Well now, that was a fun game, wasn't it?
Well, to be more accurate, that was a fun last three innings, wasn't it?
Where to start?
Phil Hughes was not perfect, but he was the best he's been since coming off of the DL. He walked a few too many and made one big mistake to Ibanez, but he kept the Yankees in the game, going six and allowing just two runs. He had a fair number of strike outs, which, given the umpiring tonight, was quite an accomplishment!
You don't look for Phil to pitch a no hitter every time he goes out, you look for him to get better with each start. He had a couple shaky starts recently, but he was much better tonight.
Joba got the win, and, well, with an ERA of 0.00 it's hard to lose games, but this one should have gone to Phil. Please don't take that the wrong way--I LOVE Joba, but Phil really did pitch the win tonight.
While on the subject of Joba--He's crazy good. I want a Joba shirt.
On that note, Washburn pitched really well for Seattle for most of the game, making two mistakes, one to Molina and one to A-Rod, but that's something the scoreboard won't show.
Now, the fun stuff:
Holy inning, Batman!
The Yankees scored seven runs in the seventh yesterday, and I guess they wanted to do themselves one better?
When A-Rod hit his first home run of the inning (Dear G-d is that fun to write), it was like this big weight had been lifted. The Yankees sent 12 men to the plate that inning, and you might not know it, but they played a lot of small ball that inning.
They scored ten runs, but they only had seven hits. It's not the first time a team's ever had more runs than hits, but it does tell you something: It means a team knows how to play small ball--take walks, make the other guys mess up on the field, sacrifice, etc. That's the type of stuff that wins World Series.
Not that the Home Runs don't help!
On another note, the umpiring tonight was hideous. It ended up going the Yankees' way, so you won't feel Yankees fans complaining, but it could just as easily have gone the other way (in the first two innings, it did).
Umpiring like that can cost a team a Postseason. I'm glad it went the Yankees' way tonight...but I don't blame Seattle for being upset.
More food for thought: The Yankees actually went 6-3 on the homestand. Granted, I'm not sure anyone thought that of the three L's two would come against Tampa, but it's no different than if we went 2-1 in each series.
Other scores of note:
Cinninati crushed the Mets, 7-0. However, the Mets have just come off a five game win streak, so they're probably not going too crazy.
Phillies lost to Atlanta in the bottom of the ninth inning. A bullpen like the one Philadelphia has doesn't go far in the playoffs.
Cleveland won and LA Angels lost, meaning now there's only one game that separates the second and third best records in the AL. Don't know about you, but I'm pulling for Cleveland to come up ahead, so we don't have to face the Angels in the first round. Talk about Kryptonite...
Tampa Bay killed Baltimore, 17-2. I know Tampa's in last place in the league, but right now I'[m not sure there's a team playing worse than Baltimore. Well, maybe Chicago...we actually won games against the White Sox...
Milwaukee is up 14-0 in the Eighth. They've scored in every inning except the fifth and, so far, eighth. Ryan Braun is crazy.
Right now, Cubs are winning and St. Louis is losing, but Rick Ankiel DID hit a(nother) home run. He's like Shane Spencer, Shelley Duncan and Roy Hobbs all merged into one...
As of this writing, Toronto has just defeated Boston, meaning that their division lead is down to six. I don't expect the Yankees to catch the division...but then, we are the Yankees and they are the Red Sox. Stranger things have happened.
Chi Sox and Detroit have gone to eleven...I expect Detroit to win, but as I just said, stranger things have happened.
No squirrel sitings tonight, but you knew the spirit of the squirrel was there...
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Holy Home Runs, A-Rodman! (Post Game Notes 05 Sept 07)
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Oh, that was fun, indeed.
ReplyDeleteJeter's phantom tag on Ichiro, White getting tossed from the mound for arguing, Ken-Jo trying [unsuccessfully!] to block the umpire's tossing motion... the hit parade goes on and on. Alex, two dingers in an inning ON A GIMPY ANKLE, shades of Kirk Gibson!!
Phil Hughes really DID impress me, too. I thought he had a little more velocity than the past few games, a little more bite on the bender, and a LOT more grit when he got into trouble. Wish he'd gotten the win also, but for him and Joba to team up like they did, that's beautiful. 2008 and 2009 are going to be VERY exciting!
[so is the Hot Stove League, this winter ;-) ] One other thought: I was wondering how much it would take to pry J-Rod Washburn away from Seattle. ??? Good night, y'all, and Go Yankees!
Gutsy game by Hughes. I still don't think he's close to 100%, and he certainly still doesn't have his sharpness back, but, all things considered, he came up with a monster game. I think the turning point was right after he surrendered the homer to Ibanez. He very well could have gone completely to pieces right after that, but instead he pulled it together and managed to get through six complete without allowing any further damage. Also, whereas at one point his Ks and walks were even (at 2 each, I think), he ultimately stopped walking people and ended up with 6Ks against 2 walks.
ReplyDeleteAll-in-all, a huge game for the Yanks (and A-Rod, of course), and, perhaps as importantly, a huge game for Phil to build on going into the final stretch of the regular season.
Charles--Yea, it was one of those games where everything went the Yankees' way, wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteChi Dave--No, he's probably not close to 100%, but that just makes you more anxious to see him pitch when he is!
This game could be a turning point in so many ways....
The umpires did blow some calls in our favor, but maybe it just evens things out after the earlier series this year, where a blown call may have cost us a game against seattle.
ReplyDeleteI missed the first 2 innings but while speeding home to minimize what I was missing, I heard John Sterling mention that Washburn just got a call for a strike in the exact same location of a pitch that Hughes didn't get a call on. A case of a Veteran getting the call and a rookie not getting it. This happens in all sports and it just isn't right. It shouldn't matter one bit who is out there.
It's great we beat up on a bullpen known for it's dominance. And it looked like the M's manager suddenly went into panic mode after removing the 2nd pitcher of the inning. Kay had it right when he said that they probably called up too many players when the rosters expanded. Wonder what would have happened if Washburn were left in.
Oh and Kenji trying to block the motion of the umpire throwing out White was hilarious. I could totally see myself doing something like that!
By the way, whenever those RS fans post the magic number [17]...
ReplyDeleteOUR magic number to win the East is currently 29 :-)
Saucy--The first two innings were horrible. I'm no umpire, but most of the fans could have probably done a better job!
ReplyDeleteI know that bad umpiring cost us a game, and that it's good to have the breaks in our favor, but fans and players have a right to expect good umpiring.
Charles--Hah! That's great! We can easily do it! Ok, maybe not that easily...but I'm rooting like hell for whoever's playing Boston tonight!
Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteWhen you get a chance, check out my blog. Like you, I haven't linked to it yet from Pete's blog bacause it's still pretty empty. I'm pretty sure you can get to it if you click on my name here...