Game 27: Buenas Tardes Amigo

Buenas tardes Fackers, y feliz Cinco de Mayo. Today marks the 148th anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, more popularly known as Cinco de Mayo, during which the Mexican Army improbably defeated the French. The Yankees, who feature two of the eleven Mexican-born players currently in the Major Leagues, will celebrate with a getaway day matinee, saying good afternoon to the Orioles as they wrap up their three game set.

Andy Pettitte looks to continue his strong start to the 2010 season and give the Yankees the sweep. Through five starts, Pettitte stands at 3-0, with a 2.12 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He is still outperforming both his FIP (3.07) and xFIP (4.01) by a good margin, thanks in large part to a high strand rate (82.9%) and a low BABIP (.276). The good news is, he's been so successful not just because of those somewhat lucky numbers, but because his walks are low and he's allowed just a single home run in 34 IP. Further, if Pettitte's ERA matched his FIP or even his xFIP, no one would be complaining about it at this point.

Baltimore is an old friend to Pettitte. He's has made 38 starts and 2 relief appearances against the Orioles in his 16 year career. He's 26-6 with a 3.60 ERA against them. Clearly there are several good starts mixed in there, but perhaps none better than Pettitte's second most recent against the O's. Last August 31st, Pettitte was perfect at Camden Yards through six and two thirds, finishing the night with 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, and 8 K. Pettitte enjoyed great success against Baltimore in three starts last year, posting a 2.21 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and striking out 21 against just 5 walks in 20.1 IP.

For the Orioles, David Hernandez will get the ball. Hernandez faced the Yankees twice as a rookie last year. On July 20th, he held them to six baserunners and a single run over six innings of work, but wasn't around for the decision by the time Hideki Matsui's home run gave the Yankees yet another walkoff win. He wasn't quite so lucky on September 1st, as the Yankees touched him up for five runs in as many innings while working six walks. If there was any silver lining, it was that Hernandez held them to just four hits and struck out seven.

After a poor 2009, Hernandez has made modest improvements through the first five starts of his sophomore campaign. Though winless, his ERA is a respectable 4.55, just about in line with his 4.65 FIP. However, he's allowing far too many baserunners, walking an unsightly 4.9 per nine, and yielding a hit per inning. He can't blame the hits on bad luck, as his BABIP of .291 is better than league average, and his xFIP of 5.98 suggests that things could have been worse for him thus far. If he can't keep the walks under control or keeps giving up hits in bunches, he likely won't last long this afternoon. Even in its weakened state, the Yankees lineup will feast upon that.

Stuck at the office today? Yeah, me too. Luckily, thanks to Yankees on YES, I'll be able to follow along on my computer. Of course, most of my attention will be on spreadsheets and emails and the like, but I'm sure I'll check in here and there. Let's commiserate in the comments.

Buenas tardes amigo
Hola my good friend
Cinco de Mayo's on Tuesday
And I hoped we'd see each other again

-Lineups-

Yankees:
Jeter's back in the field today, and Nick Johnson returns to the lineup in the two spot as the DH. With Jorge Posada still hobbled and an off day tomorrow, Francisco Cervelli catches the day game after a night game. Randy Winn draws the winning number in today's left field lottery.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Randy Winn LF

Orioles:
Update 12:50 PM: Jones is a late scratch. Lugo moves up to the leadoff spot, Lou Montanez replaces Jones in CF and Lugo in the 9 hole

Julio Lugo SS
Adam Jones CF
Ty Wigginton 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Miguel Tejada 3B
Garrett Atkins 1B
Matt Wieters DH
Nolan Reimold LF
Craig Tatum C
Julio Lugo SS
Lou Montanez CF

Al Leiter's Magic Baseball

Top of the 6th inning in YES broadcast booth:

Leiter: Michael, have you ever said to yourself, "Gee, How do those guys do it? It must be hard to be a Major League pitcher".

Kay: Sure, just look at the torque these put on their arms. It's amazing that they can make it through one pitch without getting injured, let alone a whole season, let alone a 19 year career like you, Al.

Leiter: Well, have you ever wished that you were out there on the mound, throwing high heat and snapping off nasty curveballs?

Kay: I used to when I was a boy growing up as a big Yankee fan in the Bronx, sure.

Leiter: Well now you can, with Al Leiter's Magic Baseball®! Here it comes... Nah-na-na-na-na-na-non-on-no-no-on...

Leiter: Watch, this is how you can throw a blazing 87mph fastball like I did when I was playing! You just go like this.

Leiter: And then it's like 'Whooooohhhhssshhhh'...

Leiter: And 'Ssssssssssfffffffvvvvvrrrrrrrmmmmm'...

Leiter: POP! Steeeeeerikkkee threee! YOU'RE OUTTA THERE!!1!1

Did you catch that?

Kay: I did. You apparently struck that batter out with one pitch.

Leiter: Use your imagination, Michael! Did I mention I used to be a Major League pitcher?

Kay: You did, Al. And the 1-0 from Matusz...

Kay: And Gardner swings and misses at a...

Leiter: (/interrupting) Okay, now look at the curve. It comes in like this... 'Peeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww'

Leiter: Then drops off like this 'Kkkkkkkkksssssssssssttttttttt'...

