Game 77 Recap

Recycling A Thirty-Six Year Old Bad Idea

Except this one somehow worked out...

Something referred to as "Brett Tomko" allegedly threw a complete game, 5 hit shutout last night. Against the Rangers. In Texas, knocking the Rangers 4.5 behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card. Multiple sources have confirmed this outlandish tale, however I remain skeptical and will be reviewing the game via MLB.tv shortly for anything suspicious.

Since picked up by the A's, The Artist has gone 4-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 6 starts with only one poor outing, striking out 22 while walking 6. I guess he had a right to be all bitchy about not being "given a fair shot".

It was his 100th career win, which might be somewhat impressive if he didn't have 102 losses.

Just to review, Tomko gave up 12 earned runs in 20.2 innings (5.23 ERA) with the Yankees, mostly in relief, which is theoretically easier than starting and had a tiny BABIP of .230. But since moving to Oakland and pitching solely in the rotation, 36 year old Brett Tomko, owner of a 92 career ERA+ has also given up 12 runs, but in 36.2 IP for an ERA two and a quarter runs lower. He's won 4 games for a team that has gone 13-13 over that time. Damn you Billy Beane!

If I was John Sterling, I'd say "I'll tell you what, that's why you just can't predict baseball!!11!" but instead I'll just pose the rhetorical question, "What the fuck?".

Quick But Not Painless

[Photos]

After Sunday afternoon's game, Matt chose to eat a little crow for what he wrote in the preview, and tonight it's my turn. I spent my post making fun of Brett Tomko for whining about he lack of opportunities with the Yankees this season and for tonight at least, he had the last laugh.

Tomko threw just 78 pitches in his start because he wasn't fully stretched out, but used them efficiently and pitched to contact over his 5 innings of work. He struck out one and walked one, getting the other 13 outs with the help of his defense; five on the ground and nine in the air.

The most influential play, by more than 10% in WPA, came in the third inning when Tomko faced his only real jam of the game. Ramiro Pena and Derek Jeter led of the inning with back to back singles, Johnny Damon flew out to right and Mark Teixeira loaded the bases with a walk. With only one out, A-Rod came to the plate in an extremely favorable RBI situation but instead grounded into an inning-end 1-2-3 double play. A-Rod let Tomko off the hook and the Yankees never got another man to third base.

A.J. Burnett took a complete game loss, his first CG of the year and the Yankees' second after CC Sabathia's outing in Detroit back in April. All of the damage the A's did came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Rajai Davis doubled, stole third and was singled home by Kurt Suzuki to break the scoreless tie. Jerry Hairston, Jr.'s brother Scott followed that with another single and those two were moved over by a groundout courtesy of Mike Sweeney. With two outs, Burnett started his delivery home but stopped in the middle of his delivery and held onto the ball. The runners advanced and Mark Ellis doubled into the gap to make it 3-0 A's.

Aside from the 4th inning, Burnett was one of he lone bright spots in a frustrating game for the Yanks. Over his 8 innings, he gave up six hits and two walks while striking out 5. It only took him 99 pitches and combined with the Yanks absence at the plate allowed the game to wrap up in a tidy 2:15. Jeter went 3-4 and Posada picked up a hit on his birthday.

There isn't a whole lot more to say about this one. A solid pitching performance was wasted by a non-existent offense one. The Yanks have been rolling along so well that it's easy to forget that a lot of the time, things don't go according to plan. The Yanks were supposed to beat up on Brett Tomko, but instead he made people momentarily forget that he's 36 years old and has had one year since 1997 in which he was above league average. Congrats, buddy. Go paint a fucking picture about it.

Down With Doc

Roy Halladay's last loss against the Yankees came on Opening Day, 2008. His career numbers against the Yankees sound like a Cy Young candidate's. Sixteen wins to only five losses with a 2.90 ERA, 223 1/3 IP, 3.4 K/BB and 1.115 WHIP. And that's against the team who has had the most runs scored over the course of his Major League career. He's 7-1 with a 2.10 ERA in his last 10 starts against the Yankees. There are players who seem to have the Yankees number but a statistical analysis doesn't bear that out. Roy Halladay is not one of those players.

