Game 83 Recap

[WE data via FG]

Highlights:

• Alex Rodriguez's DEEP third inning grand slam, his third this season and 21st of his career
  
  
• A-Rod's second homer
  
  
• A-Rod makes a nice catch and doubles off Rosales
  
  
• Teixeira's slick catch in foul territory in the fifth
  
  
• CC Sabathia's 7 2/3 dominant innings

Not In The Highlights:

• Jeter just beating out a double play ball in the third. Not saying it was a great play or admirable in any capacity because he's The Captain Derek Jeter®, but if he gets doubled up there, A-Rod leads off the next inning instead of coming to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.

Basically:

• It was clearly A-Rod's night, driving in five of the Yankees six runs and playing strong defense, but CC Sabathia was quite impressive as well. CC allowed one run in the first inning and loaded the bases in the fifth, but was otherwise never really in trouble, striking out ten A's while allowing seven hits and three walks. His pitch count climbed to 118 with two outs in the seventh and David Robertson got the final four outs (two via strikeout) without allowing anyone to reach base.

New recap style. Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments? There would probably be more in the "Not in the highlights" section if I didn't fall asleep in the 6th inning.

Game 39 Recap

1. Alex Rodriguez led off the second inning with a single to center field off of Josh Beckett. Robinson Cano grounded one up the middle that looked to be a double play ball, but Marco Scutaro couldn't get a hold of it and failed to get either of the runners.

Francisco Cervelli hit a soft grounder that made Adrian Beltre come in towards home plate, leaving third base unoccupied, allowing the runners to move over. Marcus Thames then worked a walk, loading the bases for Juan Miranda. The recent AAA call up drove in his first run of the year with a single to right and Randy Winn followed with an RBI ground out, putting the Yankees up 2-0.

2. Miranda struck again in the fourth inning on a 2-0 fastball. The pitch from Beckett was on the outside part of the plate but Miranda yanked in on a line, just clearing the wall in front of the Yankees' bullpen. 3-0 Bombers.

3. Brett Gardner got ahead of Beckett 3-0 with one out in the 5th inning before slicing a ball down the right field line (if that's possible for a lefty) for a double. Teixeira followed with a walk and after A-Rod scalded a liner right to Bill Hall in left field, Robinson Cano smacked a two run double to right center and stretched the Yanks' lead to 5-0.

Immediately after Cano's hit, Beckett was pulled from the game, purportedly with some sort of back problem. Neither the announcers nor I noticed anything in real time, but replays showed that Beckett landed awkwardly on the pitch that A-Rod made an out on. The Yankees played the game under protest, claiming that the Sox signaled to the bullpen before they told the umpire that Beckett was hurt. Therefore, their relief pitcher shouldn't have had eight pitches and not an unlimited amount of time to warm up. It was a shrewd move by Girardi considering the Yanks were up 5-0 at this point and given how the game turned out.

4. The Youkstah got one back for the Sawx in the sixth inning when he took a 1-1 fastball from CC into the left field seats to make it 5-1.

5. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the sixth but Brett Gardner grounded out softly, allowing Dustin Pedroia to come home for the out and Mark Teixeira popped out to end the threat.

6. Joba Chamberlain came out to pitch the eighth inning and was put in a hole when A-Rod fielded a grounder by Marco Scutaro but his throw pulled Teix off the bag, resulting in an error. Dustin Pedroia then poked a base hit through the right side and J.D. Drew followed with an RBI double down the left field line to make it 5-2.

A base knock by Youkilis made it 5-4 and he advanced to second on a grounder by Victor Martinez. Still with just one out, David Ortiz hit a deep drive to center and judging by his reaction, I assumed it was a home run. It was not, but it hit off the wall in right center and scored Youk, tying the game at 5. Ortiz, who admired his shot instead of running out of the box was gunned down at second. Adrian Beltre grounded out to end the inning but the Yanks' lead had evaporated.

7. With the game still tied in the top of the 9th, Joe Girardi called on Mariano Rivera. Mo got Mike Lowell to ground out but it was all downhill from there. Darnell McDonald lined a single to center field and Marco Scutaro reached when he popped a ball to shallow right field between Thames and Cano. Both were in the neighborhood and Thames called for it but ended up dropping the ball. Instead of having two outs with a man on first, the Yanks had one out with two men on.

Dustin Pedroia moved the runners over on a grounder to first and Jeremy Hermida hit a two out double over Randy Winn's head in left. Winn was playing extremely shallow and whether it was designed or the result of a miscommunication, it put the Sox up 7-5.

