SB Nation - David Robertson

A happy day in the Yankee Universe

Ed Valentine — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:47:02 -0000

The New York Yankees celebrate after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 in Game 3 of the Major League Baseball World Series Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Philadelphia. The Yankees take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

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Life is good as a New York Yankee fan this morning. A 2-1 World Series lead with CC Sabathia heading to the mound tonight -- against Joe Blanton instead of Cliff Lee.

Let's cruise the Inter-Google while we celebrate the Game 3 victory, and see what is being said Around the Yankee Universe.

New York Daily News media critic Bob Raissman was highly critical of FOX for their reporting -- or lack of reporting on the Alex Rodriguez home run that resulted in the first-ever World Series replay reversal. The camera, of course, belonged to FOX -- a fact that was never mentioned. The other question is, of course, why would the network stick a camera in a place where it could interfere with play?
Mike Lupica has plenty of praise for Andy Pettitte this morning, after Pettitte perservered through six difficult inning.

None of it (the comeback) happens if Andy Pettitte doesn't stand in there against the Phillies, like a hitter standing in against the curve. There have been what feel like a hundred October nights when he had more fastball and more stuff than he showed you against the Phillies in Game 3, those three runs in the first two innings, two home runs by Jayson Werth, the second one a monster shot that went off the facing of the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park.

He pitched six innings, gave up five hits, struck out seven, gave up the two home runs. It does not look like a lot. It was. On this night, the night when the Yankees were trying to get ahead and then give the ball to CC Sabathia, Pettitte was as much a champion Yankee as he has ever been. He needed 17 minutes and 24 pitches to get out of the bottom of the first. He threw over to first eight times after Jimmy Rollins singled. He saw Rollins steal second without even drawing a throw from Jorge Posada. It is supposed to be easier stealing from an armored car.

While Pettitte is drawing praise today, Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels is mostly drawing scorn. Including a 'WTF were you thinking?' reaction to that fifth-inning curveball he threw to Pettitte that resulted in a game-tying single. The following is from SI.com's Tom Verducci, and it probably sums up the reaction of Philly fans and knowledgeable baseball people.

If Game 3 is the turning point of the World Series -- 68 percent of teams up 2-1 go on to win it -- then a Yankees championship began with one pitch from Cole Hamels that will be remembered as one of the great gaffes in recent Series history. The beginning of the end for Philadelphia was a first-pitch curveball Hamels threw New York pitcher Andy Pettitte with no understanding of basic baseball. When Pettitte stepped in, Hamels was working with a 3-2 lead, a runner at second base and -- here's the key part -- one out. Pettitte is a career .134 hitter who has come to bat a total of 12 times over the past three years. Hamels could dispose of him with fastballs, the way J.A. Happ would do the next inning, and he would be one out away from being out of the inning. Instead, Hamels threw a first-pitch curveball up, and Pettitte slapped a single to tie the game. Why in the world would he throw something slow -- and up, no less -- to an American League pitcher? "I made the right pitch to Pettitte," Hamels explained. "A pitcher doesn't hit an oh-and-oh curve in a bunting situation." I was incredulous. I had to follow up, and asked him, "Just to clarify, you thought Pettitte was bunting, so you threw a breaking ball up to try to get him to pop up a bunt?"

"Yes," Hamels said. "That's what I get my fair share of the time when I'm bunting. He swung and got a hit. Baseball is very, very difficult to understand sometimes." Hamels emphasized his point by way of explaining he missed location only once, on a fastball to Johnny Damon that became a two-run double that inning. Hamels clearly did not regard the pitch to Pettitte as a mistake. I couldn't believe it. There is no way Pettitte is bunting there. There is virtually no advantage to be gained from moving a runner from second to third and be left with two outs. With no outs, it's an obvious bunt situation. One out? The pitcher swings away, because even if he strikes out, you still have a runner in scoring position with two outs, and on all but rare occasions the runner will be sent home from second on a single. So you have nothing to lose by letting the pitcher swing away. It's Baseball 101.

After a day off, Nick Swisher came up huge for the Yankees Saturday night.

"Skip [Joe Girardi] sat me down the other day and said, 'Hey, just relax. I want you to just watch this game, enjoy this game,' " Swisher said. "And then we talked about some stuff after the game. But I think it really helped me mentally, not necessarily physically because right now you're such on Cloud Nine because you're playing in the World Series and you don't really feel anything.

"But it was nice for my head to just rest and enjoy that game, and especially for us to win, that was great."

After watching him surrender a ninth-inning home run to Carlos Ruiz, Ken Davidoff wonders what the Yankees will do with Phil Hughes the rest of the Series.

You have to wonder what sort of role Hughes, sporting a 10.80 ERA in eight postseason appearances, will play the rest of the way. If Girardi doesn't trust him to get two outs before surrendering three runs, that doesn't speak much for the manager's confidence.

It is a fair question. My guess is that you will see more David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain. SI.com's Jon Heyman got this tidbit about Hughes from a scout. "He looks frightened, he doesn't look the same."

