Meanwhile, the other Jeter gets a heart transplant

This from today's Daily News:

Named after his dad's favorite player, 16-month-old Jeter Villacis is recovering from a delicate, lifesaving heart transplant at Montefiore Medical Center last week.

...

Little Jeter underwent the nine-hour surgery Friday afternoon, just a few miles away from Yankee Stadium

...

While Weinstein was operating, the Bronx Bombers took Game 2 of their playoff series against the Minnesota Twins in a dramatic, come-from-behind victory.

(Bold my emphasis, Click the above link for the full article)


The Yankees, of course, are no strangers to mixing kids, miracles and baseball.

The most famous might be when Babe Ruth visited a sick kid, promised to hit a home run, and then does so, but there have been others.

There have been some more recent karma-boosting examples, however.

Like when Matsui was a representative of a program aimed at"fostering international exchange between American and Japanese children. " The kids asked Matsui to hit one home run; he hit two the next day.

Then, just this season, Brett Gardner visited a girl waiting for a heart transplant, didn't promise any home runs (he's Brett Gardner) and then proceeded to hit an inside-the-park home run, anyway.


Also this season, the Yankees had their "HOPE Week", where the most memorable event may have been when the team hosted a group of kids with a rare disorder, XP, that makes them allergic to the sun. As you probably remember, the kids stayed all night, as did various Yankees, such as AJ Burnett, having a carnival on the field.

What you might also remember is that the Yankees did not lose a single game during the entirety of HOPE Week.

Karma or coincidence, take your pick.


Now, all young master Villacis needs is a visit from his namesake, and, well...



Oh, and watch this video. It's full of awesome.

Ghosts? What ghosts?

The common refrain going around the Yankee fan base right now is that while nothing is guaranteed, and that the Yankees are not guaranteed to win their series against the Twins, there is a different feel around this year's squad than there has been in many years. This team is likable, fun to root for and really, really damned good.

So nevermind CC Sabathia's less than stellar postseason ERA or Alex Rodriguez's absence of a decent postseason since the ALCS of 2004.

This is a team where expectations are not just high for the free agents signees who make more in a year than some entire countries, but for those who have played only for the Yankees and those who came to the Yankees in unheralded trades. The team won 103 games in the regular season, and one or two players can't win 103 games all on their own. Though, God knows Albert Pujols tried.


As with any beginning, there are opening ceremonies of a sort. With the ALDS it's nothing too spectacular--full line ups and guys in uniform, but it's somewhat muted. It's good to be here, but there's still a while to go before the grand prize.



When the players are introduced, some receive particularly loud accolades--like Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter--while others receive, well, lots of non-accolades. Like Carl Pavano.



Because of the odd start time, the Stadium was still fairly empty as the lineups were being announced.



By the time the first pitch was thrown, however, almost every seat was filled.

The National Anthem always seems to add a sense of "this is it, this is what we live for."





As the Yankees take the field, there is a rush of excitement. As stated earlier, if you're a fan at that Stadium at that time, you're either way amped up, or you're dead.



With no other game going on at the present moment, the scoreboard instead displays the line up of both teams, highlighting the next batter to come to bat.



The blazing lights against the sunset make for an auspicious early game atmosphere.



The Twins took an early 2-0 lead that could have never have been: had a close pitch been called a strike three, CC Sabathia would have gotten out of the inning. Instead, a couple hits and a passed ball, and the Twins had a 2-0 lead.

That lead was, however, short lived.

Reason A: Derek Jeter



Jeter has done a lot of great things in his career and is something of an immortal among Yankee fans. Hitting a left field home run to tie a game? Awesome. And in the postseason? Well, there's only one Derek Jeter.



Hit a home run like that, then hear the entire Stadium erupt in chants of M-V-P! M-V-P! (Yes, we know it's going to Mauer. No, we don't care.)


Meanwhile, Sabathia must have been somewhat mindful of his rapidly escalating pitch count: he settled down and started to deal.



