If Girardi really wants to win the division then maybe he should take his head out of his rear end and realize that Javy didn't have squat yesterday and get him out after he allowed 4 runs in the early innings. Instead with 2 guys on and 2 outs instead of taking him out, he stuck with him and waited for him to allow a 3 run homer and put the game out of reach before removing him. Girardi has been awful of late; it is simply the truth.
The positives in the game were that Royce Ring came in to get a lefty and got him out. I think he should be on the postseason roster and he should be used every game for one or a string of lefties.
Congratulations to ARod, I was very excited that he earned his 30th HR as I did not think he would get there earlier in the year. He has hit 12 HR's in his last 92 AB's! That is a crazy pace of about 80 in a year. he has now hit 30 HR's and 100 RBI's in a record 14 times (he has done it 13 in a row). Tip of the hat to you ARod!
Cervelli had 3 singles and a walk and after his hot start and a very poor period has found a hot stroke again. He is hitting .382 over the past month (34 AB's) with an OPS over .900 almost all because of 10 walks in that period. His OBP is about .500 with a slug of about .400 (these are appx numbers). The key is that he is a good hitter against lefties (.848 OPS) and a bad hitter against righties (.598 OPS). Posada should start against all righties, but Cervelli could start against most lefties and you couldn't argue too much. Wow, I can't believe I just wrote that.
Still half a game out...thank to Joe and Vazquez (who pitched himself off the postseason roster) Not to get too negative but Cashman paid a lot of money for Vazquez and Burnett this year and neither should be on the postseason roster (again, I would work Burnett out of the pen the next 3 games to see if he can do it)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Genius Maker #130
Welcome to the playoffs!
I don't understand why the Yanks didn't pitch CC on Friday as he said he would rather go into the playoffs on normal rest; I think Girardi panicked...again. I also don;t get why he would pitch CC in the 9th? I can only hope that not listening to your most important pitcher doesn't screw up CC. I would imagine he will throw in between, but why not give him his rest now and pitch him Friday. Keep in mind he pitched great last night and my comments are only about the postseason. In situations like this I ask my pitcher what he would rather do and I go that route as it makes zero difference to anything else.
I want the Yankees to win the division, but certain guys better get time off. Cano could use a few games as an example.
BTW, who was that team playing last night? Sacrificing to move runners over and actually delivering on 3 sac flies.
Some notes:
Burnett is 4-13 with a 6.67 ERA since the end of May. He really has been awful and I would not start him in the 1st round of the playoffs (ALDS). Does anyone really have faith in him over the other options we have? Could he pitch well? Sure, but look how bad he has been for almost 4 months...the worst pitcher in the AL with enough starts to qualify...yes the worst. You have a better chance of getting lucky with Nova or even Vazquez/Mitre/Moseley. As I have said a few times, his stuff would play well out of the pen, but his head might not have it. I would move him to the pen for the last week and see how he responds, otherwise he is off my ALDS roster.
Other Notes:
The Yanks have now lost their last 8 games against lefty starters. How many times have I stated I wanted a righty who hits lefties, instead of Kearns?
The ALDS isn’t hard to figure out based on the game schedule I see:
Game One – Sabathia
Game Two – Pettitte
Game Three – Hughes
Game Four – Sabathia
Game Five – Pettitte
CC pitches on 3 games rest but Pettitte gets 4 based on off days.
I will break down the playoff opponents in the next week, just like last year.
I don't understand why the Yanks didn't pitch CC on Friday as he said he would rather go into the playoffs on normal rest; I think Girardi panicked...again. I also don;t get why he would pitch CC in the 9th? I can only hope that not listening to your most important pitcher doesn't screw up CC. I would imagine he will throw in between, but why not give him his rest now and pitch him Friday. Keep in mind he pitched great last night and my comments are only about the postseason. In situations like this I ask my pitcher what he would rather do and I go that route as it makes zero difference to anything else.
I want the Yankees to win the division, but certain guys better get time off. Cano could use a few games as an example.
BTW, who was that team playing last night? Sacrificing to move runners over and actually delivering on 3 sac flies.