Leiter: And 'Bbbzzzzoooooooommmmmm.... pffffftt'. Steeeeeeeerrrrikkkkke!

Kay: Al, I don't really see how this baseball is "magic".

Leiter: Okay, it's not actually magic, it just has little wings that pop out and a jet engine in the back!

Kay: That just looks like a regular baseball , Al.

Leiter: It's not, it's not! It's Al Leiter's Magic Baseball® and it's perfect for completely pointless stationary demonstrations done in office chairs on baseball broadcasts.

Kay: But it's not magic, so you probably shouldn't say that it is.

Leiter: I can't say anything I want and I don't have to listen to you! (/plugs ears) Lalalalalalalalalalala!

Kay: ARE YOU SEVEN FUCKING YEARS OLD, AL?!?! PUT. THE. BALL. DOWN.

Kay: There. Now sit still, be quiet and watch the game.

Leiter: (/pouting) I want more candy!

Kay: Give me that.

(/proceeds to eat all of it)

f i n

Remembering Ernie Harwell

Good morning Fackers. Pope Paul VI died on August 6, 1978. Phil Rizzuto was calling the Yankee game that night, and delivered the news as only he could: "Well, that kind of puts a damper on even a Yankee win".

I thought of that story last night for two reasons. First, because Rizzuto's sentiments about the passing of the pope 32 years ago are an apt expression of my feelings in the wake of Ernie Harwell's passing at 92 last night. And secondly, because Rizzuto, who we lost nearly three years ago now, was as beloved by Yankee fans as Harwell was by Tiger fans. Such announcers are literally a dying breed, and so long as the Yankees continue to employ the likes of Michael Kay and John Sterling as the voices of the team, we won't ever again have the luxury of such a beloved announcer.

I touched upon Harwell briefly last September, when he announced that he had inoperable bile duct cancer and just months to live. As a Yankee-centric baseball fan, I'm having a tough time putting my finger on why it is that the passing of Harwell, who had no ties to the Yankees, is registering with me. I have virtually no connection to him. I barely recall listening to him at all during his broadcasting days. I know I read one of his books when I was younger, and I remember liking it a lot, but not enough to remember which one of his works that it was.

But as the reactions to Harwell's passing pour in from around baseball and blogosphere, I suppose I'm not alone in my sentiments. There are several others out there, who like me, have little or no connection to Harwell, but who are nonetheless saddened by his passing. Harwell was as good an ambassador as the game has ever had, a humble and dignified man throughout his career, and over the past several months, in the face of his impending death, spent his time doing more to console those who would mourn him than he did thinking about himself.

As I thought about this last night, with the Yankees post-game show on in the background, Joe Girardi held his post-game session with the media. There, Kim Jones asked Girardi for some thoughts on Harwell. It was only then that Girardi found out the news, and he became somewhat emotional as he shared his limited memories of Harwell. I suppose that's as representative a reaction as any: someone with no specific ties to Harwell, but with ties to the game of baseball, understands that the game has suffered a significant loss.

Here are far more poignant remembrances of Harwell:

An extensive obituary by John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press

A remembrance by our friend Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk, who grew up in Michigan, falling asleep to the sound of Harwell's voice.

Joe Posnanski re-runs his Sports Illustrated piece on Harwell from last September

Rob Neyer met Harwell just once, just over ten years ago

Larry from Wezen-ball digs up an article that Harwell wrote for Baseball Digest about Ty Cobb and the manager who discovered him.

Tyler Kepner of the New York Times excerpts Harwell's famed Cooperstown speech from 1981, when he was given the Ford C. Frick Award.

CYC does Kepner one better, reprinting the speech in its entirety.

'Duk at Big League Stew says it best: Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Levi Stubbs, and Marvin Gaye can step aside. Harwell had Motown's sweetest voice.

Jason at IIATMS

Bleacher Report's Tim Cary recalls growing up to the voice of Harwell

Sam Walter Foss' "House By The Side of the Road", the poem that helped a young Harwell overcome his stuttering problem. He would later pepper his broadcasts with references to the poem, and the line that closes four of the poem's five stanzas seems to have been a mantra for Ernie:

Let me live in a house by the side of the road,
And be a friend to man.

We'll leave you with this video, from Harwell's night at Comerica Park last September.

Game 26 Recap

1. Garrett Atkins led off the top of third with a single, and Rhyne Hughes followed with a walk. Number nine hitter Cesar Izturis laid down a sacrifice, but Burnett's throw tailed into the baseline, making catching it a dangerous proposition for Robinson Cano. The ball caromed down the right field line, allowing Atkins score and giving the O's two runners in scoring position with no one out. Burnett responded by striking out Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Matt Wieters to escape the jam without further damage. 1-0 Orioles.

2. The Yankees wasted little time in answering in the bottom half of the frame. Francisco Cervelli lined the first pitch of the inning to center field. Adam Jones gambled on a dive, and when it failed to pay off, Cervelli stood on third base with his first Major League triple. A groundout from Ramiro Pena brought Frankie home, tying the score at 1-1.

