Game 49: Look Out Cleveland

When CC Sabathia was traded to the Brewers early last July he bid his hometown of 10 years goodbye by taking out a full page ad in the Cleveland Plain Dealer thanking the fans for their support. The $12,870 the black and white ad cost was just a drop in the bucket compared to what he had already made in his career, much less what he was about net on the free agent market. Still, lots of guys get traded from a team and don't bother to offer such a thoughtful gesture. Hopefully the fans at Progressive Field tonight will be a little more accommodating than those at Thursday's Cavs game where the crowd actually booed CC. 

Knowing that there was almost no possibility of resigning Sabathia before he reached free agency and wanting to get something in return, the Indians dealt him to Milwaukee for highly touted, power hitting outfield prospect Matt LaPorta along with pitchers Zack Jackson, Rob Bryson and third baseman Taylor Green. The Hardball Times evaluated the trade at the time and called it dead even.

The Brewers probably got more than they expected from their three month and one week rental of Sabathia. He made 15 starts, seven of them complete games, totalling 130 1/3 innings pitched at a 1.65 ERA. His start in the ALDS against the Phillies left much to be desired, but from a Yankee fans' perspective, that was a good thing, as it ultimately limited the abuse points the Brewers were able to put on our future commodity. 

LaPorta made his major league debut this year, but struggled in his 13 games in The Bigs. He's currently down in AAA and hitting well, but hasn't shown the power he was rumored to have when the Indians acquired him. Taylor Green is at AA Huntsville, and Rob Bryson is still with Lake County in A-ball. The last piece of the deal, Zach Jackson, has spent most of the year in AAA, but made two starts and one relief appearance (against the Yankees) for the Tribe.

Sabathia's opponent tonight is Fausto Carmona, who was seemingly less affected by the midges in the 2007 ALDS than Joba Chamberlain. Carmona threw nine innings of one run ball that night using only 113 pitches, but it wasn't enough to net a complete game, as it took a walk off single by Travis Hafner in the 11th to snuff out the Yankees. 

2007 was unquestionably Carmona's finest year in the Major Leagues. Despite operating in CC Sabathia's shadow, he finished 4th in the Cy Young voting behind his teammate on the strength of a 3.06 ERA, but more importantly, a 19-8 record. The year before, the Indians tried to convert him to a reliever, but that experiment failed miserably as he collected 8 losses out of the 'pen. 

Last year, Carmona spent two months on the DL with a left hip strain and was ineffective in the 22 starts he did make, accumulating a 5.44 ERA. This season, he's picked up right where he left off. In 10 starts, his ERA is sitting at a smooth 6.42, and he was lifted from his last outing against the Rays after only 1 1/3 IP. He's walking nearly 6 batters per nine innings (up from 2.6 in 2007) and has a WHIP of 1.665. Many comparisons have been made between he and Chien Ming Wang in the past since both are tall, hard-throwing, right-handed sinkerballers who keep the ball in the park and have low strikeout rates. Allowing too many balls in play makes it tremendously difficult to have extended success against Major League hitting and both of these guys are facing that reality.

The Yankees enter this game winners of their last two against the Indians and 13 of their last 16 overall. Mark Teixeira has hit 12 home runs in May and has an OPS of 1.113. They say momentum is only as good as the next night's pitcher? Sabathia has averaged 8 innings over his past four starts and only given up a total of six runs.

Look out Cleveland, 

The storm is comin' through,

And it's runnin' right up on you. 

[H/T to Emma from Bronx Banter for the idea for the song.]

Saturday Links

There's not going to be anything in the way of content until the game preview tonight, so here are some links from around the Yankesphere to keep you busy:

• Despite having a child born earlier this week, Cliff from Bronx Banter still hammered out his profile the Indians. He does one for every series and they are always complete, informative and a must-read if you are looking to brush up on the competition. (She-Fan did a preview of her own, focusing on the Indians' line-up.) 
  
  
• River Ave. Blues found out that the Yankees told Chien Ming Wang not to excercise his legs during his rehab stint. That worked out well. 
  
  
• Pete Abe talked to Andy Pettitte who said he will make his next start. 
  
  
• The Chuck Knoblog checks in on some of the Yanks' minor leaguers and demands that switch-pitcher Pat Venditte be promoted after having dominated both Low and High A-ball.
  
  
• Newsday looks at prospect Zack Kroenke. OMG, he's a pitcher from Nebraska. Just like Joba!
  