Some notes:
Burnett is 4-13 with a 6.67 ERA since the end of May. He really has been awful and I would not start him in the 1st round of the playoffs (ALDS). Does anyone really have faith in him over the other options we have? Could he pitch well? Sure, but look how bad he has been for almost 4 months...the worst pitcher in the AL with enough starts to qualify...yes the worst. You have a better chance of getting lucky with Nova or even Vazquez/Mitre/Moseley. As I have said a few times, his stuff would play well out of the pen, but his head might not have it. I would move him to the pen for the last week and see how he responds, otherwise he is off my ALDS roster.
Other Notes:
The Yanks have now lost their last 8 games against lefty starters. How many times have I stated I wanted a righty who hits lefties, instead of Kearns?
The ALDS isn’t hard to figure out based on the game schedule I see:
Game One – Sabathia
Game Two – Pettitte
Game Three – Hughes
Game Four – Sabathia
Game Five – Pettitte
CC pitches on 3 games rest but Pettitte gets 4 based on off days.
I will break down the playoff opponents in the next week, just like last year.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Genius Maker #129
This was one of the Burnett games where you need to recognize he doesn't have it and have a quick hook. He allowed a run in the 1st inning, but this was only because Gardner was not in LF, kearns was. It was a slicing fly ball down the line that Kearns couldn't get to, but Gardner would have and instead of an out, it was a double. This is also why Gardner has more value than just his offense and SB's. Anyway, after 2 groundouts we were down 1-0. In the 2nd inning, Burnett allowed a solo HR. No need for the hook there yet. In the 3rd, Burnett walked the leadoff hitter. Now, my eyes were wide open to see what Burnett was going to do. With such a deep pen now, I would have a very quick hook. The first pitch plunked Escobar and if I were managing to win the game, Burnett would have been out right there...I said it at the time. It isn't like you would be burning the bullpen out as we have 3 long guys in the pen. Anyway, Girardi sticks with Burnett (it is understandable...even if wrong) and Burnett gets Bautista to just miss a HR and hit a long fly out. That didn't scare Girardi and he allowed Burnett to hand a first pitch curve ball to Wells, who made the score 5-0. OK, have you had enough Joe? Nope, let's leave Burnett out there long enough to ensure the game is out of reach. After a double to Overbay, I was convinced Joe would pull Burnett. Nope. After Buck almost took Burnett's head off on a line drive up the middle to make the score 6-0, Girardi had to take out Burnett, right? Wrong! Finally, mercifully, after allowing a single to Lind, Girardi goes to the mound to take the ball from Burnett??? Sarcasm alert: I guess Girardi has never seen Burnett blow up like that before? I guess Joe was surprised that when things go bad for Burnett they get really bad?
Albadejo came in and allowed a sac fly but then got out of the inning, but the Yanks were down 7-0 and the game was pretty much over. The Yanks did get a 2 run HR by Granderson and a 3 run bomb by Tex, but they weren't able to get the job done.
One note, i would like the Yankees coaching staff to put a take sign on once in awhile. Jeter was up to leadoff the 9th and had a 2-0 count on him and I would like to take a strike in that spot. Instead Jeter grounds out to lead off the 9th on a 2-1 count. Especially for a guy who is not swinging well...you don't swing on a 2-0 count when you need a baserunner. Posada was up with a 3-0 count in the 8th also down by 2 runs and even though there were 2 outs, you have to get the tying run at the plate. he had a check swing on a 3-0 count for an out...that is mind boggling. First, why swing at all? Second, if you are going to be dumb enough to swing, you better have a zone and pitch in mind and get a good hack.
5 games to go...the magic number is 1 for the playoffs and we are .5 games behind TB for the division (which I would like to win) and Minnesota is a half a game behind the Yanks for the best record (which I would also like to win). Minnesota has lost 4 in a row as everyone in the AL limps across the finish line.
Albadejo came in and allowed a sac fly but then got out of the inning, but the Yanks were down 7-0 and the game was pretty much over. The Yanks did get a 2 run HR by Granderson and a 3 run bomb by Tex, but they weren't able to get the job done.