8. Like last night, the Yankees put together a rally in the 9th. A-Rod led off the inning by grounding a ball to short that went just under Marco Scutaro's glove, apparently returning the favor from the top half of the inning. Robinson Cano drove in A-Rod with a slicing double that stayed just fair to put the Yanks within one. Cano was nearly picked off on a snap throw by Victor Martinez but then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt that Cervelli damn near beat out.

Marcus Thames came to the plate in an easy RBI situation with a chance to atone for his error and tie the came, but worked a walk. With a chance to cap off an already excellent night, Juan Miranda grounded one back up the middle sharply, but Papelbon snared it and checked the runners before getting the out at first. Randy Winn was the Yankees' last hope. He took a weak hack on a 1-0 heater and Papelbon kept the fastballs coming. He fouled a few back and took two more for balls, eventually working he count full. He swung and missed on a 3-2 fastball low and away for the final out of the game and the Yanks lost 7-6.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• CC Sabathia struggled early, burning through 59 pitches in his first three innings and 90 through five. Although he wasn't efficient - throwing only 66 of 112 pitches for strikes (only three of those swinging) - he still got the job done, holding the Sox scoreless until Youkilis' solo homer in the sixth. His final line was 7 IP, 4H, 3BB, 1ER, 5K, but he got the no decision thanks to Joba's awful 8th.
  
  
• Right as Sabathia was delivering that pitch to Youk, Michael Kay was saying how CC hadn't allowed a run yet. Right in mid-sentence. Some will inevitably get their panties in a bunch about the apparent jinx but I thought the timing was somewhat comedic. Before the Sox came all the way back to win. DAMN YOU KAY, WHY DID YOU CURSE THIS GAME!
  
  
• That home run was the 100th of Youk's career.
  
  
• It ended in an out, but Brett Gardner had a great at bat against Beckett in the first inning. He took two strikes, fouled off two more pitches, took two balls, fouled another off, took another ball, and fouled off the 9th pitch before grounding the 10th to first base. He never swung and missed, made Beckett work and showed his teammates a little something. That's about as successful as a groundout with no one on base can be.
  
  
• Francisco Cervelli and Josh Beckett exchanged some words during Cervelli's at bat in the 2nd inning. Apparently Frankie called time and and Beckett was upset (because apparently he can stay in the set for thirty fucking seconds but the batter can't step out of the box to counteract that).
  
  
• CC Sabathia took exception with Dustin Pedroia complaining about the called strike three that ended the fifth inning and let him know it.
  
  
• Marcus Thames gave Jonathan Papelbon some evil eyes when Paps came up and in during the 9th inning.
  
  
• But no batters were hit during the game and those three incidents were as serious as it got.
  
  
• The two heros of the game last night, A-Rod and Thames, both made errors in the field late in the game but both reached base in the 9th inning.
  
  
• None of Rivera's runs were earned because of Thames' error but he still was tagged with the loss. Thee out of four of Joba's were earned.
  
  
• Not counting the 59 minute rain delay, the game clocked in at 4:09.
  
  
• YES chose Jonathan Papelbon as their player of the game. Um, what? The guy who pitched one inning, gave up a run and came dangerously close to blowing his second save in as many games? How about Youkilis, who went 2-3 with 2BB and 3RBI or Hermida, who drove in the decisive two runs?
  
  
• The Yankees surrendered 5-0 leads in both of these two games and entered the ninth inning trailing by two in both. On one hand, they were lucky to escape with one win considering the deficits they faced with just three outs to overcome them, but on the other hand, it never should have come to that.

The division-leading and MLB-best Rays come to town for a two game set starting tomorrow night. There were a lot of things not to like about this series against the Sox, but Yanks have bigger fish to fry. Or members of the Batoid family, as the case may be.

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 17 WPA Chart

1. Swisher's double

2. Cervelli's single

3. Jeter's single

4. Cano's single

5. Swisher's single

6. Torii Hunter's sac fly

7. Teixeira's double

• A recap of Pettitte's 8 innings of one run ball, during which he allowed 6 hits, struck out 8 and walked none.
  
  
• Was this recap a total cop out? Yes.

First pitch tomorrow is at 3:35PM tomorrow as the Yanks and Javier Vazquez look to win their sixth consecutive series to start the season for the first time in franchise history.

