Too Little, Too Late

If you missed the game today and saw the final score, you might have thought this was a tightly contested and compelling game. You would be wrong.

As you can see above, even when the Yanks pulled within one run in the ninth inning, they still had a very slim chance (10-15%) of coming away with the victory. They didn't go quietly on a getaway day, but for a while it looked like that might be the outcome.

Joe Girardi was ejected in the first inning after Derek Jeter was caught stealing at third base with no one out. Jeter walked, advanced to second on a balk and made a questionable decision to try and take third. Although the throw beat him to the bag, replays showed Jeter to be safe and Girardi was tossed when he started wagging his finger at third base umpire Marty Foster. Unlike four out of the five times he's been ejected in his tenure with the Yankees, the team did not end up winning this one.

Andy Pettitte sat the first five Blue Jays down in order, but then issued a walk to Kevin Millar. Jose Bautista and Rod Barajas both added two out singles which in tandem plated the first run of the game. In the top of the third, Pettitte again got to two outs but Alex Rios lofted a three run homer just out of the reach of Melky Cabrera into the left field seats to put the Jays ahead 4-0.

Ricky Romero wasn't dominant today (6.1IP, 7H, 3BB, 5K), but he held the Yankees down admirably with some help from his defense, namely Jose Bautista. Leading off the bottom half of the third, Brett Garnder sliced a ball out to left field line which looked like it would drop in. However, Bautista sprinted and barely made the catch, saving what would have surely been a triple by the speedy Gardner. In the fourth inning, Robby Cano took a pitch deep to left-center, but Bautista made the catch against the wall and threw the ball back to the infield to double off A-Rod.

The Yanks didn't get on the board until this 5th inning when Eric Hinske yanked a ball of the fencing of the right field foul pole in his first game as a Yankee. Starting in RF, he went 2-4 with an RBI and a HBP. Not a bad debut at all.

Pettitte came out for the seventh inning having thrown 96 pitches. He faced two more batters, gave up his second homer of the day, walked Marco Scutaro and didn't both to record an out in the process. Brian Bruney replaced Pettitte but only added to the fire, giving up two doubles, a walk and two runs before being replaced by David Robertson. Robertson threw 1 1/3 perfect innings, lowering his ERA on the season to 2.66 in causing me to wonder why he has only 2/3 IP in high leverage situations this year.

The leverage got progressively higher in this game as the Yanks added two runs in the seventh inning to bring the score to 7-3. Ricky Romero was pulled in the 7th with one out and the bases loaded. Brandon League came on and allowed two inherited runners to score before finally getting Mark Teixeira and A-Rod to strike out on a grand total of six pitches. League might have cost Romero a few points on his ERA, but left him with a chance to win the game.

The Yanks had a chance to pull closer in the 8th. Derek Jeter walked with two outs and the bases loaded to make it 7-4, but Nick Swisher swung at the very next pitch and popped it up to end the threat.

Jonathan Albaldejo added a scoreless inning in the 9th which kept the Yanks within striking distance. Teix and A-Rod once again recorded quick outs, but the Yanks mounted a two out rally. Jorge Posada singled, Cano doubled and Matsui drove them both in with a single that dropped in front of Vernon Wells, who had been playing deep in CF.

The game was in the hands of the newest Yankee, Hinske. Facing Jason Frasor, the Jays' closer, he ran the count to 3-1. The fifth pitch of the at bat was well out of the strike zone, but Hinske fouled it off. The sixth was a high slider, even further out of the zone, but this one resulted in a swing and a miss. Game over. 7-6. Close but no cigar.

We didn't get the 4 game sweep we had hoped for, but 3-1 is nothing to complain about. The Yanks head to Minnesota having distanced themselves from the Jays (6.5 games up) and the Rays (5 games up). They trail the Sox, who welcome Oakland to Fenway tonight for the first of a three game series, by a game and a half.

Game 82 Live Chat

Welcome to the chat. When you make your first comment it might take a moment to show up since we have to approve them and it doesn't always refresh instantly. Hang in there, we'll let you in. If you are having problems, my email is on the side of the site.

Game Chat Reminder

Just a quick reminder that we will be chatting live from the internets during the game today. It's the Monday after a holiday weekend, do you really feel like getting things done? Of course not, you've got the rest of the week for that.

We are going to use Cover It Live, which enables us to import the Twitter feeds of the beat writers who are too cool to actually chat with us and upload pictures among other cool stuff. Should be fun. Stop back at 1:00. It will be 10 times more entertaining than Kim Jones' chat, I promise.

