"You Can't Predict Baseball"

A week ago, would you have believed me if I told you that on a trip to Seattle and Oakland, the Yankees would go 5-2, losing games started by Joba Chamberlain and AJ Burnett (to guys named Fister and, uh, Tomko) but winning games started by Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre?

Crazy, huh?

This is the beauty of baseball--more than perhaps any other sport, the unexpected can and does occur.

And, of course, this is exactly what happened.

The West Coast Swing has long been a dread of Yankee fans--and no eastern time zone fan enjoys that the Yankees will return yet again in late September--but this time the Yankees did quite all right out there.

Once again, the Yankees won their games in a variety of ways, blowouts and one-run games, and with the exception of Seattle's one clunker, the pitching kept pitching like it belonged on a playoff team.


That said, there are a couple of concerns:

Alfredo Aceves cannot possibly be healthy. I refuse to believe it. His number since his spot start in Minnesota have not been Ace-like.

Phil Hughes isn't pitching very often. I'm not sure why. I want to trust that the Yankees know what they are doing, but if the long term goal is for him to be a starter, it would be nice to have more than, say, 6.2 innings in the entire month of August.

Alex Rodriguez has kinda sorta stopped doing that home run thing. It's a good thing his average is on the rise, but I think we'd notice his relative power outage a bit more if it wasn't for the amazing seasons Jeter, Damon, Teixeira and Canó are having.

Jorge Posada looks like he could benefit from a week off at the plate. Of course, every time I say that he goes and rips an RBI double so what do I know...



These are all minor concerns; things to think about not necessarily as something wrong, but something to cause you to keep your eyes open.

At any rate, the Yankees are more than 30 games over .500. Life is good.

Sign of the Times

Jason Giambi was released today and John Smoltz DFA'd.

Giambi was batting .193 and had an OBP in the .330s. Smoltz, well, we know what he did last night.

At one point in time both were among the elite; Smoltz is widely still considered a first-ballot Hall of Fame candidate while Giambi has had some not-so-great moments with PEDs and golden thongs, but he did spend seven seasons in pinstripes, attempting to fill the shoes of the now-legendary clutch Tino Martinez.

More and more of the stars from the late 90s and 00s are nearing the end.

Sad, sure, but in their wake we get to see guys like Mark Teixeira and Jair Jurrjens.

So, as Dr. Seuss would say, don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

Jorge Posada Must Not Like Pie (Postgame Notes 25 July 2009)

No baseball team can win every single game it plays, and it's even harder when the line-up the manager posts can best be described as the "C" line-up--but don't blame the Yankees for trying.

In a game in which the Yankees did not get their first hit until the fifth inning (and a bunt single, at that), they still found a way to bring the winning run to the plate with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Had Jorge Posada merely struck out, instead of grounding into the double play, the Yankees might still be playing in extra innings right now.

Since we can't alter the past, however, it's no use playing the what-if game. Here is what is:

Andy Pettitte was phenomenal in the first six innings, and whether we like it or not, earned himself the ability to try to get out of the seventh inning. Alas, he could not, and so Joe Girardi called on the next-most-prudent thing to do in bringing in Alfredo Aceves.

Aceves has been so good for the Yankees for so much of this season, that one might forgive a Yankee fan his or her shock when faced with Aceves', well, clunker this afternoon. Pettitte will be tagged for the loss, but Aceves' total inability to get that final out is really what cost the team the game.


Much will be made of the offense's inability to do anything against Oakland's starter Gio Gonzalez, but, as always, it all comes back to the pitching. Had the Yankees found some way to get out of that seventh inning, that 1-0 lead holds for just that much longer...


At day's end, however, the Yankees are still in first. One loss can change everything, but it shouldn't.

It's up to the Yankees to start a new streak tomorrow.

Baseball From the Bleachers

This is not the first time I've sat in the bleachers, but the last time I did, it was sunny and the entire stadium--the old stadium--was packed.

Tonight is different.

It's been raining all day, sometimes quite hard, and no one has any idea if the game will be played at all, never mind what time the game starts.

The Stadium is more empty tan full; those that have made it here are those for whom the game is everything--the real, true, hardcore fans.

There's something different about the bleachers.

Instead of the idea that each individual experience is important, the bleachers are about the experience as a community. Before you know it, you are high-fiving people you've never met before, engaging in chants and taunts that you would probably never consider on your own.

The most creative of the night?

In the late innings, long after the fans have made the rain delay pass via imbibing whatever was available, someone notices a fan wearing a Mets jersey sitting in the right field bleachers.

The normal chant is, of course, "ass-hole, ass-hole", but on this occasion my friend Brent gets an idea.