Game 13 Recap

1. Gio Gonzalez looked like he was about to get out of the first inning unscathed, but the Yankees mounted a two out rally. Mark Teixeira roped a double down the left field line, then Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano followed with two consecutive walks. Up next, Jorge Posada grounded a ball to first that hit Daric Barton in the chest. The ball fell to the ground in plenty of time for Barton to scoop it up and run to first but he couldn't convert the play as Mark Teixeira came around to score and the inning was extended. So obviously, the play was scored a... base hit for Posada.

While Posada's single was somewhat cheap, Nick Swisher followed it with a clean, two-run base knock, scoring A-Rod and Cano and putting the Yanks ahead 3-0.

2. After retiring Jeter to begin the 5th, Gonzalez issued two more walks to Johnson and Teixeira. That was the end of his night as Bob Geren called on Craig Breslow to face A-Rod. Breslow laid an 88 mph, 2-1 fastball down the middle and A-Rod absolutely hammered it to left-center to make it 6-0 Yanks.

3. Javier Vazquez allowed a home run to Travis Buck to lead off the 5th inning and another two run shot to Kurt Suzuki in the 6th. He was replaced by Boone Logan with the Yanks leading 6-3.

4. Old friend Edwar Ramirez pitched the top of the 7th, loaded the bases with three walks but managed to escape the inning after allowing only one run. 7-3 Bombers.

5. Logan got into some trouble for the Yanks in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases on an infield single, a clean base hit and a borderline walk. Joba Chamberlain came in and struck out Kevin Kouzmanoff to end the inning.

Joba came back to pitch the 8th inning and sat the A's down in order with two K's and a weak grounder to first. Damaso Marte started the 9th but Joe Girardi called on Mariano Rivera after a 5 pitch walk to Jake Fox. Mo got a strike out and a double play, ballgame over, Yanks win 7-3.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Vazquez worked in and out of trouble in the 2nd. He allowed a single to Kurt Suzuki and a double to Eric Chavez to start the inning. Javy got his first out when Mark Ellis chopped a ball down the third baseline and Suzuki, going on contact, was gunned down at home, putting runners on the corners with one out. Travis Buck obliged Vazquez with a double play, but an unconventional one. Buck lined it back to Vazquez, who tossed it to first to catch Mark Ellis to far off the base.
  
  
• Aside from the two long balls, Javy pitched pretty well. He threw more than 2/3 of his pitches for strikes and broke off some nasty sliders and curves, the likes of which we haven't seen in his previous outings this season. Both home runs came on fastballs, so he likely still needs some work in that department. Regardless, he's on the board with a pretty good start and a victory.
  
  
• Umpire Ed Rapuano had to leave the game after being hit with a foul tip. It appeared that he was okay at first but left the game under his own power a batter after it happened and was taken to a local hospital for a CT scan.
  
  
• The song choice last night was somewhat prophetic as the Yankees drew 10 walks, 5 of them against Gonzalez (4 of which came around to score).
  
  
• A-Rod and Robinson Cano(!!!) both drew three bases on balls.
  
  
• No Yankee had more than one hit.
  
  
• Joba touched 96 on the radar gun a couple times and his fastball sat in the mid-90's. This was one of his very good nights as he notched 3 K's in 1 1/3 perfect innings.
  
  
• A refreshing change from the series against Texas: no one made an error!
  
  
• The Yanks are now on a 5 game winning streak.

Tonight's game is another late one as Phil Hughes takes on Ben Sheets at 10:05 PM.

Game 12 Recap

[WPA data via FanGraphs]

1. The Yankees took an early lead in the bottom of the first without the benefit of a hit. True to form, Rich Harden limited balls in play by hitting Brett Gardner (who then stole second), striking out Nick Johnson, hitting Mark Teixeira, and walking Alex Rodriguez. Robinson Cano followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 Yankees.

2. The Rangers bounced back in the third to take a 2-1 lead. Matt Treanor led off with a single, was bunted to second, and scored on a double from Elvis Andrus. Michael Young then drove Andrus in with a base hit. Mark Teixeira prevented further damage by making a nice leaping catch on hotshot off the bat of Josh Hamilton.

3. The Yankees responded quickly in the bottom half of the inning. Following his defensive gem, Teixeira led off with his first home run of the year to even the score. A single by Jorge Posada was sandwiched between walks by A-Rod and Curtis Granderson. With two outs, Ramiro Pena came to the plate and El Nino lined a base hit to right, making it 4-2 Yankees.

4. Posada capped the scoring in the seventh, lining a shot into the right field seats for the Yankees' second inning-opening solo shot on the afternoon, making it 5-2 Yankees.