Despite having over 70 pitches after the fourth inning, Sabathia pitched into the seventh inning and did not walk a single batter.

The Twins were the first to go to their bullpen--by this time the Yankees had already taken the lead.



Who did the Twins call upon?



I swear I'm not making this up.

Not too long afterwards, Hideki Matsui hit a home run--the type that screams HEY YAY INSURANCE RUNS! My friend Brent summed up our reactions pretty well.





With two outs in the seventh inning and the Yankees with a four run lead, Joe Girardi did the prudent thing and went to the bullpen before Sabathia's pitch count approached abusive levels. He left to a raucous ovation.



In came Young Master Hughes.



There was a massive Orlando Cabrera at bat just to end the seventh inning, but Hughes got the job done, and instead of having to face Joe Mauer with the bases loaded, Joe Mauer came up in the 8th with no one on.

This is the only game I've ever been to where I've actually heard people sing "God Bless America".



It was a stirring rendition courtesy of the NY Pops



This is just a really awesome late-game shot:




Out went Phil Hughes, and in came Joba Chamberlain. Phil Coke also made an appearance and had the best possible appearance for a reliever: one pitch, one out. It was nearly a double play, but Mauer was just a shade too nimble for Teixeira.




With a five run lead--and here it should be noted that two of these runs, yes two are the direct responsibility of Alex Rodriguez, something you haven't seen in an October write up for a while--it perhaps seems strange that the Yankees bring in their closer, but this is October. You don't take chances.

Enter Sandman. Exit Twins.










Magic number, that real magic number that all Yankee fans really care about, is now down to ten.

And we'll see you Friday night!

Should the Yankees bring Matsui back?

Throughout this season, we've been hearing one mantra: of their aging outfielders, the Yankees should only bring Johnny Damon back, if, in fact, they choose to retain either. Damon can still play in the field and run a bit on the bases, and his swing is perfect for the new Yankee Stadium. Hideki Matsui couldn't even play the field during interleague play when the Yankees had no DH for nine straight games, and periodically needs time off to get his knees drained.

The problem, however, is that when Hideki Matsui has been in the line up, he has mashed.

Despite an abysmally slow start, Matsui has an OPS of nearly 1.000 against LHP, and it should not go without comment here that Matsui is a left-handed batter.

He's not too shabby against right-handed pitching, either.

Last night, Matsui's two run bomb tied the game for the Yankees in the eighth inning. It's nothing new for Godzilla--but rather the type of thing he's done all year for the Yankees: coming up with the big hit at the right time and the right place. Let's not forget that previous west coast swing where Matsui hit two home runs in the same game against the Mariners and then did the same again against the Red Sox.

It's easy to say that the Yankees should let Matsui go, that they need to get younger, but when you look at what Matsui has done for the team this season, one must ask whether or not questions of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.

No one is arguing that the Yankees should offer a five year deal to Matsui, here, but can there be that much harm in a one-year deal?

Yes, it's true Posada will likely need more time at DH and that the Yankees will end up short a fielder in the outfield (unless you count Hairston or Peña who can play both IF and OF), but the benefit of Matsui's bat is tangible.

It's quite a quandry the Yankees will have--though they might find themselves aided by a thin free agent market and the knowledge that those that are available, like Bay and Holliday, won't come cheap.

At this point, I'm all for bringing back Matsui for a year.

He's done his job to convince me.

****

Reminder: Live chat on the blog at 8 PM! Be there!

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.
  

Super Smash Party (Postgame Notes 21 August 2009)

Everyone on the Yankees tonight except for Johnny Damon and Robinson Canó had multi-hit games tonight--and Johnny Damon left in the first inning after getting hit by a pitch.

If, uh, you can remember that far back.

Every one on the Yankees who started except for Johnny Damon had an RBI--and even Damon's replacement, Eric Hinske got in on the act.

Hideki Matsui had seven of them himself.

So forget the fact that Andy Pettitte, Brian Bruney and Sergio Mitre more or less crapped the bed pitching wise--tonight was a night for the offense.