Game 82: (Only) Halfway To Everywhere

It's a getaway day matinee as the Yanks play their first Monday game since topping the Rays on June 8th. That win put the Yanks up one game in the AL East. Today they enter down a game as they go for the sweep against the Jays. Unfortunately, the Cablevision/Optimum in market live streaming doesn't start until Wednesday; it'd be awfully nice to ease our way back into the work week while watching today's game from the office, cubicle, etc. I have tickets for today, but employment responsibilities will keep me from attending. So once again it'll be GameCast from the cubicle. Commiserate with us as we live chat it starting at one.

Andy Pettitte goes for the Yanks. The thirty-seven year-old lefty is coming off his best start yet at the new Stadium, going seven strong innings of two run ball against Seattle last Wednesday. He beat Toronto on May 13th in one of his bend-but-don't-break starts, giving up two runs - just one earned - over six innings, despite allowing nine baserunners.

Southpaw rookie Ricky Romero takes the mound for the Jays. He's been very impressive at 6-3 with a 2.85 ERA (151 ERA+). Romero's been lights out over his last two starts, a combined fifteen shutout innings, six hits and five walks against fourteen Ks. He's turned in six consecutive quality starts, going 4-1 in that stretch.

Eric Hinske will start in right field, making his Yankee debut. It's a curious choice to start him against a lefty as he's hit .221/.298/.363 against them in his career. Lefty Johnny Damon gets the day off; Teix gets a half day as the DH as Nick Swisher mans first.

The Yanks have won three in a row and seven of eight. They've won three straight series, and are playing with house money in today's game, having already taken the first three of this four game set. They have the third best record in baseball, lead the AL Wild Card by 2.5 games, and despite going 0-8 against the team ahead of them, they are just a game out of first in baseball's toughest division. They lead the league in runs per game and despite some mediocre numbers, the pitching staff is as good as it's been in years.

And while all of that is encouraging, the mathematical second half of the season starts today. There's much still to be done; we're only halfway to everywhere.



I'm thinking positivity
Positively
This is possible
They can say right or wrong
Never hear this song
Or look you in the eye
I'm getting rid of negativity
Lose the loss in me
Call it equality
Good luck is a frame of mind
Call it humankind
And say it's destiny

I'm only halfway to everywhere

Joba Attending The Ian Kennedy School Of Media Relations

Yes, I just made fun of Ken Davidoff's column, but if you can get past the "OMG" in the first sentence, he's making a good overarching point. Here's what Joba said after his performance last night (emphasis mine):

"It's a win at the end of the day," Chamberlain told reporters. "I didn't throw well at all, but at the end of the day, 10 to 8, the Yankees win. There's really not much to be mad about.

>8

"I did a good job today [of attacking hitters], I felt like," he said. "They're great hitters. I threw good pitches and they put good swings on it. They've been doing it all year. They're going to continue to do it.

(Until Alfredo Aceves comes into the game, of course...)


Yes, a win is always the bottom line, but there's "not much" to be mad about? How about your shitty performance coming the day after a 12 inning game which had obviously taxed the bullpen? What about being staked to a 4-0 lead and pissing it away? Perhaps the fact that you needed 86 pitches to get 11 outs? No one else on the Yankees has anything to be mad about because they put together a heroic effort to save your ass after you were already in the showers. But you? You should be a little ticked off.


Now here's what Ian Kennedy said last August 8th after getting blasted by the Angels two days before he was optioned back to AAA:

"I felt like I made some good pitches," he said. "I'm not too upset about it. What was it, a bunch of singles and three doubles? I'm just not real upset about it. I'm just going to move on and I've already done that."

As fans, we are disappointed when a starting pitcher has a poor outing, so the natural inclination would be to want the players to be unhappy with themselves as well. We want them to take responsibility for their mistakes or at least acknowledge that they messed up. There's no sign of any of that in either of these snippets.

Mariano Rivera is constantly lauded for his "short memory" and how he doesn't let one bad performance negatively impact his next one. The difference is that Rivera faces the media after a blown save or a loss and owns up to his poorer efforts.

Is it Joba's attitude that's keeping him from turning in quality starts? Is it like a 12-Step Program where you first have to admit that you have a problem before you can address it? I don't know, but his quotes certainly aren't good signs.

I still don't think he's boring to watch. But frustrating? You better believe it.

Like, No, SRSLY!1!!!

WTF?

Victory!

Good morning Fackers. It was a nice, long holiday weekend that saw the Yanks go 3-0 (we won't count Thursday night as part of the weekend). Now you're back at work; ain't that a kick in the junk?

Well let's start the week off with some good news. Give yourselves a pat on the back. The All-Star rosters were announced yesterday, and our call to action last week was successful. Mark Teixeira overcame a last day deficit to overtake our friend Youk as the starting first baseman. Youkilis still made the team as a reserve, and deservedly so.

