Game 15 Recap

1. After the Yankees went down on 7 pitches in the top of the first inning, CC Sabathia got off to a rocky start in the bottom. He walked Rajai Davis on four pitches to begin his afternoon, got Daric Barton to ground out, then walked Ryan Sweeney in another 4 pitch PA, during which Davis swiped thrid base. Kurt Suzuki, like he did the previous time he faced him last August, took Sabathia deep to left field. It was a 3 run shot that gave the A's an early 3-0 lead.

2. Sabathia's difficulties with Kurt Suzuki continued as he walked him on 4 pitches to begin the bottom of the 4th. Jake Fox grounded a ball to short that Jeter fielded and flipped to Cano, but his throw was somewhat rushed by an incoming Suzuki and he sailed it into the Yankees dugout. Cano's first error of the year put Fox on second with one out. Kevin Kouzmanoff rapped a ball up the middle that Jeter stopped but didn't have time to make a play on. Next up, Adam Rosales swung at the first pitch he saw, lofting a ball to shallow left. Nick Swisher made the catch and a strong throw home but it wasn't quite in time and the A's expanded their lead to 4-0.

3. Marcus Thames got that run back in the top of the 5th with his first home run of the year, a solo shot to left-center field on an 86mph fastball from Dallas Braden to make it 4-1 A's.

4. Mark Teixeira added a solo shot of his own off of Braden in the top of the 6th. The pitch was called a screwball by pitchFX, only the 20th classified as such this year and Braden's second. Singleton and Flaherty both thought it was a changeup and it probably was, but it was so slow that it fooled the system. Either way, Teix hit it a long way to left center, over the 389 sign and almost to the windows suite level. A-Rod followed with a single but Cano rapped into an inning ending double play. 4-2 A's.

5. To begin the bottom half of the inning, Sabathia gave up a single to Daric Barton and a walk to Ryan Sweeney, bringing up his nemesis, Suzuki, to the plate. Sabathia would have the last laugh this time as Suzuki rapped into a 5-4-3 triple play. The ball was hit right at 3rd base, A-Rod stepped on the bag, made a strong throw to Cano, who fired to Johnson in the nick of time (/nudges you with elbow). It was the Yanks first triple play since June 3rd, 1968, at which point I was negative 16 years old.

6. The Yankees went down quietly in the final three frames, their only baserunner coming in the form of a two out single by Cano in the 9th. Nick Swisher followed that with a chopper to first and that was the ballgame, A's win 4-2.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Suzuki has five hits off of Sabathia and three of them are homers. But now he has a triple play, which like, totally negates all of that. Suck it, Kurt!
  
  
• The Yanks had gone 6,632 regular season games without a triple play. Bobby Cox was playing third base for the Yankees and Mickey Mantle was at first while Harmon Killebrew led off the inning for the Twins when it last happened. It came in the same year the A's moved from Kansas City to Oakland. The A's hadn't hit into one since 1994.
  
  
• Although Sabathia wasn't especially sharp and had 6 walks (tying his career high), he controlled his pitch count (97, 51 for strikes). A lot of that had to do with the fact that four of those walks came on exactly 4 pitches and the other two took only 5 and 6. Also, the double play, triple play and inning-ending pickoff certainly helped.
  
  His final line was 8IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 6BB, 5K and took the complete game loss. It was the second time in a row he got the CG without throwing 9 innings. It was only the 9th time in franchise history that's happened, the first since Melido Perez in 1992. In the process, he also became the first Yankee since David Wells in 1998 to throw back to back CGs of any sort.
  
  
• Jeter swung at the first pitch of the game, flew out to right, and only swung three more times in his next three at bats, making contact each time. While it seems that Jeter has been impatient at times this season, part of the problem is that he is too damn good at making contact and has mostly been hitting it weakly when he does.
  
  
• Somehow, Frankie Cervelli continues to provide more than just defense in his starts (although he made a nice throw to nail Kouzmanoff drifting off of 2nd to end the 4th). Frankie picked up a couple of singles today and is now 5 for 9 on the season with four of those being singles.
  
  
• Dallas Braden apparently yelled at A-Rod after the 6th inning because he ran across the pitcher's mound on the way back to the dugout. Somebody call a wahmbulance.
  
  
• In the 8th inning Rosales gave Jeter a taste of his own medicine as he fielded a grounder up the middle and executed a jump throw back towards first.
  
  
• The game completed in an extremely economical 2:07, far and away the quickest of the Yanks' season.
  
  
• The Yanks' six game winning streak came to an end, but there were still things to be encouraged (Teix and Thames both homering, CC hanging in there and saving a depleted bullpen) and entertained (TRIPLE PLAY!) by.

From here, the Yanks head south to Anaheim for a 3 game set in the Big A, beginning with a 10PM start tomorrow night.

Game 15: Taught To Be Proud

As the Yankees lost their way through the mid-aughts, in as much as you can consider years that result in post-season appearances as disappointments, one of the theories floated as to the root cause of their problems was an unhappy clubhouse. Players like Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown, and Randy Johnson all had excellent track records between the lines, but weren't exactly considered the nicest people off the field.

