Results tagged ‘ Boone Logan ’
Another Hughes Start, Another Yankee Loss
Well, I can’t say that I didn’t expect this one. I have read all of the stories this morning about how much better Hughes was and it was something to build on, etc. etc.. Guess what? Allowing 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings is still bad. And it put the Yankees in a hole they could not dig out of. Playing from behind, the offense always seems to press and that makes it harder to hit.
Now having said that, I would have left Hughes in to get that last out in the sixth and it possibly could have saved a few runs. He was at exactly 100 pitches, had two outs and a runner on first and I would have taken a shot with him to get the third out. Of course Girardi brought in Boone Logan to face the lefty, who he promptly failed to get out. That is Girardi’s fatal flaw, he always goes with the book answer and never with his gut.
The other thing that was bad, was the offense. Numbers four through nine in the order had no hits, zero. Overall, it was a team loss, poor starting pitching, poor managing, poor hitting, poor defense. It doesn’t get much uglier than this one.
Girardi at it again
Last night was another example of Joe Girardi attempting to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. While it is possible that a case can be made for removing Ivan Nova after eight innings and 105 pitches, the fiasco that followed is indefensible. If you are going to bring in Luis Ayala, then you have got to let him face more than one batter. And Boone Logan? Really? This guy not only should not be used, he should not even be on the roster. Why he still is just baffles me. Girardi lucked out when Mariano was able to get the last three outs, but both inherited runners scored, making a game that was not even close, much closer than it needed to be. Girardi, in my opinion has no gut feel for the game. He goes strictly with percentages and that just doesn’t work. Sometimes, you have to go with your gut and he just never does that. By always “going by the book”, he can always have an argument for why he did what he did, even though most of the time, it fails. Regardless, it’s a good thing they won, because Boston is just destroying everyone right now. The Yankees need to keep winning if they are to remain within striking distance.
Lucky to be 1 back
So the good news is that the Yankees are only 1 game back of Boston. The bad news is that they easily could have swept Seattle and been tied for first. The first game I blame on Girardi…AGAIN. He did his usual over managing trick and it backfired, resulting in giving up the lead in the sixth inning. As always, you can make the excuse that the move to bring in Boone Logan to get out the lefty was the right percentage move. And as usual, it didn’t work. Logan does not get lefties out particularly well, which is pretty bad considering that’s pretty much his only role on this team. I would have stuck with Burnett for one more inning, at least to start the sixth and see how things worked out. But then, that was my gut talking and Girardi does not ever go with his gut. He always takes the safe route, so that when it doesn’t work, he can say it was the right move, that the players just didn’t execute. I say BS. It was not the right move and that’s why it didn’t work. The second loss was a tough one and not much you can do about that. Finally on Sunday, they played a solid game behind CC”s excellent pitching and came away with a win. Now it’s on to Oakland for another tough series, before heading down to Anaheim for a third straight tough road series. This should be an interesting week.
Another one that got away
Although you can expect that Mo will blow a save from time to time, that is not the reason the Yankees lost this game. Again, I believe that Joe Girardi mis-managed his bullpen. Why was Ivan Nova the choice in the 10th? He is a starting pitcher who is scheduled to start on Sunday. Girardi had at least two so-called long men in the bullpen in Hector Noesi and Lance Pendleton. If you’re not going to use them, why waste the roster space on them? And why was Nova left in to face Travis Snyder? You had Boone Logan warming up. He was good the last time out, so why not bring him in to get out the lefty? That is what he’s there for. It’s these kinds of decision that in my opinion have cost the Yankees 4 of their 6 losses. It will be their undoing if Girardi doesn’t change the way he manages the bullpen.