The Yankees came to Boston with only the requirement that they did not get swept.

They didn't.

Life, for Yankee fans, is pretty good.

Start Counting

The number 42 has auspicious significance for Yankee fans of this generation.

Thus, many have chosen tonight to utter, for the very first time since 2007 (well, 2006, really), the term "magic number".

It stands at 42 with 47 games to play.

For the unfamiliar, any combination now of Yankee wins and/or Red Sox losses equaling 42 will give the Yankees the American League East.


It's August 14th. A lot can happen between now and October 1st.

Yet, as we saw CC Sabathia dominate the Mariners and an A-Rod-less offense go beserk (thank you, Hideki Matsui, 2 HR 5 RBI night), it's hard not to think that good things are in store.

Just keep playing, Yankees. Use the clock. Take games off the schedule.

Win.

A Moment in the 2009 Season (postgame notes 11 August 2009)

If the 2009 Yankee season were a book and you opened to a random page, tonight's game is what you'd find.

Joba Chamberlain cruising through some innings and nibbling in others.

A stellar bullpen taking over in the middle innings and not letting Toronto add to a 5-4 lead.

A rally in the late innings to secure a come-from-behind win, with some help from the short porch in right field and back to back jacks from Matsui and Posada.

A win.

That's the entirety of the game in a nutshell. Sure, there are concerns: Joba's nibbling and the fact that it took the Yankee offense from the second to the eighth to be able to score one more run off of a not-very-good Toronto ball club, for instances.

Still, as is more often than not the case this season, the ultimate result was a win.

Oh, and while there's still some time left--today is Melky Cabrera's 25th birthday. Cabrera has blossomed this year as a hitter, taking more pitches and hitting for more power. He had two RBI on the night.

What's Another Walk Off? (Postgame Notes 20 July 2009)

Walk off hits for the Yankees this season:

Melky Cabrera (3)
Alex Rodriguez (1)
Jorge Posada (2)
Johnny Damon (1)
Luis Castillo (1)
Hideki Matsui (1)

Nine walk off wins this season and we're in the middle of July.

All of last season, the Yankees had nine walk-off wins.

There's something in the air this season. There's got to be. The Yankees are 16-5 in their last 21 games.

In the past four games the Yankees have scored only 11 runs--and this at the New Yankee Stadium in the middle of summer.

The Yankees are also 4-0 in that time, which includes a sweep of the first-place Tigers. Some decent pitching--starting and bullpen, indeed, and Sergio Mitre can worry about being Sergio Mitre and not any sort of stopper.


Sure the Yankees have issues, like that Chien Ming Wang felt pain in his shoulder while playing catch today and is now shut down until Friday, but walk off wins--not including ones won on pop-ups--have a way of making those worries disappear.

At least, that is, until the next game.


At any rate, the last time the Yankees were this many games above .500 was the last day of the 2007 season.

It's good to be there again.

Breaking Down the Yankees for the Second Half--The Lineup, Part 2

[So the All Star Game is officially over--and we can thus consider ourselves in the second half.

This is where it gets fun.

All of those days players got rested in the first half? Well, now they have to play. Now the pennant races start to heat up, and every move a team makes, be it a trade, a free agent signing or simply bringing someone up from AAA has even more added meaning.

What do we expect from the Yankees?

I'm going to do a series of posts addressing this, because there's so much to say that having it all in one post would a) kill your eyes and mine, and b) give me carpal tunnel at the age of 23.]

Next up we have the second part of the lineup.

To see general thoughts on the lineup, see the previous post.

The Lineup, Part 2

Hideki Matsui

Matsui's season started horribly. He looked, quite simply, done--was as close to an automatic out as the Yankees had in their line up.

Then, he got his knees drained and got hot, and reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

He cooled off again after that, but now, in July, perhaps his favorite month of the year, Matsui again has gotten hot and seems to have benefited immensely from the nine straight games in NL parks (noticeably the only Yankee to do so).