One note, i would like the Yankees coaching staff to put a take sign on once in awhile. Jeter was up to leadoff the 9th and had a 2-0 count on him and I would like to take a strike in that spot. Instead Jeter grounds out to lead off the 9th on a 2-1 count. Especially for a guy who is not swinging well...you don't swing on a 2-0 count when you need a baserunner. Posada was up with a 3-0 count in the 8th also down by 2 runs and even though there were 2 outs, you have to get the tying run at the plate. he had a check swing on a 3-0 count for an out...that is mind boggling. First, why swing at all? Second, if you are going to be dumb enough to swing, you better have a zone and pitch in mind and get a good hack.
5 games to go...the magic number is 1 for the playoffs and we are .5 games behind TB for the division (which I would like to win) and Minnesota is a half a game behind the Yanks for the best record (which I would also like to win). Minnesota has lost 4 in a row as everyone in the AL limps across the finish line.
Monday, September 27, 2010
The Genius Maker #128
So after managing 100 different ways of resting guys and not going to extend anyone, Girardi hits the panic button and decides to throw Hughes instead of Moselely. Of course, Hughes is the one guy in the rotation you don't want to screw around with (more than they already have), but, surprisingly, I agreed with the decision. When you can close it out, you let your guys get you the comfort as long as you don't stretch them too much; Hughes was fine to pitch as he had a full 4 days rest.
However, I disagreed with some of the decisions Girardi made later in the game.
The ump called a strike zone where strikes were called 6 inches toward the righty batters box, but pitches on the corner of the lefty box were left as balls. That was pretty odd and later in the game, I had no idea what he was calling. I don't think the players really knew either.
That being said, Jeter took 2 strikes for strikeouts on pitches that were no doubt strikes. The Yanks missed a ton of very hittable pitches by Dice K. I thought Dice threw some very good off speed pitches but he made a lot of mistakes with his fastball that the Yanks just didn't put good swings on the ball.
But, all of that was window dressing until the 8th inning. ARod had given us a 2-1 lead on his 29th HR (I remember thinking that ARod would not get to 30 this year for the 1st time in 13 years) as 30 HR's is now a strong possibility. Wood was pitching the 8th and got 2 outs but had 1st and 2nd when Girardi came in to bring in Rivera. Now, I hated this move from the beginning. I know Girardi is going for the win and if this were a playoff game, perhaps it was the right move...perhaps. But, the weather is nasty and Wood is the guy who should have the 2nd most confidence in along with the fact, I don’t want Rivera going more than 1 inning and I would have left Wood out there. Rivera did get the job done, but he still had to sit down and rest in the weather and then pitch the 9th...where he and the Yanks forgot how to slow down a running game. That was embarrassing. Stealing 2nd is one thing, but not paying attention to 3rd was absurd...and it happened twice. ARod did fail to make a play that Beltre did in extra innings, but you can't allow 4 SB's in one inning? Wake up guys.
So after Rivera threw 29 pitches (too much) the Yanks had to try and bail out the Genius Maker (who has looked his age of late)
Jeter leads off the 9th trying to get on, but goes to the plate with the mindset that he is looking for a fastball to put a good swing on the ball...he gets the fastball but hits a routine fly to RF. Swisher comes through with a single and Girardi correctly pinch runs for him. But, for some reason he uses Nunez instead of Golson??? Now, can someone shed some light on this for me? Golson is going to play RF anyway and he is blazing so why wouldn't he pinch run and stay in? Why waste the runner? From the looks of it, one would guess it was because Girardi wasn't planning on stealing so he didn't want to put Golson in that spot. I understand trying to give Tex the hole, but the only situation where you could use Golson in a stealing spot would be if Tex hits into a force out? Very stupid logic on his part because all the other situations are far more likely and nothing says you might not want him to steal or run a 3-2 pitch. Just silly. Interestingly, Nunez stoles 3rd and Girardi pinch ran for Tex with Pena on a 3-2 count? Again, why not use Golson in this spot? Why waste Pena when you might want him for pinch running for Posada next inning or something? Again, if anyone can shed some light, please do so? Interestingly, Cano singled and Robby, I get everyone thrown out at home with less than 2 outs, Thompson held Pena up on a play I thought he would send him. Posada and Berkman failed to get him home. it might have been the right call, I honestly did not see where Pena was and what kind of jump he got, but with 1 out he held him up.