3. After falling in an 0-2 hole leading off the fifth, Brett Gardner battled back to work a walk. Cervelli followed, also falling behind 0-2, then dropping a bloop single in shallow right field, moving Gardner to second. Just as the O's had their number nine hitter lay on down on this situation in the third, Ramiro Pena did the same for the Yankees here. And just as A.J. Burnett's throw wound up in right field, so too did that of Brian Matusz. Gardner scored, Cervelli and Pena moved to third and second respectively. After Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher made outs without getting the run home, Mark Teixeira worked a walk. After nearly decapitating Cervelli with a pair of foul balls, A-Rod finally brought the run home with a bases loaded walk. Robinson Cano subsequently flied out of the first pitch of his at bat, ending the threat. 3-1 Yankees.

4. Brett Gardner led off the bottom of the eighth with his sixth infield single of the season, swiped second for his twelfth steal of the year, and moved to third on Cervelli's sacrifice bunt. A sacrifice fly from Ramiro Pena plated the game's final run. 4-1 Yankees.

IF, ANDs & BUTs

• In the early going, it appeared A.J. Burnett rediscovered his knack for fanning batters, striking out three through two innings, followed by striking out the side to escape a jam in the third. He would whiff only two more over his final four and a third, but his eight Ks are a season high and his curveball looked better than it has all year.


• I wish Jorge Posada a full and speedy recovery, but hot damn is it fun to watch Francisco Cervelli play. He went three for three tonight with a triple and a bunt single, a successful sacrifice, and two runs scored. On the defensive side, he called his usual strong game, kept the O's honest on the bases, and made a circus catch at the rail to nab a Garrett Atkins pop up and end the top of the fourth.


• Once again, the Yankees were driven by the bottom of the order. The bottom third of Gardner, Cervelli, and Pena combined to go 4 for 8 with a walk, a triple, a sac fly, two sac bunts, and a stolen base. They scored all four runs and contributed two RBI. Meanwhile the one through four hitters went 1 for 14 with three walks and an RBI.


• Greg Golson made his Yankees debut as a defensive replacement to start the eighth, replacing Marcus Thames. Golson took over in center, pushing Brett Gardner to left. Both are regarded as excellent center fielders. Gardner likely moved to left given his familiarity there; Golson has made just four career minor league appearances in left. Still, Gardner made sure he was still the boss out there, hauling in the game's final out as the two converged on the fly ball.


• After a one out eighth inning walk to Nick Markakis brought the tying run to the plate, Damaso Marte relieved Burnett and struck out Matt Wieters. Marte gave way to Alfredo Aceves who gave up a long flyball to the right center field warning track, but Golson hauled it in to retire the side.


• Wieters went 0 for 4 with 3 Ks. Francisco Cervelli went 3 for 3 with a triple and two runs scored, made the defensive play of the game, dodged two laser beams off the mighty bat of A-Rod, beat the 4, B, and D trains in the great subway race between innings, and flummoxed everyone in the Stadium by hiding the ball under his monstrous batting helmet during the cap game. Just saying. Maybe Frankie needs his own website.


• Joba Chamberlain recorded the save for the second straight night. It was nice to see him touch 96 on the gun and fan two. But for me, it was more encouraging to see him drop his curveball in a couple times. Perhaps it's nothing, but so long as I'm holding out hope that the guy still will be a starter at some point in the future, it's encouraging to see him use his third pitch from time to time.


• Mo threw a 15 pitch bullpen before the game and reportedly could have pitched if necessary. I'm sure the club wanted to give him an extra night off

Goodnight Fackers. And goodbye Ernie Harwell; you will be missed. Rest in peace.

Game 26: It Hurts Me Too

After the Yankees beat the Orioles 4-1 last night on the back of 8 strong innings from CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett looks to pick up his second win against the Birds in as many starts as well. Like last Thursday, he'll again be facing Brian Matusz.

The young left hander didn't pitch poorly last time against the Yanks but three runs over six innings wasn't nearly good enough against Burnett. Matusz didn't walk anyone but he allowed nine hits and only struck out two. Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Marcus Thames accounted for six of those hits and all three of the runs scored.

On the other side of the ball, Burnett allowed just four baserunners over 8 shutout innings. After the game, he attributed the success he's enjoyed so far this season to being able to pitch to both sides of the plate with movement and trying to "just let them hit the ball". That new approach has paid serious dividends thus far as he's 3-0 in his first 5 starts with a 2.43 ERA. His FIP at 3.37 is higher due to a higher LOB% and a dearth of strikeouts but is still quite good. His xFIP of 4.33 suggests that his faith in his defense has been based on batted balls ending up in the right places, but still is about league average.

A.J. might not be so lucky tonight as he has a depleted defensive outfield with Marcus Thames getting the start in left as Brett Gardner fills in the the injured Curtis Granderson in center.

Burnett won't be pitching to his newfound battery mate Jorge Posada again tonight either. Last time it was because of the fastball that Jeremy Guthrie hit Posada with the night before and this time it's because of the calf straight that might have been caused in part by the lingering effects on that knee from the previous incident.

If the game is tight towards the end, the Yankees might not have their closer available either. The "flank" strain that Mariano Rivera first felt on Saturday has been getting better every day according to he and Joe Girardi but they aren't sure if Mo is ready to come back just yet.

After enjoying an April wherein the only real injury on the team was to Chan Ho Park's hamstring, the Yanks are now battling through a spate of bumps are bruises. It's to be expected for a team that has as many older players as the Yankees do and most of the maladies aren't very serious, but it almost seems as if they are contagious as this point.

