Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Yankees at Blue Jays, 13 May 2009: A Gimpy Liveblog

4.56 PM: From lohud, today's line up:

Damon DH
Swisher RF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Cabrera LF
Gardner CF
Pena SS
Cervelli C

Swisher's an interesting slot for the second batter, but the bottom three in the line up inspire virtually no confidence.

Matsui had said it was just a cramp last night, but apparently it's a little more than that. Jeter hasn't swung a bat since Sunday but hopes to play tomorrow...I wouldn't hold my breath. Obliques are nasty buggers.

On the bright side, we get defense at SS again.

6.29 PM: Ryan Zimmerman's hit streak is likely over at 30 games unless SF can score three or more in the bottom of the inning. Yeah, it's over.

6.30 PM: Coke is again unavailable today. Derek Jeter is available to play defense (...buh?) and Matsui is available to PH.

7.13 PM: Damon swings at what may have been ball four. The Yanks have never faced Richmond. It could potentially be a long night, and the Spring Training-ish line up doesn't help matters much. Think positive!

7.23 PM: Yanks work a hit and a walk but fail to get the run home as Canó flies out. It's such a regular occurrence now that you can nearly write it in stone.

7.30 PM: Two walks with only one out seldom ends well for the pitching team.

7.32 PM: See? 1-0 Jays.

7.37 PM: Three walks in one inning for Pettitte. Very un-Pettittian.

7.41 PM: Melky Cabrera slaps a lead off double; Brett Gardner goes yard. Who the heck saw that coming?

7.42 PM: 1) What did the bottom of the order have for breakfast? 2) Where can I get it?

7.45 PM: Now nine games in a row with an extra base hit for Damon.

7.49 PM: This inning for the Yanks: two doubles, two triples, one HR. No walks or singles...but there's still an out to go. 4-1 Yanks.

7.59 PM: There's the single. The Yanks have hit for the cycle in the 2nd. Richmond is knocked out in the second. 5-1 Yanks.

8.10 PM: Ramiro Peña: Mexicans can jump! (Peña is from Monterrey, Mexico)

8.14 PM: The 1-2-3 inning was exactly what Andy needed.

8.17 PM: Yanks went quickly and quietly there, but hey, they have a 5-1 lead so it's not a huge deal.

8.30 PM: Cervelli with a cannon picks off Marco Scutaro at second and it's still 5-1 after three.

8.42 PM: Yanks get a run there with a little small ball help--double, ground out to move the runner and sac fly. 6-1 and they'll take it.

8.56 PM: Pettitte worked into and out of trouble there. 6-2 Yanks at the end of four. With Coke unavailable, scoring a few more runs for the Yanks is not really a bad idea.

9.04 PM: Grit Gardner now has a HR and a triple. 7-2 Yanks.

9.11 PM: Canó on down in the line up have five of the Yanks' 8 RBI. Gardner has three of them.

9.33 PM: Hasn't always been easy, but Pettitte's made it through six giving up less than three runs = quality start. Now the question, do you send him back out for the 7th or trust Veras/Edwar/Albaladejo/Tomko with a six run lead? (You probably don't use Aceves here...)

9.44 PM: Okay, so I know absolutely nothing about baseball. Aceves on to pitch.

9.48 PM: And unlike those other guys, Aceves gets outs!

10.18 PM: It is an 8-2 game. The last person in the bullpen that should be up right now is Mariano Rivera.