Game 76: Nearly Lost You

The Yankees return home for the first time since Father's Day, opening a six game homestand with a three game set against the Seattle Mariners. The M's were the darlings of the off-season, unloading the onerous contracts of Carlos Silva and Kenji Johjima, signing spark plug Chone Figgins away from their division rivals, and making a series of lesser low risk, high reward moves. But far and away, the biggest coup for GM Jack Zduriencik was sending a package of prospects to Philly for Cliff Lee.

Everything seemingly has gone wrong for the M's since then. Franchise legend Ken Griffey Jr's continued decline and possible narcolepsy culminated in an uncomfortable retirement and a possibly fractured clubhouse. Off-season signing Ryan Garko didn't even make it to Opening Day, while fellow signee Eric Byrnes lasted a mere month before riding his bicycle off to the California keg leagues. Their offense has been abyssmal, with Figgins taking a nose dive, Milton Bradley providing plenty of problems but little pop, and virtually everyone but Ichiro and Franklin Gutierrez failing to hit at an acceptable level. All of which leaves Seattle entering the series with baseball's sixth poorest record and the AL's worst offense by a long shot.

As such, Cliff Lee and his expiring contract have become the hottest commodity on the market with the trade deadline 32 days away. There has been no shortage of rumors about whether the M's will hang on to him in an attempt to turn it around, or if they'd prefer the two draft picks his Type A status will net, or where he'd land if he were to be traded. There's been a ton of contradictory information out there, but the latest seems to be that the M's are quietly prepared to make a move.

As when any big name player hits the market, the Yankees have been rumored as a potential landing spot, with reports that Seattle has scouted the Yankees system. Yet even though a vocal segment of Yankee fans have been loudly clamoring for Lee since before Spring Training even began, a deal to the Bronx is unlikely. Despite A.J. Burnett's recent struggles, the Yankee rotation has been a strength for the team this year. As we saw with Javier Vazquez earlier this season, good pitchers may struggle for stretches, but they won't struggle forever. And with pitching coach Dave Eiland returning to the club tonight, perhaps Burnett's turnaround is coming soon. There just isn't the need nor the room for another front line starter.

Even if there were, there is no recent precedent for the Yankees making such a move. Following the 2007 season, the Yankees passed on an opportunity to acquire Johan Santana, who had a full year remaining on his contract. In his refusal to make the deal, Brian Cashman made his position clear: he is reluctant to pay twice - in both prospects and contract extensions - to acquire a player. He held fast to that philosophy the following summer, when in desperate need of pitching, he refused to deal for CC Sabathia and his expiring contract, content to gamble that the big lefty would be there for the taking on the free agent market after the season. He was, and after last season's World Series, Cashman appeared to be quite shrewd for biding his time.

If that's not enough to quell those covetous of Lee as he takes the Yankee Stadium mound tonight, then the pitcher in the other half innings should be. Phil Hughes was the centerpiece of the package the Yankees would have shipped to Minnesota had they pulled the trigger on the Santana deal, and had the Yankees pursued a Sabathia trade the asking price would have begun with Hughes as well. Instead Cashman chose to hang on to his top pitching prospect. After suffering through an injury plagued 2008, the organization was rewarded with a breakout 2009 from Hughes the set up man and is now enjoying a 2010 in which Phil Hughes is one of the top starters in the American League.

It's very possible that one of the two starting pitchers tonight will throw the first pitch of the All-Star Game in Anaheim two weeks from tonight. While it's tempting to think of Cliff Lee in Yankee pinstripes, that temptation isn't enough for me to feel comfortable sacrificing potential future All-Stars in Jesus Montero or Austin Romine or Manny Banuelos or Andrew Brackman or any number of other good Yankee prospects Seattle would want in exchange for Lee. The Yankees nearly lost Hughes two and a half years ago. I'm not prepared to lose the next Hughes in exchange for three months of Cliff Lee. Cashman runs the risk of losing Lee to another club now, but as the Sabathia situation taught us two years ago, sometimes a little patience leaves you with the best possible deal.

Did you hear the distant cry
Calling me back to my sin
Like the one you knew before
Calling me back once again

I nearly, I nearly lost you there
And it's taking us somewhere
I nearly lost you there
Let's try to see now

[Song Notes: Any series against the Mariners always has me thinking of the Seattle bands of the early nineties. Rather than going with one of the name brand grunge bands, tonight we'll go with the Screaming Trees. Though lesser known than Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, they had a few good tunes to their credit, this being one of them. Just goes to show that you don't always need to go shopping on the top shelf to find what you're looking for.]