Talent will virtually always trump character, but the ideal player is of value both on and off the field. In the past two off-seasons, we've seen the Yankees acquire CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, and Curtis Granderson. All of them are All-Star caliber players, and by all accounts, they are also model teammates and assets in the community.

Born and bred in nearby Vallejo, CC took advantage of the Yankees' trip to Oakland last August to visit his old elementary school, Lorma Vista. There CC and his wife Amber handed out backpacks filled with school supplies to the students, one of several initiatives undertaken by CC's PitCCh In Foundation.

CC Sabathia's philanthropic side has been on display again this week. On Monday's off day, Sabathia traveled to Vallejo. There, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the first night game at North Vallejo Little League's Thurmon Field. The field was completely rebuilt this past winter, using funds donated by the PitCCh In Foundation.

Last night, the Vallejo High School baseball team were CC's guests at the Colisseum, spending time on the field before the game and getting to meet CC and other Yankees. Tonight, CC will have a host of friends and family in the stands as he takes the hill against the A's.

Coming off a rain-shortened six inning complete game against the Rangers Friday night, CC is looking for his third straight outstanding start. After a mediocre Opening Night outing in Boston, Sabathia no-hit the Rays for seven in two thirds in his second start, and allowed just three baserunners and single run while striking out nine Rangers Friday. He's issued just four walks on the season, has yet to allow a longball, and leads the AL with a 0.737 WHIP.

Sabathia faced Oakland three times last year, resulting in two wins and a no decision. Over 21.2 IP he posted a 1.15 WHIP and a 4.57 ERA, with most of the damage coming in his 6 inning, 6 ER start against them in April. After some rough goings in his first eight starts in Oakland, Sabathia shined in his only appearance there as a Yankee, allowing just two runs and six base runners while striking out seven in eight innings of work. The current A's roster has not faired well against him.

Opposing CC will be a fellow lefty, Dallas Braden. Now in his fourth Big League season, the Texas Tech product has built on his promising 2009 and is off to a strong start in 2010, with a 2.70 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP through his first 20 innings of work. Braden has faced the Yankees four times in his career, only one of them starts. They have touched him up for eight runs through nine and a third, with seven of those runs coming in his start at the Stadium last July. The Yankee roster has had limited exposure to Braden, but in that small sample they have done quite well.

The Yankees have taken the season's first five series for the first time since 1926. This afternoon they go for their second straight sweep, and beyond the fact that I always want the Yankees to win, I hope they get it. CC Sabathia is a good dude, and he's done some good things during his homecoming this week. Just like fellow Bay Area guys Tea Leaf Green, CC was taught to be proud of where he came from. He showed that pride this week; here's hoping karma rewards him with another strong performance.

I was taught to be proud of where I come from
And I'm so sad that I'm the only one.
Like a cold preacher boy talking only to himself
How did he think that he got to promised lands?

Gone, gone, gone,
Not gone for long,
If you're taught to be proud of where you come from.

-Lineups-

Yankees:
Joe Girardi shakes things up a bit today. Mark Teixeira gets a half day off as the DH; Nick Johnson will pick up some leather for the first time this year. With a lefty on the mound Curtis Granderson rides the pine for the first time this year. Brett Gardner gets his first start in center field this season, with Marcus Thames playing in left. It'll be interesting to see how he fares in the spacious pastures there. For the third straight start, Frankie Cervelli will be calling the pitches for CC.

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

A's:
A late scratch from last night's lineup, Travis Buck has been placed on the 15 day DL. Former Yankee farmhand Matt Carson has been called up to take Buck's roster spot. Carson gets the start in left and will bat eighth.

Rajai Davis CF
Daric Barton 1B
Ryan Sweeney RF
Kurt Suzuki C
Jake Fox DH
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Adam Rosales 2B
Matt Carson LF
Cliff Pennington SS

Last Night à La Mode

On Tuesday, one of our longtime commenters, Mode (who does some writing himself), mentioned that he was going to be attending last night's game. He said:

I got great seats right behind the Yankee dugout for tomorrow night's game (a bargain at $175 a pop). Hopefully the weather doesn't mess things up since I am loooking forward to watching Hughes pitch.

Look for me behind the dugout sporting my vintage (and well worn) Columbus Clippers hat.

Further down in the comments, he and Matt discussed which version of the Clippers' logo his hat had and Matt let him know that we'd be looking for him during the came.

As Hughes mowed down the A's last night in dominating fashion, made a run at a no-hitter and set a career high in strikeouts, Matt and I chatted on GMail and both kept and eye out for a blue hat with a red "C" and a sailboat on it. As the camera pulled away from a shot of Phil Hughes' parents and former Yankee, Angel, Giant & Red Sock J.T. Snow in the top of the 4th, Matt thought he might have caught a glimpse of a Clippers hat behind the visitor's dugout. But upon further review, it was not.

However, after the game concluded, Ken Singleton kicked it down to Kim Jones so she could interview Hughes' parents, and look who was standing right behind Phil's mom, Dori:

The MLB.tv broadcast cut out about three seconds after they switched to his camera angle so this is the best screengrab I could get, but on the live telecast the interview lasted for a couple of minutes and Mode was just kickin' it in the background, prompting this praise from Ben Kabak of River Ave. Blues:

A+, indeed and $175 well spent, sir.

