Friday, July 11, 2008

They Just Look Silly (Postgame Notes 11 July 2008)

The Yankees have had more than their fair share of bad losses, and tonight's certainly fills that category from an offensive standpoint.

I'll get to Joba in a second, but the much, much more pressing concern has got to be the offense.

It's not just that the offense isn't producing like they did last year, but right now, it hardly looks like they're trying.

Roy Halladay is a good pitcher. A really, really good pitcher. He's probably one of a single-digit handful that has the potential ability to throw a no-hitter or a perfect game. Lord knows he throws enough complete games that pitch counts aren't any sort of issue for him.

However, the Yankees have a nine-digit salaried line-up so that they won't be on the wrong end of such a performance.

So their antics tonight? Inexcusable.

Halladay was really good, yes, but this offense should be better than a two-hit performance.



On the other hand, Joba actually had one of his better starts this year. He went 6 2/3 innings, with nine strikeouts, and, more impressive, no walks. He was done in by poor defense and a bad pitch to Rod Barajas, but, while he'll take the loss, it does look like he gained in tonight's performance.

He still needs to figure out his shutdown pitch, the one he can throw on an 0-2 count, but he's young and it should come with time.


Also, it was very clear that Jorge had not caught in a week. I know Jorge's always been more valuable as an offensive player and clubhouse presence than a defensive catcher, but I don't know if it's that Jose Molina is just that good behind the home plate, or if Jorge's defense has gone from adequate to a bit of a liability. I give him credit for playing hurt, but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned.


The good news is that there's a quick turn around before tomorrow so hopefully the Yankees can shake off another wasted effort by Joba.

****


In other news, FanFest was a lot of fun.

I can report that I can throw a 29 mph pitch (I don't think that can qualify as a fastball), which is actually an improvement over the last time I tried.

I also have myself an American League All Star Rivera t-shirt, and various other knick-knacks. I got a free pennant because I twice made contact off of a video projection of Pedro Martinez. Never mind that they were bunted foul...

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