  
• Tirico Suave has the Mike Francesa's "Jobber To The Bullpen" M-m-m-m-meltdown REMIX(mix)(ix)(echo)!!!1!
  
  
• David Pinto looks at the tightening AL East. 

And if you're really desperate... from the Post: 

• Mark Teixeira as said that Joe Girardi is the "best manager [he's] had, by far". Interesting how winning casts a warm glow on everything, isn't it? I didn't hear anyone saying that when they were under .500 a few weeks ago. Teix has played for Buck Showalter, Ron Washington (briefly), Bobby Cox and Mike Scioscia. Three of those guys are top notch managers and Ron Washington is only 6 games under .500 in his 2+ seasons in Texas. I think was Mark meant to say was "favorite".

• This June will mark the 20th year Brain Cashman has spent with the Yankees.  Typical of his all-business attitude, Cash claims not to have noticed the anniversary.

• Joel Sherman tries to compare Don Mattingly's willingness to be dropped in the order in favor of Paul O'Neill in 1994 to Jeter's reluctance to move off of shortstop, concluding that Jeter is all un-Captainy and stuff. Here's the difference: Moving down in the batting order doesn't necessitate learning an entirely new skill set. Had Mattingly been asked to shift to left field, I imagine his reaction would have been quite different. 

The View From On Top

For the first time since October 1st, 2006, the Yankees are in sole posession of first place in the American League East. It's the only time it has happened in the Joe Girardi Era. Chew on that for a moment.

For the fifth straight game, Derek Jeter led off the game with a hit, setting the tone for another comfortable victory. 

The margin of victory was only two runs, but the Indians never had the tying runner in scoring position. 

Andy Petttitte had held the Indians scoreless when he was lifted with runners on first and second in the fifth inning and had only tossed 84 pitches. The main reason for his early departure was an apparent back problem which surfaced in the fourth inning.

Pettite doubled over after delivering a 3-1 slider to Ben Francisco and was visited on the mound by Joe Girardi and Gene Monahan. He stayed in the game but retreated to the clubhouse for treatment during the top of the 5th. Andy allowed a lead off single to Asdrubal Cabrera to being the bottom half of the fifth inning, but then recorded three straight outs. After taking the hill for the sixth, Pettitte was yanked after giving up a single and a walk.

Alfredo Aceves allowed one of Pettite's baserunners to score on a sac fly by Shin-Soo Choo, but that was all the offense Cleveland could muster. Aceves, who is emerging as a versatile late inning bullpen option for the Yanks, surrendered only a walk and a single in three innings of work.  

In his first game back, Jorge Posada went 2-3 with a walk. He saw 17 of Cliff Lee's 112 pitches, a contribution which certainly helped send the Indians' starter to the showers in the 6th inning for only the second time in his last 8 starts. 

A-Rod picked up a single and a walk at the plate but the most encouraging signs of the night for him won't be found in the box score. 

In the top of the second, Ben Francisco tapped a nubber down the third baseline, and A-Rod made a great effort charging in on the play, although the out wasn't made at first. Then, during top of the fifth, Alex hit a weak grounder to third base and sensing the possibility of an infield hit, he busted ass down the line and made it a closer play than expected, but was out by a nose. Hustle has long been a trademark of A-Rod's game, and regardless of your feelings about him, it's encouraging to see that he is feeling comfortable and healthy enough to go all out. 

Mo gave up a hit to Choo, but otherwise it was an uneventful and non-threatening ninth inning. The save moved Pettitte and Mariano as the starter/closer tandem with the most wins/saves together (58), passing Dennis Eckersley and Bob Welch (57).

The Yanks are in first. I'm not sure if I remember what that was like. 

Game 48: Ohio

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own,
This summer I hear the drummin',
Four dead in Ohio.

[Yankee related sidenote: This song is about the infamous Kent State Massacre back in 1970. KSU is the alma mater of both Stick Michael and Ohio native Thurman Munson and the baseball field there is named in Michael's honor.]

While the Yankees were down in Texas this week, the Indians did a commendable service to everyone in the A.L. East, save from the Rays, that is. Heading into the series with a record of 17-28, the Indians pulled off a four game sweep which included a 7 run, 9th inning comeback, a dominant outing by Carl Pavano, overcoming a 5 run first inning defecit, and a mix and match pitchers duel where 4 hurlers combined to hold the Rays to one run. 