Mode lives about an hour away from the Coliseum and last night is about as good as it gets for an displaced fan of any club: your favorite team stops by, a young pitcher has a an awesome start, your guys hit back-to-back triples and win a close contest in exciting fashion.

If you live within a reasonable commute of Yankee Stadium chances are that you take for granted the option to go to as many games as you can fit into your schedule and afford - I know I did when I lived on the Upper West Side and still do to some extent now that I'm Upstate. But if you live out of town - even if you're lucky enough to live in a city that the Yanks visit - you are at the whim of their schedule and have to hope it works out in one of the few times you have a chance to go. In true California fashion, Mode caught this wave right when it was cresting and rode it for all it was worth. I'm sure he'll have more in the comments at some point.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Good morning Fackers. After spending 4/20 out in hippie-central, the Yankees conclude their visit to the Bay Area with an Earth Day matinee against the Major's greenest team, at least in terms of age and the color of their uniforms. The A's will be looking to avoid a sweep and their fourth consecutive loss overall. Sometimes it's just not easy being green.

In observance of the day, Brett Gardner will sputter around the basepaths on biodiesel rather than his usual jet fuel.

[UPDATE 11:00 AM: For those of you in NYC, the lovely and talented Grace Potter will be performing a 15 minute set around noon in the plaza on Broadway between 45th and 46th as part of Earth Day at Times Square]

Back with baseball in a bit.

Game 14 Recap

1. The Yankees jumped out of the gate as Derek Jeter ripped a single to right-center and Nick Johnson followed with a walk. Ben Sheets went to 3-0 against Mark Teixeira but eventually got back to 3-2. With the count full, the runners went and Teix took a fastball over the outer half of the plate for a called strike three (his 10th backwards K already this year) and Jeter got gunned down at third. The Yanks were one pitch away from loading the bases, a questionable managerial decision from having two on and one out but instead had just a man on second with two out when A-Rod came to the plate. He flew out to center to end the inning.

It doesn't show up as much of a spike in terms of WPA since it's in the first inning, but a run in the first inning is worth the same amount as one in the 8th, technically speaking, and it was a costly turn of events.

2. Robinson Cano singled to lead off the second inning and advanced to second on what was nearly another strike 'em out, throw 'em out DP and got to third on a Curtis Granderson grounder. Randy Winn then tapped one down the third base line that Sheets fielded cleanly and fired to first just in time to keep the Yanks off the board.

3. The Yanks finally broke through in the 4th inning with back-to-back(!!) triples by A-Rod and Cano. Ryan Sweeney misplayed A-Rod's ball and it rolled past him while Cano ripped a shot down the line that rolled around in the corner. It was the first time the Yanks have had consecutive three baggers since Melky and Damon did it in '07. Cano then scored on a ground out by Posada to put the Yanks up 2-0.

4. Through 7 innings, Phil Hughes had pitched masterfully. He took a no-hitter to the top of the 8th and had struck out every batter in the A's lineup except for Mark Sweeny. He'd struck out 9 batters and threw 63 of his 89 pitches for strikes, whiffing 9. Eric Chavez broke up the no hitter leading off the 8th with a liner back up the middle that deflected off Hughes' glove, arm and landed just in front of the mound. He probably still had time to turn the play but lost the ball once it hit him, but he couldn't locate it, and Chavez reached on an infield single. I think it's pretty much official that Phil Hughes has now had two no hitters broken up in the most fucking annoying ways possible, but at least he didn't get hurt this time.

After Chavez's cheapie, Hughes struck out Kevin Kouzmanoff for his 10th K of the night (a new career high) then walked Gabe Gross in a tough 9 pitch at bat. Girardi summoned Joba Chamberlain, who retired Adam Rosales on a fly ball to right field but blew the shutout by allowing an RBI single to Jake Fox. He escaped with the lead by retiring Cliff Pennington on a grounder to first. 2-1 Yankees.

5. The Yankees added an insurance run in the top of the ninth as Curtis Granderson scored on a single to left by Brett Gardner. 3-1 Yankees.

6. Mariano Rivera came in to close out the game but wasn't as effective as usual. Ryan Sweeney knocked a single to center field and Mo hit Kurt Suzuki with a pitch. With Marco Scutaro flashbacks raging, the AB ended in a strangely similar fashion to the ball he threw into the OF in Arizona in 2001 as Chavez chopped it back to Mo, but this time he converted the out. Continuing with the '01 WS theme, the game ended on a broken bat flare to center, but this time it landed in Curtis Granderson's glove.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• It's tough to understate how good Hughes looked tonight. Aside from the wacky hit and hard fought walk in the 8th, he really made it look easy. He commanded both his fastballs and pounded the strikezone relentlessly, throwing 40 of his 55 4-seamers and 22 of his 32 cutters for strikes. He spun off just 14 curves and no change ups and only one of his strike outs came on his hook (7 on the FB and 2 on the Cutter).
  
  
• Derek Jeter swung at the first pitch and put it in play three times tonight. In a related story, he worked his second walk of the year in the top of the ninth inning.
  