"Lu-is Cas-ti-llo", he starts.

The rest of us join in, poking fun at the Mets' second baseman whose dropped pop-up cost the Mets a game against the Yankees this season.

At some points in time, you almost forget what is happening at all during the game, though the game itself tonight was a good one.

CC Sabathia didn't have his best stuff, but he still gave the Yankees seven innings of work.

The Yankee offense wasn't stellar, but again did enough to build a lead, add some insurance runs, and thus give Sabathia and the bullpen (today taking the sole form of Phil Hughes) some extra breathing room--which they did not need.

All told, it was the seventh straight win for the Yankees, important as it were as it came after a long rain delay, did not burn the bullpen and increased the Yankees lead over both the Red Sox and the Rays.

The Redemption of Jose Veras (Postgame notes 22 April 2009)

A few observations from today's game before I get back to work:

• Today's game can be divided in two halves: in the first seven innings neither team pitched. In the second seven, neither team hit.

• They vote on the player of the game back in the eighth inning, but the real player of the game, José Veras, didn't even show up until the eleventh.

• Yankee Stadium is still playing like a bandbox, thought the home runs don't seem to be flying quite as much through the heavier air, but there were still five home runs in today's game (Suzuki, Matsui, Jeter and two from Cabrera)

• The immediate reaction after Melky's game winning home run? "Why the heck didn't you do that in the seventh inning when the bases were chucked?
  

• A loss today would have realy lingered going into the off day, and in 2008 it's the type of game the Yankees seemed to lose a lot. This year, however, this team keeps showing fight. It's encouraging. The team is now three games over .500 and only a game back of the Jays in the loss column. The standings right now don't really matter, but it's been a while since the Yankees have seen first place.

Sweeping Second Half Start (Postgame Notes 20 July 2008)

If there's any way for the Yankees to start the second half of the season, a three-game sweep of Oakland is certainly up there.

Today's game wasn't the everything-firing-on-all-cylinders win of Friday or the win-in-spite-of-the-offense victory of yesterday, but instead a win because Andy Pettitte simply outpitched Justin Duchscherer.

Andy Pettitte has been known as a second half pitcher, and today he had one of his best starts all season. He went eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out eight without walking a batter. He threw nine pitch innings in both the first and second inning, and finished with 114 pitches.

Mariano Rivera was more like himself in the ninth today, though there was an awkward play involved. With one on and one out, a fly ball was hit to Bobby Abreu, who caught the ball, and then dropped it before the out was called. Abreu overthrew it to Derek Jeter at second, but Alex Rodriguez who was probably in the wrong place at the right time, recovered and threw to Jeter for the force out.

Jose Molina once again proved himself to be one of Brian Cashman's best moves last season, calling a great game and then throwing out Rajai Davis at second to end the game.

Molina doesn't just have a cannon for an arm; he's throwing runners out at such a pace--almost 50%--that makes you forget that the league average for caught stealing is much less than that.

The Yankee offense was not great today, but that was more a product of Justin Duchscherer's pitching than anything else. Where the Yankees needed runs, they got them--and may have had more than two if Alex Rodriguez had not been thrown out at home after the first.

Jason Giambi won't admit it, but with stats like 6-8, four home runs and two doubles, he owns Duchscherer.

Office Correspondance (Postgame Notes

Memo

To: Yankees
From: Baseball G-ds
Re: Mariano Rivera

Of six runs allowed this inning, five have come in tie games. You may want to consider this before putting him in tie game situations in the future.


Memo

To: Yankees
From: Baseball G-ds
Re: Offense

Look, we can only help so much. If Robinson Canò and Brett Gardner are going to have good days, the least you can do is make sure the rest of the line up, including the "big names" like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi, actually hit with runners in scoring position.

Seriously, we really do want to help. We understand that this is the last year of Yankee Stadium, so it would be criminal not to play baseball here in October, but we can only do so much. If it's on us for allowing free will, it's on us, but really, we help those who help themselves.

And dude, falling down while trying to steal second with no outs in the ninth? Not a great idea.


PS: By the way, someone's going to want to take Jose Molina out to dinner tonight.


Memo
To: Baseball G-ds
From: the New York Yankees
Re: Correspondance

Duly noted.


Memo
To: Yankees
From: Baseball G-ds
Re: Told ya so!

See what happens when you listen to us? Also, we would like to congratulate Robinson Canò on his best game of the season, and the pitching staff for their 18 strike outs on the day--eight from Joba Chamberlain alone.

Chien Up (Postgame Notes 10 June 2008)

What struggles for Chien Ming Wang?