The original:

Elmore James' version:

The Dead's:

Clapton's:

and Gov't Mule's:

When things go wrong,

Wrong with you,

It hurts me too.

[Song Notes: This tune has been covered far and wide since Tampa Red recorded the first version of it in 1940. Elmore James changed the lyrics somewhat when he put his stamp on it in 1957 and those bear much more resemblance to the other versions posted here than Red's much wordier one. The original also sounds almost like a honky tonk song where are James added the nasty, bluesy slide guitar that countless others including Clapton and Warren Haynes have aimed to duplicate. I personally like the slower pace of the Dead's version but enjoy the tune when almost anyone plays it.]

-Lineups-

Yankees: In addition to Granderson and Posada, Nick Johnson has the night off as well. Nick Swisher takes his place in the two hole as Derek Jeter slides into the DH slot and Ramiro Pena plays short and bats ninth. That's a pretty sorry looking bottom four but the last time one of us complained about a punchless line up, the Yanks scored 12 runs. As we mentioned earlier, Greg Golson is up. Mark Melancon drew the short straw and is on his way back to Scranton.

Derek Jeter DH
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames LF
Brett Gardner CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Ramiro Pena SS

Orioles:

Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Matt Wieters C
Miguel Tejada 3B
Ty Wigginton 2B
Luke Scott LF
Garrett Atkins DH
Rhyne Hughes 1B
Cesar Izturis SS

Tuesday Afternoon Linkstavaganza

Happy 139th Birthday, Major League Baseball. You don't look at day over 125.

Via the WSJ, it seems that Derek Jeter has a pretty small strike zone in relation to his height when compared to a few other Yankees and Mets. The zones are based on just one year of data and without looking at a wide cross section of the league we can't tell where they fit in, exactly, but it's interesting anecdotally.

Today, Mark Teixeira donated $100,000 to Harlem RBI. Much of the money will be used to provide tuition assistance, SAT prep and counseling for kids who want to go to college. He said:

I started talking to them during spring training and I was blown away. One thing I'm passionate about is education and this is allowing kids to get an opportunity to go to college and use every tool at their disposal.

Carlos Beltran has also donated $255,000 to the program since 2005.

Joe from River Ave. Blues examines Nick Johnson's quest to start hitting.

Guess what, Jason Gay... I'm not going to start rooting for Boston because "a Yankee championship means more when Boston is competitive". The Rays aren't going anywhere so the sooner the Sox are dead and buried, the better. And while you claim to have come up with "Schillingfreude", but we've been celebrating Papenfreude and Soxenfreude for a long time around these parts. You've been placed on notice, sir.

However, I will acknowledge that Dave Roberts is suffering from lymphoma and wish him a full and speedy recovery. In his honor, Joe Posnanski put together the 10 most famous steals of all time.

In addition to catching up with their top 30 preseason prospects, Pending Pinstripes highlights some of the better offensive performances throughout the system in April.

John Sterling's home run call for Randy Winn is a loser.

If you scroll down to #5 here, you'll see that the Yankees were not the first team to use Kate Smith for inspiration. But at least she was still alive when the Fliers did it.

Speaking of Philly, while the baseball blogosphere was briefly titillated and entertained by the dude who got tased at Citizen's Bank Park last night, Tim Marchman puts the use of that kind of force into proper perspective. Craig Calcaterra agrees.

Larry from Wezen-ball's Tater Trot Tracker was featured in USA Today, just a mere step along his path to world domination.

In case you've had your head in the sand for the past 24 hours, the Yankees are skipping Javier Vazquez's turn in the rotation in Boston. It seems like a good move to give the guy some time to collect himself and save him from the hostile environment of fackin' Fenway Paaahhk. If that doesn't cure what ails him, I don't know what will.

Tom Verducci pines for "the crack of the bat". That was almost an awesome pun but I don't know of any bats made of evergreen wood.

Think the NBA Playoffs are less random than the MLB's? Tango says think again.

Also over at The Book Blog, Tango tries to clear up some misconceptions about Win Probability Added and Win Expectancy. David Pinto points out a flaw in the kind of WPA charts we use in that they all start at with 50/50 odds despite the fact that one team usually has a better chance of winning. Sure, but that opens up a Pandora's Box of other variables that could be taken into account on a batter-by-batter basis.

Rob Neyer answers some questions from his mailbag and while debunking the idea that a certain rule that was was said created for Jackie Robinson, talks about how much intuitive sense the regulations of the game make. If only the original statistics were as logical.

Here's a nice piece about the 12 year old girl who threw back-to-back no-hitters in Little League and was taught how to throw a knuckleball by Joe Neikro. We linked to the story about the no-no's when they happened but this is a more complete profile of Chelsea Baker.

Blue Jays fan Navin Vaswami - he of the "baseball road trip of a lifetime" - stops in Philly and admits that Roy Halladay is probably in a better place now.

Theo Epstein had some strong words for the play of the Red Sox thus far, calling it"unintelligent, undisciplined, uninspired" and threatening changes if it doesn't turn around. That's pretty much like the principal coming into the class room and telling the kids that the all have detention if they don't shape up. It probably won't happen, but it might get them to sit up straight.

Dustin Pedroia: Motivational speaker (via BBTF).