  
• Nick Johnson should get an endorsement from Johnnie Walker. Two BB's tonight, adding to his league-leading total.
  
  
• A's reliever Jerry Blevins walked off the mound in the 8th inning after striking out Nick the Stick on three straight fastballs. Tyson Ross, the right hander who replaced him, had an very odd motion, keeping his arm unnaturally close to his body and kinda slinging it in an exaggerated fashion. He could pitch, though, and struck out Mark Teixeira before getting out of the inning unscathed.
  
  
• If you didn't stay up until the end, you missed a really awesome game to watch. Of course, it doesn't hurt that it was the Yanks' sixth game in a row and locked up their 5th series victory as well, but there were a lot of enjoyable aspects of it. It wrapped up in a tidy 2:47 and even that was backloaded (generally speaking, I want the exciting part of the game to take a long time, not the early innings). There were the triples, and the no hitter chase and... well that's about it, but it was plenty. As far as early season tilts go, this one was the tits.

We are getting westcoasted as tomorrow's game will be at 12:30 PM Pacific Time, 3:30 Eastern. CC Sabathia makes a start in his hometown against fellow lefty Dallas Braden.

Game 14: Next Time You See Me

The best part of this road trip? Michael Kay is at home and we are treated to the dulcet tones of smooth Kenny Singleton. Look out! So tonight, it won't be "Phil Yoooooous" pitching, it will just be Phil Hughes.

The SoCal kid looks to build upon his previous partially successful outing against the Angels. Last Wednesday, Hughes held the Halos to two runs in 5+ innings. He had flashes of dominance (3 H, 6 K) but struggled with his command and efficiency (5 BB, 108 pitches).

Hughes has never faced Oakland as a starter and only pitched one inning in the Coliseum as a reliever. No one on the A's has faced Hughes more than three times in their career and those who have don't have much of an advantage considering that Hughes has evolved significantly as a pitcher since then.

The Yankees aren't too familiar with Ben Sheets either. The only time he started against the Bombers was all the way back in 2005 and the only guys in the line up that day who are still on the team are Jeter, Posada, A-Rod and Cano.

After missing all of 2009 and having the flexor tendon in his pitching elbow repaired, Sheets landed on his feet in Oakland, fetching a handsome $10M, one year contract which could make him a prime target come the trade deadline (although his contract specifies that the club won't offer him arbitration and therefore can't receive any draft pick compensation).

Big Ben is off to a solid start results-wise, having allowed only 5 ER in 17 innings (2.65 ERA). However, his peripherals tell a different story (4.60 FIP). Over the course of his career, Sheets has walked just two batters per nine innings, but in his first three starts of 2010, he's averaging over 5 per 9 and has amassed more free passes (10) than strikeouts (8). These issues are to be expected from a guy who had elbow surgery and took 18 months off in between starts, though. Sheets has had success despite lacking command thus far, so logic dictates that if he can cut down on the walks he might be even more dangerous.

Conventional wisdom says the pitcher has the advantage when there is no history between he and the batter, but I tend to think stuff like that is a little overstated. It might help to know a pitcher's tendencies, but it can also be harmful when the pitcher knows that you know his tendencies, so on and so forth. Players can study up on and watch as much video of each other as they want to and by the second or third time through the lineup, any advantage of unfamiliarity one way or the other has been neutralized. If Sheets or Hughes make another start against the foes they are facing tonight later in the season, then there might be an edge for one side or the other.

Next time you see me,
Things won't be the same,
If it hurts you my darling,
You've only got yourself to blame.

[Song notes: The double video seems appropriate because it's a West Coast night game and I went with this version because we used the Dead's at the end of last year. The title to YouTube video says that it's the Rolling Stones and Muddy Waters when in fact it's Buddy Guy on stage. The clip comes from this DVD, was recorded back in 1981 and was one of the last five concert appearances of Waters' incredible career.]

-Lineups-

Yankees:
Randy Winn, ladies and gentlemen. Even though Nick Swisher broke an 0-16 slump last night with a 2 RBI single, Winn gets the call against Sheets. Swish had played in every game so far this year and Winn has had some experience against Sheets (although not any success).

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

Athletics:

Cliff Pennington SS
Daric Barton 1B
Ryan Sweeney RF
Kurt Suzuki C
Eric Chavez DH
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Gabe Gross CF
Adam Rosales 2B
Travis Buck LF

Maddux, Glavine, And Smoltz Would Have Tanked In NY Too

Oh, Joel Sherman, what are we going to do with you? In his 3UP blog post this morning, Sherman says that the Yankees "cannot be overly encouraged" by Vazquez' start last night. And to an extent, Sherman's right. It wasn't a great start, but it was a helluva lot better than his first two. And he's still just three starts into the season.

But going off on another pro-Javy screed isn't what I intend to do today. Instead, let's take a look at Sherman's parting shot:

However, keep in mind that Vazquez is the fifth high-profile pitcher to move directly from the Braves to the Yankees since the turn of the century. The first four were all free agents and all pretty much disasters as Yankees: Steve Karsay, Chris Hammond, Kyle Farnsworth and Jaret Wright. Denny Neagle and Mark Wohlers were one-team removed from the Braves, when they also came with some fanfare in trades to the Yankees, and then tanked in New York.