-Lineups-

Yankees:
Brett Gardner's sore wrist keeps him out of the lineup tonight, but he is reportedly available for defense and pinch running duties. With a lefty on the mound Chad Huffman gets the start in left. There's a likely a roster move coming as well, as it's widely speculated that Dustin Moseley will be added to the bullpen in advance of him exercising his opt out clause today.[UPDATE 6:45 PM: No Moseley tonight, as he's still with Scranton.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Chad Huffman LF
Francisco Cervelli C

RHP Phil Hughes

Mariners:

Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chone Figgins 2B
Russell Branyan 1B
Milton Bradley DH
Jose Lopez 3B
Franklin Gutierrez CF
Jack Wilson SS
Rob Johnson C
Michael Saunders LF

LHP Cliff Lee

No, Watching Al Leiter Pitch Was Boring

PeteAbe this morning on Joba Chamberlain:

Frankly, Joba has become boring. The Yankees are 10-5 in the games he starts but he has only six decisions. His ERA is 3.89, which is just OK. He has allowed 79 hits in 81 innings, pretty good. He has 73 strikeouts, not bad. The 40 walks are too much.

That's right, the Yankees most exciting pitching prospect in over a decade is boring because he only strikes out 8.1 guys per 9 innings, good for second best on team and eighth in the American League. Meh, not bad...

You know who's ERA is "just OK"? Andy Pettitte's at 4.38 and 100 ERA+. Does he put you to sleep too, Pete? At 3.89, Joba's is the second lowest on the team, behind only C.C. Sabathia and good for 19th among starter's in the AL. That is good enough to be the second best starter on any team in the AL besides Tampa Bay, Detriot, Seattle or Toronto and those teams either have great defenses or play in pitcher's parks.

He gives up fewer than a hit per inning, and only 22 other AL starters can say they do any better. His walk rate is the third highest in the league, but you know who is in 2nd place? A.J. Burnett. Is he boring too?

Joba might be inefficent and struggle to make it through the sixth inning more than any of us would like. He might throw too many breaking balls in counts where hitters don't even flinch at them. He certainly walks too many guys.

But for fuck's sake, he's not boring. If I'm going up to the Stadium to catch a game, I'd rather see Joba take the mound than anyone else except for maybe CC Sabathia. I accept his flaws because, he's, you know, 23 years old and young pitchers tend to have those problems. Like Brandon Morrow last night, and Rick Porcello earlier this year, and Hughes & Kennedy last season and the next young stud the Yanks try to work into the rotation whenever that happens.

Sorry he's not a great postgame quote, and his starts on average take a little bit longer, but you're not going to get a lot of sympathy from the people who read your blog, because most of them have 9-5 desk jobs that would make a start by Joba Chamerblain look like the last 10 minutes of The Departed by comparison.

It Comes Full Circle

After the hour long rain delay and amusing awkwardness of the National Anthem, the Yankees brought out Mariano Rivera to throw out the first pitch. Perhaps our friend and first pitch aficionado Josh at Jorge Says N0! could answer this question: When was the last time an active player threw out the first pitch for his team in a game he would evnetually appear in? I'm pretty sure Kevin Millar did for a Red Sox playoff game in 2008, but he was on the Orioles at that point. Does anybody know?

In any event, I'm pretty sure that if this has happened before, that player did not also throw out the last pitch of the game for a filthy swinging strikeout to convert a save. It doesn't seem like Mo is capable of accomplishing just one unusual feat at a time anymore.

Fittingly, as Matt detailed in the preview, the two starters in the game have both been shifted between starters and relievers before, just as Rivera was early in his career.

The Yanks got to Brandon Morrow in the bottom of the second. It started with two straight singles by Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada and the first run scored on a throwing error by Chris Woodward. The second one came home on a sac fly by Melky Cabrera and the Yanks were out to an early lead.

In the third, the M's struck back on a homer by their ninth hitter Ronny Cedeno. And that's #9 hitter in the worst run producing line up in baseball, no less. It was only Cedeno's 16th homer in 1090 Major League plate appearances.

The Yanks loaded the bases with no one out in the fourth inning as the inning was led off once again by back to back singles by Cano and Posada. Nick Swisher then popped up, invoking the infield fly rule for the first out. Melky drove in another run without getting a hit, grounding into a force out that allowed Cano to score. Morrow struck out Jeter on a 95MPH fastball to hold the damage to one run.

The Mariners bounced back in the top of the fifth as Ichiro led off with a single and promptly stole second and third and scored on a Russell Brayanan line drive. Joba gave up another run on a single to Franklin Guttierez, but with four men reaching base, it could have been much worse.

Again in the bottom half of an inning, the Yankees loaded the bases via a single by Teix and walks to A-Rod and Jorge. Morrow had already recorded two outs in the inning, but with his pitch count at 98, he was lifted in favor of Chirs Jakabauskas. He got Hideki Matsui to ground out and end the threat. Morrow went only 4 2/3, allowing 5 hits and 5BB, but gave up just one earned run.