As it stands now, the Rays are tied for last place in the AL East and have lost much of the preseason shimmer that had carried over from their World Series run last year. Their "ace" Scott Kazmir has a 7.69ERA in 9 starts and is currently on the 15 day DL along with closer Troy Percival who was also quite ineffective (6.35ERA). They've scored the most runs in the AL, and as a result, their Pythagorean W-L record says they should be 28-22 instead of the 23-27 they find themselves at as opposed to last year, when they outperformed their run differential by 5 games.

The Indians are also underperforming their Pythag of 24-25, but that is clearly inflated by the 10-2 and 22-4 wins against the Yankees in their first meeting of the year. They are at 11-11 against the AL East, which is pretty impressive considering they are 10-17 against the rest of the league and they haven't even faced the Orioles yet!

Tonight's pitching match-up squares off lefties Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte. It is the third such southpaw showdown the Yanks have been a part of in the past six days. 

Lee, last year's Cy Young Award winner stumbled out of the gate but has seemingly righted the ship. In his last eight starts he is averaging over 7 1/3 innings pitched and has a 1.86ERA. During that stretch, he lowered his ERA from 6.75 to 3.04. Pettitte, on the other hand has exactly one quality start in his past five outings, but despite all of that has a record of 4-1 as opposed to Lee's 2-4. Lee has already lost more games than he did all of last year - 3.

The most significant note for the Yankees is that Jorge Posada has returned to the line up. Amazingly, since he went on the DL on May 5th, the Yankees have gone 14-7, but he will be a welcome addition to the batting order, nonetheless. As Matt suspected, Kevin Cash has been optioned to Scranton to make room.

Yesterday morning, Joel Sherman had this to say about Jorge behind the plate:

Posada's defense has regressed in recent years, and we are not just talking about his throwing after shoulder surgery. Pitchers do not generally enjoy pitching to him for a variety of reasons, including his inadequacy at framing pitches and his sketchy game calling.

But the general point here is that the Yankees are playing a cleaner, crisper game than they have over the past few years. It is probably not coincidence that it happened with Posada out with injury.

No, Joel, it probably is just a coincidence. Welcome back, Jorge. Let's go Yanks. 

"Bring Your Z-Game"

Via Craig from Shysterball over at Circling the Bases today, please check out Gregg Zaun's website, and definitely don't skip the intro (watch the volume, however).

He's got "Z-Tunes" from Rush and System of a Down, and would like to inform you that his uncle Pat competes in the World Long Drive Championships and is available to build you a driver if you would like to as well! Take a look "Behind the Mask" or become a member of the "Zaunbie Nation" (approximate enrollment: +/- 7).

Friday Injury Update

"It's Friday. You ain't got no job; you ain't got shit to do"

It is Friday. But I do have a job and I have a ton of shit to do, so I'm left counting down the hours to a weekend that won't really even exist for me. How about some good news regarding the Yankees walking wounded?

• Jorge Posada will be activated from the DL for tonight's game. Sayanora Kevin Cash!


• Melky Cabrera will rejoin the the team today. His injury is just a bruise and will supposedly keep him out 5 to 7 days, but he will not need to go on the DL. At least that's what the team says. They've been wrong (or lied) before.


• Brian Bruney got a clean bill of health from Dr. James Andrews. There's no ligament damage; his problems are being caused by the same flexor muscle that landed him on the DL in the first place. The bad news is there's no timetable for his return.


• Xavier Nady got into his first extended spring training game yesterday. As the DH, he went 2 for 5 with a HR and a BB. He's slated to start throwing on Monday.


• Molina, Ransom, and Marte worked out at the minor league complex. Marte did not throw.

A Hypothetical Ponderance - How Much For A Year Behind Bars?

This one comes to you from a follow-up post Jason at IIATM,S did about his new site "Vote For Manny". The original post suggested that people vote Manny Ramirez for the All-Star Game mostly to promote chaos and see what would happen if Manny did work his way into the top three vote-getters. I wholeheartedly support the movement, mainly because I'm in favor of anything that makes Bud Selig uncomfortable. Get out there and vote, friends. 

In under one day, the site got some serious publicity and with that came lots of people who took the name of the idea at face value and left a lot of stupid anonymous comments and probably some angry email in Jason's inbox. All of that caused Jason to put up this post Wednesday night, clarifying his intentions. (Of course, some people are still missing the point.) 

As so often happens, I found a really interesting nugget in Jason's post. Trying to frame the usage of PED's in over the years in baseball, he asks:

Here's my question: If you were promised $200 million once you were done serving a 1 year jail sentence, would you serve the time? Would you risk the shame and embarrassment for generational wealth?

This is an extreme example, obviously. For most players the question would have been closer to "several million dollars if there was a chance of being sent to prison for a year", but I like Jason's hypothetical better. 