The two Bombers who actually have good numbers against Halladay combined to get to Doc in the first inning. In the first inning, Johnny Damon singled and was doubled in by A-Rod, who scored on a throwing error by Kevin fackin' Millah.

The two quick runs apparently did Andy Pettitte quite well, because the Yanks never surrendered the lead from that point forward. The Jays plated a run in the 4th inning on a sac fly by Alex Rios, but that was the extent of the damage on Andy's watch.

With the score still 2-1 after two quick outs in the 7th, Pettitte had thrown only 94 pitches and looked to be headed for the eighth inning and beyond. Instead, a four pitch skirmish with Edwin Encarnacion ended in a double and he walked Rob Barajas on six pitches. Joe Girardi called on Phil Hughes who got Jose Bautista looking to end the inning. Pettitte walked four and allowed more than his fair share of hard hit balls which the defense turned into outs, but walked away with a chance to win.

The Yanks widened the margin to 4-1 on back to back homers by Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira in the top of the eighth but it was not smooth sailing from there. Hughes allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base and the cameras panned to Mariano Rivera loosening up in the Yank's bullpen. Hughes buckled down, striking out both Adam Lind and Kevin Millar looking, but Girardi called on Mo to face Vernon Wells. Grrrrrr. Wells has a career 1.014 OPS against Rivera, but only a .614 OPS against Hughes, albeit in half as many at bats. Why ask Mo for another 4 out save? Wells worked a 3-0 count before ripping a two run double, to bring the Jays within one run. Rivera bent but didn't break and got Alex Rois to ground out to end the inning.

Cito Gaston left Roy Halladay in for the 9th, for some odd reason, and Hideki Matsui led off the bottom of the ninth with a prodigious bast to deep center on the first pitch he saw. Doc finished the inning and took the complete game loss, ultimately throwing 103 pitches, giving up 10 hits, striking out 5 and walking none.

Rivera allowed two singles during the course of the 9th inning, but Aaron Hill flew out to shallow center with men on first and thrid with tow outs and Melky Cabrera caught it to close out the victory for the Yanks and for Pettitte.

Going into tonight, any rational Yankee fan would have jumped at the chance to take a game which Roy Halladay started. Maybe Mo won't be available tomorrow because of the four out save tonight and the impending four game series against the Red Sox (who are still locked up at 2-2 in the 12th as I post this), but let's hope Girardi isn't faced with that decision. The Yanks got all they could ask for tonight.

"A-Jee Sucks! A-Jee Sucks!"

That's what the fans at the Rogers Centre were chanting, anyway. Burnett lasted 7 2/3 innings, but faltered in the 4th, allowing three runs from which the Yankees would never recover. The additional two he gave up before getting pulled in the 8th were just formalities.

Our Philadelphia-based MLB Extra Innings observer Cliff informed me that one of the Blue Jays' announcer said it was the most enthusiastic he had heard that crowd since 1998. His partner compared it to the atmosphere during the USA vs. Canada game in the WBC. On the My9 broadcast, Ken Singleton added that it was the loudest he had ever heard the stadium.

Rightfully so, I suppose. The Jays have the best record in the American League even though they have only one member of their starting rotation from last year at the moment. Everything seems to be falling into place for a team that many predicted would finish in last place in the AL East. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind are both slugging over .550 and Marco Scutaro has an OBP just shy of .400. 

Just as everything seems to be going right for the Jays, Murphy's Law appears to be in full effect for the Yanks. Derek Jeter was scratched before the game with an oblique pull and Hideki Matsui was pulled with hamstringitis adding to the litany of Yankees unable to take the field. 

The offense was predictably anemic against Harry Leroy Halladay. Ramiro Pena, Brett Gardner and Kevin Cash were in the starting line-up and went a combined 1-10. Doc bludgeoned the Yanks with 72 of his 103 pitches going for strikes, en route to his 7th victory of the year and the 41st complete game of his career. The lone Yankee run came courtesy of A-Rod with two outs in the top of the seventh.  

The Yanks ineptitude was perhaps best characterized by a play that occurred with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning and runners on second and third. Rod Barajas hit a flare to right field that was caught by Melky Cabrera, who fired a bullet to home plate. The throw arrived in plenty of time... 

bounced right into the center of Kevin Cash's chest protector... 

but deflected towards third base...