IFs, ANDs, & BUTs

• Our preview proved somewhat prophetic in outlining how the starters would fair today. Rich Harden had something resembling his first start of the year, needing 94 pitches to go just three and two thirds. He faced 23 batters, hitting two, walking six, fanning five, and allowing a home run. As such, just nine balls were put in play against him.


• As for Pettitte, he struggled a bit through the early innings, then went into lock down mode. He didn't allow a hit after the third inning and retired twelve in a row from the fourth into the eighth. He needed 65 pitches to get through his first four innings of work and just 42 to get through his final four frames. Perhaps the Rangers were in a hurry to get to Boston.


• Nick Swisher intentionally overthrew the cutoff man in the third, despite having virtually no chance of gunning down Elvis Andrus at the plate. The mental gaffe allowed Michael Young to take second, and if not for the nice stab by Teixeira, Josh Hamilton's liner would have plated Young. I'm not as bearish on Swisher's defense as many others are, but such mental errors are not excusable. Swisher made some similar decisions last season and unfortunately this isn't his first such offense in the young 2010 season.


• In addition to his grab in the third, Teixeira made a nice diving stop to end the fourth inning.


• While Teix's defense was top notch, Texas' defense continued to be suspect, as was the official scoring. David Murphy allowed a can of corn off the bat of Jorge Posada to fall in for a base hit in the bottom of the third, and second baseman Joaquin Arias let a slow roller off the bat of Brett Gardner trickle under his glove to start the eighth.


• In addition to his stolen base in the first, Gardner swiped another in the sixth and was picked off/caught stealing in the eighth. It was just the seventh time in his career he's been caught in 53 attempts, good for a very impressive 86.8% success rate.


• Alex Rodriguez stole a base of his own, pilfering third in the fourth inning. Matt Treanor's Dustin Nippert's throw had him dead to rights, but an inventive slide from A-Rod delivered him to the bag safely.


• Mo was downright nasty in the ninth, catching both Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis looking to end the game.


• Former Yankee reliever Tanyon Sturtze was in the house, with some choice Legends Seats behind the Yankee dugout. He was given an inordinate amount of face time on YES, as John Flaherty spoke about Sturtze being one of his favorite teammates. All Sturtze's camera time allowed me to see that he waved and ate exclusively with his left arm; his right is apparently still unusable thanks to Joe Torre.

See you in the morning Fackers.

Game 10 Recap

[WPA data via FanGraphs, picture via Yahoo!]

1. The only trouble CC Sabathia had came in the first inning, and even then, the Rangers were lucky to get a run across. Michael Young bounced one up the middle that Derek Jeter, ranging to his left, knocked down but couldn't quite get a hold of. Up next, Josh Hamilton looped a wind-aided double into the left field corner that Marcus Thames pulled up short of, putting runners on the corners for Vlad Guerrero. Vlad lifted an 0-2 pitch off the end of the bat to center field and Curtis Granderson made a strong throw to the plate, but Michael Young was safe by a couple of seconds. 1-0 Rangers.

2. The Yankees got to C.J. Wilson in the first inning as well. True to their respective natures, Derek Jeter led off the game with an opposite field single and Nick Johnson worked a walk. Johnson was erased on a double play by Mark Teixeira but Jeter moved to third and scored on a pased ball off of Talyor Teagarden's glove with A-Rod at the plate, tying the game at 1.

3. As the rain began to pick up in the 4th inning, the Yanks loaded the bases on a HBP, single and a walk with no one out for Marcus Thames, but he struck out looking on a slider over the inside corner. Next up, Curtis Granderson slapped one sharply to first that was fielded by Chris Davis, who attempted to get Nick Swisher at second base, but his throw hit Swish in the back, ricocheted into the outfield and allowed an additional run to score. Francisco Cervelli then hit a bloop single to shallow left to put the Yanks ahead 4-1.

4. The mound started to get sloppy in the 6th inning. CC Sabathia lost his footing while delivering a pitch and then plunked Julio Borbon but then retired the side in order.

In the bottom half of the inning, Marcus Thames singled and was replaced by Brett Gardner, who stole second. With two outs, Cervelli beat out a ground ball to shortstop, passing the baton to Jeter. The Captain bounced an RBI infield single just out of the reach of Wilson to put the Yanks up 5-1.

The grounds crew attempted to tame the soaked field before the 7th inning but were forced to declare a rain delay before calling the game all together about an hour later.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• The ball that Marcus Thames couldn't get to in the first fell within 5 or 10 feet of him and he looked lead-footed in pursuit of it. Mike from RAB thought it wouldn't have mattered if Brett Garnder was in there but watching the replay makes me think that Brett would have at least had a chance.
  
