Yanks Beat Beckett (Postgame Notes 23 August 2009)

The Yankees' just-finished 10 game road trip was their longest of the season--and they responded by going 7-3.

Think about that for a moment.

That's the type of road trip that separates the contenders from the pretenders.

The Yankees, going into the series against Boston had only one thing they needed to do, and that was to not get swept. They accomplished that the first night, but tonight they won the series as well.

It's not very often a baseball team will get five home runs off of Josh Beckett (Matsui had two--all four of his hits on the road trip were home runs), but that is what happened tonight.

Funny game, that baseball.

The Yankees couldn't buy a run off of Junichi Tazawa yesterday, but scored in each of the first five innings today.

Some observations:

• Derek Jeter hit .500 on the road trip. Let me repeat. Derek Jeter hit .500 on the road trip. There's being good, there's going on a hot streak, and then there's that.

• The Yankees --okay, Robinson Canó--was doing his best Luis Castillo impression in the field today. He mitigated it a bit with one of five Yankee home runs, and I wouldn't get too concerned--one poor defensive game does not a season make.

• Sabathia wasn't unhittable, but he was what the Yankees needed, and the bullpen was (as it usually is in a win) excellent.

• It's going to be an odd series with the Rangers--the Yankees want to win, of course, but us fans have been rooting for the Rangers to win the Wild Card. Guess we will see who are true Yankee fans and who are just Red Sox haters...

• Nick Swisher had his consecutive-game-reached-based streak snapped, but this only underscores how great he's been this season--especially on the road.
  

October in August (Postgame Notes 7-8 August 2009)

So this is what October feels like, eh?


For a baseball purist, or any fan of pitching, tonight was manna sent from heaven.

If anyone told you that today's game wasn't a big game, they'd be lying--while it may not have been as big (at least for the Yankees) as last night's was, it was still big. Win, and the Yankees assure themselves of at least a series split and now Boston cannot, no matter what, come out of this having gained any ground on the Yankees.

Furthermore, tonight was a chance for AJ Burnett to prove that the Yankees didn't make a mistake in signing him to pitch a big game, though his two previous starts in Boston would have seemed to indicate otherwise. He had a real chance to deliver tonight.

And deliver, Allan James Burnett, did.

Holding Boston to just one hit--the first batter of the game on a play that probably should have been made--Burnett went 7.2 innings, which has a further benefit in that since Phil Hughes only pitched to one batter, he can probably pitch tomorrow.

The problem was, as well as Burnett pitched, Josh Beckett matched him step-for-step.

And so they dueled.

That the game became a battle of the bullpens should be no surprise to fans of either team, but the caliber of the relief pitching on both sides was mostly extrodnary.

The Red Sox used their entire bullpen; the Yankees five men, and it came down to a rookie making his major league debut only since Terry Francona had no other options, to break the scoreless tie.

Otherwise, tonight's game may have gone on forever.

There's thus nothing really to say about the offense--both teams had chances and couldn't capitalize, but it has more to do with the quality of the pitching than anything else.

So, you there Yankee fan, take it and enjoy it.

This is what October feels like--the atmosphere, the quality of play, the unfathomable-ness of a loss.

It's been a while, now, since there was October baseball in the Bronx, but the way these Yankees are playing, they may well be unstoppable.

Joba On the Spot (Postgame Notes 25 July 2008)

While you were busy dissecting one of the biggest trades the Yankees have made in the past three years, you may have missed one of the most dramatic and well-pitched Yankee wins this season.

Oh, and it happened to bring the Yankees to within one game of the Red Sox, as well.

Joba Chamberlain pitched an absolute gem.

Seven innings, three hits, one walk, no runs and nine strike outs.

Any question as to whether or not he belongs in the rotation was moot before tonight's game; now the question of whether or not he can pitch against the game's best starters has been answered with a resounding yes.

Joba didn't just keep pace with Beckett; he out pitched him. He got some great defense in the second inning from Melky Cabrera and Robinson Canò, but for most of the game he simply shut the Boston line up down.

Josh Beckett wasn't bad either--he beared down when the Yankees got runners on base, and the only run scored in the game was scored because the Sox had been playing the shift on Jason Giambi.

Joba Chamberlain was just better.

Kyle Farnsworth didn't have a bad inning so much as he got unlucky. Bobby Abreu played too deep on Lowrie and Lowrie singled, and then made the mistake off trying to field a nubber that would have gone foul off of Cocoa Crisp.

Mariano was, simply, Mariano.

There isn't much to comment about offensively--the Yankees didn't hit with runners in scoring position (1 for 9), but that was more a reflection of Josh Beckett pitching than the Yankee offense.

If the Yankees do a similar thing tomorrow against Wakefield, then there should be some concern.

There will likely be something made of the high pitch Joba threw to Kevin Youkilis in the seventh, which hit his bat (as opposed to his head), but one has to remember that at the time the game was 1-0. The last thing Joba probably wanted to do was give Youkilis a free pass on the bases.

While winning one game doesn't mean that the Yankees will win the series, it is the best way to start.

More to come on the Nady/Marte trade, stay tuned.

Pregame Notes 17 April 2008

So first things first, I apologize for not being around last night--writing two papers in one day will do that to you.

Anyway.


The Yankees are going for the (short) two-game sweep of the Red Sox and their home stand, but, to do so, Mike Mussina will have to beat Josh Beckett (this matchup seems strangely familiar...)

Last time out, Mussina didn't pitch too poorly; Beckett simply pitched better. Tonight will bring undoubtedly better weather conditions, and the Yankees' bats are riding a hot streak.

Giambi had his first non-HR, non-off-of-Mike-Timlin hits last night, and every Yankee reached base and scored a run. Ohlendorf, Hawnkins and Bruney all pitched last night, which theoretically means that in a close eighth inning, Kyle Farnsworth is probably your man.

Check back later.