Oh you thought you know how much of a slimeball Redskins owner Daniel Snyder was based on how he runs the Redskins? Look at what he did to Six Flags.

"First Basemens"? Yeah that's Nada Word.

Back with the preview at the usual time (5:00).

More Roster Speculation

AAA Scranton has a game in Norfolk this afternoon, and after a look at the lineups, you can pretty much disregard everything I said this morning. Chad Moeller is behind the plate in that game, so there's virtually no chance he'll be in the Bronx tonight.

Jesus Montero is not in the lineup today, but I wouldn't read too much into it. This likely a routine day off; he's hasn't had one in a week. (Insert joke about Jesus resting on the seventh day). Besides, there's virtually no chance that the organization wants to start Montero's arbitration and free agency at this point, particularly when he's struggled a bit through his first month at AAA.

Also of note is that usual center fielder Greg Golson is not in today's lineup. Perhaps he may be recalled after all. I don't know the specifics of Posada's situation right now, but I'd think having a third catcher around is more important than having a fifth outfielder around over the next few days.

[UPDATE 12:40 PM: Golson is already in NY and expected to be activated tonight]

Lastly, with Golson out of the lineup and Colin Curtis on the DL, Kevin Russo gets his first career start in center field. A second baseman by trade, Russo and fellow infielders Reegie Corona and Eduardo Nunez have rotated through the three infield spots this year. Russo made seven outfield appearances in 2008, but this is his first action in center. His presence there today could be nothing at all, or it could be part of turning him into a super utility player. He carries a .290/.371/.419 line on the young season, including a scorching .368/.400/.605 over his last ten games. If he continues swinging the bat well and is capable of playing all over the diamond, Russo could offer a compelling option to give the big club's bench a little more flexibility.

Smoltz Trying To Win The Golfing Lottery

The former Brave, Red Sock and Cardinal is one of 9,052 golfers attempting to qualify for the U.S. Open.

Anyone with a handicap index of 1.4 or below can enter the tournament, which begins with 111 local qualifiers spread out across the U.S. with satellite locations in the U.K. and Japan as well.

If he is one of a handful of people who qualify from each site, he'll advance a 36 hole sectional qualifier and from there, the going really gets tough. He'd have to compete not only with the other top flight amateurs that made the previous cut, but non-exempted PGA tour professionals, club pros, college players and other excellent sticks all anxious to make it to the big stage.

Tiger Woods has called Smoltz the "best non-PGA Tour golfer" he's ever seen and has predicted that he could make a Senior PGA Tour when he turns 50. Right now, Smoltz sports a +2 handicap (as in two under par) with several rounds of 65 already this year. He once beat Annika Sorenstam in a fun match and has shot a scorching 63 (nine under par) at the Floridian Golf & Yatch Club in Palm City, Florida.

Smotlz also has a some features on this property any golfer would die for:

Smoltz’s backyard, however, looks like a mini country club replete with a couple of synthetic greens, nine teeing grounds and a 10,000-square-foot practice green. Smoltz is involved with Southwest Greens International, which builds synthetic-turf greens, tees and athletic fields, so his yard “basically [became] a showcase for the company.”

“It was designed for me to go to the next level,” said Smoltz, “and I have not utilized it the way I would like yet.”

Even with all the skill and advantages Smoltz has, it's still going to take a good deal of luck for him to make it. The final field of the U.S. Open is composed of 156 players, but the majority of those spots are occupied by exemptions granted to anyone who has won the tournament in the past ten years, any other major in the past three years, last year's top 30 from the PGA tour money list, the top 15 from the previous year's European Tour money list, the top 50 in the World Golf rankings among others. And most of the ones not taken by exemptions are won by tour pros in qualifying.

Last year, there were 15 amateurs in the field at the Open and it would be safe to assume that there will be a similar number this time around. So that's roughly 8,900 non-professionals (9,052 minus the Tour and club pros trying out) competing for 15 spots and the right to get their ass kicked by the best in the world at Pebble Beach in June. Even if you grant that Smoltz is in the top 15% of the field, that still gives him only a scant 1% chance of qualifying. And all it takes is one bad round along the way to knock you out of contention.

As the former dominant starter and closer said:

The one thing [in pitching] is you can get away with a lot of mistakes. In golf, you have to play your foul balls.

Posada Day-To-Day, Roster Moves Coming

Good morning Fackers. Last night, Jorge Posada's MRI revealed a minor calf strain. (Note: That is not Posada's actual MRI. We don't condone HIPAA violations here) He is day-to-day; just like you and me. Given this latest bump to go with last week's bruise, the Yankees will likely want another catcher around until Jorge is back to one hundred percent.

As such, I would expect the team will continue to go with just four outfielders for the time being. Rather than recalling Greg Golson or Chad Huffman, as had been rumored, the Yankees will likely add a third catcher when they send out their current eighth reliever.

Posada and Francisco Cervelli are the only catchers currently on the 40 man roster, so a series of moves will be required. Here's what to expect:

• Mark Melancon will likely be optioned down. Boone Logan, and to a far lesser extent David Robertson, are also candidates.


• Initially, Christian Garcia will be recalled. Garcia underwent his second Tommy John surgery last month and is out for the entirety of 2010. He'll immediately be placed on the 60 day disabled list, which will remove him from the currently full 40 man roster.