How much money would you need in return for one year in prision?

Let's assume that it's a maximum security joint and you go in a week from now. There are no TVs. You have a roommate and it's not John Coffey. No conjugal visits. You are in with the regular inmate population, and they all think that you committed, say, armed robbery or whatever crime you choose. We've all heard about the terrible things that happen in jail and you get no guarantees on your safety and no special treatment. Odds are you will make it out alive, but there's no promises you do. 

You eat the slop they serve you. Your toilet is right in your cell. You have to listen to whatever inmates who are serving life sentences scream throughout the cell block to each other at night. You can't chisel your way our behind a Rita Hayworth poster and you don't have the Squirrelmaster to protect you. Michael Scofield isn't bailing you out of this one. You are locked up in the clink, behind bars for one full year, no getting out early for good behavior. 

How much would it take for you to trade in one year of your freedom and dignity? 

-----

I'll go first - For me, $200 million would be an absolute no brainer. Lock me up! But I think it's more interesting if you treat it like the Price is Right: You can't go over. Make your lowest offer and if it's too high, it doesn't get accepted. 

I'm going with twenty five million United States Dollars, after taxes. I'm 24 years old and single, so I don't have a family I would be pining to see on a daily basis when I was locked up. It would be like doing all the work you would ever have to do in your life in a one year span. Except instead of "work", you'd be reading books, doing a shitload of push-ups and trying to steer clear of dudes named "Roach" who could potentially shiv you in the courtyard.  

I took three one week intensive courses in college where you take the same class for 5 days from 9-5 and receive full three credits upon completion. Sure, listening to a professor drone on about fucking Discrete Probability for two three and a half hour sessions a day was mind numbing. However, every memory of those classses were blocked from my memory within about a week and during the following semester, I didnt have any classes before 10:30 and had every Friday off. 

Money can't buy you happiness, but it can certainly buy you freedom. $25 million bucks isn't that much money, when you consider that 11 guys on the Yankees are in the middle of deals with higher total values (and they get to play baseball, not go to jail). But even if you could get a 1% a year return on it, that's a $250,000 per annum, and you would be able to take advantage of it 24/7/365. Travel, write, golf, get a couple graduate degrees, take a badass baseball road trip, whatever. 

Your turn. 

Not A Bad Place To Be On A Night Off

(Photos via Yahoo)

Man, being a professional athlete sure has it's perks, doesn't it? They may have gotten shut out of the Ritz Carlton last night in favor of a Saudi princess, but several Yanks caught the Cavs vs. Magic game in style. That's Robby Cano and CC checking in with Jay-Z pictured above. Even some of the beat writers got in on the action.

In addition to the Yanks, Jigga and the LoHud of the Rings, "Ben Roethisberger", errr, Brady Quinn (the real Big Ben was there too), Kerry Wood and Carl Pavano all saw the Cavs crawl back to 3-2. Only 4% of NBA teams who get down 3-1 in a playoff series come back to win, but I can't bet against LeBron. I think it's his time. 

Sager: CC, the year you won the Cy Young, your team, the Indians, were up on the Boston Red Sox 3-1 but couldn't close them out. How much do you think a championship would mean to this city?

Sabathia: I'm sorry Craig, could you repeat the question? I couldn't concentrate because I was fighting the urge to strangle you with your ridiculous tie.  

Isn't it amazing how often A-Rod gets a picture taken of him where he looks like a complete and total douche? Would you even want to hang out with him for a night if you could? I'm assuming he'd pick up the tab which would make it significantly more tempting. 
 Mo, on the other hand, looks like he's walking in to "Enter Sandman" no matter where he goes. I would kill with hang with him for a night at his restaurant and talk baseball. 

Which Yankee would you most like to chill with? One night out, on them, your choice of activities. Ladies, it can't be Derek Jeter and "rolling around in bed", okay?

Papenfreude

What To Do Tonight...

The Yankees aren't on, and we are all lost... I know. Here are some options:

• Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee - ABC, 8-10PM - Bathe in the social awkwardness, bask in Erin Andrewsocity. If that's too boring, watch Cheap Seats make fun of a bunch of them from the mid 90's.
  
  
• Game 5 of the Cavs vs. Magic series - TBS, 8:30 - 11-ish - Do or die for Lebron, should make for some interesting television.
  