In extra innings, Golson went into right so my last hope that Girardi was not a total moron was based on thinking Golson was sick or something...Oh well.
Joba gets 2 outs and then Girardi over manages to bring in Logan to face big poppy and what would have been big poppy only. In an extra inning game and nobody on and 2 outs, I am OK with Job pitching to Ortiz. Logan did his job and the Yanks pushed a run across in the 10th to win the game...Girardi managed the 10th well… asking Gardner to bunt was the right move and we caught a break on a bad throw by their catcher Martinez. 1st and 3rd with nobody they walked Jeter to pitch to Golson. Girardi decided to pinch hit with Thames (he could have let Golson hit as well and let Thames pinch hit for Miranda and I would been OK with that as well), but having the strike out person up with nobody out was fine by me as well. After Beltre made his great stop I was worried with Miranda up, but Okijima screwed up and walked us into a guarantee tie for the WC.
We are not playing well, but we still have a little time to get straightened out.
However, I disagreed with some of the decisions Girardi made later in the game.
The ump called a strike zone where strikes were called 6 inches toward the righty batters box, but pitches on the corner of the lefty box were left as balls. That was pretty odd and later in the game, I had no idea what he was calling. I don't think the players really knew either.
That being said, Jeter took 2 strikes for strikeouts on pitches that were no doubt strikes. The Yanks missed a ton of very hittable pitches by Dice K. I thought Dice threw some very good off speed pitches but he made a lot of mistakes with his fastball that the Yanks just didn't put good swings on the ball.
But, all of that was window dressing until the 8th inning. ARod had given us a 2-1 lead on his 29th HR (I remember thinking that ARod would not get to 30 this year for the 1st time in 13 years) as 30 HR's is now a strong possibility. Wood was pitching the 8th and got 2 outs but had 1st and 2nd when Girardi came in to bring in Rivera. Now, I hated this move from the beginning. I know Girardi is going for the win and if this were a playoff game, perhaps it was the right move...perhaps. But, the weather is nasty and Wood is the guy who should have the 2nd most confidence in along with the fact, I don’t want Rivera going more than 1 inning and I would have left Wood out there. Rivera did get the job done, but he still had to sit down and rest in the weather and then pitch the 9th...where he and the Yanks forgot how to slow down a running game. That was embarrassing. Stealing 2nd is one thing, but not paying attention to 3rd was absurd...and it happened twice. ARod did fail to make a play that Beltre did in extra innings, but you can't allow 4 SB's in one inning? Wake up guys.
So after Rivera threw 29 pitches (too much) the Yanks had to try and bail out the Genius Maker (who has looked his age of late)
Jeter leads off the 9th trying to get on, but goes to the plate with the mindset that he is looking for a fastball to put a good swing on the ball...he gets the fastball but hits a routine fly to RF. Swisher comes through with a single and Girardi correctly pinch runs for him. But, for some reason he uses Nunez instead of Golson??? Now, can someone shed some light on this for me? Golson is going to play RF anyway and he is blazing so why wouldn't he pinch run and stay in? Why waste the runner? From the looks of it, one would guess it was because Girardi wasn't planning on stealing so he didn't want to put Golson in that spot. I understand trying to give Tex the hole, but the only situation where you could use Golson in a stealing spot would be if Tex hits into a force out? Very stupid logic on his part because all the other situations are far more likely and nothing says you might not want him to steal or run a 3-2 pitch. Just silly. Interestingly, Nunez stoles 3rd and Girardi pinch ran for Tex with Pena on a 3-2 count? Again, why not use Golson in this spot? Why waste Pena when you might want him for pinch running for Posada next inning or something? Again, if anyone can shed some light, please do so? Interestingly, Cano singled and Robby, I get everyone thrown out at home with less than 2 outs, Thompson held Pena up on a play I thought he would send him. Posada and Berkman failed to get him home. it might have been the right call, I honestly did not see where Pena was and what kind of jump he got, but with 1 out he held him up.
In extra innings, Golson went into right so my last hope that Girardi was not a total moron was based on thinking Golson was sick or something...Oh well.