• Chad Moeller, who spent part of 2008 with the Yankees and is currently Jesus Montero's back up in Scranton, will have his contract purchased, adding him to the 40 man. He'll then be recalled to fill the roster spot vacated by Melancon/Garcia.

One other thing to consider regarding Posada's leg ailments: when he suffered the initial knee bruise last Wednesday, Baseball Prospectus' injury expert, Will Carroll, passed along the following, cautioning that Posada's injury could be a nagging one, and potentially cause subsequent problems:

Ben Wolf, a smart guy you'll be hearing from in the near future in this space, points out something about Posada getting hit by a pitch Wednesday that hadn't occurred to me: "Was reading your latest column and saw that Posada was hit in the fibular head (I had just read knee in the general news). Even if there isn't a fracture, there's a risk of the injury being more of a long-term problem if he ends up with any restriction in the superior tibiofibular joint, especially considering the demands of a catcher squatting on the knee (including that joint specifically I think), not to mention any mechanistic problems he could have running."

Last night's calf problem could just be coincidental, but it bears watching as the next several weeks unfold. The Yankees had to suffer through the majority of a season without Posada the last time Moeller was around. It's not an experience they, or any of us, want to repeat.

Game 25 Recap

1. Leading off the second inning, CC Sabathia got ahead of Matt Wieters 1-2. Wieters then took a slider down and in, fouled off a changeup and was rewarded with a belt high fastball on the outer half of the plate. It was a smoked, opposite field line drive that never got very high but cleared the right field fence and put the O's up 1-0.

2. Alex Rodriguez singled to lead off the fourth inning. Cano flied out, then Posada moved A-Rod to second with a grounder. The Yanks mounted a two out rally beginning with a smashed line drive off the wall by Nick Swisher that went for a double and scored A-Rod. Brett Gardner extended the inning with a soft single to center and Randy Winn put the Yankees on top 4-1 with a three run shot into the Yankees' bullpen. Those were the only three scoring plays of the night.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• CC wasn't exactly dominant tonight, getting only two strike outs in his 8 innings of work. Maybe overpowering is a better word? He only gave up just one run, six hits and two walks and was helped about by double plays in the 6th and 7th innings. He also got a whopping 16 groundball outs, and when you are getting hitters to pound it into the turf like that, you don't really need to get too many K's.
  
  
• Aside from the fourth inning, Jeremy Guthrie had a pretty solid outing. Even in that one frame, all of the damage came with two outs. Like Sabathia, he gave up six hits (on HR), two walks and only struck out two.
  
  
• Early on in the YES broadcast they showed a clip of Cano hitting a ball over the top of the batter's eye in center field during this afternoon's batting practice. That, my friends, is a BOMB.
  
  
• With the doubles in the fourth and sixth, Nick Swisher is now 13 for 24 off Jeremy Guthrie with nine extra base hits.
  
  
• Randy Winn's three run homer was his first one in 491 ABs, dating back to last April.
  
  
• Francisco Cervelli took over for Jorge Posada behind the plate in the sixth inning. Apparently Posada was experiencing some tightness in his right calf and has probably already undergone an MRI.
  
  
• With two outs in the 7th inning, Sabathia's displeasure with homeplate umpire Bill Hohn came to a head. Sabathia put three fastballs that looked to be on the black but Hohn called them all balls. There was some jawing and Joe Girardi made a mound visit to calm down the situation. Sabathia recovered and got Caesar Izturis to ground out to end the inning and sat down the O's in order in the 8th.
  
  
• Perhaps the lack of strikeouts was a product of the tight zone?
  
  
• Mariano Rivera didn't pitch the 9th inning despite a 3 run lead for the Yanks - and during the Joe Girardi said that Mo felt some tightness in his left side starting on Saturday and should be ready to go tomorrow. No tests are scheduled.
  
  
• Joba Chamberlain filled in for Mo and aside from a walk to Matt Wieters, took care of business and picked up the save. It was the second of his career.
  
  
• The game wrapped up in a tidy 2:29. It feels like I always use that adjective for short games, but it's better than Michael Kay's "manageable", yes?
  
  
• The Yankees set a record for the lowest attendance at the New Stadium, a mark previously set on April 21st, 2009 - a game that Schiff and I were at.

Same time, same place tomorrow as A.J. Burnett and Brian Matusz lock horns.

Game 25: Don't Go There

After just three games apart, the Yankees meet back up with Orioles, this time in the Bronx. Fresh off a sweep of the Red Sox, it appears that the Birds have begun to find their stride. By record they are still the worst team in baseball, but they should be more formidable than that on the field over the next three games.

The Yankees rotation turns over this evening as CC Sabathia takes the mound for his sixth start. On the year, he's 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA (3.35 FIP). He's been walking slightly more batters than usual but giving up just 6.5 hits per nine innings, down from his career mark of 8.2/9.

The Big Fella had a decent but not dominant outing against Baltimore five days ago, distributing 13 baserunners over 7 2/3 innings such that only three of them came across the plate. The outing before that - the complete game loss in Oakland - CC also gave the Yankees length despite not having his best stuff. One of the great things about having a pitcher like Sabathia is that even when he has a tough outing, there's a chance that he's efficient enough with his pitches that he can still stay in the game. And of course, on the nights when he has his good stuff, he's damn near unstoppable.