  
• Jeff Beck: Live At Ronnie Scotts - Palladia HD, 7-9 - Oh, it's almost over? Get lost in his clips on YouTube. There's an hour and a half special on the legendary 1967 Monterey Pop Festival on immedately following as well. The movie Woodstock is on from 8-12 on VH1 Classic if that doesn't suit your fancy. 
  
  
• REAL Sports - HBO 9-10 - Interview with a rep from the NFLPA, a piece on some afeminte bull riding brothers form Spain. You might want to turn off before the horse slaughtering part at the end, though.
   
• Dodgers vs. Cubs - MLBHD, 8 - 11-ish - Two great franchises squaring off at Wrigley and... aw, fuck. Bob Costas calling the game? Nevermind. 
  
  
• An hour long re-run of The Office - NBC, 10 - 11 - Hey, it's better than a first run of 90% of the other bullshit that's on TV.
  
  
• Hit some golf balls at Randall's Island - That's where I'm headed, anyway. See you tomorrow, bright and early. 
  
  

Walter Sobchak Approves

"3,000 years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax, 

you're damn right I'm living in the fucking past!"

Perhaps we should have changed Sandy Koufax to Ron Bloomberg for this one.

This press release from the Yankees yesterday. (h/t Pete Abe)

The New York Yankees have announced the addition of strictly kosher food offerings and Shabbat accommodations at their November 2009 and January 2010 Fantasy Camps.

Glatt kosher food will be provided by Weberman Foods with OK supervision, and a Friday “Dream Game” will be played so Shomer Shabbat Jews can participate.

Campers who keep kosher will be able to fully participate in all regular camp activities and have three strictly kosher meals served daily. The camp will offer traditional Shabbat services Friday night and Saturday, as well as special Shabbat speakers and programming.

For six days and seven nights, Yankees Fantasy Campers live the life of a big league player, dressing in full Yankees uniform and using the same Spring Training clubhouse and fields as the New York Yankees. All campers get their very own locker and a staff of clubhouse attendants and professional trainers to create the authentic Yankees experience.

Former Yankees Chris Chambliss, Bucky Dent, Tommy John, Mickey Rivers, and Ron Blomberg, among others, are scheduled to attend.

Founded in 1997 and located in Tampa, Fla., the New York Yankees Fantasy Camp has hosted over 1,500 campers and 50 former New York Yankees players. For more information on the New York Yankees Fantasy Camp, and the addition of strictly kosher and Shabbat accommodations, please call (800) 368-2267.

"Saturday, Donny, is Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. That means I don't work, I don't drive a car, I don't fucking ride in a car, I don't pick up the phone, I don't turn on the oven, and I SURE AS SHIT DON'T FUCKING ROLL PLAY AT A FANTASY CAMP! Shomer Shabbat!"

We'll see you in Tampa, Walter.

The Supposed "Rookie Starter Difficulties"

Every time the Yankees face an unheralded starting pitcher who they have never seen before, a sentiment echoes throughout Yankeedom. There's a collective "here we go again", as it has become a popular notion that they Yankees can't handle these types of pitchers. Last night, during the top of the sixth inning of the YES broadcast, Ken Singleton dropped a stat that is undoubtedly going to surprise you if you subscribe to that idea:

• In the past two years (since 5/27/07) the Yankees have faced 31 rookie pitchers for the first time. In that span, those pitchers have a combined record 3-18 in those games (after the Yanks beat Derek Holland last night).  

Wins and losses are never going to tell the whole story, but 3-18 paints a pretty clear picture. Singleton was about to say who the three pitchers were, but Brett Gardner dropped a drag bunt, which Derek Holland proceeded to throw away, just before he was pulled from the game and tagged with the loss. Ken didn't continue the thought after the commerical break, so I went back and looked them up. 

Matt Harrison - August 5th, 2008 - Harrison didn't completely shut down the Yanks, but did hold them to two runs in 6 1/3 innings pitched while Andy Pettitte let up 5 runs in 5IP.

Koji Uehara - April 8th, 2009 - The 35 year old Japanese transplant is not your typical rookie, and he had the luxury of facing Chien Ming Wang in one of his first three starts of the season. 

Matt Palmer - May 2nd, 2009 - Palmer, a 30 year old journeyman, slayed CC Sabathia with 6 1/3 innings of one run ball for his second of five straight wins. Despite an ERA of 4.76 with the Angels this season, Palmer still has a 5-0 record. 

So, why the perception that the Yankees are doomed when they face a rookie they have never seen before, especially a lefty?