Other Yankee Doodles

Swisher, Melky Cabrera get back at raucous Philly fans.
Steve Serby hs a Q&A with former Yankee hero Paul O'Neill.
MLB Trade Rumors discusses Hideki Matsui's future.

Assorted Thoughts On Game One

Jeff — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:06:42 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Philadelphia Phillies' Cliff Lee watches as members of the grounds crew set about hastily constructing a throne. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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And we're back to the bullet points. It's like the season never ended. In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't watch the whole game.

If the Yankees were considered 60-65% favorites to win the Series this morning - which is where pretty much everyone of any significance had them - then they're down to something in the neighborhood of ~45% after dropping game 1. One the one hand, that's a huge drop, not unlike the drop in productivity a hitter will see if he takes a first-pitch strike. On the other, what that means is that even spotting the Phillies a one-game handicap makes this little more than a flip of the coin. The Yankees are uncomfortably good.

One of the topics of conversation coming into the game was that CC Sabathia was working off 7 days' rest while Cliff Lee was working off 9, and that being away from the mound for that long could have a negative effect on their respective performances. A glance at their career splits shows that this isn't necessarily a silly suggestion. Sabathia responded by being good. Lee responded by being terrific. If we assume that guys remain on a throwing schedule, I can't really think of a good reason why extra rest would be a bad thing in the playoffs. Short rest, yeah, that has some obvious issues. But long rest? I'm not sold on there being such a thing as "too fresh."

Sportswriters love a game like this. Maybe not the good sportswriters, but the average sportswriters...they don't even have to think. Two years ago Cliff Lee ran an ERA north of six and spent time in the minors. This summer he was traded midseason to the defending world champs without ever having thrown a game in the playoffs. He made his World Series debut in New York and shut down the best and most clobbery team in baseball. The stories write themselves. The story would've written itself had the opposite happened, too. Come to think of it, if you're lazy enough, your story could write itself no matter what took place on the field. Lee dominates? Coming-of-age tale for a guy who doesn't know what it means to quit. Lee falls apart? Phillies pay for gambling on guy with no experience. Yankees win a close one? Experience prevails. Phillies win a close one? Experience prevails. A feral cat sprints onto the field and bites Jayson Werth in the leg? Aura. Being an average sportswriter sounds like an easy job.

0-4 with three strikeouts for Alex Rodriguez. How people respond will tell you a lot about how they feel about him deep down. If they give him the benefit of the doubt after a white-hot first two rounds, they're happy to have him big a big part of the Yankee machine. If they get mad at him for having a bad game under the brightest lights, they never wanted to support him in the first place.

The network and media love affair with Derek Jeter is annoying. This much is beyond well-established. But also annoying - and perhaps more annoying - is the horde of people that feel compelled to say something snarky every time Jeter comes up on the broadcast. We get it. His defense isn't very good. He doesn't always come through in the clutch. He's just generally overrated. You don't have to say "past a diving Jeter" at every possible opportunity. It's like Willie Ballgame grit & hustle jokes on a national scale. It sucks. It sucks. This material isn't fresh, and though FOX's Jeter Cam tonight may have been a little over the top, truth be told I'd rather watch Derek Jeter get into position than Joe Girardi make another trip to the pitching mound. At least the former presents an angle we don't get to see very often.

If nothing else, just say something different. I'm not saying people should stop ripping on the media for fawning over its favorite son. But if you're going to rip, rip well. If you want anyone to pay attention to you, you have - you have - to be original.

Chase Utley came into the game as far and away the best player in the world that nobody talks about. If people still don't know who he is tomorrow then we'll know there's something more sinister at play than simple oversight. Ryan Howard returns almost twice as many Google hits. Second base seems like a good position to play if you want to fly under the radar.

Cliff Lee threw 122 pitches tonight, 16 of them in the ninth when the score was 6-0. He was excellent this year in starts after throwing 120+ pitches, but none of those came on short rest, the situation Lee would be facing should he go on to start game 4. It's worth noting that his velocity started slipping somewhere around pitch #80 or 85.

I don't know what this means. If Lee throws in game 4 and dominates, it won't be fair to say it didn't effect him. And if Lee throws in game 4 and sucks, it won't be fair to say it's Manuel's fault for working him too hard. It's just a bit of information. He threw a lot of pitches. He threw a lot of really good pitches, but he threw a lot of pitches.

In the bottom of the eighth, Robinson Cano hit a comebacker that Lee snagged behind his back without looking. It was an astonishing play, but it didn't look as hard as it was, so given two points - one being this play, and the other being the Jeter Flip - we can say that Recognition = Improbability * Flashiness.

David Robertson has struck out 99 hitters in 74 Major League innings. After watching him for a little bit today, I don't understand how.

Interesting bit from Tim Brown:

As wonderful as Lee was, as confident as he was, he started 16 of the first 27 Yankees with ball one. You know how many Yankees walked? None. How many struck out? Ten.

I can't think of a single reason why starting Pedro Martinez in game 2 would be a good idea.

Yanks get shut down 6-1. Cliff Lee deals, Yankees cannot.