Saw This One Coming
Let’s see. The Sox open 0-6. The Yankees throw a struggling Phil Hughes at them in their home opener? Recipe for disaster? You bet. I told my son this morning that there was no way in the world that Hughes would pitch well today. Sure enough, he gave up six runs in two innings. My guess is that before the end of the season, someone from Triple A will take Hughes spot in the rotation. Could even be Kevin Millwood. One thing is for sure. Something is very wrong with Hughes. They can claim that he is physically OK, but his velocity has dropped significantly and his secondary pitches just aren’t good enough to get major league hitters out. So they just sit on the fastball and hammer it. And Boone Logan? Really? There is no left hander in the Yankees system that can throw strikes and get lefties out? If so, that is pretty pathetic. Logan was inconsistent last year and he has been terrible thus far this year. I know it is early, but he looks like the same pitcher he was last year and that wasn’t very good. Tomorrow it’s Nova and one thing I would bet my paycheck on and that is that he will go more than two. This will be a long season and I don’t believe that the Yankees rotation at the end of this season will look anything like it does now. Neither will the bullpen for that matter. So far, this team is proving that they can score runs in bunches. Pitching will be the key and right now, I have no idea how good it will be.
Two down, 93 more wins to go
Well, this one started off pretty well and finished up pretty ugly. The offense was, once again top notch. Texeira hit another one out, So did Russel Martin and so did A-Rod. Jeter had a couple of hits, as did a bunch of other folks. My only complaint about this game was Girardi’s managing. What in the world was Luis Ayala doing in for a second inning? Wouldn’t you want Victor Martinez batting right handed instead of left, with Boone Logan pitching in the eighth? Instead, he left Ayala in, Martinez hit a home run to make it 10-5, then Logan warmed up again and came in to pitch the ninth. He was ineffective after warming up three times, then Girardi had to use Mo in a game where he really should not have been needed. I would have gone with Ayala for one inning, Logan in the eighth instead of the ninth, followed by Bartolo Colon in the ninth. Girardi got away with it this time, but it is these kinds of decisions that costs him games when they are close. It even sometimes turns blowouts into close games and losses. I was not impressed.
Still not good enough
After a brutal road trip in which they 3-6 against Texas, Tampa and Baltimore, the Yanks returned home on Monday. Although they have beaten Tampa both Monday and Tuesday evenings, the disturbing trend of blowing leads has continued. Monday they blew a four run lead before coming back to win, and last night a 5-0 lead went to 5-3 before they managed to plate a couple more runs late for an 8-3 win. Much of this trend, I believe can be attributed to Girardi. He made some questionable moves on that road trip that ultimately cost them and it has continued on the homestand. Monday, he removed Nova, who had thrown only 80 some odd pitches with a 4-2 lead, two outs and a man on third. Boone Logan failed to get out any of the three lefties he faced and then who does he bring in with the bases loaded and the score 4-3? Chad Gaudin! Gaudin promptly walked in the tieing run. Personally, I would have liked to have seen what Nova would have done in that situation. The worst case would be a tie game if the next hitter put one out and that is where we ended up anyway. Best case is he gets the next hitter and you can start the seventh with a new pitcher and nobody on. Girardi must do a better job of managing if this team is to succeed in the post season. Last year, every decision he made turned out right. This year, I believe he needs to be a bit more careful with his matching up and playing every situation “by the book”.
An ugly one in Motown
First, let me say that the Yankees will be just fine no matter what happens the rest of this series. They could have some tough sledding, already having lost the first game and with Vazquez going tonight. Having said that, I have watched every game this year and this is a very good team. They will be just fine. They almost pulled off a win last night with the bullpen going the whole way. In reality, it came down to just a few key plays. A-Rod’s bad throw in the first put them in a 2-0 hole, then the Damon HR gave them an insurance run, but it wasn’t the winning run, it was the fourth. Boone Logan once again failed to get a lefty out and that walk proved to be the winning run. Then of course there was Ordonez catch of the Jeter fly ball to right in the 8th inning. That was the lid on the coffin in this one. And what’s up with Jose Valverde celebrating after every strike? If it were Joba or a Yankee, we would be reading and hearing about it for sure. Anyway, they battled, just couldn’t close the deal. They will be just fine in the long run, regardless of what Vazquez does tonight.
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