For one, the stat that YES came up with is heavily caveated. It only looked at the past two calendar years, so it didn't include John Danks' victory on May 16, 2007. It consisted of only guys who the Yankees hadn't faced before, so it didn't acknowledge games like Scott Feldman's win on June 30th, 2008 because they faced him in relief on May 16th, 2006. 

Also, and I think most importantly, it only accounted for actual rookies, not just "guys who we think should suck". Baseball is unique because guys can linger for years on the periphery of the game, ducking in and out of the minors and changing organizations only to emerge at 29 or 30 years old in a starting role for a team in need. So when the Yanks lose a game to a guy like Dustin Mosely, Ryan Feierabend, Paul Maholm, or Jorge de la Rosa, it might not factor into that stat, but it registers in our consciousness. 

The underlying reason that we percieve the Yankees to have problems with rookie starters is our expectations. We see that the opposing pitcher is some no name journeyman and assume the Yankees should pummel him. When they do, we think nothing of it. But when they don't it tends to stick in our craw. When something goes according to plan, it's easy to forget about. You can eat sushi 100 times from the same place and hardly be able to tell each one apart, but if you ever get sick from it, you will remember the exact order for years to come.

Although the Yanks have losses to Uehara and Palmer this year, they have also disposed of Horacio Ramirez, Anthony Reyes, Anthony Ortega, Brett Anderson, Scott Richmond, Brain Tallet, Dana Eveland, Rick Porcello, Brad Bergesen, and the aforementioned Derek Holland. How many of those games did you remember?

Texas Two Step

In a game that featured both what's right and what's wrong with the Yankees at this stage in the season, the Yankees defeated the Rangers 9-2 to take the rubber game of the series and hold a share of first place for the first time since April 16, 2008.

In the first inning, the Yankees jumped out to a lead they would never relinquish, as Mark Teixeira launched a two run homer to left, his 15th of the season, good for second in the AL. Teix would add a hot shot single in the third and just miss a second long ball in the fifth when he tomahawked one to the centerfield warning track. Over his last 15 games Teixeira is hitting .426/.486/.918 with 8 HR and 22 RBI.

Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano would also get in on the homer act, with Matsui homering to right in both the sixth and seventh innings and Cano crushing one to right in the ninth. The other Yankee runs would come on an RBI double by Derek Jeter in the second and a Kevin Cash two run single in the sixth.

Cash, getting his second start in the series, went 2 for 4, raising his average to a robust .231, and leaving him at 5 for 9 in the series. He also threw out 1 of 2 would-be base stealers on the night. After entering the series 1 for 17 on the year, and entering the game having caught just 1 of 9 on the bases, Cash is probably sad to leave Texas. With Posada set to come off the DL as soon as Friday, Cash may want to consider staying there.

All told, Jeter, Teixeira, Matsui, Cano, Gardner, and Cash all had multi-hit games. Every starter save for Johnny Damon recorded a hit. Damon gave the team a scare in the field, crashing into the left field wall at a time when the team can scarcely afford to lose another outfielder. Angel Berroa made another ninth inning pinch running appearance and got doubled up at the plate for the final Yankee out when he tried to score on a Jeter flyout.

From the mound, A.J. Burnett earned his first win since April 14th, and did so in an unusual manner. He went 6 scoreless innings, allowing only 3 hits, issuing 4 walks, and striking out 7. But, he threw under 60% of his pitches for strikes and needed 117 pitches to get through 6 innings, a whopping 19.5 pitches per IP.

With Burnett done after six, the Yankees needed three innings from the bullpen. Despite a comfortable eight run lead, Joe Girardi would not let Brett Tomko pitch for the first time since Sunday. Nor would he immediatley turn to Chien-Ming Wang, who hadn't pitched since Friday and desperately needs innings.

Instead, Jose Veras got the ball for the twenty-first time this season, and turned in yet another representative performance: double, groundout, homer, walk, showers. David Robertson came on to clean up the mess Veras left and illustrated why he should have been on the roster ahead of Veras a long time ago, using six strikes on eight pitches in retiring both batters he saw.

Wang pitched the final two innings, and looked far better than he did against Philly on Friday. He needed just 26 pitches in working two perfect innings, throwing 69% of his pitches for strikes. He recorded two outs via strikeouts, two on the ground, and two in the air. The GB/FB ratio isn't quite what you'd like to see from Wang, but looking at it over a two inning outing isn't very telling.

What is telling is that his sinker looked good. It was staying down in the zone and his velocity was good. Wang looked like a far more confident pitcher last night. He's not where he once was, nor is he where he needs to be in order to be trustworthy again. But let's hope tonight was step one on the path to recovery.