  
• Thames continues to hit, though, going 2-3 last night and bringing him up to 5-10 on the season.

• Brett Gardner's pinch running appearance was highly amusing. Curtis Granderson and C.J. Wilson engaged in an 11 pitch at bat and Gardner running on four of those pitches, only to have Granderson foul them back. The Rangers pitched out twice in a row to begin Cervelli's AB, and guessed right on the second one as Gardner was going, but still couldn't catch him.
  
  
• Sabathia was on another level last night. He struck out nine, walked none and allowed only three hits. As detailed above, the Rangers were lucky to patch together a run in the first and CC responded by striking out the next 6 batters he faced. Only 15 of the 73 pitches (20%) he threw were balls, he tossed 20 first pitch strikes, got to 0-2 twelve times and never had a 3 ball count. If anything, he got sort of gypped out of a chance at a more dominant start considering his pitch count and the way he was throwing through the 6 inning, but I'm sure he'll take the guaranteed rain-shortened win.
  
  
• We should probably reevaluate the notion that Sabathia can't pitch in cold weather after his performance last night. It was in the 40's and rainy and he looked a good as he ever has - probably even better than his last time out.
  
  
• Nick Johnson got caught stealing to end the third (probably on a missed hit and run) but replays showed he was safe. The throw beat him but he did some sort of a twisting scissor slide and touched the bag with his left leg before the tag was applied to his right.
  
  
• Mark Teixiera's futility was not diminished by the abbreviated game as he managed to make 4 outs in 3 at bats thanks to the double play in the first inning. Seriously, he should like, starting hitting pretty soon.
  

Game 2 of the series starts at 1:05 today, weather permitting and all that. We'll be back with the preview sometime before then.

Game 4 Recap

1. The game began as a bit of a pitcher's duel with three scoreless innings. Vazquez worked out of a minor jam in the second inning when the Rays had runners on second and third with one out by getting Willy Aybar to strike out swinging and Dioner Navarro to ground out to second. The Yankees first baserunner came in the third inning via a leadoff walk by Nick Swisher but he never made it past second.

2. The Yanks drew first blood in the top of the 4th when Nick Johnson led off with a single and Alex Rodriguez blasted a deep line drive over B.J. Upton's head in center field. Johnson scored from first, and when the Rays threw home A-Rod broke for third. Rodriguez slid in safely as the ball went past Evan Longoria into the outfield allowing him to score on what was ostensibly a double (but was scored a triple). Yanks 2, Rays 0.

3. The only lead the Yankees would have all game was short-lived. In the bottom half of the fourth, Ben Zobrist led off with a walk. After getting Longoria to fly out to center, Javy Vazquez grooved a high fastball to Carlos Pena that was launched into the right field seats for a two run homer, knotting the game up at 2.

4. Still with one out in the fourth, Upton singled to to center and stole second. Willy Aybar flied out to left and the Yanks and Vazquez were awfully close to escaping the inning with the score still tied. Instead, Dioner Navarro sliced a single to left, scoring Upton. Sean Rodriguez followed with a shallow base hit to center, putting runners on first and second for Jason Bartlett. After falling behind 0-2, Vazquez battled back to level the count but left a changeup out over the plate that Bartlett pulled into left field, just past the diving attempt of Marcus Thames. It scored both Navarro and Rodriguez, putting the Rays up 5-2.

5. Vazquez came back out for the 5th inning and sat the Rays down in order. He returned to the mound in the 6th but gave up a double to Upton and a two run homer to Aybar. After getting two straight outs, Javy walked Sean Rodriguez and his night was over. Sergio Mitre took over at that point, allowed the inherited runner to score and gave up another run of his own. 9-2 Rays.

6. The final Yankee run came on back to back doubles by Derek Jeter and Nick Johnson in the top of the 8th. The Yanks loaded the bases with two outs but Nick Swisher struck out swinging to end the inning and squash the last bit of hope the Yanks had.

IFs ANDs & BUTs

• Considering the score and the situation, I think the biggest blow was the two out Bartlett double. Had Brett Gardner been playing left, he almost certainly would have made that play, ending the inning with the Yankees trailing by just one run. Instead, Marcus Thames couldn't get there and the Yanks chances of winning took a severe blow. Might Joe Girardi remember this play next time he decides to start Thames against a lefty? I think Gardner needs to be given a chance to contribute offensively before he is relegated to the bench every time a left hander starts against the Yanks. His considerable range in left is huge asset and could easily make up for Thames' superior power if Gadner is somewhat respectable at the plate.
  
