August 2009
Joba Rules
Lots of talk today in the NY area press about the new Joba rules and whether they are good or bad. I see that Pete Abraham over at LoHud Yankees is on Joba’s case. Man that guy is brutal. If he doesn’t like they way a guy is playing, he just constantly rags on him. Right now it’s Joba’s turn, in between swipes at Robinson Cano for not hitting with RISP. Joba wasn’t great yesterday, but he wasn’t that bad either. If limiting his innings keeps him from getting injured, then I am all for it. They won the game for crying out loud, so what’s to complain about? Alfredo Aceves looked awesome for three innnings, so maybe that barking shoulder is feeling a bit better. Who knows what the future holds for Joba, but limiting his innings to try and protect him makes perfect sense to me. Increasing his innings total each time out to build him up for the playoffs seems like a smart idea to me. But then, that’s just me. Who am I to let logic get in the way of emotion?
Break out the Brooms
Well they swept Ozzie and the White Sox out of town. Once again, they broke it open with a big inning late. This seems to be a pattern with this team. Joba was so-so for three and Aceves was dominant for three. Robertson and Hughes took them through eight and once again Phil Coke coughed up a gopher ball in the ninth. He can get you through an inning with a big lead, but I do not want him having the ball in a close game. And what can you say about Mark Texeira? Mr. Consistency does it again with his 32nd dinger to break it open and six straight seasons with at least 30 HR’s and 100 RBI. What an addition this guy was. I look forward to watching him in pinstripes for many years to come. Overall, not a bad homestand at 4-2, but I’m sure they’d like to have at least one of those two losses to Texas back. Now it’s on to B-more and Toronto. I wonder if Aubrey Huff is still laughing? I bet he gets plunked at least once in this series. And thanks to Toronto for laying down in Boston this weekend. Wish they had some heart and could have at least won one game in Boston, but they couldn’t do it. More tomorrow.
Blowout
Great job by Sergio Mitre. One hit into the seventh inning is a great performance for anyone. For Mitre, it may signal a turning point in his recovery. He has always had good movement, it’s location that has been the problem with him. Not so yesterday. He was dominant and very effective. Chad Gaudin did the right thing by taking his time warming up. He was equally impressive in relief. And what can you say about the offense? When you put up a ten spot, you are going to win most of the time. Let’s hope Mitre isn’t hurt too badly as it would be a shame for him to miss his next start after his performance in this one. This team just keeps chugging along, winning games and winning series. Can”t wait to see them in the post season. Game three today as they try to break out the brooms and sweep Ozzie Guillen and the Sox out of town. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Guillen is buddies with Hugo Chavez and most Venezualans hate him.
Walk Off
The Yankees almost managed to waste another good outing by a starter for the second day in a row. CC Sabathia was dominant through seven, but the Yankees could only manage two off of Mark Buehrle. Robinson Cano saved the day with a three run shot in the bottom of the 10th. It was crushed. I see that Pete Abraham is still insisting that he can’t hit with runners in scoring position. The numbers aren’t good overall, but Cano has had at least two walkoff hits and that to me indicates that it is in him to perform in the clutch. When Pete gets on a rant, he never lets up and he values his own opinion very highly. Anyway, nice win for the Yanks as this would have been a tough one to lose. On another note, Tampa Bay dealt Scott Kazmir to the Angels for a couple of minor leaguers. Something doesn’t smell right about that one. Kazmir is either hurt or Tampa is very foolish. He was their all time leader in wins and although he hasn’t pitched that great this year, dealing him to a conternder for what looks like very little, doesn’t seem right to me. Stay tuned.
What a Waste
A.J. Burnett was dealing. No doubt about. 12 strikeouts in 6 innings and one bad pitch. The Yankees however couldn’t muster any offense and this one was wasted. Phil Coke allowing a three run shot was the nail in the coffin. I really don’t understand Girardi’s fascination with Coke. He has not impressed me most of the time. He almost always gives up a home run. He seems to be Girardi’s Scott Proctor. He was a pretty good starter, but as a reliever, he is pretty much hit or miss. You might get an innning out of him if you’re lucky, but more than likely he’s going to give up some runs. Having said that, it’s hard to win a 3 game series when you lose the first game and the Yankees were asking for trouble with that clunker on Tuesday. Texas is a pretty good team and this one just wasn’t to be. Again, not the end of the world as Boston lost too, so this actually works to the Yanks advantage as Texas picks up a game in the Wild Card standings. Now it’s the White Sox for the weekend, so let’s hope they can put this series behind them and pick things up a bit.