Joba gets 2 outs and then Girardi over manages to bring in Logan to face big poppy and what would have been big poppy only. In an extra inning game and nobody on and 2 outs, I am OK with Job pitching to Ortiz. Logan did his job and the Yanks pushed a run across in the 10th to win the game...Girardi managed the 10th well… asking Gardner to bunt was the right move and we caught a break on a bad throw by their catcher Martinez. 1st and 3rd with nobody they walked Jeter to pitch to Golson. Girardi decided to pinch hit with Thames (he could have let Golson hit as well and let Thames pinch hit for Miranda and I would been OK with that as well), but having the strike out person up with nobody out was fine by me as well. After Beltre made his great stop I was worried with Miranda up, but Okijima screwed up and walked us into a guarantee tie for the WC.
We are not playing well, but we still have a little time to get straightened out.
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Genius Maker #126 (pitchers)
My 11 postseason pitchers right now:
CC, Andy, Hughes, AJ, Mo, Joba, Wood, Logan, Robertson, Nova and Ring
I would take Nova over Mitre/Gaudin/Moseley and I want a 2nd lefty badly...even if he is there as a deterrent
CC, Andy, Hughes, AJ, Mo, Joba, Wood, Logan, Robertson, Nova and Ring
I would take Nova over Mitre/Gaudin/Moseley and I want a 2nd lefty badly...even if he is there as a deterrent
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Genius Maker #126
I will only make one comment about last nights game...
This is why why you don't give away a game that you can win! Girardi could have used better pitchers in yesterday's game and he didn't have to abuse anyone. They might have won and maybe even took the wind out of TB instead of giving them some momentum (which I honestly do believe can be a little overblown).
This is why why you don't give away a game that you can win! Girardi could have used better pitchers in yesterday's game and he didn't have to abuse anyone. They might have won and maybe even took the wind out of TB instead of giving them some momentum (which I honestly do believe can be a little overblown).
The Genius Maker #125
I only have 3 comments:
The offense really didn't swing the bats well today and it was not because the pitching against them was all that good. The Yanks just missed a lot of very hittable pitches.
I was glad to see Ring get into the game and I think while he was taken out with lefties coming out it seems like he was a short reliever so this made sense. It was obvious how well lefties can do against TB because Ring didn't throw a single breaking ball fro a strike and he still got them out with his 85 MPH fastball (which was spotted well). He must get his breaking ball over to be effective long term though. I think he could be used against lefties and I would be fine with him on the postseason roster.
I have NO idea what in the world Girardi was thinking using the relievers he did (Ring excluded because of the lefties). It was as if he really didn't care if we won the game yet he played all our regular hitters??? I mean in the biggest games left of the regular season, after Ring, he brings in Moseley who hadn't pitched in 10 days, Gaudin (if he is lucky the last guy to make our postseason roster) and Albaladejo??? If we were losing 5-0 maybe that is OK, but it was 1-0 for crying out loud. And then twice we came back after out weaker pitchers allowed runs to close to 2-1 and 3-2 into the 7th??? We could have been ahead if Girardi didn;t have his head up his rear. I don't want to keep criticizing Girardi, but that is asinine (no pun intended)...I really can't fathom what is going through his mind? We have plenty of pitching on the staff right now and the idea you use Moseley so you can get some length is idiotic. There are so many pitchers on the roster, length is not even a remote concern. Mitre was still in the pen and if anything as a sinker baller he would have been a better choice as they need work to stay sharp. I mean why do we want to get work for Albaladejo? For some reason he just hasn't been able to get it done at the major league level and right now we can't worry about it as he has almost no chance of making the PS roster. We may need to start calling Girardi clueless Joe (two managers in a row)
The offense really didn't swing the bats well today and it was not because the pitching against them was all that good. The Yanks just missed a lot of very hittable pitches.
I was glad to see Ring get into the game and I think while he was taken out with lefties coming out it seems like he was a short reliever so this made sense. It was obvious how well lefties can do against TB because Ring didn't throw a single breaking ball fro a strike and he still got them out with his 85 MPH fastball (which was spotted well). He must get his breaking ball over to be effective long term though. I think he could be used against lefties and I would be fine with him on the postseason roster.