Congratulations are also in order for Derek Jeter, who was the leading AL vote getter for the first time in his career. It will be the tenth All-Star appearance for the Captain, as it will be for the wonder that is Mo.

It's Getaway Day Matinee Monday. Back with the preview shortly.

Alf Is Outta This World

Joe Girardi prefers to refer to Alfredo Aceves as "Ace". I prefer "Alf", recalling the Melmacian alien and sitcom star of my youth. So instead of another "Ace in the Hole" or "Aceves Comes Up Aces" headline like you'll likely see elsewhere, I'm sticking to Alf. Today though, Girardi's moniker of choice was more apt, as Aceves saved the Yankees bacon on a marathon Sunday afternoon.

Aceves was the lone member of Satuday's Yankee bullpen not to see action in the 12 inning game, requiring rest after Girardi pushed him one inning too many in Thursday's loss. Today, he entered in the sixth, after a poor start from Joba Chamberlain and an inning and a third of scoreless, if shaky, relief from the just-recalled Jonathan Albaladejo. Aceves proceeded to throw four shutout innings on just forty-three pitches, thirty-three of them strikes. He allowed just one hit, a leadoff single in the eighth, walked none, and fanned five, including Scott Rolen looking to end the three hour forty-four minute game.

In stark contrast to Alf's performance was another frustratingly poor outing from Joba Chamberlain. Aceves' "stuff" is vastly inferior to that of Joba's, but Alf trusts his repetoire infinitely more than Chamberlain at this stage. Aceves challenged hitters all day, needing less than eleven pitches per inning pitched. Joba nibbled all afternoon, crapping out after eighty-six pitches in just three and two thirds innings.

Staked to a 4-0 lead, Joba gave three back in the third before the wheels completely came off in fourth. An error by Cody Ransom, subbing for A-Rod at third, certainly didn't help, leaving all five fourth inning runs credited as unearned, but the bottom line is that with two outs, Chamberlain repeatedly failed to finish off the inning, allowing four consecutive hits before giving way to Albaladejo.

My cousin, uncles, and father attended today's game. The last contest my father went to was another sloppy Chamberlain start, on April 17th, in which the Yanks and Tribe combined for six home runs. Today the ball was flying out again, with the Jays and Yanks knocking out two apiece.

After Chamberlain left the Yanks in an 8-4 hole in the bottom of the fourth, Hideki Matsui got the Yanks right back into it, launching a three run shot to cut the lead to one. The following inning, Derek Jeter added a two run shot to put the Yankees ahead for good; it was one of four Jeter hits on the day.

Jorge Posada, batting clean-up in place of A-Rod, had a big day, going 4 for 5 with a double, scoring twice, and driving in three. Johnny Damon drew two walks; Mark Teixeira drew three. Robinson Cano, dropped to seventh in the order, had a better afternoon, picking up a pair of singles, but ran his RISP oh for to twentyone.

Today's victory ensured that the Yanks will take their third straight series. Tomorrow afternoon they go for the sweep; hopefully the Fred Durst caps are gone for that one.

A quick programming note for those of you watching the tube tonight: at nine o'clock the MLB Network will be showing Pride of the Yankees, the Lou Gehrig biopic. Released in 1942, the movie probably hasn't aged well and will probably seem hokie by today's standards. But it's a fitting end to this Fourth of July Weekend, Plus you get to see Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Bill Dickey, as well as Bob Meusel and Mark Koenig play themselves. Gary Cooper, who played Gehrig, was a natural righty. So for the baseball scenes he wore a backwards uniform and ran to third base after hitting, then the film was flipped to make the reels.

Enjoy what's left of your holiday weekend.

Game 81: America, F___ Yeah

[The previews are abridged for holiday weekend purposes. Hope you understand. Because if you don't, you hate America]

The Pitchers:

[UPDATE : Richmond has a sore shoulder and has been scratched in favor of lefty Brett Cecil. Except we didn't prepare a graphic for him. Such are the perils of mailing it in on a holiday weekend. Check his numbers here.]

The Song:

America, FUCK YEAH!
Coming again, to save the motherfucking day, yeah,
America, FUCK YEAH!
Freedom is the only way, yeah,
Terrorists, your game is through, cause now you have to answer to,
America, FUCK YEAH!
So lick my butt, and suck on my balls,
America, FUCK YEAH!

Posada Gets The Pie

The Yanks added another walk-off win today, as Jorge Posada's 12th inning base hit plated A-Rod to end the long afternoon. Joba Chamberlain and A.J. Burnett tag-teamed the traditional pie in the face as Kim Jones interviewed Posada. He probably choked them both out with his urine soaked hands following the interview.