CrazyYankeeChick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:44:52 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Game breaks open right about....here.

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I can't do this.

I blame my sister for this one, actually, who decided a good time to pick a fight would be the second inning of the f'n World Series. THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I DON'T DATE ANYONE DURING BASEBALL.

Ugh.

How much more do you need to know here? The Yankees got shut down by Cliff Lee. CC Sabathia let up 2 solo homeruns to Chase Utley and Chase Utley. David Robertson, once the Houdini of bases-loaded-jams, gave up a base hit in the 8th to Raul Ibanez to make it 4-0.

Then Ryan Howard doubled in the 9th for 2 more runs. A couple of meaningless baserunners in the the bottom of the inning allowed Derek Jeter to score, but it was too much for even the Yanks to overcome.

We lost out first game at home.

A.J. Burnett better rip the Phillies a new you-know-what tomorrow.

Til then...

Player Development Origins for the 2009 New York Yankees

John Sickels — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:18:15 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Derek Jeter, New York Yankees first round draft pick in 1992. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Here are the player development origins of the 2009 American League Champion New York Yankees. I'll do a comparison of the Yankees and Phillies tomorrow.

PITCHERS

Alfredo Aceves, RHP: Signed out of Mexico as a free agent in 2008.

A.J. Burnett, RHP: Drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round out of high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1995. The Yankees signed him as a major league free agent for 2009.

Joba Chamberlain, RHP: Drafted by the Yankees in the supplemental first round in 2006 from the University of Nebraska.

Phil Coke, LHP: Drafted by the Yankees in the 26^th round in 2002, out of San Joaquin Delta Community College.

Chad Gaudin, RHP: Drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 34^th round in 2001, from high school in Harahan, Louisiana. The Yankees traded for him in the summer of 2009.

Phil Hughes, RHP: Drafted by the Yankees in the first round of the 2004 draft, from high school in Santa Ana, California.

Damaso Marte, LHP: Signed by the Seattle Mariners as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1992. Yankees acquired him in a 2008 trade.

Andy Pettitte, LHP: Drafted by the Yankees in the 22^nd round in 1991 out of high school in Texas, signed as a draft-and-follow from San Jacinto JC in '92. Went to Houston as a free agent in 2004 but re-signed by the Yankees for 2007.

Mariano Rivera, RHP: Signed by the Yankees as a free agent from Panama in 1990.

David Robertson, RHP: Drafted by the Yankees in the 17^th round in 2006, from the University of Alabama.

C.C. Sabathia, LHP: Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the 1998 draft, out of high school in Vallejo, California. Signed by the Yankees as a major league free agent for 2009.

POSITION PLAYERS

Melky Cabrera, OF: Signed by the Yankees as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2001.

Robinson Cano, 2B: Signed by the Yankees as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2001.

Francisco Cervelli, C: Signed by the Yankees as a free agent out of Venezuela in 2004.

Johnny Damon, OF: Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the supplemental first round in 1992, out of high school in Orlando, Florida. The Yankees signed him as a major league free agent in 2006.

Brett Gardner, OF: Drafted by the Yankees in the third round in 2005, from the College of Charleston.

Freddy Guzman, OF: Signed by the San Diego Padres as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2000. Acquired in a trade in late August 2009.

Jerry Hairston JR, INF: Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 11^th round in 1997, from Southern Illinois University. Acquired by the Yankees in a trade in July 2009.

Derek Jeter, SS: Drafted by the Yankees in the first round in 1992, out of high school in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Hideki Matsui, OF: Signed by the Yankees as a free agent from Japan in 2002. I am counting him as a "major league free agent" on the list below, not as a Yankee farm system product, since he was already an established star in Japan.

Jose Molina, C: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 14^th round in 1993, from high school in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. The Yankees acquired him in a trade from the Angels in 2007.

Jorge Posada, C: Drafted by the Yankees in the 24^th round in 1990, out of high school in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B: Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the first round in 1993, out of high school in Miami, Florida. The Yankees acquired him in a trade with the Rangers in 2004.

Nick Swisher, OF: Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the first round of the 2002 draft, from Ohio State University. Acquired in a trade with the White Sox in November 2008.

Mark Teixeira, 1B: Drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round in 2001, from Georgia Tech. Signed by the Yankees as a free agent in December 2008.

ACQUISITIONS

Trades or Waivers: Gaudin, Marte, Guzman, Hairston, Molina, Rodriguez, Swisher.

Yankees Farm System Products: Aceves, Chamberlain, Coke, Hughes, Rivera, Robertson, Cabrera, Cano, Cervelli, Gardner, Jeter, Posada.

Major League Free Agents: Burnett, Pettitte, Sabathia, Damon, Matsui, Teixeira.

ORIGINS

Drafted from North American high schools: Burnett (8^th), Gaudin (34^th), Hughes (1^st), Sabathia (1^st), Damon (1-S), Jeter (1^st), Molina (14^th), Posada (24^th), Rodriguez (1^st),

Drafted from junior colleges: Coke (26^th), Pettitte (22^nd).