I have NO idea what in the world Girardi was thinking using the relievers he did (Ring excluded because of the lefties). It was as if he really didn't care if we won the game yet he played all our regular hitters??? I mean in the biggest games left of the regular season, after Ring, he brings in Moseley who hadn't pitched in 10 days, Gaudin (if he is lucky the last guy to make our postseason roster) and Albaladejo??? If we were losing 5-0 maybe that is OK, but it was 1-0 for crying out loud. And then twice we came back after out weaker pitchers allowed runs to close to 2-1 and 3-2 into the 7th??? We could have been ahead if Girardi didn;t have his head up his rear. I don't want to keep criticizing Girardi, but that is asinine (no pun intended)...I really can't fathom what is going through his mind? We have plenty of pitching on the staff right now and the idea you use Moseley so you can get some length is idiotic. There are so many pitchers on the roster, length is not even a remote concern. Mitre was still in the pen and if anything as a sinker baller he would have been a better choice as they need work to stay sharp. I mean why do we want to get work for Albaladejo? For some reason he just hasn't been able to get it done at the major league level and right now we can't worry about it as he has almost no chance of making the PS roster. We may need to start calling Girardi clueless Joe (two managers in a row)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Genius Maker #124
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!
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!
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Genius Maker #123
Another grind type of game. Granderson got us on the board with a 2 run dinger and then the Yanks tacked on another 2 runs, but blew a big chance to blow the game open. The AB I was really annoyed with was Berkman's. You have an umpire with a very tight strike zone (who was also missing real strikes for us - The Kerry Wood breaking ball was a joke that he missed that strike out) and he had a 3-1 count and Berk swung at a high inside pitch (probably a ball) and did nothing with it. You have to be real selective in that spot and only swing at a specific zone. Bad job by Berkman, but we still led 4-0 with Nova cruising.
Nova had really been creamed in the 5th inning in his outings, so you have to keep an eye on him especially after a long inning. After falling behind 3-0 to the 1st batter and allowing him to get on and then walking the next guy, I would have had Logan in the game to face 4 lefties in 5 batters. As it turned out it wasn't bad to leave Nova in even though the lefty got on, he did get the next guy to hit into a DP. Then Girardi went to Logan...who stunk. This is VERY important. TB has a huge hole on their team with a lot of lefties who can be exploited, unfortunately, we only have 1 lefty(which is just mind boggling to me that the Yankees can't get 2 lefties in the pen - Cashman deserves a lot of criticism for this) and if he is bad, we are SOL. At he end of the inning the score was tied in an ugly inning showcasing the tight strike zone by McLelland (the ump). I just want to say he was tight for both sides and was fairly consistent, however, of the 5 noticeable missed pitches in the game, 4 of them were against us.
The Yanks offense kept coming back as Granderson showed why I was excited to have him hit against righties as he hit a monster 3 run home toward the top of the right field fair pole.
The Yanks led 8-5 going into the 9th, but Mo was uncomfortable to watch as he struggled with his control...we better hope he can give us enough in the postseason as he didn't look good tonight (and it was not the umps fault). Even so, he did break 3 bats, which is pretty hilarious, and he did save the 3 run lead with an 8-6 victory and a 1.5 game lead.
Gardner needs to work on his bunting...a guy that fast better bunt with more consistently. He came up with 1st and 2nd and nobody out, a clear bunting spot and he pushed the bat into a pop up DP.
Cano, ARod and Tex did nothing. Jeter, Granderson,Cervelli and of course Granderson had good offensive games to carry us.
Last point on Logan, he was trowing 91 and I hope that was just a off day...being our only lefty (still don't get it), he better be ON!
It was a grind...but a win
Nova had really been creamed in the 5th inning in his outings, so you have to keep an eye on him especially after a long inning. After falling behind 3-0 to the 1st batter and allowing him to get on and then walking the next guy, I would have had Logan in the game to face 4 lefties in 5 batters. As it turned out it wasn't bad to leave Nova in even though the lefty got on, he did get the next guy to hit into a DP. Then Girardi went to Logan...who stunk. This is VERY important. TB has a huge hole on their team with a lot of lefties who can be exploited, unfortunately, we only have 1 lefty(which is just mind boggling to me that the Yankees can't get 2 lefties in the pen - Cashman deserves a lot of criticism for this) and if he is bad, we are SOL. At he end of the inning the score was tied in an ugly inning showcasing the tight strike zone by McLelland (the ump). I just want to say he was tight for both sides and was fairly consistent, however, of the 5 noticeable missed pitches in the game, 4 of them were against us.