So maybe there is a trend here that the Yankees need to beware of ex-Brave pitchers.

Wow. Just wow. So that's why Boone Logan pitched himself into that bases loaded jam in the seventh. It's the curse of the Braves!

I don't know where to begin with this one. How about Sherman's generously broad definition of "high-profile"? Chris Hammond, really? He's high-profile? The guy was out of baseball for two full years, and out of the Majors for four, before parlaying a single comeback season in Atlanta into a deal with the Yankees. And by the way, though I was no fan of his, he posted a 2.86 ERA over his one season in pisntripes. Some disaster.

How about Steve Karsay? Karsay was very effective in 2002, his first year with the Yankees. In fact, he was so effective that Joe Torre rode him like a rented mule and essentially ended his career, missing all of 2003 and tossing only 37.2 IP over the remainder of his career.

And since when were set-up men and back-of-the-rotation starters high-profile? Who could possibly have framed these middle-of-the-road type players, who alredy had checkered histories upon arriving in the Bronx, as high-profile acquisitions? I know; the New York tabloid media, of which Sherman is a part, could.

For Sherman to even refer to this foursome as Braves pitchers is tenuous as well. Karsay spent half of one season in Atlanta, throwing 44.2 innings. Hammond was there for a year, tossing 76 frames. Farnsworth was in Atlanta for just a half season, throwing all of 27.1 innings. Jaret Wright is the most-tenured member of the group, spending a whopping 13 months in Hot Lanta and pitching 195.1 innings.

All four had brief stays in Atlanta, just as Vazquez and Logan did. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe the Yankees shouldn't acquire pitchers who spend less than two full seasons in Atlanta. Or maybe the Yankees just played a late game last night, Sherman was tired, and decided to throw some garbage at the wall to see what sticks. Or maybe Sherman was being facetious, and I'm just too dumb to figure it out.

Just to be on the safe side though, if Frank Wren calls Brian Cashman offering Tommy Hansen, Cash should just hang up. It's probably a trap.

Foggy Morning Links

Mornin' Fackers. Are you a little hazy from having burnt the "midnight oil" like Thor last night? Hopefully this small batch of heady links will rouse you from your herbally-induced malaise.

Curtis Granderson wrote about adapting to New York City living - off the field - over at Big League Stew. That's him at Target on the right. Any man who has ever shopped for bedding at a big box retailer has sported the same look on their face.

The Wezen-Ball Tater Trot Tracker has gone mainstream. It got linked by the excellent non-sports blog The Awl, has its own website and is now selling t-shirts whereby you can espouse your personal home run trot philosophy. I'm more of a "swing hard, run hard" kind of a guy.

Mike Fast at the Hardball Times looked at the difference in velocity between pitchers throwing from the windup and the stretch and found that there almost isn't one. Tango thinks that although the velocity might be comparable, pitching from the stretch could be an more inherently stressful motion. Over the winter, we wondered if Javy Vazquez might lose a little something from the stretch since he pitches poorly with runners on base. When I get some time, I will try to look at the data and see if I can find anything of interest.

Jonah Keri made his second appearance on the BS Report with Bill Simmons. I haven't listened to it yet, but it's going to be hard to top the first one wherein he singlehandedly converted Simmons to sabermetrics (only a slight exaggeration).

More podcasting: a new version of FanGraphs audio is up.

"Pardon my language, but f**k the Yankees."

Unlike every member of the Boston media, Patrick Sullivan took a look at the state of the Red Sox from a rational perspective. It's not all doom and gloom, but it ain't exactly cupcakes and ponies, either. Whether or not their first 14 games are indicative of how good they are or not, they've dug themselves a significant hole.

Further proof that Johnny Damon is a 6 year old boy in a 36 year old man's body: he's growing a mohawk.

Craig Calcaterra, who was at the forefront of the "NL Pitcher tests positive for PEDs" fracus yesterday notes that 10 of the last 16 PED suspensions have been handed down to pitchers and wonders while it's still the sluggers who are the primary targets of public shame.

You probably saw this yesterday somewhere else, but it's still worth noting that CC Sabathia stopped by his hometown and attended a Little League game at a field he helped renovate.

The first batch of UZR ratings are in. Proceed with small sample size freak outs... ZOMG Johnny Damon is now the greatest left fielder EVAR!

It might be a little slow around here today, but check back this later afternoon. If nothing else, we'll have the game preview for you this evening.

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 13: Get Your Walk On

Tonight, the Yankees begin their first West Coast road trip of the year, meaning that most of us have the choice of A) staying up late to watch the game and getting less sleep than we are accustomed to, B) catching the first few innings before passing out on the couch or C) something in between. Personally, I don't mind staying up late, it's just the stretch from 7-10 when it feels like the Yankees should be on and I don't really know what to do with myself that sucks.

Javier Vazquez gets the ball for the Yanks, about as far away as possible from the taunts in the Bronx. As Mike from RAB pointed out earlier today, there are other reasons that tonight might be a good one for Javy to put together his first solid start of the season aside from being relieved of the pressure of starting in front of the home crowd.