Where Matsui hurts the Yankees is in his inability to play the field. The Yankees were able to plod through the interleague part of their schedule without totally imploding (though 2-4 against the Marlins and Nationals is frankly embarrassing), but the real danger is if Damon or Swisher gets hurt. Gardner and Cabrera can cover two positions at a time and Eric Hinske, while still a smart pick up, is not an every day player.

What the Yankees need from Matsui is for him to keep hitting well, continuing to provide protection for Posada (who protects A-Rod who protects Teixeira), and they thus also need to keep him healthy by resting him every once in a while. Fortunately, Girardi does not seem to have problems resting Matsui, so I can't see it becoming an issue the way Chamberlain and Canó in the five hole are issues.

In the words of Dora the fish, "just keep swinging, just keep swinging".


The Curious Case of Robinson Canó

Normally guys that hit .308/.341/.490 are in the running for team MVP consideration. Normally everyone oohs and ahs about their spectacular season and they at least make appearances in columns about All Star snubs.

Normally, guys that hit with that line have more than 46 RBI at the break. Especially when they've spent half the season batting fifth.

I'm not sure anyone has a decent explanation for Canó, but to some him up, it's this: when there's no one on base, Canó is a killer at the plate. Dangerous. One of the best hitters in the game. If there's someone on base, Canó's effectiveness goes down--and it's almost directly proportional: more runners on base, more outs, the less likely Canó is to come through.

At this point, it'd be comical if we didn't care so much.

Moving Canó down in the lineup has seem to have helped--and here Joe Girardi is taking a leaf out of Joe Torre's book. Torre is batting LAD center fielder Matt Kemp 8th--even though Kemp is a better hitter than that--because Kemp is batting .528/.576/.774 in that spot (for what it's worth, his numbers hitting ninth are even sicker). If Canó is a better hitter 7th than 5th, then regardless of what Canó could potentially do, that is where he should stay.

In the second half, all eyes will be on what Canó does with men on base. Eventually, he has to be able to hit in that circumstance--or he'll end up the trade bait that he was last winter, when everyone was worried the Yankees would sell low. The potential for Canó to be great is still there--bad hitters don't have .300 seasons--and it's certainly an improvement on last year, but Yankees and their fans still expect so much more.


Nick Swisher

At one point in time, Swisher did not just lead the Yankees in nearly every offensive category; he also led the Yankees in ERA.

Although Swisher's probably not his best as an everyday player, his value to the Yankees comes in having been able to keep steady in right field after Xavier Nady's season-ending injury, and, of course, the untold value of his clubhouse antics.

Swisher has done for the Yankees what many have expected--low average, lots of walks, some power--and has done it all with smile on his face. The fans love it, although they don't, so much, love the bloopers defensively and on the basepath or the low numbers with runners in scoring position.

Brian Cashman, Girardi and Swisher had a closed door meeting a few weeks ago, but the subject of that meeting was never revealed.

Now, with the addition of Eric Hinske, Swisher likely won't be starting every day--and this will ultimately benefit both Swisher and the Yankees. They would like him to get hot again, though it'd take a small miracle for him to be able to repeat April. They'd probably settle for what he did in June, however.


Melky Cabrera

Or, as I like to call him, Clutchy McClutchbrera.

Melky's hitting a solid (and for him, career best) .285/.347/.439, but where he has excelled all season is in the clutch. Nineteen of his 34 RBI --more than half his total RBI--have come in high leverage situations.

The Yankees already have eight walk off wins on the year; Clutchy McClutchbrera is directly responsible for three of them (vs. A's, Twins and Phillies).

He is adequate defensively--Gardner may be the better overall center fielder, but you'd take Cabrera over Damon and Swisher in a heartbeat--and, this season, at least, he hasn't cost the team an error by responding to "roll call" and thus not keeping his eye on the play at hand.

If Cabrera's plate discipline can improve--and it's much better than it's ever been--he becomes that much more of a weapon. Still, there's no getting past the fact that at least when Melky gets his hits, he makes them count. It's kind of like the polar opposite of Robinson Canó.