Drafted from four-year colleges: Chamberlain (1-S), Robertson (17^th), Gardner (3^rd), Hairston (11^th), Swisher (1^st), Teixeira (1^st).

Undrafted free agents from North America: none.

Latin Free Agents: Aceves, Marte, Rivera, Cabrera, Cano, Cervelli, Guzman,

Asian Free Agents: Matsui

ALCS Game 6 Postponed

Rev Halofan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:06:03 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

about 1 month ago: New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez puts pine tar on his baseball bat before batting practice Friday, Oct. 23, 2009, at Yankee Stadium in New York. The Yankees are scheduled to play the Los Angeles Angels in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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Is there a disturbance in the force, Sith-Rod?

The NY POST is reporting that ALCS Game 6 has been RAINED OUT and is postponed. The game will be played SUNDAY, first pitch at 5:20 PM Pacific Time. Game 7 is scheduled for Monday at 4:57 PM our time.

From all reports, the Yankees will stick with Andy Pettitte to start Game 6 as scheduled. The Angels have given no indication that it will be anyone but Joe Saunders starting Game 6. The possibility of bringing John Lackey back to start Game 7 on three days rest to face CC Sabathia will be the subject of much consideration should the Angels be victorious on Sunday.

If you are hanging out online tonight, Giguere says he is 100%, go visit ANAHEIM CALLING, the new SBN Ducks Blog!

Bronx Weather Link - Live TWITTER UPDATES from the NY Post in the Bronx Pressbox

Sunday Night Forecast: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 40s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s. East winds around 5 mph.

TONIGHT'S Forecast: Rain with isolated thunderstorms in the evening...then a chance of rain after midnight. Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds and heavy rainfall in the evening. Breezy with lows in the mid 50s. South winds 15 to 20 mph...becoming northwest 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of rain near 100 percent.

Poll

Since the Game has been Called, Where Are You Going Tonight?

I will just stay home

219 votes

Hang with friends at a bar or someone's pad

120 votes

My Hook Up is None of Your Business

137 votes

476 votes | Poll has closed

What's the word I'm looking for...oh yeah, STOMACH PUNCH. Yanks lose 7-6.

CrazyYankeeChick — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:12:56 -0000

I guess it makes sense...

7-6.

#65 gets the win.

#65 gets the loss.

In game 5.

Thanks to a 4 run 1st.

From #34.

And a 3-hit game.

From #41.

And a final out from #33.

On the 22nd.

See ya in the Bronx, kids.

Do the gory details need to be relived?

I can't decide whether I'm relieved or aggravated that I didn't decide to take tomorrow off.

Is this what the Twins felt like?? Good God. I have a newfound respect for every team that's suffered a Yankee comeback/walkoff.

This isn't exactly our wheelhouse. The Yankees make a comeback, they're making a comeback to win the game. They don't mess around. (With a few exceptions, some of which are still fresh in my mind.)

I headed up to my standard game-watching haunt, with the Yankees already in a 4-0 hole in the 1st.

When I arrived at the bar, the score hadn't changed. My sister met me outside.

"It was like the police coming to a high school party where someone drank themself unconscious."
"What the HELL are you talking about?"

"When you said you were on your way here. I told everyone, 'she's coming, she's gonna be here in minutes.' And they just got ashen. So it was like, what's worse: the fact someone's in critical condition, like the Yankees? Or the fact the scary/aggressive/OCD/unpredictable time-bomb of a cop is on his way. And you don't know if he's in a good mood and is just gonna be like, 'eh, kids'll be kids. I'll give 'em a warning or something. OR, if you're gonna get the psycho-crazed lit fuse of a cop."

And if I needed it further spelled out for me, she added: "People think you're nuts."

"Yeah, no, I got it. Thanks."

(I'm just gonna copy and paste that direct quote next time my mom asks me why I'm single.)

And that's how my night went. Unfortunately for all game-viewers within striking distance of me, they weren't just getting "Bad AJ," but they were also getting "Bad CYC."

To be fair, A.J. Burnett didn't let up much else after those 4 runs in the first. He got his requisite One Bad Inning out of the way in the first. So, don't put this all on AJ. The Yankees rallied from this deficit, as the Yankees are wont to do.

Girardi's managerial decisions will be the spotlighted subplot of this loss. And for once, I'm not jumping on this congo line of Joe-Hate.

Should he have pulled AJ earlier? Maybe. But how could he have known that? AJ had thrown 89 pitches at the time. He had been dealing for 5 innings. Girardi has him start the bottom of the 7th, and all of a sudden we got the Grady Little comparisons pouring out like a dirty-stayout's vomit on prom night.

(Maybe I wouldn't have opted for Damaso Marte as his replacement, per se. But that's beside the point.)

Phil Hughes comes in after Marte, and can anyone question this move? Phil Hughes was our gas-man. He spent the season striking out the side. How could Joe have known this decision was going to be our hamatia?

We're throwing Joe under the bus for games 3 and 5, but I think Thing 1 and Thing 2 have knocked off the damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't stigma that's been clinging to A-Rod like a piece of heavily charged cellpohane, and transferred it directly to Girardi.