  
• Vazquez's return looks pretty terrible on paper (6 2/3 IP, 8H, 3BB, 8ER), but I don't think it was quite that bad. The above play was extremely costly and even with all the damage he was efficient with his pitches, tossing just 98 (62 for strikes) before getting pulled.
  
  
• David Price was efficient and effective for the Rays giving up three runs over 7 2/3. He allowed 7 hits, walked three and struck out 7. He stayed out for 111 pitches with a considerable lead and if that rubs you the wrong way, Jonah will set you straight.
  
  
• Nick Johnson finally picked up a couple of hits, going 2-5 with zero(!) walks.
  
  
• Mark Teixeira, however, did not break the ice and is still hitless on the season. START PANICKING IMMEDIATELY.
  
  
• After struggling to get the final out of the 6th inning, Sergio Mitre displayed his impressive mop-handling abilities, throwing two scoreless innings in the 7th and 8th.

Note: The game today is at 3:15, certainly an odd hour for an game in the Eastern Time Zone. We'll have the preview and all that jazz for you later on.

Game 3 Recap

[WPA data via Fangraphs]

1. Dustin Pedroia led off the bottom of the third with a double to left. After retiring Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis, Andy Pettitte surrendered David Ortiz' first hit of 2010. His base hit to right plated Pedroia to give the Sox a 1-0 lead.

2. Scott Schoeneweis relieved John Lackey to start the seventh. Jorge Posada laced a one out double to center. Schoeneweis fanned Curtis Granderson for the third time in four career meetings between the two. Schoeneweis gave way to flame throwing Daniel Bard, but Nick Swisher was undeterred. He fouled off three straight fastballs, registering at 97, 97, and 99 MPH according to GameDay. On the fourth pitch of the at bat, Swisher pulled a single through the right side. J.D. Drew's throw was in time to get Posada, but Martinez could not handle it cleanly. After a less than graceful stumble past the plate, Jorgie went back to tag the dish and tie the score.

3. Leading off the top of the tenth, Granderson jumped on an 0-1 Jonathan Papelbon fastball and deposited it in the right field stands for his second home run as a Yankee.

4. Following consecutive walks to Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and Nick Johnson, Mark Teixeira hit a slow bouncer to short, allowing Gardner to score an insurance run on the fielder's choice.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• After marathon sessions in the series' first two games, tonight's game, despite being an extra inning affair, was the shortest of the series at 3:21


• Much of that had to with this being the lowest scoring game of the series, which in turn had to do with both Andy Pettitte and John Lackey, despite not factoring in the decision, turning in strong performances.


• The Yankees got a scare on the opening play of the bottom of the first, as a collision at first base between Pettitte and Jacoby Ellsbury knocked Pettitte to the ground, skinning his elbow and banging his head against the turf. He recovered, and eventually settled down, to scatter nine base runners and allow just one run over six frames


• Pettitte beaned Youk with a 90 MPH pitch in the bottom of the fifth. Derek Jeter took a 2-2 cutter in the elbow leading off the sixth. Neither was intentional, and the two plunkees and WBC teammates shared a laugh at first as Jeter took his base.


• Despite the strong performances from the starters, the pitching star of the game was the recently maligned Chan Ho Park. Park allowed just one hit on only 36 pitches over three scoreless innings. I was afraid that running him out for the ninth was pushing the envelope a bit, but Park delivered. He made five relief appearances of three innings in 2009.


• Despite his RBI, Mark Teixeira is now 0 for 12 on 2010. Nick Johnson is now 0 for 9. No word yet as to whether the media has questioned either about their horrendously slow starts.


• Derek Jeter grounded out to short twice; he did the same in both of the series' first two games and added a seeing eye single by the shortstop in game one.


• Randy Winn once again replaced Nick Swisher for defense, taking over in the bottom of the tenth. It annoyed me when this would happen last year as I felt Swisher was defensively superior to Johnny Damon. With Brett Gardner in left this year though, subbing for Swisher appears to be a prudent move, as Winn grades out extremely well as a right fielder.

Game 1 Recap

[WPA data via FanGraphs]

[The chart above is based on WPA or Win Percentage Added. You can find a thorough explanation of it right here, but very quickly, it measures the general chance a team has of winning given the situation (score, inning, outs, baserunners). WPA tells the story of a game in a quick glance very efficiently. Above, you can tell that the Yanks were in control of the game from the outset but lost control of it late. (The numbers I've added correspond to points below)

You can find more interactive and complete versions of these charts and the data at FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference, but I though it might be nice to post a prettier-looking version here. As always, feedback is welcome in the comments.]

1. Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson hit back to back homers off of Josh Beckett in the second inning to put the Yankees up 2-0. Posada's was just a cheapie off the Pesky Pole but Granderson launched over the Red Sox bullpen in right-center field. Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner added consecutive singles to give the Yanks four hits in a row, but the only runs they scored came on the solo homers.

2. The Yanks strung together a rally in the fourth that began with a double by Robinson Cano but it wasn't until there were two out that the they cashed in that run. Nick Swisher worked a walk. Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter followed that with consecutive singles, driving in two runs and leaving runners on the corners with Nick Johnson at the plate. Johnson fell in an 0-2 hole and Jeter took off for second. Foolishly, Victor Martinez tried to catch Jeter stealing but didn't, and allowed Gardner to swipe home in the process.

3. When Josh Beckett left the game with two outs in the top of the 5th inning, it appeared that he had been handily outpitched by CC Sabathia. Beckett had surrendered 5 runs and left runners on first and second base. Scott Schoeneweis escaped the inning without further damage but the Sox were down 5-1.

4. With a 5-2 lead, Sabathia began the sixth inning with a walk to Dustin Pedroia. Victor Martinez then doubled, setting the table for the Fackin' Youkstah. Youk sliced a ball down the right field line that Nick Swisher should have probably held to a double, but a poor line to the ball turned it into a three-bagger, equaling the number of triples Youkilis' had all of last season. Adrian Beltre singled home Youk two batters later to tie the game at 5.

5. The Yankees wasted little time in striking back. Like the Sox in the previous half inning, Mark Teixeira led off with a walk and Alex Rodriguez followed that with a double. Robinson Cano drove in Teix on a ground out and Jorge Posada followed that with a single, putting the Yanks up 7-5.

6. Their lead, however, would be short-lived. Chan Ho Park was called upon in the bottom of the 7th and gave up a single to Marco Scutaro then a two run homer to Dustin Pedroia. With the game now tied at 7, Park retired Victor Martinez but gave up a double to Youkilis. Joe Girardi called on Damaso Marte to face David Ortiz and he responded with a wild pitch that allowed Youk to advance to third. He and Jorge Posada got crossed up two pitches later and a catchable fastball rolled towards the backstop, allowing Youk to score and the Sox to take the lead.

7. Joe Girardi called on Joba Chamberlain to keep the game within 1 in the bottom of the 8th. Joba gave up a single to Cameron, a walk to Scutaro and an RBI single to Pedrioa to give the Sox an extra insurance run. He needed 29 pitches to record those three outs.

8. The Yanks brought the tying run to the plate in the 9th inning after Jorge Posada singled with two outs to keep their hopes alive. That allowed Curtis Granderson a shot at extending the game, but he grounded out to third. Granderson tasted both the highs and lows of the rivalry last night, hitting a homer in his first AB as a Yankee and making the last out of the game.

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Other thoughts:

• Marco Scutaro lined out into a double play during the third inning but it appeard that Mike Cameron was safe diving back to first base.
  
  
• Sabathia was in good shape heading into the sixth inning but seemed to lose the strikezone when he came back out to the mound, walking Pedroia on 5 pitches, falling behind Martinez 2-1 and Youkilis 3-0.
  
  
• The home run that Dustin Pedroia hit off of Chan Ho Park probably wouldn't have gotten out of Yankee Stadium, but the double that A-Rod hit in the previous half inning almost certainly would have.
  
  
• Curtis Granderson looked helpless against the first lefty he faced (Schoenewies) but worked a walk against the second (Okijima).
  
  
• Posada had a good night at the plate, but the passed ball that allowed Youkilis to score the go-ahead run was his fault, even if Marte crossed him up.
  
  
• The game lasted 3:46 and really started dragging towards the middle of it. Sure, 16 runs were scored but the pace was far from crisp.

Does Chip Caray Literally Need Glasses?

Richard Sandomir wondered if Caray's blatant miscues were a result of failing vision in his column dedicated to the broadcaster's inaccuracies on Thursday (emphasis mine):

But the sort of inattention that led to Caray’s call was evident again Wednesday when Nick Swisher came to bat in Game 1 of the Twins-Yankees division series. “A base — fly ball, I should say — out to center field,” he said. “That ball was hooking and nearly fell in front of Delmon Young.”