Sabathia is facing Jeremy Guthrie for the fifth time in the year and a month since he's become a Yankee, which is especially surprising since he's only matched up with the O's seven times. Like Sabathia, Guthrie came up with the Indians. They were both late first round picks (CC was 20th & Guthrie 22nd) selected four years apart ('98 & '02) but it's actually Guthrie who is over a year older since he went to college, transferring from BYU to Stanford.

Since we was an established college pitcher, the Indians never placed Guthrie below AA. In three years in their farm system, he amassed a 4.40 ERA and had little success in three cups of coffee in the majors. As a result, the Tribe placed Guthrie on waivers and he was picked up by the Orioles in January of '07.

Something apparently clicked for Guthrie shortly thereafter because the O's installed him directly into their starting rotation and he threw 175 innings at a 3.70 ERA that year. In '08, he was slightly better, tossing 15 more innings with an ERA of 3.63. However, his FIP's those two years were around 4.50 and last season his ERA ballooned up to 5.04.

When last seen, Guthrie was tagged for 7 runs (6 of them earned) by the Yankees down in Baltimore. That same night, he hit Jorge Posada on the back of the knee and took him out of the game. Similar to when he plunked Mark Teixeira in the elbow during Spring Training, it was just a contusion but it kept Jorge out of the starting line up for two days in a row. No one believes that Guthrie is trying to hit these guys, much less trying to injure them, but Joe Girardi is clearly frustrated by the trend and if another Yankee gets hit tonight, there might be some ugliness. Let's hope Guthrie keeps it peaceful and the Yanks do the same.

People gon' be people, ain't nobody gon' change,
But we can keep it peaceful if we leave it the same,
If you don't go there, no, don't go there,
Don't go there, no, don't go there.

-Lineups-

Yankees:

[Matt:] Alex Rodriguez and his possibly sore knee return to the lineup after a one day absence. Randy Winn gets the nod in left field after Marcus Thames got the first post-Granderson start. I figure both will have an opportunity to play unless one establishes himself as the clear cut better option. With a righty on the mound for the O's tonight there's no sense in tempting fate with Thames' defense for a second consecutive game. No word yet on whether a reliever has been optioned out to bring up Greg Golson as has been rumored. And not that it has anything to do with the lineups, but Robinson Cano is the AL Player of the Month, Jeter and Teixeira will be awarded their Gold Gloves before the game, and Javier Vazquez officially will be skipped Friday night.

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

Orioles:

Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 2B
Miguel Tejada 3B
Matt Wieters C
Garrett Atkins 1B
Nolan Reimold DH
Lou Montanez LF
Cesar Izturis SS

Monday Afternoon Linkdown

Why is it that no one ever bothers to think about the other side of the foam finger transaction?

Ross from NYYSI reconsiders some of the previous recommendations he made for standing room only and cafe seating tickets at Yankee Stadium.

I know the demolition of the Old Stadium is going on, but every time I see a new picture of it like this one over at Baseball Think Factory it's still hard to believe how little of it is left.

Quite relevant to these linkarounds, Dave Allen at Baseball Analysts put together a diagram displaying how the top 200 baseball blogs (according to Ball Hype) are related. We are mentioned in the post because of all the links we give out - one of just a few blogs that do a comprehensive round up of other sources. Here is the visual with all of the blogs named (we are "FY"). Allen plans to explore the interrelation of baseball blogs further and I'm looking forward to him continuing the series.

First Ozzie Guillen pulled the cheapshot move of making Javier Vazquez change his glove because it had three colors on it and then he complained about Nick Swisher pumping his first after he hit the go-ahead home run on Saturday (h/t BBTF). For good measure, Guillen also said that Swisher was a "horseshit player" for him in Chicago. In a related story, Ozzie Guillen is a petty bitch.

Did the '09 Yankees have an inflate fly ball rate because they were swinging for the fences at the New Stadium? Pat Andriola from THT revisits one of his old posts with some new data.

Tommy Rancel from Bloomberg Sports takes a look at what's wrong with Javy Vazquez. Frankie Pilere's opinon: probably something mechanical.

Tim Marchman thinks the same thing is causing Jake Peavy's struggles.

Why is Alfredo Aceves owned in 37% of Yahoo fantasy leagues but only 5% on CBS and 2% at ESPN?

What is it with old columnists starting an article with a one sentence sentence? In this case, it's a really, really bad one to begin with.

Who wants to tell Rob Parker that Austin Jackson is going to come crashing back to earth really soon so he probably shouldn't be gloating about the Curtis Granderson trade just yet.

Drunk Jays Fans uncovered video of people doing the wave at Wrigley Field. Is nothing sacred anymore?

Red Sox fans think their team has a better chance of winning the AL East than the Yankees (via Jonah). Alternate title: why text polls during baseball games are still terrible.

Ken Rosenthal wears little boy pants. Literally.

At Big League Stew, Dave Brown uses a dubious assumption to demonstrate the problems with a flawed statistic.

This seems like a pretty sweet option, but for $3000 you could buy you own pool table and have it for the rest of your life.

I'm not sure if he knows it, but Morgan Ensberg just FJM'd Tracy Ringolsby.