In game 3, he yanked David Robertson with 2 outs and no one on in favor of Alfredo Aceves, and I don't think even the biggest Girardi apologist can justify this move. And I suspect the rampant backlash he received after that game may have engendered the decision to push AJ for another couple of batters before pulling him.

I certainly haven't been the guy's biggest advocate this year, but at this point, I'm ready to say, We're the farthest we've been since 2003. We're considered the team to beat, the best in the league. You don't do that in spite of your manager.

No, I think this game was just lost, pure and simple. The line scores for each club are nearly identical across the boards, among pitchers and batters. There were missed opportunities to score, shaky outings from the starters, blown holds by the pen, and--of course--the sprinkling of unassailably shoddy officiating.

Tim Donaghy must feel like Jose Canseco right now.

The Yankees managed to come back from 4-0 and take a 6-4 lead, but the Angels matched our 6-run 7th, with their own 3-run bottom half. Nick Swisher, with bases loaded and 2 outs, popped up to end the game, and he is now the only person on the Yankees who hasn't made a meaningful contribution in the postseason. All he had to do was get on base, and the game's tied. Talk about a stomach punch.

Speaking of things that make me sick, John Lackey, prior to all this, had an outburst that I think may give me nightmares in weeks to come. When The Most Brilliant Manager Ever in the History of Life trotted to the mound for a little chat with his starter, Lackey has a veritable shit fit and clearly barks, "This one's mine."

And 6 hours later, I'm still trying to shake the image of his psychotic expression out from my mind.

Back to the Bronx on Saturday, which gives the sports world almost 2 days to get in some solid practice hours for the "How Many References to 2004 Can We Shoehorn Into the ALCS Coverage?" Tournament.

I'm not worried. They're the Yankees. They'll make it.

That damn fifth run... Angels take game 3, 5-4

Travis G — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:02:02 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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A seesaw game where the lead changed hands five times. The Yankees had a 3-0 lead until Anaheim rallied for three runs (mostly due to a Vlad Guerrero two-run HR), tying the game in the sixth. They then went ahead, 4-3, before Jorge Posada lined a 'just enough' homer over the centerfield wall.

Now to the rant: WTF was Girardi thinking taking out David Robertson in favor of Alfredo Aceves? Robertson had just recorded two outs, no one was on base, so why, Joe? Kendrick had gone 1-2 against DR. Not really enough to make a judgment either way. Aceves had never faced Kendrick, so Girardi was apparently banking on the unfamiliarity playing an integral part. That was not to be: Kendrick singled and Jeff Mathis doubled him home. Neither were lucky hits; both were hit right on the nose. No one to blame but Aceves and Girardi.

The only rational behind the move is Robertson's reverse splits: RHB actually hit him much better than LHB. Aceves also has a reverse split, but RHB have hit him worse than DR. So I guess that's the reasoning behind the move.

However, from this point forward, Aceves may be relegated to mop-up duty. His playoff ERA is 8.57 (2 ER in 2.1 ip), and he's allowed four hits and three walks (with only one K) in those 2.1 ip.

Robertson has been much better: a flawless ERA (in 3 ip), with two hits, two walks and one K. But that doesn't even do them justice: DR has just looked so much better, hitting his spots, throwing strikes - whereas Aceves is falling behind and his pitches don't have any bite.

Anyway, that fifth run is very important. Scoring four runs equates to about a .500 record. Getting that one extra run increases the chances of winning over .600! The Yanks just couldn't get that fifth run across, despite hitting four homers (because they were all solo shots).

Neither team got a hit with RISP: Yankees went 0-8, Angels went 0-5.

But, we have to give some credit to Anaheim's bullpen, which had to start early due to one of Jered Weaver's worst games of the year. They held the Bombers to one run in six innings (3 hits, 4 walks).

Mariano was an absolute magician in the bottom of the tenth, escaping a runner on third, no out situation. Unfortunately, that will be forgotten to the annals of time because it was all for naught.

What else can be said about Mark Teixeira's defense? Not only did he make several more tough pick-ups at first, but he was actually at second to take the relay throw on Abreu's would-be double, caught Morales' sinking liner in the ninth, and made several great throws that we haven't seen since the days of Constantino.

Should Brett Gardner have tried to steal? I say yes. Posada is a prime GIDP candidate, and Gardner's success rate is over 80% - Jeff Mathis just happened to make a perfect throw. It's rare but it happens.

Would Posada still have homered if Gardner had stayed on first or was successful in his steal attempt? Should Girardi have left Pettitte in the game (Joba entered and gave up a triple and a sac-fly)?

A lot of pressure on CC tomorrow. Not only will he be pitching on short rest, but every reliever but one was used today

Walkoff Bomb, Extra Innings, Clutch Hitting, Dramatic Comeback: Yankees do it the Yankee way in 4-3 win

CrazyYankeeChick — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:44:45 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

Teixeira's ~~walk-off~~ skip-off long ball gives Yanks a 4-3 victory and a 2-0 ALDS lead

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I cannot believe what the hell just happened.

