I was at the game last night and was treated to our A lineup for the 1st time in, well, I don't remember the last time we had our A lineup in? Not coincidentally, we scored 8 runs in 8 innings (7 of them with 2 outs). Although, it would have been nice if we tacked on some runs after scoring 5 in the 1st a little earlier, it was a good display of offense.
Hughes, struggled the entire game, except for the 6th inning, but he held TB to only 2 runs in 6 innings and his night should have been done at that point. Decisions like starting Hughes in the 7th inning are the ones that are so inconsistent with Girardi and really drive me nuts. One minute we are talking about conserving his innings and the next minute you are throwing him out there after 100+ pitches in a game where he pretty much struggled the entire time and was pitching in stressful situations for 5 of 6 innings. It just does not make sense.
The other (non)move I didn't get was in the bottom of the 7th inning when Swisher got on base, 1 out and we had a 5-3 lead; I would have brought in Golson for pinch running (to steal a base) and also for defensive purposes...Tex forced Swisher at 2nd rather than letting Golson steal a base or at the worst force the pitcher to be worried about it. I screamed to Girardi to make the move but I don't think he heard me :) The Yanks did score 2 runs in the inning and possibly could have scored more if Golson were in, but even after a 4 run lead Swisher remained in RF. As it turned out Swisher didn't have any tough plays and Swisher did get up again as the last batter of the 8th and grounded out...Golson then went in for defensive purposes in the 9th. While it didn't matter, it surely could have and the only reason why Swisher did get up again was because we scored 3 runs after he got on...it makes for even more reason to get the better defensive player out there. Bad job by Girardi.
Vazquez allowed 3 hits in one inning but really did a decent job because 2 were cheapies. Conversely, Joba, pitched 1.1 innings with only 1 hit and got the job done, but was fortunate as he was hit hard, but the balls went right at people.
Tex didn't get a hit but hit the ball well and just missed a HR to CF. Hopefully his thumb is starting to feel better, although you could also look at it and say because of the thumb he didn't have the power to drive the ball out of the park? Berkman even got the ball in the air on his line drive over Upton's head in CF; first time in awhile, even though he has been hitting line drives.
So I hear the Yanks finally brought up another lefty!!! This is great news and shocking it didn't happen earlier, especially with September callups. Maybe someone realized that TB has 6+ lefties in their lineup and having an extra lefty may be a good thing? Royce Ring has not established himself at all in the major leagues and is almost 30, was signed by the yanks as a free agent (league minimum) and had good numbers in AAA this year. I honestly know little about him, but I could see him getting an opportunity against some of the lefties TB has. I hope he can be decent and I look forward to seeing him. Just think of games where Logan is not available how much we are hamstrung and a guy like Brad Hawpe who hits righties well and can't hit lefties can be used without fear. Not only that, is everyone sold on Logan? I mean he has done extremely well this year since coming back from the minors, but it wouldn't be shocking if he reverted to the guy he was prior.
Overall, it was a nice win and a great night to see the game. I want to thank Atlantic Beverage and Domino for bringing me to the game!
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I have a few points. Hasn't the pen looked pretty good recently? Joba has looked really good the last couple of times he has been in right? Robertson and Wood with Joba should provide the yanks with a decent pen during the playoffs. Granderson seems to be heating up towards the end and don't you think Jeter has as well? Also, why is Tex still playing if he has a broken bone? why not sit for a few days and try to get it as healed as possible for the playoffs? Also, recent walks aside, how do you not pitch Hughes as one of your top 3 starters in the playoffs over AJ. and why was Hughes sent out for the 7th when he had over 100 pitches, hello, PITCHCOUNT, NOT INNINGS should be his limiting factor!!!
ReplyDeleteDunaway
Certain people have looked better of late. Wood and Joba in particular, but obviously Mo and Logan have struggled the past few outings. Robertson has been OK, but is not hot. Joba actually got hit pretty hard last night. Yes, Granderson has picked it up and yes, I agree Hughes would start before AJ for me. Finally, total pitches is just as important as innings...remember that resting and coming out to pitch does matter, but it can also be offset by the stress of the situation. For example, Throwing a complete game and 120 pitches is a little more taxing than throwing 120 pitches in 5 innings because of the time of exertion.
ReplyDeleteFrom last night post in regards to Nova
ReplyDeleteI would be less worried about him learning how to get out of the 5th and focus more on why he is getting hit around the 5th. While I did not pick up anything on TV, I am sure his arm angle may be dropping every so slightly with fatigue or he is under/over striding. It is not that he can't pitch out of jams, he just hits a wall of fatigue in my opinion