Next up will be the Yankee bench, which will include Cervelli and Peña.

Yanks' Grit it Out Against Mariners (postgame notes 30 June 2009)

Given that Mariano Rivera threw out tonight's ceremonial first pitch and that Joba Chamberlain was starting, it is perhaps not surprising that in the end it came down to the bullpen.

Joba Chamberlain started, and while he wasn't horrible in any sense of the word, he also wasn't very good, or even mildly good.

He struggled with command, and once again seemed to nibble too much, being afraid to attack the zone after going 0-2 on hitters. To be sure, the hits the Mariners had off of Joba were more of the bloop than the blast variety, but he threw too many pitches and much too many out of the strike zone.

For much of the game, the Yankee offense muddled about in a state of semi-consciousness.

The first three runs came on an error, a sac fly and a groundout--and they were 0-9 with RISP at one point.

However, as soon as the Mariners tied the game (which they did twice), the Yankees' offense would come right back, doing, once again, just enough to make sure the team wins. The offense did look best in the bottom of the 8th inning.



The story line about this game, however, will center around the 8th inning.

In the seventh, Joe Girardi had gone to Phil Hughes to pitch, and Hughes set the Mariners' down, in order, on nine pitches.

As many have opined, there was no real reason to take Hughes out of a game, especially since he needs his innings.

Still, Girardi played, once again, by the book and brought in his presumed 8th inning guy, Brian Bruney.

As has been the case since Bruney came off of the disabled list, he struggled and, in this case blew the 5-3 lead.

The question of what should have been done will, no doubt, fill the non-Mets-related talk on WFAN tomorrow; and opinions will probably be very varied.

Me? I would have stuck with Hughes, not because of a lack of faith in Bruney, but because Hughes has been so dominant and because Hughes could use the work. You might entirely disagree.


Ultimately, the Yankees got the win on a night Boston lost (check out those highlights if you can. Seriously.), and all is well.

This One's For the 'Pen: Yankees win 9th in a row despite injury to Joba (Postgame Notes 21 May 2009)

Even when things go wrong for the Yankees now-a-days, they're going right.

Leaving the game in the first with an injury, Joba Chamberlain being hurt could have been the ultimate blow that quashed the Yanks' winning streak.

It wasn't.

Instead of giving in, the Yankees offense took advantage of an ineffective Adam Eaton, scoring seven runs early and not looking back.

The bullpen fashioned three solid innings from Alfredo Aceves, two and a third bend-but-don't-break innings from Jonathan Albaladejo, one and two thirds pretty-darn-good-considering innings from José Veras, and one good ole' fashioned inning from Mariano Rivera and won their ninth in a row.

Just think, even as recently as two weeks ago, the idea of the bullpen having to pitch 8.1 innings would have sent the Yankees' universe into a tailspin.

Even the lingering specter--that of Joba's injury--was alleviated with the announcement that x-rays were negative and Joba had a bruised knee.

Now, there's no saying whether or not the knee's going to swell much or otherwise make life miserable, but it's not broken and the injury is not to a shoulder or an elbow. All things considered, it's the best possible outcome for such an injury.

The Yankees, on the strength of three straight doubles in the first and home runs from Robinson Canó, who excelled out of the two-spot tonight, and Hideki Matsui, swept the Orioles.

This may seem unremarkable, but then when one remembers that the Yankees may have missed out on the playoffs last year due to their inability to beat cellar-dwelling teams, this is a refreshing sight.

At the very least, even if Philadelphia comes in and sweeps the Yankees (which, obviously, I hope does not happen), the Yankees will still have gone 7-3 on a 10 game home stand.

They have not one nine in a row since 2007; AJ Burnett and co. have a chance to make it ten in a row tomorrow.

***

I'm headed to the game tomorrow evening. Section 118, row 28. If you're going, stop by and say hi.