The A's have a free-swinging, flyball-hitting lineup that has relatively little power. The Coliseum also has deep outfield dimensions and a notorious amount of foul territory, both of which favor hurlers. After facing the Rays and Angels in Tropicana Field and Yankee Stadium, trying to navigate the A's lineup in Oakland should be an easier task. It's not a guarantee that Javy puts together a great start, but it's reason to hope at least.

Gio Gonzalez goes tonight for the A's. The 24 year old left hander spent part of the last two seasons with the Big League club, making 24 starts and 6 relief appearances, totaling 133 innings and a 6.24 ERA. Over that span, he was able to induce swings and misses but struggled with his command, striking out 143 while walking 81. Gio was also victimized by the long ball, giving up 23 home runs, or 1.6/9 IP.

After struggling to make the rotation out of Spring Training, Gonzalez has started off the year on the right foot. In two starts against the Angels and Mariners, he's given up 4 runs in 10 2/3 IP and stayed true to his high strikeout, high walk tendencies (11K, 5BB). He faced the Yankees once last year in the Bronx, threw 6 2/3 innings of one run ball and got the win. That night he only gave up two hits but walked three.

Given that the Yankees have worked the third most free passes in the MLB and are averaging around 4 pitches per plate appearance, there's a good chance that Gonzalez is going to have a tough time going deep into this game.

If the Yanks get their walk on and Vazquez gets his head right, this should work staying up for.

Get your walk on, get your head tight,
I know you feelin the shit, shit is dead right.

-Lineups-

Yankees:

After two plus days off to nurse his cold, Derek Jeter returns to the lineup. Even with the lefty Gonzalez on the mound, Joe Girardi wisely keeps Marcus Thames on the bench. The flyball tendencies of both Javy Vazquez and the A's lineup, coupled with the spacious outfield and ample foul territory at Network Associates Coliseum makes Thames' defense too much of a liability tonight. Besides, Brett Gardner has been productive offensively and needs to see a southpaw every once in awhile. With a lefty of the mound, Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson flip-flop in the seven and eight spots.

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

A's:

Rajai Davis CF
Daric Barton 1B
Ryan Sweeney RF
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Kurt Suzuki C
Eric Chavez DH
Mark Ellis 2B
Travis Buck LF
Cliff Pennington SS

Moment Of Truth

The first time I ever heard a Gang Starr song, it was from an unlikely source. I was watching a skate video called VG8 with my buddy Sampson and this dude Billy Prislin's segment was backed by "You Know My Steez". I had to look up the name of the video and who the skater was, but I'll never forget the imprint that song left on me.

It was one of those tracks that I fell in love with the first time I heard it. I didn't know much hip hop beyond what was on MTV and the radio at that point, but it was immediately apparent that what I was listening to was something different, deeper and more complex than what I thought rap music could be. Gang Starr was underground back then, and even though I probably didn't really understand what that meant, I liked the sound of it.

You Know My Steez is a typical DJ Premier track that has an bouncing, addictive beat punctuated by high tones that runs behind the verse. The chorus consists of mashup of a bunch of spoken parts from other songs (most notably Method Man saying the title, sampled from this tune) tied together with turntable scratching. Subliminally, I'm sure that caught my ear, but what initially stood out were the lyrics.

Guru rapped over the tracks with a steady flow and clever wordplay, dropping ear-grabbing lines without so much as raising his voice. He often referred to his own style as monotone - which was technically close to the truth - but his verses were never boring or droned on like the word tends to connote.

We were about 14 at the time and did what you did back then when you liked a song: went out and bought the CD it was on as soon as humanly possible. Obviously, the way we consumed music was a lot different back in 1998. If you heard a song you liked, you couldn't just bring up YouTube, listen to it again and click your way through the better part of the group's catalog. So there was a period of several days or possibly a week during which I couldn't get the song out of my head but couldn't yet buy the CD.

Maybe that waiting period made me enjoy it more than I would have if I discovered it now. It could just be the fact that we tend to cling to the music that we listened to during our adolescence. But I still think that Moment of Truth, with Premier's intricate tracks and Guru's melodic rhymes, raises a hip hop of a level of high art and is one of the finest albums the genre has to offer.

That original Moment of Truth CD is long gone. It was scratched beyond repair after a couple of years of heavy play and I bought a second copy. That one is gone too, misplaced sometime during college and that too was well-worn. I bought it off of iTunes after that, but maxed out the amount of computers I could link my purchases. I finally downloaded it again, hopefully for the last time.

Gang Starr had plenty of good material before that album and Guru and Premier have each produced a ton of it afterwards, but Moment of Truth is the one creation of theirs that boxed me right in the ears and changed the way I listened to music forever.

The reason for this post is that Guru, whose real name was Keith Elam, passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer (there's a more complete bio if you click the link). About a month ago, he was hospitalized after a heart attack, but made a full recovery and was released. I was hoping I wasn't going to have to write this post for a long time, but unfortunately he was fighting another battle that he couldn't quite conquer.

RIP Guru.

Actions have reactions, don't be quick to judge,
You may not know the hardships people don't speak of,
It's best to step back, and observe with couth,
For we all must meet our moment of truth.