Perhaps Caray’s eyesight, not his baseball judgment, is undermining him. Yes, he caught himself in his error, but he larded on a fiction to suggest that Young had a difficult time with a ball that he effortlessly caught chest-high.

In the awkward portion of the broadcast after the 7th inning stretch but before the bottom half of the inning where Chip Caray and Ron Darling are given the floor to needlessly pontificate about the development of the game to that point, look what Chip was wearing:

And then, they were gone.

For a fleeting moment, Chip conspicuously donned a pair of librarian-style, end-of-the-nose reading glasses before casually removing them. Did ol' Chip read Sandomir's article and decide to deflect some criticism by conspicuously exposing his poor eyesight? Or worse, was it more calculated than that? I know I'm venturing on to a grassy knoll of sorts, but it's not like it was an obscure sports blog that was speculating that Caray's vision was responsible for his notable miscues.

Caray had to know that he was being ridiculed by the New York Times and perhaps he (or an advisor of his) was savvy enough to identify the out the Times had given him within their critique. Failing eyesight is a handicap that can be corrected. The inability to perform under pressure is a scarlet letter that has ruined countless careers in a myriad of industries and a harsh critique that professional wants to hear about themselves.

Maybe I'm way off-base here, but if you see Phil Cuzzi or C.B. Bucknor address the media wearing a pair of Rec Specs any time soon, just remember you heard it here first.

Joba Strong, Cone Wrong, Shelly Goes Long

[Last night was the first chance I've had to catch any Spring Training action this year. Although the games are not at all compelling, it's a great thing to have on in the background while you cook some dinner and dig your apartment out from a couple weeks of neglect.

It also serves the purpose of establishing some sort of a game recap posting convention for when the regular season rolls around. For now there are screen grabs and some commentary, but nothing too analytical. There are plenty of places you can get that stuff at a higher level than I am capable of.]

Joba looked strong and struck out 3 in his three innings, and topping out at 96mph. He needed only 29 pitches (20 strikes) to get through the Reds, allowing one run on three hits without walking a batter.

A fastball on the outside to Jay Bruce. As you can see, Joba was already halfway to the dugout before the ump finished his punch out. Disgraceful.
A slider on the outside corner that Brandon Phillips didn't have a shot at.
And a breaking ball right over the dish that froze Juan Encarnacion.
I wasn't going to bring this up, but David Cone made this ass-backwards point twice:

"...we kind of touched on it earlier, how effective [Nady] was as a Yankee. He had a great year in Pittsburgh, but when he came over in the trade with Damaso Marte... he was solid. And really, probably the reason Bobby Abreu wasn't re-signed was because of how well Xavier Nady played for the Yankees last year so they know he's a right field option for them... And he's the reason that Bobby Abreu was not re-signed."

He's right. Except he's completely wrong. Here are Xavier Nady's splits by team last year:

• Pirates - .330/.383/.535 (144 OPS+)
  
• Yankees - .268/.320/.474 (105 OPS+)

He was excellent with the Pirates last year, but barely above league average offensively as a corner outfielder in his time with the Yanks. He did have 12 HRs in 59 games with the Yanks as opposed to 13 in 89 games with the Pirates, which in a way is worse, because those stats already take that into account, meaning he was more of an all or nothing hitter with the Bombers.

I'd say the "the reason" they didn't sign Bobby Abreu was that he was looking for a 3 year deal when the free agency period began and Nady was only arbitration eligible. Ironically, however, Nady ended up getting a $6.55M contract, while Abreu was forced to settle for $5M.

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Leading in to the top of the third inning, YES showed the following message:

I don't think this is your target market, Yankees Ticket Sales. How many people do you think were watching the third inning of a Spring Training game saying to themselves, "Hey, I was wondering what I could do with that $52,650 I have just sitting around! Field Level Yankees season tickets... Why didn't I think of that?"

"LIMITED TIME ONLY"? If they were really going so fast, they probably wouldn't have to advertise their availability. Yes, it will be a limited amount of time until the prices are lowered. So... "PURCHASE TODAY!"

I'm all for the Field Level subsidizing the rest of the stadium with ridiculously inflated ticket prices, like Lon Trost and others have claimed it does. But if they are going to sit empty, that sort of fucks that plan in the ear, no?

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A high-five, Shelly? You just hit a three run homer. What happened to the signature Shelly Duncan Forearm Bash(c) ??? My sincere guess is that word came down from the front office that he needed to stop because he was probably going to hurt someone.

P.S. I don't care if Kei Igawa pitched two perfect innings, I'd still rather pretend he doesn't exist.