Andy from the Baseball-Reference blog reviewed the MLB At Bat iPhone app and comes out a little lukewarm on it. I don't have it, I just use the one from FanGraphs.

Tom Tango wonders how good scouts really are. Not baseball ones, the people who review and rate products for Consumer Reports.

Dan McQuade at Walkoff Walk lampoons the pointless "Keys to the Game" segment that seemingly every network does. I'm with you, Dan.

Spencer Hall did the Kentucky Derby and came back with some great pictures.

This probably came one leg of the Triple Crown too early considering the Preakness takes place in Baltimore, but Deadspin captured a fantastic phenomenon on Twitter: #WireDerbyHorseNames. My favorites from the ones that Deadspin mined out: Proposition Joe, Where's Wallace? Money Be Green, Much Obliged, 40 Degree Day, PAN-demic and Tweedy Impertinence.

I could probably spend on day on this, so here are a few of my suggestions:

Preach On Walon, Stringer's Bells, Brianna's Burden, Miss Anna, Yvette's Brisket, Wassup Latrice?, And I'm Not Even Greek, Cutty's Jim, The Western District Way, Come At The King, Butchie's Bar, Leakin' Park, No Lake No Trout, Girls In The Can, Mr. Lyon, Entrapping Bodie, McNulty's Lumina, The Boy Marlow, Trifilin' Bird, Ain't Gotta Dream No More, Goodnight Hoppers...

If I ever own a horse, I'm coming back to this post to name it.

Back in a while with the preview.

Wrapping Up The Weekend

Good morning, Fackers. As we said goodbye to April this weekend, it was almost as if we were saying hello to July up here in the northeast. It was hot and muggy and everywhere you looked there were people tripping over themselves to do summertime things like mow the lawn, go for a run, wash the car in the driveway, play golf or spend some time in the park.

It was an action-packed weekend in the world of sports as well. A sloppy Kentucky Derby, won for the 3rd time in 4 years by a horse ridden by Calvin Borel, gave people reason to throw parties and pretend to enjoy mint juleps Saturday afternoon. Later that evening, Shane Moseley hit Floyd Mayweather harder than he's even been hit in the second round but couldn't put him away and lost a lopsided decision to the still-undefeated champ. The NBA Playoffs moved into the second round on Sunday, as the Lakers took the first game of their series with the Jazz to kick off the round of 8.

The Yankees had an eventful weekend as well. Derek Jeter put on a show Friday night as Andy Pettitte got down early but did an admirable job of hanging in there long enough for the Yanks to put some runs on the board and win 6-4.

On Saturday, Javier Vazquez gave up three home runs in yet another poor start and had to be pulled from the game in the middle of the fourth inning. He was saved from taking the loss because the Yanks came back and took the lead on a homer by Nick Swisher, but David Robertson and Damaso Marte combined to give the game back to the White Sox in the 7th inning.

The most lasting impact from that contest however, was not on Vazquez's confidence or the Yankees' record. Curtis Granderson had to leave the game with a strained groin and could be out for as long as a month.

That wasn't the end of the bumps and bruises for the Bombers. Yesterday, Alex Rodriguez was held out of the lineup because he felt some aching in his knee. Joe Girardi said that Alex could have probably DH'd, but they held him back for precautionary reasons. Hopefully it's nothing serious, but any time the word "injury" gets too close to "A-Rod", there is cause for concern.

It turns out that the Yanks didn't need A-Rod or Granderson yesterday as they plated 12 runs in an unmitigated rout of the Pale Hose. If he's really gone for a month, though, the loss of Granderson will catch up to the Yankees eventually. However, if there was a regular who is somewhat replaceable, it's probably him. Curtis was hitting .108/.250/.108 over his last 12 games and .225/.311/.375 (.314 wOBA) on the year. Brett Gardner is probably a bit better defensively than Granderson and has a .411 wOBA at this point, so giving up regular time in center should probably be a good thing. Surely more exposure (particularly against right handed pitching) will bring Marcus Thames (.542 wOBA) back down to earth, but perhaps Randy Winn will finally find his stroke in the opportunities he is given.

Robinson Cano went 2-4 yesterday with a walk, a double and a three run homer, giving him a line of .387/.433/.763 with 9 taters and 21 driven in, leading everyone on the team with more than 25 at bats in all of those categories. The Robinson Cano Show has been extremely enjoyable to watch but the Yankees might be even more encouraged by another performance they got our of one of the products of their farm system yesterday.

While Javy Vazquez has continued to flounder, Phil Hughes has managed to flourish so far this year. He's allowed just four runs in four starts and been downright unhittable, giving up only 10 of them in 25 innings pitched. The flip side is that he's walked 12 batters, but if you are going to allow guys to get on base, you might as well do it via a free pass. Hughes is now 3-0 and would be a perfect 4-0 if the bullpen didn't let him down in Baltimore.

It was an up and down weekend for the Yanks, but hopefully yours was better. I managed to sneak in two rounds of golf, hit up a Derby Day party at FY Crew member Joe's and watch the most of the Mayweather vs. Moseley fight for free on the internet because Time Warner fucked up our PPV (thanks for saving us $55, shitheads!), so I have no complaints. Before we put the weekend behind us, feel free to share your thoughts on it in the comments, personal, Yankee-related or otherwise.