Where Have You Gone Jung Bong?

With the exception of elite sluggers and starting pitchers, perhaps no breed of Major Leaguer has a longer shelf life than the left-handed reliever. Given the dearth of southpaw hurlers and the LaRussian match-game that's taken over in the past twenty years, we've seen several lefties hang on interminably.

So why then did the career of former Braves prospect and lefty pitcher Jung Bong - ahem - burn out at age 24 after parts of just three seasons in the Majors? Bong plays a central role in one of my favorite all time baseball anecdotes.

As the Mets' disastrous 2002 crashed and burned its way to the finish line, a September tabloid scandal broke, alleging widespread use of marijuana within the Mets organization, complete with a Newsday photo of Mets reliever Grant Roberts hitting a (non-Jung) bong. The Mets characteristically botched their public relations response. At the subsequent press conference manager Bobby Valentine, on his way out of a job, hilariously pantomimed a stoned baseball player trying to take an at bat. Lamentably, I can't find the video anywhere online.

A week later the Mets hosted their principal rivals, the Atlanta Braves, in a season ending series at Shea. In the season's final game, long after the Braves had clinched the NL East and with the Mets already having locked up last place, Bobby Cox managed a game that belied his curmudgeonly reputation.

Cox emptied his bench over the course of the game, using twenty four different players. In the top of the fifth, trailing just 2-1, the Braves pitcher Mike Remlinger was due to come to the plate. Cox decided to use a pinch hitter. With the rosters expanded for September, Cox had no shortage of options at his disposal, including star catcher Javy Lopez.

So who did Cox send up to pinch hit? Not a position player at all, but a relief pitcher who hadn't appeared in a Major League game in five months. To the snickers of many, pinch hitter Jung Bong was announced over the Shea Stadium public address system. Bong went down swinging to end the frame, and just to rub salt in the wound, Cox didn't even leave him in the game to pitch.

So in honor of Bobby V's acting, Bobby Cox' managing, Jung Bong's name, and the 2002 New York Mets' recreational practices, we'll play this one:

History Between The Yankees And A's

Tonight will mark the first of ten meetings between the Yankees and A's this year. Thanks to the unbalanced schedule, it'll be the first time since 1999 the two clubs meet more than nine times in the regular season.

Despite the lack of meetings in the past decade there is plenty of history between these clubs. As two of the charter members of the American League, it's inevitable that they'd have some shared history over the past hundred years. But it seems that the Yankees and A's have had more than their share of common moments in that time.

Billy Beane was not the first man to build the A's into a contender on a shoestring budget. Hall of Famer Connie Mack owned the Athletics from their inception until shortly before his death in 1956. He served as their manager from their inaugural season of 1901 through 1950, retiring at 87 years old. In his half century at the helm of the Athletics, Mack built up, tore down, sold off, and rebuilt his team several times over, repeating the cycle as his talent outgrew his budget.

The Yankees were the beneficiaries in one of Mack's earliest sell offs. From 1910 through 1914, the Athletics won four American League pennants, winning the World Series in '10, '11, and '13. The backbone of those clubs was Mack's famed "$100,000 Infield", and the crown jewel of that infield was third baseman Frank "Home Run" Baker. Baker earned his nickname with two momentous home runs against the Giants in the 1911 World Series.

Baker led the American League in home runs four straight years from 1911 through 1914. While his yearly totals of 11, 10, 12, and 9 are laughable by today's standards, they were quite prodigious in the dead ball era. Baker and Mack engaged in a salary dispute prior to the 1915 season, and the slugger held out for the entire year rather than accept Mack's offer. With no end to the dispute in sight after a full year, Mack sold Baker to the Yankees for the princely sum of $37,500.

While Baker didn't quite match his Athletics production with the Yanks, he was a valuable player for them, quite possibly their best in the early and unsuccessful years of the team. After retiring for the 1920 season, Baker was coaxed back to play on the Yankees first two pennant winning clubs in 1921 and '22. By that time the game had changed dramatically from Baker's heyday, and teammate Babe Ruth had long since replaced Baker as the preeminent slugger in the league.

After losing in their first two World Series appearances, Ruth and the Yankees finally captured a championship in 1923. They won three more pennants from 1926 through 1928, winning the World Series in '27 and '28. After dominating the American League for the better part of eight seasons, Ruth's Yankees were displaced by Mack's retooled Athletics atop the American League. Mack's squad won the AL flag in '29, '30, and '31, taking the World Series the first two years, before the Yankees returned to the top in '32. Unfortunately for Mack, it would be the last real success he would attain at the helm of his club. As his team sunk in the standings, Mack sold off his greatest assets, just as he had done nearly twenty years earlier. This time the Red Sox were the primary beneficiary, hauling in Hall of Famers Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx.

Following a history of financial struggle, the 91 year old Mack sold his club to Arnold Johnson in 1954. Johnson had entered baseball circles the previous year, when he purchased both Yankee Stadium and Blues Stadium in Kansas City, home to the Yankees' top farm team. Though he divested himself of those interests upon his purchase of the Athletics, he still had strong connections to Yankee ownership, and perhaps some other business dealings with them as well. Johnson moved the Athletics to Kansas City after the 1954 season, pushing the Yankees' top affiliate to Denver, but in some ways, Kansas City never stopped functioning as a Yankee farm club.