My hands are still shaking.

My heart may or may not be fighting the good fight against certain cardiac arrest.

I feel my head could pop off my body, either from light-headedness or excitement or sensory overload (because, ya know. That's the normal consequence...)

The Yankees just beat the Twins in 11 innings, off the bat of Mark Teixeira--his first walkoff in pinstripes, the Yankees' 11th postseason walkoff.

You know how this recap started? At 9:08pm I sat down at my desk and wrote the following:

I had forgotten what this feels like. I hated watching other teams play in the postseason last year. I was so jealous. And now I remember how miserable it is. It's only one loss, but I feel like I lost a limb. I can’t go out, I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. I just want to curl up in a ball until Sunday comes.

Now? Well, the prospect of recapping the last 5 hours of my life is a little more palatable right now:

A.J. Burnett’s postseason debut was a stellar coming-out party, as he dealt his standard array of filthy sliders and slurves and gas and whatever other permutation of pitches he could come up with to get the outs. And of course treated up to his standard array of wildness, which we’ve now come to accept as part of "Good AJ Dealing" Deal.

Over 6 innings of 3-hit ball, he blanked 6, and let up 1 run when on Brendan Harris’s triple drove in Delmon Young.

Down 1-0 in the 6th with only their third baserunner of the game on 2nd, Alex Rodriguez delivers his 2nd clutch hit in as many games. My buddy texts me: "I don't think I can handle a clutch ARod tonight." Apparently, I wasn't the only one ill-prepared in terms of proper head-to-neck adhesion.

At this point in the game, you're looking at it like it's your basic nailbiter pitcher's duel, and the fact that it's a postseason match makes it that much more impressively exciting. Amazing. Little did any of us know that in a few hours, the tied score in the 7th would be the least compelling timeframe.

For all the talk about CC Sabathia, ARod, and Burnett being galactic liabilities in the clutch, none of us, and I mean NO ONE, considered for even a second that our stumbles would arise with Phil Hughes on the mound. It's like when I took my road test and practiced parallel parking for the weeks prior. I dominated that part, and then ended up failing on account of going 50 in a school zone, not wearing my seatbelt, going the wrong way in a one-way street, and running a stop sign.

In 0.2 innings of "work," Hughes walked 1, and let up 2 runs on 2 hits, with all occuring on 2 outs. The golden child who redefined the value of the 8th-inning-setup all season long...put the Yankees in a 3-1 hole heading into the bottom of the 8th.

Our other relievers were effective to varying degrees, Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain pitched to 4 batters between them, ceding zero runs. So when the game is handed over to Hughes then quickly snatched back to give to Mariano Rivera, you know Joba's thinking, "Yep, been there, done that..."

You gotta hand it to the Twins, they manufactured the hell outta baserunners, and off a very formidable pen. Nick Punto and Denard Span hit singles in the 8th to drive in Carlos Gomez and Brendan Harris. Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer excelled offensively as expected, and with the team's12 hits on the day, they definitely out-basehitted the Yanks. But for my money, I'd rather be able to manufacture wins, than hits.

Minny also had 12Ks (to the Yanks' 4), which was ultimately their undoing, having left 17 runners and if scoring opportunties were currency, then the Twinks were squandering them away like it was the 15th of the month.

So between Minnesota and New York fans, basically no one is a fan of the Yankees' penchant for getting into jams just so they can work themselves out of it. I mean, I'm just as happy as the next guy to see the bottom of the inning roll around, but I may or may not have spent an abnormal amount of the game getting physically sick from nerves. Forget W.B. Mason, the more fitting corporate sponsor is PeptoBismol.

Then there was the 9th inning, and nothing I could write could ever possibly do justice to what ARod accomplished. He already had the only RBI of the game, and after Tex singled to reach first, ARod launched a bomb off supercloser Joe Nathan into the Yankee bullpen. It didn't just tie the game, it sent a message and it infuriated his critics...because there's no denying his postseason performance.

The only people more aggravated than Twink fans right now are anti-ARod activists who have been spending the last hour in an emergency summit meeting, where they've locked themselves in a conference room to brainstorm ways to dilute ARod's performance in the the clutch. Hope they stocked up on Starbucks.

So now we got a whole new ballgame. Tied at 3 and heading into extras, and I can't speak for other Yank fans, but when the Yanks come back at home, I never expect them to lose. I'm always a little surprised to some extent when they can't close it out. And the fact that the Twins weren't rolling over and dying in these late innings of play, was making me increasingly panicky. "Oh my God. They could take the lead. Right now. Jesus."

I get nervous with pickoff attempts, so when Damaso Marte put 2 runners on in the top of the 11th with no outs, I lost about 17 years of my life. Once again, newly rehabilitated David Robertson gets the call to pull his team out of a mess of a situation. Every time you think you've seen the most unbelievable element of the game, the Yankees reset the bar at another ridiculous plateau. No runs scored with the bases loaded and zero outs.