With the score even at 3-3, Joba entered the sixth inning with 88 pitches. He threw 7 more to Kenji Johjima in an at bat that ended with a single to center. Ronny Cedeno laid down a successful sac bunt on the first pitch he saw from Chamberlain, and Joe Girardi called to the bullpen for Phil Coke. The lefty got two quick outs and although Joba has forfeited his chance to win the came, now couldn't lose it either. It was his 9th no decision in 15 starts.

The score remained tied 3-3 until the bottom of the seventh. After Johnny Damon led off with a double, Teix struck out, failing to advance the runner. No matter because A-Rod rocked a two run shot to deep left center that he knew was gone immediately after he hit it. He broke the tie, but only for the time being.

Despite the fact that Phil Hughes threw a flawless top of the 7th inning using only 9 pitches, and he can most certainly throw several inninngs if necessary, Girardi called on Brian Bruney to come out for the eighth. Bruney shaved off his 'stache before the game because he didn't like the way he has been pitching, but it didn't change anything. The Mariners immediately led off with three consecutive singles and by the time the inning was over, had tied the game at 5-5.

The Yanks didn't miss a beat and began with the bottom of the eighth with four consecutive hits: double, single, double, single and regained the lead 8-5 before making an out. The go ahead run was once again provided by Magic Melky adding to his collection of huge hits. That's where the score would remain when Mo came out to pick up save number 501. The first batter he faced was Ken Griffey Jr., who drilled a liner just foul down the right field line. The side went down in order and the Yanks pulled out the victory.

It wasn't pretty. Blowing two leads and going 2-14 with RISP in the first 7 innings probably isn't how they drew it up, but the Yanks' bats showed up when it counted.

Game 76: Got Me Wrong

The Yanks square off against the Seattle Mariners tonight, one of two AL teams they've yet to see this year. Last year, the M's finished an AL worst 61-101. This year, it would appear that Seattle, with a new G.M. and new manager, has made improvements, as they currently sit at 39-36, 3.5 games out in the wide open AL West. Things aren't always as they seem.

Seattle is outplaying their pythagorean record by a whopping six games. They have a negative run differential, having scored a league low 291 runs, making them the only AL team to average under 4 per game. Amongst their regulars, they have just two batters - firstbaseman Russell Branyan (166) and rightfielder Ichiro (144) - who have an OPS+ over 100. Four of their regulars have an OPS+ below 80, with catcher Rob Johnson at 41. Outside of the 1906 "Hitless Wonders" Chicago White Sox, no team is contending with that sort of offense.

The M's saving grace has been their pitching. They lead the the AL in R/G (4.08), ERA (3.64), ERA+ (116), HR/9 (0.9), and H/9 (8.5), and place second in WHIP at 1.33. Ace "King" Felix Hernandez (166 ERA+) is amongst the top young pitchers in the game, and he's backed by a rejuvinated Jarrod Washburn (131 ERA+), a currently disabled Erik Bedard (172 ERA+), and the surprising former Met and Marlin, Jason Vargas (112 ERA+). The Seattle bullpen has also been stellar, with the second best ERA in the league at 3.16.

One pitcher who has not been part of the success of either corps is tonight's starter, Brandon Morrow. Much like his opponent tonight, Joba Chamberlain, Morrow's role has been the subject of much debate. Morrow worked exclusively in relief in his rookie season of 2007, and for the early part of 2008. He served as Seattle's closer through June and July last year, recording 10 saves in 12 opportunities. A shoulder injury put him on the shelf for most of August, and when he returned in September, he was placed in the rotation. He made five starts, the best being a victory over the Yanks on September 5th in which he tossed 7.1 innings of 1 run ball, fanning 8.

Morrow was ticketed for the rotation in spring training, but lingering arm strength issues stemming from last year's injury left him in the bullpen again. He quickly pitched his way out of the closer's role, walking nearly 7 per 9 and blowing back-to-back saves on May 13th and 14th. He was moved to the rotation on June 13th, and has been better in his new role, cutting his walks to 4.5 per 9 and posting an ERA of 4.50 as a starter. Tonight will be his fourth start, and his first without any pitch count restrictions.

For the Yankees, newly-acquired Eric Hinske may or may not make it to the park tonight. Pete Abe reports his plane is delayed in Pittsburgh. As such, no roster move announced yet, but if there is one you have to figure Ramiro Pena is on his way to Scranton. With interleague play now over, Hideki Matsui gets his first start since June 18th. Ice-cold doubleplay machine Robinson Cano stays in the five hole, while Nick Swisher, he of the fourth best OPS on the team, is relegated to eighth in the order. Brett Gardner grabs some pine despite outplaying Melky Cabrera over the past several weeks. Not good lineup construction if you ask me.

So who are the real Seattle Mariners? Contenders or pretenders? With the trade deadline now just thirty-one days away, they'll have to determine the answer to that question very soon. Some may say that given their division, they're contenders. But if you ask me or Seattle's most underappreciated band of the grunge era, those people got the M's wrong.



As of now I bet you've got me wrong.
So unsure you run from something strong.