In the five seasons from 1955 until Johnson's untimely death during spring training in 1960, the Yankees and Athletics executed seventeen trades and purchases. The Yankees acquired the likes of Roger Maris, Ralph Terry, Ryne Duren, Hector Lopez, Clete Boyer, Bob Cerv, Virgil Trucks, Enos Slaughter, Art Ditmar, and Bobby Shantz through these deals, all of whom made contributions to the Yankees' dynastic run from the mid fifties through the early sixties.

Following Johnson's death the club was sold to Charlie Finley. The franchise languished through the sixties, with former Yankees Joe Gordon, Hank Bauer, and Eddie Lopat managing the team from 1961 through mid '64. While the club was bottoming out with three 10th place finishes in four years, the inventive Finley was rebuilding the farm system and plotting a move to Oakland. There, the A's ran off five consecutive AL West titles from 1971 through 1975, and three consecutive World Series championships from 1972 through '74. In doing so, the A's became the first, and thus far only, non-Yankee team to take three straight championships.

Like Mack before him though, financial issues prevented Finley from keeping his dynasty intact. Finley's failure to fulfill his contractual obligation to make statutory payments to Catfish Hunter's life insurance policy after the 1974 season led to Hunter's contract being declared void. He became the first free agent of the modern era, and signed with the Yankees. Two years later, after a one season layover in Baltimore, the Yankees signed former A's slugger Reggie Jackson. Just as they had in 1916, the Yankees had poached a colorfully nicknamed player and the League's top slugger from the A's. While the A's sunk back to the basement, the Yankees returned to prominence, capturing three straight pennants and back-to-back World Series.

Those Yankee teams may have had even more of a former A's flavor to them if not for some intervention. Following a dispute with Finley, Oakland manager Dick Williams resigned from his post after the 1973 World Series. The Yankees attempted hire Williams to replace the outgoing Ralph Houk, but Williams was still under contract with Oakland and Finley wouldn't allow it. Then in 1976, Finley attempted to further dismantle his team at the trade deadline, selling Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi to the Red Sox and Vida Blue to the Yankees. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn quickly reversed all three transactions.

Instead of Dick Williams in the dugout during their late seventies run, the Yankees had Billy Martin as their manager. After winning the pennant in '76 and World Series in '77, Martin resigned in mid-1978, returned in '79 and was fired after the season, finding George Steinbrenner as difficult a boss as Hunter, Jackson, and Williams had found Finley.

Just as Martin's career as a Yankee player ended with a trade to the Athletics, his first post-Yankee managerial job came with the A's. Returning home to the Bay Area, Martin took a team that had gone 54-108 in 1979 and led them to second place 83-79 finish in 1980. The following year, he had the team in the post-season, falling to the Yankees in the ALCS.

As he did in all his managerial stints, Martin wore out both his welcome and his pitching staff in Oakland. He was gone after the '82 season, returning to New York for his third stint as Yankee manager. He was joined there by Matt Keough, one of the young pitchers whose arm he had decimated in Oakland. After getting fired again, Martin returned for a fourth managerial stint early in the 1985 season.

By then, the Yankees had stolen another superstar from the Athletics. Rickey Henderson broke in with the A's in 1979, and under Martin's tutelage over the next three years, he became the most prolific base stealer in the history of the game. Henderson was supposed to be the piece to put the Yankees over the top when they traded for him in December of '84. Instead he became just another very good player on a series on 1980s Yankee teams that were consistently good, but never great.

While the Yankees were hitting a glass ceiling, the A's were becoming the game's most dominant club. Led by Tony LaRussa and powered by Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, the A's captured three consecutive pennants from 1988 through 1990, and won the World Series in '89. In mid-1989, the A's finally got the best of the Yankees in a swap. Unhappy in New York and with his contract expiring at the end of the year, Henderson was shipped back to Oakland for the uninspiring package of Luis Polonia, Greg Caderet, and Eric Plunk, who interestingly enough, had been part of the A's haul from the Yankees in the original deal. Henderson was instrumental in the A's success in in '89 and '90, and earned the AL MVP with an outstanding 1990 season.

The early aughts saw further chapters written between these two teams, as they met in the ALDS in both 2000 and 2001. The A's pushed the Yankees to the limit in 2000 before falling in five games. The next year they jumped out to a commanding two games to none lead. Facing elimination, Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera combined for a Game Three 1-0 shutout, aided by a Jorge Posada home run and Derek Jeter's famous flip play. It changed the momentum of the series, which the Yankees took in five games. Adding insult to injury, that off-season the Yankees signed Jason Giambi, heart and soul of that A's team, to a lucrative free agent deal.

The last several years have been relatively quiet between the clubs. At present, the A's are managed by former Yankee Bob Geren, and coaches Curt Young and Mike Gallego also spent time in pinstripes. The A's roster features relievers Chad Gaudin and Edwar Ramirez, both of whom will receive their World Series rings from Joe Girardi this week.