Game 83 Recap

[WE data via FG]

Highlights:

• Alex Rodriguez's DEEP third inning grand slam, his third this season and 21st of his career
  
  
• A-Rod's second homer
  
  
• A-Rod makes a nice catch and doubles off Rosales
  
  
• Teixeira's slick catch in foul territory in the fifth
  
  
• CC Sabathia's 7 2/3 dominant innings

Not In The Highlights:

• Jeter just beating out a double play ball in the third. Not saying it was a great play or admirable in any capacity because he's The Captain Derek Jeter®, but if he gets doubled up there, A-Rod leads off the next inning instead of coming to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.

Basically:

• It was clearly A-Rod's night, driving in five of the Yankees six runs and playing strong defense, but CC Sabathia was quite impressive as well. CC allowed one run in the first inning and loaded the bases in the fifth, but was otherwise never really in trouble, striking out ten A's while allowing seven hits and three walks. His pitch count climbed to 118 with two outs in the seventh and David Robertson got the final four outs (two via strikeout) without allowing anyone to reach base.

New recap style. Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments? There would probably be more in the "Not in the highlights" section if I didn't fall asleep in the 6th inning.

Game 82 Recap

[Data via FG]

Out of the 26 batters he faced last night, Javy Vazquez allowed 22 of them to put the ball in play. Luckily, he only walked two, didn't allow any homers and induced a lot of weak contact (10 grounders, 9 flyballs). Only three of those projectiles fell in for hits, phelped significantly by some excellent defensive plays by Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Colin Curtis and Curtis Granderson.

Ben Sheets threw the ball awfully well last night too, but gave up a two out double to Nick Swisher in the second inning, then fell behind Granderson 3-1 and left a fastball over the plate that was redirected into the right field corner for an RBI triple. Frankie Cervelli came up next and flipped a curveball back up the middle that scored Granderson and gave the Yanks a 2-0 lead.

Cliff Pennington tripled in the third and scored on a sac fly by Coco Crisp but that was all the scoring the A's would do on the night.

Mark Teixeira added a solo home run to straightaway center in the top of the sixth to give to Yanks a little more breathing room, but they really didn't need it. Vazquez pitched two more perfect innings after that and neither Joba Chamberlain nor Mariano Rivera allowed a batter to reach base in the eighth or ninth innings.

The Yanks' bats were still largely dormant last night, but they pitched and defended well enough for it not to matter. They've got another 10:00 start tonight as CC Sabathia takes on Trevor Cahill.

Game 79 Win Expectancy Chart

[Data via]

Game 62 Win Expectancy Chart

[Win Expectancy data via FanGraphs]

I wasn't able to catch any of this game on TV but I did want to share this anecdote from the postgame show on the radio. Suzyn Waldman was interviewing Derek Jeter and in her typical overly-motherly, fawning way was asking him what it mean to tie Rickey Henderson atop the all-time lead off home run list and going on and on about how special it must be.

Jeter sort of laughed and said, "Well, I think it was just his record for the Yankees, and he was only here for what, two years?". It was about four year's worth of games to be precise, but the point still stands. Keep it in your pants, Suzyn.

Game 58 Recap

[WE data via FanGraphs]

This is a great example of when a Win Expectancy can put a final score into perspective. The ultimate tally of 12-7 doesn't necessarily represent a blow out, but the Yankees snuffed the Orioles' chances of winning into the single digits as early as the third inning and had them under 1% almost exclusively from the seventh inning on.

It started early. Almost as early as possible, in fact, as Derek Jeter worked a walk to leadoff the game - something that he's only done two other times in 56 plate appearances this season. Moments later, Nick Swisher pounded the first pitch he saw - an 88 mile per hour fastball - over the wall in straight away center field and the Yankees were up 2-0 before Kevin Millwood could record an out. Mark Teixiera and Robinson Cano would both reach base around a strikeout by A-Rod but the two run jack by Swisher was the only blood in the inning.

The hit that really broke the game open came off the bat of Curtis Granderson in the third inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Granderson took a 2-2 slider deep onto the plaza/terrace/patio atop the wall in right field, extending the margin to 6-0.

By the end of the fifth, the O's had plated three runs off of Phil Hughes, but the Yankees blew the game open again in the top of the seventh on a bases-clearing double by Swisher which was promptly proceeded by a two run homer from Mark Teixeira. Fucking finally.

The slumping Teixeira really came to life in his hometown tonight. He went 3-4 (thanks mostly to two well-placed singles) with two walks and might have driven in more than two runs if that selfish bastard Nick Swisher didn't sweep up five for himself. This may or may not be a memorable turning point or a change in the winds of fortune for Teixeira, but it was certainly fun to watch.