The Yanks offense kept coming back as Granderson showed why I was excited to have him hit against righties as he hit a monster 3 run home toward the top of the right field fair pole.
The Yanks led 8-5 going into the 9th, but Mo was uncomfortable to watch as he struggled with his control...we better hope he can give us enough in the postseason as he didn't look good tonight (and it was not the umps fault). Even so, he did break 3 bats, which is pretty hilarious, and he did save the 3 run lead with an 8-6 victory and a 1.5 game lead.
Gardner needs to work on his bunting...a guy that fast better bunt with more consistently. He came up with 1st and 2nd and nobody out, a clear bunting spot and he pushed the bat into a pop up DP.
Cano, ARod and Tex did nothing. Jeter, Granderson,Cervelli and of course Granderson had good offensive games to carry us.
Last point on Logan, he was trowing 91 and I hope that was just a off day...being our only lefty (still don't get it), he better be ON!
It was a grind...but a win
Saturday, September 18, 2010
The Genius Maker #122
The game was looking like one of those games where we would have been lamenting our 0-9 with runners in scoring position, the failed bases loaded opportunity early in the game, another worthless performance by Kearns (especially with RISP), and Jeter watching 2 called strikeouts against himself. I received a text from a friend that said, "we r pathetic."
But, a fantastic AB by Posada started it all off in the 9th inning. This was one of the better "battle" AB's you will ever see. Many times when a guy fouls off a lot of pitches and works a walk or get a hit, you will see many hittable pitches that they just missed. Posada is one of guess hitters in the league. It is why he is way out in front of some pitches and also takes called fastball strikes right down the middle. The Baltimore closer, Uehara, had one blown save all year and that was the Swisher HR against him. Uehara has excellent control so walks are rare against him, he has a 90 MPH fastball he spots well and he has a very good change up that he throws with a splitter grip (80 MPH). Posada took a fastball down the middle for strike one. Then took a change for a ball followed by a change up he was way out in front of for strike 2. Posada then barely fouled off 2 change ups as he was out in front of them. Posada is definitely fighting this here but was probably fortunate when the next fastball was a ball high. Euhara then came back with another fastball that Jorge fouled off and was a little behind on an upper strike. The next pitch was a change that Posada just caught a piece of with the end of his bat to stay alive. The 9th pitch was a fastball that was a very close pitch that was just a little low and now the count was 3-2. The next fastball was on the corner but Jorge fouled it off. On the 11th pitch of the AB Jorge took the change up and dropped it into LC for a huge single to start things off. That AB got me really excited as the closer used a lot of energy and now we had the leadoff hitter on with the top of the lineup coming up. Unfortunately, Jeter had a terrible AB where he swung at ball 2 up high and probably ball 3 as well before taking strike 3 on a very hittable pitch. 4 straight mediocre fastballs 2 or 3 were not even strikes and Jeter takes the best one for a called strike 3...very disappointing. While that did take the wind out of me a little bit, we had 3 really good hitters coming up (Granderson is a really good hitter against righties and even having an off year he has a .828 OPS against righties). After taking 2 fastballs for balls Granderson got a fastball over the plate and drilled it to right where a deep playing Markakis let the sinking liner drop in front of him (I was actually worried Posada may get thrown out at 2nd base). The ball had a lot of top spin but if read really well off the bat I think a catch might have been made. Anyway, we are now in business with Tex up and ARod on deck as long as Tex didn't hit into a DP (I think we have seen too many of them of late). After taking ball one, the ump called the next outside pitch a strike (definitely was a ball) and the count was 1-1. Obviously a big difference, but Tex had an incredibly hittable pitch next and times it right but just got under it and hit a mile high pop up. While ARod was coming up, that pitch was the one they gave us and we didn't take advantage of it...story of the last 10 games. Now up comes ARod. The first pitch to ARod was a little in, but the ump called it a strike (on the border). The next pitch was definitely in and called a ball. The next pitch ARod got a pretty good pitch to hit but fouled it off (he had a mean cut on it). It should be noted that Uehara has thrown 3 straight fastballs inside and you have to wonder when he uses his changeup? the next pitch is another fastball that was just inside. This pitch was more inside than the first called strike on ARod and was correctly called a ball. At this point ARod had a little smile on his face and I didn't see any post game reports as to why, but I think he was feeling the moment and enjoying the competitive nature of a close call. The next pitch was similar to the 3rd pitch that ARod had a great cut on, but this one was centered and ARod crushed a 3 run homer to give the Yanks a 4-3 lead, a Mariano save and coupled with Boston and TB losing, 1st place and a great victory! ARod accounted for all our runs with the 2 HR's tonight!