Yankees at Blue Jays, 14 May 2009: A Liveblog

3.57 PM: Just a heads up, I got plans this weekend (surprising, I know), and won't be able to cover any games live. I'll do my best to make sure I get a couple posts up, but I will be back Monday, no sweat.

3.58 PM: Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui are both back in today's line up. Melky Cabrera is sitting in favor of Brett Gardner; one assumes this is to reward Gardner's performance last night and nothing else.

5.14 PM: Yanks have promoted Reegie Corona from Trenton to SWB; the Scranton team has not scored a run in four games.

5.23 PM: Great news, Yanks fans: Someone in the front office has a brain!

" According to the new rules, posted on the Yankees’ Web site, fans can watching batting practice starting three hours before the start of each home game. Fans can stay on the field level and in the bleachers until the players leave the field or 1 hour 45 minutes after the gates open. Then “all fans will be asked to return their respective seats."

NY Times Bats blog

6.29 PM: This can't be good

7.11 PM: Johnny Damon has tied Don Mattingly and Paul O'Neill with 10 consecutive games with an extra base hit with that double.

7.20 PM: One more out and three walks later, Tallet walks Swisher and forces in a run. 1-0 Yanks. Could have more here but Canó has horrible numbers with the bases loaded so we'll see.

7.24 PM: Told yah. Actually, that was an excellent call by the umpire.

7.32 PM: When it's going well, it's really going well. Damon made a great catch to end the first inning.

7.37 PM: Nothing to see there as the Yankees go down in order. Had Gardner bunted a little slower he may have been safe.

7.42 PM: I like this version of CC.

7.51 PM: A hit and nothing else in the top of the third.

8.03 PM: What is it with Robbie Canó not hitting with the bases loaded? Because he's an awesome hitter otherwise.

8.07 PM: Single and nothing else doing there. This game could be over by 9.

8.12 PM: Solo HR from Alex Rios ties the ballgame. This guy has a personal vendetta against the Yanks, or something.

8.21 PM: That was so not the inning the Yankees needed.

8.28 PM: Wheels have come off CC a little bit here. Walk and a double and now 2-1 Toronto. Yanks are still in this, of course, but they haven't hit Tallet well.

8.32 PM: Brett Gardner (yes, that Brett Gardner) just nabbed Barajas at home to keep it a 2-1 game.

8.37 PM: This is Brian Tallet. We aren't hitting him because...

8.52 PM: Jeter plays defense? Since when?

9.00 PM: Walk to Gardner and perfect hit-and-run execution. What this means is even if Jeter GIDPs here, the Yanks could (likely) still tie the game.

9.04 PM: Jeterian clutch! Gardner scores on the blooper and Yanks have first and second with no out.

9.14 PM: What's frustrating is that in another two weeks, A-Rod probably hits three 3-Run home runs based on the pitches he saw that at bat. Still, the Yanks tied the score and have six more outs to play with, provided they keep Toronto from scoring.

9.28 PM: This is what an ace does. He gets himself out of his own jams. Now the Yanks gotta go out there and score some runs.

9.33 PM: Hit-deki Matsui. Punnalicioius, I know.

9.42 PM: Hold onto your hats folks. A one-run lead heading into the 8th could be in for a wild ride.

9.48 PM: Okay, I'm trying to decide what's scarier: Veras warming or that near XBH.

9.49 PM: The Yanks held onto that 3-2 lead there by about two feet. An insurance run (or two or three) here would be oh so wonderful...

9.55 PM: You nervous?

10.02 PM: There is only one Mo Rivera.

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.

Some Pregame Notes, 17 April 2009

Some quick pregame notes, courtesy of LoHud:

David Robertson has been sent down and Juan Miranda called up.

Matsui has fluid in his knees from being on base four times yesterday and is a scratch today.

Teixeira got a cortisone shot in his wrist but should be fine for today's game.

Road Woes Continue (Postgame Notes 19 August 2008)

When things go wrong for the Yankees, it seems like everything collapses at once.