Allowing Adam Lind to slide home safely. 

The run didn't ultimately matter, but it never seemed like the Yankees had a chance anyway. Halladay has won his last six starts against the Yankees, holding them to a 1.91ERA and averaging almost eight innings per start. He hasn't needed more than 110 pitches to dispose of the Yanks during that stretch (which includes three complete games). The night belonged to the Doc and there wasn't much the Yanks could do about it. 

The CCure For What Ails You

(Photo: AP via ESPN)

After retiring Melvin Mora on for the third consecutive strikeout out of the ninth inning, CC Sabathia let out a raw, guttural shout. It signified a release of pent up frustration that had been building around the Yankees for the past 5 games. It had been a full week since they had notched a victory and fans and players alike had been angry and annoyed, wondering when the Yanks would catch a break. 

It didn't take long. Four batters into the top of the first inning, on the very first pitch he saw, everyone's favorite offseason punching bag and water cooler topic, Alex Rodriguez, reminded us why there was so much talk about him in the first place. He blasted a three run homer off Jeremy Guthrie into the left field seats and gave the Yanks more runs than they would need.

Although his start wasn't as dramatically framed as A-Rod's return, Sabathia's complete game shutout allowed even more reason for optimism. He needed only 112 pitches to mow down the Orioles, striking out 8 and allowing only one walk and four hits.   

It might be just an knee jerk reaction to one really good game, but the literal and figurative dark clouds of the poor weather and the losing streak seem to have lifted for the Yanks. A-Rod created a singular moment that might be considered the turning point in the season if the Yanks can go on a run. Sabathia pitched brilliantly to preserve those runs, or else it wouldn't have been nearly as significant. Or worse, imagine if A-Rod had gone 0-5 with 4Ks and CC got tagged for 6ER (again)...

I think part of the reason that the older class of fans and writers dislike the new wave of statistical analysis is that it tends to dull the edges of the ups and downs of a season. You can dismiss bad play as bad luck or chalk unusually good results up to a small sample size (coughMelkycough). Viewing player's performances though this lens eliminates a lot of the premature overreactions, like the stuff you see on the back page of the tabloids. Stats give a wider perspective and as a result, if you lean on them for your analysis, you won't ride the rollercoaster of what happens in every game to the same extent. 

That said, these last two nights have tested the rational fan in me. Coming off the loss on Thursday, I felt pretty uncertain about the team's prospects. After last night, I feel pretty damn good. One game really shouldn't make that much of a difference.

We try to read into the storylines as they manifest themselves in every plate appearance, thinking that there are hidden answers as to what is to come. It's human nature. We aren't satisfied to just watch what is happening; there is an incessant need to find some sort of context. That's what makes it captivating. It's not that often you find the patience to sit and savor the moment. 

Today is one of those Saturdays when you don't mind waiting 'til 7:00PM for the game to start. 

Michael Kay Says FU to CGs

On Monday's YES broadcast, Michael Kay was discussing CC Sabathia's 2008 numbers. These numbers include 10 Complete Games (CGs). Kay then discounted these CGs by Sabathia by saying that these numbers would be remarkable in yesteryear, but "Not in an era where complete games aren't important anymore given the role of the bullpen."

Really, Michael? Complete games aren't important?

Given the increased role of the bullpen, wouldn't complete games be more important? Such would save the bullpen for when they are truly needed. A fresh bullpen usually is an effective bullpen.

True, complete games may increase the risk of an injury to some pitchers based on the fact that usually more pitches are needed to accomplish the feat. But if you have a 6'7", 290LB horse like a Sabathia who can accomplish them without injury risk why wouldn't they be important? What about a guy like Roy Halliday (9 CG last year) who Michael consistenly fawns over?

Also, a pitcher who throws complete games means that he is effective. Effective pitchers aren't important I guess... Find me a big league manager or GM who says CGs aren't important. I bet you a large reason why the Yankees gave Sabathia $161MM was his ability to pitch a full 9 frames.

Come on man, you are making my job too easy. In accordance with your annoying shtick of asking big leaguers in the booth next to you questions that tee ballers could answer, shouldn't you just have asked Kenny Singleton if complete games are important?