But, a fantastic AB by Posada started it all off in the 9th inning. This was one of the better "battle" AB's you will ever see. Many times when a guy fouls off a lot of pitches and works a walk or get a hit, you will see many hittable pitches that they just missed. Posada is one of guess hitters in the league. It is why he is way out in front of some pitches and also takes called fastball strikes right down the middle. The Baltimore closer, Uehara, had one blown save all year and that was the Swisher HR against him. Uehara has excellent control so walks are rare against him, he has a 90 MPH fastball he spots well and he has a very good change up that he throws with a splitter grip (80 MPH). Posada took a fastball down the middle for strike one. Then took a change for a ball followed by a change up he was way out in front of for strike 2. Posada then barely fouled off 2 change ups as he was out in front of them. Posada is definitely fighting this here but was probably fortunate when the next fastball was a ball high. Euhara then came back with another fastball that Jorge fouled off and was a little behind on an upper strike. The next pitch was a change that Posada just caught a piece of with the end of his bat to stay alive. The 9th pitch was a fastball that was a very close pitch that was just a little low and now the count was 3-2. The next fastball was on the corner but Jorge fouled it off. On the 11th pitch of the AB Jorge took the change up and dropped it into LC for a huge single to start things off. That AB got me really excited as the closer used a lot of energy and now we had the leadoff hitter on with the top of the lineup coming up. Unfortunately, Jeter had a terrible AB where he swung at ball 2 up high and probably ball 3 as well before taking strike 3 on a very hittable pitch. 4 straight mediocre fastballs 2 or 3 were not even strikes and Jeter takes the best one for a called strike 3...very disappointing. While that did take the wind out of me a little bit, we had 3 really good hitters coming up (Granderson is a really good hitter against righties and even having an off year he has a .828 OPS against righties). After taking 2 fastballs for balls Granderson got a fastball over the plate and drilled it to right where a deep playing Markakis let the sinking liner drop in front of him (I was actually worried Posada may get thrown out at 2nd base). The ball had a lot of top spin but if read really well off the bat I think a catch might have been made. Anyway, we are now in business with Tex up and ARod on deck as long as Tex didn't hit into a DP (I think we have seen too many of them of late). After taking ball one, the ump called the next outside pitch a strike (definitely was a ball) and the count was 1-1. Obviously a big difference, but Tex had an incredibly hittable pitch next and times it right but just got under it and hit a mile high pop up. While ARod was coming up, that pitch was the one they gave us and we didn't take advantage of it...story of the last 10 games. Now up comes ARod. The first pitch to ARod was a little in, but the ump called it a strike (on the border). The next pitch was definitely in and called a ball. The next pitch ARod got a pretty good pitch to hit but fouled it off (he had a mean cut on it). It should be noted that Uehara has thrown 3 straight fastballs inside and you have to wonder when he uses his changeup? the next pitch is another fastball that was just inside. This pitch was more inside than the first called strike on ARod and was correctly called a ball. At this point ARod had a little smile on his face and I didn't see any post game reports as to why, but I think he was feeling the moment and enjoying the competitive nature of a close call. The next pitch was similar to the 3rd pitch that ARod had a great cut on, but this one was centered and ARod crushed a 3 run homer to give the Yanks a 4-3 lead, a Mariano save and coupled with Boston and TB losing, 1st place and a great victory! ARod accounted for all our runs with the 2 HR's tonight!
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