Darrell Rasner shouldn't be blamed for today's loss...until the seventh inning of the game he had actually out-pitched AJ Burnett.

As this season has gone, however, perhaps it's no surprise that a 1-0 win was too much to hope for--not that Burnett is a bad pitcher (he is excellent). However, as it is, the Yankees are now one game from fourth place.

Alex Rodriguez had made a comment about needing to produce--and then struck out three times and got thrown out on a great play trying to stretch a single into a double.

Johnny Damon, who has been slumping, was horrible in center field, directly contributing to Toronto's winning run.

Hideki Matsui made his first appearance since coming off of the disabled list.

****

I apologize for the utter lack of posts the past few days--busy moving in for grad school. However, that is now completedd and I should be back to my regularly scheduled delusional blogging.

Day and Night (Postgame Notes 27 June 08)

Day

I don't know why my karma is so bad, but I am now 0-5 at Yankees games I have been to this year. One had the sense after the Mets took a 3-1 lead that there was absolutely no way the game was going to end at that score.

It didn't.


It just didn't end in a score to the Yankees favor. It wasn't that the Yankees didn't hit...they did...but each pitcher they had was progressively worse than the one before. Dan Giese threw too many balls, Edwar was not sharp, and Ross Ohlendorf was bad enough to get himself optioned back to Scranton.

However, there were a few bright spots (and the part where I was on the DiamondVision doesn't count)...like, as shown in the picture above, when a fan came out of the right field bleachers and ran onto the field.

I'm not quite sure it was worth the getting arrested part, but it was the highlight of the first game (at least from the Yankees' point of view).


Night

What a difference a...bus ride (?)...makes!

Everything the Yankees didn't do in the first game, they did in this one.

Poor pitching with men on base in the first game?

The Yankees escaped bases loaded, less than two out jams twice in the night cap without surrendering a run.

Poor hitting in the first game?

Every Yankee starter--yes, even Sidney Ponson--contributed offensively in the second game.

Speaking of Sidney Ponson...

...The first few innings were certainly a roller coaster, but in an old Sports Illustrated article I have hanging on my wall, New Jersey Devils' goalie Martin Brodeur is quoted as saying that a roller coaster ride is okay, as long as you end on a high, and Ponson certainly ended on a high.

Six innings, five hits, no runs and four strikeouts certainly qualifies.

While he certainly can't expected to escape bases loaded situations without surrendering a run every time, Ponson has earned himself another start.


Do Not Go Gently...

The Yankees have Andy Pettitte on the mound tomorrow, against Johan Santana, without question the marquee match up of the series. He's working on a streak, of sorts.


Also of note--Hideki Matsui has been placed on the 15 day disabled list, though that is not exactly a surprise.

Wang + Joba + Mo = Win

Stat of the Day: Last year the Yankees did not get their third win in a game decided by less than three runs until July 17th.

This year, on April 6th, they have three of them.


Chien Ming Wang had an excellent start, with no-hit ball through four-and-a-third, and then kept the shutout intact until he left in the seventh.

So cue arguments about whether or not Wang is an ace, but six games into the season, he's got two wins and an ERA about 1.37. His pitching today was great, not just because of the six scoreless innings, but because of the way he did it--not just with the sinker, but with the slider as well.

Joba was Joba, and needed just eight pitches each in the seventh and eighth to get the job done, albeit with some great defensive help from Canò, and Mo was, of course, Mo.

Hideki Matsui went three=for-four, and provided the Yankees' lone offensive with a two run home run out of the five spot, where he'd been moved up as Giambi sat today's game.


However, there is a budding concern with the Yankees inability to score with runners in scoring position. In multiple innings, they had more than one on with less than two outs, and could not bring these runs around to score.

It didn't hurt us today because of the excellent pitching we got, but it eventually will. Of course, the Yankees look like they're about to break out--they're hitting the ball now, which is an important first step, of course--just have yet to hit the ball in a timely situation.


