no one out. Incredibly, Joe Maddon had his clean up hitter, Ben Zobrist bunt Longoria over to third only to be stranded there by a Pat Burrell strikeout and a Carlos Pena grounder. Seeing this amazingly weak managerial move by Joe Maddon backfire on him was pretty much the only bright spot of this game for me.

Hideki Matsui had a baserunning gaffe in the fourth after the he drove in a run with a double. He took a wide turn thinking he could advance to second base, but Dioner Navarro read the play perfectly and picked him off.

Nick Swisher attempted a catch barreling into foul territory in the 5th but dropped it, and since his foot was in fair territory when he touched the ball, it was ruled a fair ball. Zobrist advanced to third on the play and it wasn't scored an error. An inning later he let a ball roll past him down the rightfield line allowing Jason Bartlett to score. No "E" on that one, either.

The Rays' defense was the polar opposite. Carl Crawford seemingly covered almost every inch of left field, B.J. Upton nabbed a deep liner and Jason Barlett looked slick at shortstop. The Yanks hit into double plays in both the 8th and 9th innings. It just wasn't their day.

As noted above, it wasn't really my day either. This is one of those games where you take your lumps and move on. You hope you used up all your bad juju at once and get back at it in the morning.

Game 100: You Don't Know Me

There has been some recent talk that CC Sabathia has been disappointing this year, citing an increase in walks and a decline in strikeouts. His 3.67 ERA probably wasn't at the very top of the range of expectations at the beginning of the season, but he's averaged about 6 2/3 innings per start and racked up 10 wins.

When considering all possible outcomes before the season began, I would venture to guess that the Yanks would have signed up for that production without much hesitation. Historically a second half pitcher, now is the time of year that the big fella tends to find his stride. He's thrown 14 innings since the All-Star Break, allowed 3 runs and accumulated two wins. He was just getting warmed up before.

Going to the mound for the Rays will be their quondam lefty ace, Scott Kazmir. To call the 25 year old's performance so far this year "disappointing" would be a gross understatement. Although he's pitched only one truly full season in the Major Leagues, Kazmir has contributed significant value to Tampa Bay's rotation since he was called up to the Big League club in 2004 as a 20 year old. After completion of the 2008 schedule, he had pitched 722 regular season innings to a 3.61 ERA while striking out over one batter per inning. He fit the billing of the Rays' ace by general consensus entering the season; a lefty strikeout machine who, if he could ever make 35 starts or learn to control his pitch count, would be deadly.

He's certainly not going to make 35 starts this year, because he's already spend time on the DL and is only at 14. Given how poorly he's pitched, that's probably a good thing for the Rays. Kazmir's ERA is a gruesome 6.69 and his WHIP a ghastly 1.716. He's averaging fewer than 5 innings per start and has almost as many ER (55) as Ks (58). For a pitcher with a lifetime 9.5 K/9 ratio, that's bad news. His stint on the DL was officially caused by a quadriceps strain, but my skeptical side thinks he might, like Chien Ming Wang did, have had a nasty case of Badpitcheritis.

Kazmir has historically fared well against the Yanks, with a 2.65 ERA over 12 starts, but only a 5-4 record due primarily to his inability to go deep into games. He's also about a half of a run better at Tropicana Field than away from it, so it wouldn't be entirely shocking if he found his groove tonight. I would be surprised if he went more than 6 innings though, because he's only done it three times this year and the Yanks tend to work the count.

Rays fans might not recognize the 2009 version of Scott Kazmir, and who could blame them? Certainly not Brother Ray himself.

And anyone can tell,
You think you know me well -
Well, you don't know me.
(No you don't know me)

Game 7: Kashmir

As the Yankees send their groundball machine Chien Ming Wang to the mound tonight to avenge his horrible showing in Baltimore, the Tampa Bay (Nothing Ungodly-Sounding) Rays counter with lefty strikeout tallier Scott Kazmir.

Scott's dad co-owned a company with Adam Dunn's father in Houston and despite being 5 years apart, used to play wiffle ball together growing up. Kazmir was quarterback of his football team in high school, but found that his talents on the pitcher's mound far exceed those under center. Kazmir threw two no-hitters as a sophomore and then four consecutive no-hitters his junior year. As a senior, he broke Josh Beckett's strikeout record for the state of Texas by punching out 175 in 72 innings and was named Baseball America's High School Player Of The Year.

The Mets were surprised when he fell to them at the 15th pick in the draft and signed him for $2.15M, the largest bonus the team had ever given out (guess who his agent was). Kazmir continued his dominance on his rise through the minor leagues, but was traded when he was still in Double A. He was moved to the (at the time Devil) Rays for Victor Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunato at the behest of pitching coach Rick Peterson who thought he saw a fixable flaw in Zambrano's mechanics. Although Steve Phillips is commonly assumed to have made the trade in hindsight (since it was retarded), it actually occured Jim Duquette's watch.

After missing the first month of the 2008 season, Kazmir signed an extension last May with TB that locked him up through 2011 with team option for '12. He made 27 starts last year and had a 3.49 ERA, but averaged only 5 2/3 innings per start (5.8 for his career). As is the case with many strikeout pitchers, Kazmir has trouble keeping his pitch count down. In his first start this season he went six innings and gave up one run, but needed 111 pitches to do so.

I know Mets fans pine for Kazmir like an old girlfriend who got away, but he's not a guy that I particularly wish was on the Yanks. Don't get me wrong, if Scott Kazmir is your second or third best pitcher, you've probably got a great staff. But he doesn't seem like a true top of the line starter to me because he puts too much pressure on the bullpen. And I hate guys who throw too many pitches.

Don't go proving me wrong now, Scott.


[I know, the spelling isn't the same, but it's close enough]