Bounceback Win
The Yankees did just as expected and bounced back after another awful outing by Joba Chamberlain and beat Texas 7-2. Andy Pettitte was solid as a rock as usual and gave the team exactly what they needed. Seven solid innings and another W was just what the Dr. ordered. Seems like Pettitte is always the guy to give them a win after a tough loss. He was dealing last night. Let’s hope Posada is not hurt seriously as he will get the day off today to rest that finger that he banged up. He is swinging a hot bat right now and is a streaky hitter, so now is not the time for him to have to miss games. Brian Bruney struggled again in the eighth and it looks like he has lost a bit of his swagger. He needs to attack the strike zone and let his stuff do the talking. Jerry Hairston Jr. had another solid performance giving Damon the night off and homering, as well as walking twice. What a pickup he has been. He can play every position except pitcher and catcher and is more than competent offensively. Today it’s Burnett going for another series win and I fully expect him to pitch much better than last time out in Boston. Of course that’s a pretty safe bet considering how bad he was that day. The team continues to play well and is a pleasure to watch. What a difference from the frustrating performances of the past couple of years.
Clunker Against Texas
Not exactly a stirring opening to the homestand. Joba was horrible again. They need to get him straightened out and quickly. He has looked absolutely terrible three times out in a row. Having said that the Yankees had a chance to win this one in the ninth until they mysteriously had Nick Swisher attempt to bunt with runners on first and second and no outs. He popped up, then Melky quickly lined into a double play and it was all over. What in the world was Girardi thinking? Swisher has an OBP of almost .400 and almost never grounds into a double play. Let the guy hit for crying out loud. There were no outs! Having said that, it was a nice attempt at a comeback after Joba dug them a big hole. Gaudin pitched well enough in relief and Marte looked pretty good as well. Not the end of the world here. I fully expect that they will bounce back and win tonight and tomorrow.
Texas series
So the Rangers are in town for three and let’s hope the Yankees don’t suffer a letdown after the Red Sox series. I don’t expect one and I fully expect the Yankees to win another series at home. That was a great roadtrip with three series wins. You just can’t ask for better than that. Winning both series out west and then flying cross country and beating Boston in their own house is no small feat. This is a very good team and I am looking forward to watching them down the stretch and in the playoffs. Joba back on tap to start and let’s hope the extra rest and time away from throwing pays off. He has been pretty bad the past few times out, working slowly and nibbling instead of attacking the strike zone and working quickly. Hopefully he got all that worked out during his time off.
Another Series win and 7-3 on the roadtrip
I predicted at the beginning of this road trip that they would go 6-4. Well they bested my prediction by one. This team is playing very good baseball and winning series’ both at home and on the road. Winning 2 of 3 in Boston after flying in from the west coast is no small feat. This was a tough road trip, make no mistake about it. I used to work two weeks on the east coast and then two weeks on the west coast and it took me two or three days each way to get adjusted to the time change. To play this well while going from east to west, then back east and finishing up in Boston is quite an accomplishment for this team. They seem very confident and believe that they are going to win every time out. That is half the battle. I don’t see Boston catching them for the division and I would like nothing more than to see Boston miss the playoffs. Should be an interesting month and a half to see how things shake out.
What a stinker
Well after Friday night’s blowout, I have to admit, I was thinking sweep. What a stinker by Burnett. Not sure what the deal is with him lately, but he has looked horrible for the most part. And instead of pitching Aceves until his arm falls off, why not DL him and get someone up from AAA that is actually healthy and can pitch middle relief. This game breathed new life into Boston, I’m sure, just when the Yankees had a chance to put them away for good. Today should be a good matchup with CC and Becket going, but Saturday was a game I expected to win. This guy Tazawa is not that good. They made him look like an All Star and didn’t pitch at all. Let’s hope they bounce back today. They still are up 6 1/2 games, so it isn’t the end of the world, but a series win in Boston would be nice.
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