CMW was sharp through five, ran into trouble in the sixth, and then left with a shoulder issue. He was sent for an MRI. Pete Abe reports Wang is headed for the DL and will be out about a month. This could be a blessing in disguise. Another DL stint could allow Wang a full rehab assignment this time, provided the organization doesn't screw it up again, and hopefully allow him to work out the kinks against minor league comptetion. Abe further speculates the neither Aceves nor Hughes will take Wang's turn on Thursday. Nady can be moved to the 60 day DL to open a 40 man spot for someone (Sergio Mitre?) to start.

The bullpen, outside of David Robertson, was great today, with Brian Bruney, Phil Hughes, Mo, Phil Coke, and even Brett Tomko combining for 6 innings of scoreless work.

Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Posada all homered. Robbie Cano had another brutal day, going 0 for 6, running his RISP hitless streak to 20 at bats, and missing a sign in the twelfth leading to an ill-advised bunt attempt on a 3-0 pitch.

If you're watching the tube tonight, YES will be airing both the Lou Gehrig Yankeeography and Dave Righetti's 7/4/83 no-hitter.

I've been in Jersey all day with family, watching the game and playing whiffle ball. Good times. We're not quite in Asbury Park, but it's the Fourth of July, and it's close enough.

Game 80: Saturday In The Park

[The previews are abridged for holiday weekend purposes. Hope you understand. Because if you don't, you hate America.]

The Pitchers:

The Song:

Saturday, in the park,
I think it was the Fourth of July,
Saturday, in the park,
I think it was the Fourth of July.

People dancing, people laughing,
A man selling ice cream,
Singing italian songs,
(fake italian lyric),
Can you dig it (yes, I can),
And Ive been waiting such a long time,
For saturday...

Yanks Top Jays

Quick recap again today.

Robinson Cano went deep in the second to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead. The Jays tied it in the fourth on a double and a base hit. The Yanks got at Tallet in the fifth. Gardner and Jeter led off with walks, followed by a bunt single from Johnny Damon. Teix walked to plate Gardner. A-Rod grounded into a fielder's choice, forcing Jeter at home, then Damon scored on a passed ball. The Jays were lucky to get out of the inning down only two.

The Jays cut it to one with a Vernon Wells blast in the sixth, then A-Rod ran it back to a two run lead with a homer in the eighth.

A.J. Burnett had another great start, 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 7 K. The Phils, Coke and Hughes, combined to work the eighth, and Mo closed it with a perfect ninth. The 4-2 victory was a nice 42nd birthday gift for Brian Cashman.

Back at it tomorrow.

Game 79: Blame Canada!

As America celebrates Independence Day weekend, the Yanks host Canada's team, the Toronto Blue Jays. On Wednesday, Canada celebrated Canada Day, marking their independence, also from Great Britain. Canada Day commemorates the British North American Act, passed by British Parliament in 1867, allowing Canada to be a sovereign nation.

So, for a little history recap, in 1775 the American Colonies go to war with Great Britain, declare their independence the following summer, and finish off the Brits in 1783. Meanwhile, our syrup sucking neighbors to the north, also under British rule since the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763, sit on their hands all the while, forcing our forefathers to turn to the French - the French of all people! - for military support against the mighty Brits.

After the American Revolution, just as it would for draft dodgers two hundred years later, Canada served as an asylum for American Colonists who had stayed loyal to Britain throughout the Revolution. In the War of 1812, Canada served as Britain's main staging area, and the U.S.-Canadian border was the war's main front.

Finally, in 1867, nearly one hundred years after our forefathers fought for American independence when they wanted it, Canada was given independence when the Brits were damn good and ready to let them have it. No wonder Claude Lemieux and Jason Bay have recently chosen to become American citizens.

So remember, Canada could have been in on the Great Experiment of a Democratic Republic right from the start. Instead they chose to remain British lap dogs for another hundred years.

Back to baseball. A.J. Burnett goes for the Yanks today. For the fourth straight start he'll oppose an organization to which he once belonged. He's been stellar in the last three, going 2-1, posting 0.44 ERA, and allowing just 20 baserunners in 20.1 IP while holding opponents to a .147 average. I'll take more of that today as the Yanks look to start a new winning streak. In one start against Toronto this year, Burnett gave up 5 ER in seven and two thirds, taking the loss.

Brian Tallet and his sweet stache get the ball for the Jays. He's at 5-5 on the year and has an ERA just below league average (96 ERA+). He took a no decision against the Yanks back on May 14th, allowing just two runs but walking five in six innings of work.

Jorge Posada is out of the lineup for the second straight day with a swollen thumb on his catching hand. The Cisco Kid gets what should be one of his final starts as Jose Molina continues his weekend rehab assignment with Scranton.

Enjoy the game. And why did the American Revolution take so long to complete? Blame Canada!



Blame Canada!
They're not even a real country anyway.