I didn't even have time to process this absurdity before Tex goes yard in front of over 50,000 in attendance at the Bronx. And sweet Christ, that ball left in a hurry. Sterling didn't even have time to build any suspense. It was, "Line drive down the left field line...and IT IS GONE!!!"

The Twins are now overfeated against the Yanks, having lost the 9 straight to them--their 4th of the walkoff persuasion. My Mets-fan friend with an evidenced death wish spent the better part of the game either gloating at Yanks' setbacks, or vehemently affirming that the game is fixed and the Yanks were only where they were because of the umps.

Hey, if you can't score 1 run with bases loaded and no outs, you got bigger fish to fry than questionable officiating. On Wednesday, when CC clearly whiffed Orlando Cabrera, but he was charged with a walk, and 2 runs scored when the inning shouldn't have even been going on. Blame the umps as much as you want, but it all evens out in the end.

On Sunday, the Yanks and Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.16) will face their old friend Carl Pavano (14-12, 5.10), who has won nearly twice as many starts in 1 year with the Indians/Twins as he did in 3 years with the Yankees. It'd be nice to thank him for his years of service with a sweep.

Congratulations, Yankees, on reminding the world who they're up against. And thank you, ghosts, for springing for postseason tickets. In the words of Frank, "If you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere. It's up to you, New York, Newww Yorkkkk."

-CYC

Hughes a playoff starter? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Ed Valentine — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:58:12 -0000

by Carlos Osorio - AP

Phil Hughes

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ESPN's Rob Neyer yesterday floated the idea that the New York Yankees should spend the rest of the season stretching out Phil Hughes to start in the playoffs. NY Baseball Digest's Mike Silva actually agreed with Neyer.

Are you kidding me? Where is this nonsense coming from? And why now?

Neyer's argument basically comes to stating that Hughes and Joba Chamberlain should switch roles, since Chamberlain has been mostly awful in his last six starts.

He's (Chamberlain) won just one of them and lost three. He's struck out 20 hitters and walked 17. His ERA has jumped from 3.58 to 4.41. He's looked nothing like a pitcher you might trust in a big game. And he's pitched 137 innings, which doesn't seem like a lot but is 36 more than he's ever pitched before. If he's struggling now because he's tired, what's going to happen in October after another 25 or 30 innings?

Which is where Hughes comes in. Chamberlain is the Yankees' No. 4 starter. Sergio Mitre is the Yankees' No. 5 starter. Which means the Yankees, as things stand now, have only three reliable starters. And again, you need four of them when the leaves are turning in New England.

I know, I know ... Phil Hughes has been so good in the bullpen: 1.11 ERA with an overpowering strikeout-to-walk ratio. Make him a starter again and he's not going to post numbers anything like those. But to help the Yankees, he doesn't have to be anywhere near that good; he just has to be measurably better than Chamberlain and Mitre. Particularly if -- and I know this is highly speculative -- Chamberlain regains his dominant stuff upon returning to a relief role.

Silva joins the Hughes-Chamberlain switcheroo chorus with this argument.

Normally I wouldn’t be for this type of change in September. I believe in a strong bullpen and the Yankees have virtually locked down six outs of every game. The problem is no team is good enough to play fast and loose with a Game 4 in every series. That’s exactly what you would be doing starting any of your current options. Joba Chamberlain is not going to get the job done. The kid isn’t mentally or physically up to the challenge. Anyone who is holding out hope has a better chance of running into the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus these days. Scariest thought the rest of 2009 for a Yankees fan: Down 2-1, on the road, and Joba Chamberlain pitching. Enough said.

Great idea by Neyer.

Great idea by Neyer? I don't think so. I would say terrible idea that makes no sense.

I know Chamberlain has been awful for a while now, but to bluntly say "Joba Chamberlain is not going to get the job done" is silly. Says who? How do we know that for sure? Is Silva Carnac the Magnificent with a crystal ball that allows him to see into the future? How do we know Chamberlain will be a terrible playoff starter? Or, that Hughes would be a lights-out one? Or, that there is even time to stretch Hughes out if the Yankees wanted to?

Here is what we know about Chamberlain. He is a good young starting pitcher who was performing well until the Yankees -- concerned for his workload -- starting messing with his rhythm. Additional time between starts, which had to contribute to some inconsistency. Now, shortened spring-training like starts in which Chamberlain knows he won't be able to get a win.

Can you blame the guy for not being sharp? Or, sub-consciously not being as locked in for a start in which he knows he can only lose? We know Chamberlain thrives on emotion, and when the 'W' carrot isn't there it would be hard for anyone not to feel a little letdown.

The Yankees are protecting Chamberlain now precisely so that he can start playoff -- and hopefully World Series -- games in October. They have plenty of time to get him back on a normal routine and get him right for the playoffs.

Here is what we know about Hughes. As Neyer indicated, and Yankee fans know, he has been absolutely dominant in relief. Largely because of Hughes' presence in the bullpen, teams know they have to beat the Yankees in the first six innings. Otherwise, it's pretty much ballgame over.