Tonight, Wang looked every bit the ace that he is supposed to be for the Yankees. It was a vintage Wang performance, with a working sinker and four double plays in 7.1 innings, the last one coming while Oakland had the bases loaded with only one out.

Wang tonight looked as though he had never had a bad stretch or even a bad game; the Yankees staked him to a 2-0 lead in the first, and he never relinquished it. Even though the first seven lead-off men were able to reach base, Wang did not run into an inning with more than one man on base at a time until the seventh inning. In some sense, it seems fitting that Joe Girardi pulled him after retiring the lead off man in the eighth.

Wang threw only 83 pitches all game, which makes Girardi's move to Veras in the 8th inning questionable, though one can argue either side of the issue.

Mariano Rivera found himself pitching for the fourth game in a row, and outside of a hit to Carlos Gonzalez, he looked as though he was pitching on five days' rest.

The Yankee offense showed some vestiges of the offense that lead the league last year with a plethora of walks, but outside of the first inning, they were unable to drive in any of the runs--Melky's home run in the top of the ninth came with no one on base.

Still, the Yankees were able to score enough to win the game plus one, which was more than enough for Wang.

One pressing issue, though, has to be the bottom of the Yankees' line up--after Jason Giambi, the Yankees had Wilson Betemit, Robinson Canò and Melky Cabrera--the first two of whom played (offensively, at least) as though they were automatic outs. While Betemit is not expected to be a great offensive star, Canò is, and the longer Canò's struggles continue, the more worried the Yankees have to be. When Canò is hitting, the entire complexion of the line up changes.

Still, the Yankees are back to over .500 and in a three-way tie for third in the division (okay, so technically they're tied for last, but that's not the point).

****
I understand that West Coasters need their evening games as much as us East Coasters, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy the ten pm start time. At least it happens a maximum of what, nine times a season?

Two-Way Street

The Yankees have traded Brett Gardner, who many believe will make a significant impact, if not in 2008 then in 2009, and prospects Austin Jackson and Dellin Betances to the Oakland Athletics for relief pitcher Huston Street and outfield prospect Ryan Sweeney.


Source

Now, I know that the rain out addles neurons, but I can't quite see the benefit of this trade. I mean, for Oakland it's easy enough when your outfield is Mark Kotsay, Chris Denorfia and Jack Cust and you have some starting pitching questions, but that's like Billy Beane, fleecing the farm system. I mean, I've heard nothing but good about AJax and Betances, and if you look at Sweeney's career numbers, we don't seem to be getting too much in return.

I'm generally a Cashman fan, but this one has me baffled.

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #3

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up Today: The Oakland Athletics





The Oakland Athletics of 2007 were the victims of bad luck. Really bad luck. If there was a poster team for "ravaged by injuries", the A's would easily fit the description.

Even now, just looking at a team depth chart, there are a lot of first aid crosses: Chavez, Brown, Sweeney, Harden, Duscherer and Gaudin.

The A's did lose Dan Haren in the off-season, but when your GM is Billy Beane, you're generally going to get something good in return, and the A's...well, they seem to have gotten the entirety of Arizona's farm system: Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland , Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez. (Thank you ESPN!)

I'm not going to pretend I know anything about these prospects, because, well, I don't, but for the 2008 season, losing Haren who was the starting pitcher in the 07 All-Star Game for the NL, is a blow to the starting rotation, at least in the early goings of the season. Anderson, Eveland and Smith are all starters, but it is still too early to see how they will come out--though Smith pitched well in his most recent outing and Eveland surrendered one run on four hits in two.

As for the line-up, well, the A's did score 23 runs in their exhibition game versus San Fransisco, but a)Barry Zito was pitching, and b)Bonds isn't on the Giants any more.


Anyway.

The big key for the A's in 2008 is simply to stay healthy. I know I said that about the Angels the other day, but with the A's, it really resonates. If they stay healthy, while it's far from the team that won the AL pennant in 06, they can be a contender in the AL West. Injuries, however, and you're looking at a likely repeat of last season. Unfortunately for them, the injuries have already struck.


Threat to the Yankees: Yellow, Exercise Caution.

Right now, it seems very unlikely that the A's would be able to post a better record than Seattle or Anaheim for the division and maybe even more unlikely that they'd post a better record than Detroit, Cleveland, Boston or New York for the Wild Card.

However, the Yankees do still have to play them during the course of the regular season, and trips out west never tend to be a lot of fun.

Trivia tidbit: Our first win in 1998 came in Oakland.



*****


I will not be able to catch today's game. I will try to post notes when I get back later in the afternoon, but I don't know what time that will be, so for that I do apologize. Mike Mussina is scheduled to start.