The game was played at a glacially slow pace and I can't help but think that it affected Phil Hughes. Even in the innings the Yankees weren't scoring, they were putting runners on base - they had 15 hits and 6 walks while Hughes was the pitcher of record. Still, he made the obligatory quality start of six innings and three earned runs and picked up an easy win.

Chad Gaudin was the main reason the game looked closer than it was. He was asked to pitch the eighth and ninth innings and during the course of his sloppy mop-up work, he allowed four runs, not to mention stranding three more runners in the process. If there was one blemish, this was probably it, but no one is going to remember it in the morning anyway.

Great Moments In Self-Congratulation

Tim Britton, who was filling in for Byran Hoch this weekend over at MLB.com, dug up this gem from Joe Girardi after yesterday's game:

When asked after Sunday's 4-3 win if he thought his ejection helped his team come from behind in the eighth inning, Joe Girardi just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sometimes I think I should get thrown out in the first."

Let's hear it for Joe Girardi and his super-clutch ejection, ladies and gentlemen. Play. Of. The Game.

If he had just came out to argue the call without getting thrown out, who knows what might have happened...

• Would Cito Gaston decided against intentionally walking Mark Teixeira, instead leading to an improbable, line-out-step-on-the-bag double play?
  
  
• Would Jason Frasor still have tossed the wild pitch with A-Rod up that allowed Gardner to score and tie the game?
  
  
• Could A-Rod still have managed to strike out on a pitch right down the middle of the plate if Girardi hadn't lit a fire under his ass like that?
  
  
• Would Robinson Cano, who only had a meager 81 hits (two earlier in the game) and 43 RBIs coming into that at-bat have finally woken the fuck up and done something for this team!!1?1!/??
  
  
• Could Joba Chamberlain still have given up that run in the bottom half of the inning without the inspiration from Girardi's magical ejection?
  
  
• Where would Mariano Rivera have found the motivation to throw a perfect ninth inning had Joe not been tossed?

In all seriousness, this is an example of a manager thinking he matters way fucking more than he actually does. The Yankee rally was in full swing when Girardi got tossed. The Blue Jays already hit Cervelli and Gardner with pitches to start the inning and then Derek Jeter ripped a double, driving in a run and putting men on second and third, still with no one out. At that point, the Yankees' Win Expectancy was at 59% - a single gives them the lead, an out ties the game and they got multiple opportunities for both. Even after Swisher "struck out", they had a greater than 50/50 chance of winning the game and an even better chance of at least tying it right there.

The players were probably pretty ticked off at the terrible call by the umpire. Could that lead to a rally in some cases? Maybe. Did what Joe Girardi did help the team in any meaningful way, shape or form? I highly fucking doubt it. Players win games, not managers by getting ejected from them.

But keep telling yourself that getting thrown out of the game "fired the team up" or what have you, Joe. You came up huge yesterday. Great work. Just don't throw out your elbow patting yourself on the back.

Game 32 WPA Chart and Notes

Like your first girlfriend said, "That was, uh, quick".

• The best thing to come out of this on was the fact that Javy Vazquez pitched pretty well. Amazingly well compared to how he had fared thus far in the year. However, he had absolutely no margin for error. He had one bad inning - the sixth - during which he allowed four hits - all singles - and gave up the only two runs of the game. The offense never helped him out before or picked him up after that. It's his fourth loss of the season and the first one he really didn't deserve.
  
  
• Rick Porcello was working quickly and the Yanks were hacking away. He induced 15 grounders to just four fly balls and struck out two over seven scoreless innings. Ricky needed just 91 pitches to cruise through seven innings and aside from loading the bases with two outs in the second, was never in much trouble.
  
  
• Randy Winn had a good day at the plate, walking twice and knocking a single (one of only four hits for the Yanks).
  
  
• Ramiro Pena left five men on base and made four outs in three plate appearances. Yeah, he was really bad, but the only reason we are focusing on him is that Vazquez, Winn and Boone Logan all managed not to suck.
  
  
• Why did Kevin Russo pinch run and not Greg Golson in the 9th inning? For that matter, why wasn't Russo starting at 3B instead of Pena?
  
  
• That was the first time the Yanks were shutout this year. In fact, they had scored three or more runs in every game except one so far. It was bound to happen eventually, I suppose.
  
  
• At just two and a quarter hours, this was the second shortest game of the year (not counting the rain-shortened game against the Rangers at the Stadium). CC Sabathia's complete game loss in Oakland against Dallas Braden was the quickest.
  
  
• Apparently there will be no more roster moves today, meaning that Jonathan Albaladejo and Juan Miranda are both stuck in limbo. Or Detroit, which would be worse. Good luck with your doubleheader, Scranton!
  

Back with the preview for the late game in a few.

Game 29 Win Expectancy Chart