Take him out of the 'pen right now, who knows? Chamberlain might do the job, he might not. Brian Bruney, Phil Coke, Damaso Marte, David Robertson might to the job, they might not. The Yankees very well might be flushing the biggest playoff advantage they have right down the toilet.

Besides, we also have no idea if Hughes could actually be counted on to be an effective playoff starter. Remember, he had a 5.45 ERA before the Yankees moved him to the bullpen. And last season he was 0-4, 6.62.

I fully support Hughes being in the rotation next season, and hopefully becoming a long-time fixture for the Yankees. Doing it now, though, would be nothing short of foolish.

How the other side lives: long ball kills Yanks in 7-2 headscratcher

CrazyYankeeChick — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:58:41 -0000

The Yankees lose 2-7 on August 27 on Game 127. Should have seen that one coming.

But it's difficult to predict these types of things when your starter whiffs 12 in 6 and lets up only 2 hits, while the opposing hurler walks 7. My buddy texted me "Why isn't Texas better? They're [expletive] good. They should be running away with the division." Baseball's a funny game.

And now cue the frantic talks about the Yanks' records against playoffs teams despite our 5-game division lead.

The Yanks aren't used to losing series, and I'm not used to watching them do so. But since Game 1 of this set, they were killed, above all else, by 2-out hits--a stat that overshadowed any pitching implosions or offensive explosions. The Rangers did what the Yanks have had trouble doing all year: hit with 2 outs.

And yet at the same time, they won the Yankee way: by going deep.

My sister texted me sometime during the 4th inning to inform me she was eating Chinese food and watching Desperate Housewives with her cats.

CYC: "Why aren't you watching the Yankee game? AJ's dealing, Jeter's engaged, and the Tex pitcher is an anagram of Pinstriped Nut."

CYC's sis: "Jeter's engaged?!"

5 minutes later, with 2 outs and after 4 innings of half-serious perfecto thoughts, AJ walked one. Ok, no-hitter still in tact. Another walk. No problem. Just needs one more out.

CYC's sis: "I just put on the game and someone hit a 3-run homerun. AJ ≠ dealing."

CYC: "Shut the tv off. You're a jinx."

In fairness to my sister, the only reason she can be tagged such with such ignominious fame is because it may be the ONLY way to explain how the Yanks managed to lose this one. Because I'd like to think that I live in a world where a balanced 6-hit game on each side, coupled with a grossly imbalanced defense (in the loser's favior) doesn't amount to such an aggressively imbalanced loss.

But there were, of course, some other issues to consider beyond my sis's brief departure from Eva Longoria:

Texas left 2 runners on base. 2. The whole game. The Yanks stranded 600% more than that.

The Rangers were 3-4 with RISP. The Yanks: 2-12. What's sadder, the fact we had runners in scoring position 12 times to the Rangers' 4 or the fact that 4 of Texas' runs came with 2 outs?

Ian Kinsler went yard 2x, including a 3-run blast off AJ that made our paltry Mark Teixeira RBI a lot less significant. Chris Davis chipped in his own 3-run ding off Phil Coke which was when the air officially started seeping out of our tires.

On the subject of Phil Coke, and since I haven't second-guessed Girardi's bullpen moves in about a month, what's the reasoning behind putting in a shaky, comparatively less dependable, and ultimately unpredictable reliever when our tried and true golden boy is currently dusting cobwebs off his arm on account of a total of 9 August appearances? The "protecting our youth's pitch count" defense doesn't hold as much water when Phil Hughes' has played a whopping 6.6 innings this month.

Alfredo Aceves was the only pitcher brave enough to depart from the "Let's All Give Up At Least One Homerun" bandwagon. Even our boy David Robertson was taken deep (after striking out the first two batters of the inning, of course. Unbelievable.)

In terms of our bats, we should have known it wasn't our day when Jeter struck out to open up the game. I'm not kidding when I say that if he goes hitless tomorrow, I will 100% off ~~Memo Paris~~ Minka Kelly and not skip a beat.

Even Gameday was completely confused about the strike zone. I'm trying to imagine how the control room conversations went there. "Um, we need a strike check on monitor one! Yeah, so is this blue or red? It was a foot outside, called strike. Yes, again. Ok, and wait, so now it's called ball 4 on a fastball down the pipe...I still have to make it red? Um, alright."

The bottom of our lineup, the one I claimed was so terrifying and scary, was useless for us today. Way to make a liar out of me, batters #5-9. You know who you are. Melky, still starved for some Brett Gardner to bring him back to June-July form, did manage to get off 1 hit.

At least we ran well! 3 SBs from Damon, Melky, and Jeter. Annnnnd, that's where the offense bright spots ended.

A 5 game lead is still respectable. And hey, maybe Junichi Tazawa will remember he's not that great, and the White Sox will forget to get swept. But regardless of how the Sox-es perform tonight, the depressing fact remains that a day loss means 27 hours of marinating in it.

Until football season starts, I'd like to avoid the discomfort that is the Next Game Waiting Period. Here's to sweeping Chicago and righting the ship tomorrow.

-CYC