OPTIMIST TAKE: The pitching today was phenomenal, and knowing that it's Yankee pitching carrying the team through the first six games is an excellent sign. Offense might win games, but pitching will win championships. Canò was two-for-four and looks like he's about to break out of his slump. Melky Cabrera has a mini-hit-streak going. Mo already has three saves.


SCORES AND STUFFS

Braves over Mets, 3-1. Johan Santana had his first loss.

Orioles over Mariners, 3-2. Orioles scored all of their runs in the bottom of the ninth. They are now 4-1.

Reds over Phillies, 8-2.

Blue Jays over Red Sox, 7-4. Manny Delcarmen gave up a grand slam on the first pitch he threw in relief of Beckett.

Pirates lead Marlins, 9-2, in the bottom of the ninth, Royals over Twins, 3-1 in the ninth; Brewers over Giants 6-0 in the eighth; Cardinals over Nationals 2-0 in the eighth; Cubs and Astros tied at two in the seventh; Rockies over Diamondbacks 1-0 in the fourth; Angels over Rangers 1-0 in the third, Indians and Athletics and Dodgers and Padres scoreless in the first. White Sox and Tigers play at 8; Tigers are the only team still winless.

Matsui Gets Married

Hideki Matsui has gotten married.

So, of course, major congratulations to him, and, judging by the sound of things, the Yankee clubhouse is a great place to be right now.

Still, that does leave one very, very nagging, pressing question:

What about all that porn?

In other news, Reggie Jackson will throw the first pitch for Opening Day.


I had hoped to be able to live blog the game, but unless I take my laptop to class, I won't be able to tune in till about the fourth inning or so. I can always hope pregame ceremonies last a long time...


****

I've got a ton of work, so I'll do a double preview tomorrow. Maybe I'll treble it and make it an AL Central Spectacular. Probably not.

Pregame notes 12 September 2007

For Mike Mussina, tonight is do-or-die.

He's not started in over two weeks after failing miserably in his previous three; if he does not go past the fifth or sixth inning tonight, do not look for him to start another game for the Yankees this season.

It's a bit of a pity--Mussina's had, until now, an excellent career, but not much to show for it. He has nearly 250 wins, but he's never had a 20-win season, and he's never gotten a ring. He's gotten his chances at it, to be sure...


While it's a foregone conclusion that if any Yankee gets the MVP, it will be A-Rod, Posada should at least finish in the top five. Even when A-Rod had cool spots, Posada's been there--batting near .340 in September. That is SOME year.


Matsui's in a horrible slump right now, but you all know it's just going to take one really good game to get him out of it. He'll probably never admit he's slumping, but you have to remember this is a guy who apologized to his team for being injured.

Sounds like a pretty cool teammate to me.

Let's Go Yankees!

More, after the game!

Pregame Notes 09 September 07

Something interesting: If the Yankees win today and Boston loses, they will be 4.5 games out on September ninth.

In a year not too long ago, the Yanks were five out on September 10th.

Some people say the division is out of reach, but with three games left against Boston, I don't quite believe them!

The Yanks have Chien Ming Wang on the mound today, which has got to be sending good vibes through the heart of Yankeedom, though, of course, nothing is a given.

Jeter is not playing today because of the knee. While Alberto Gonzales is yet without a hit, he's shown some glove and, if need be, the Yanks can have Wilson play short late and can chose from Giambi, Mientkewiecz (sp) or Duncan for first.

A-Rod has been kind of crazy this month. I mean, when it's near the middle of the month and you have as many home runs as there have been days in the month (as there was yesterday on the eighth)? Yeah, it's pretty cool.

Matsui has had a very rough patch recently. Sore knees have probably come into play, but I wouldn't be surprised if more frequent roles at the DH also had something to do with it. I wouldn't be surprised to see Posada batting after A-Rod today, ahead of Matsui.

Yankees' game doesn't start till 2, so the Jets fans among us can catch the beginning of the Jets game as well!

(If there's a better way to have a Sunday than September baseball and opening week of the NFL, please, do so enlighten me...)