Game 41. Yanks lose 5-2. Where’s the SB? The Littleball?

I have been getting on this team for waiting for the three-run HR. Case and point. Bottom of the 8th. Down by a run, Granderson gets on. He doesn’t even TRY to steal second. Why not? Now, Alex hit one to the warning track with one out (1 HR since 4/27, warning track power now?), but they are waiting for the possible HR? Whatever happened to littleball? As I’ve written, Granderson has had seasons of 26, 20 and 25 steals. In the last 85 (I probably had 90 before, looked it up. 85) games, he’s tried to steal just SIX times. Six. Has the power gotten to him? 41 HR last year, 13 so far this year. It’s nice. But I thought we got a well-rounded player, not a one-dimensional one. Do you want to know why the Yanks are now 21-20? There you go. There’s one reason. One-dimensional.

A one-run loss. NO ONE STEALING BASES. For those of you who have knocked Brett Gardner in the past, what are you thinking now? For this team looks SLOW and OLD without Gardner. I’ve never missed Gardner as much as I do now. Station to station baseball is what doomed Boston for YEARS. Simple offensive fact: You have to RUN the bases.

I really can’t believe it. Granderson. A guy with speed. Maybe Girardi needs to put the take sign on more often, or call for steals himself. Something MUST be done. This team doesn’t run with guys who SHOULD run (like Granderson).  There aren’t too many guys who can run, or bunt. They don’t bunt. No hit and run. Granderson gets on and they don’t try littleball at all? No hit and run? No try for a steal? Guys never bunt. No littleball, no a-b-c baseball. I hate to say it, but in playing like this, the Yanks deserve to lose.

Ibanez hit a 2-run HR in the sixth (9, 261 career). There’s your runs for the day. HR or nothing. No littleball, no a-b-c baseball, wait for the HR. CC couldn’t hold it.

In the top of the 7th, CC gave up a HR, got an out, gave up ANOTHER HR. An infield single and  a strikeout. CC then WALKED three straight batters to give Cincy the lead at 3-2.

CC (5-2) 7 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 5 walks, 6 K. ERA 3.78. 3.78 is too high for someone supposed to be your ace.

Wade 1 1/3. 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk, 2 K. 2.25.

Logan 1/3, 2 R, 2 H, 0 walk, 1 K. 3.18. He left with two out and two on in the 9th.

Soriano then gave up a double to let the game get away. 5-2 Reds. Wise tried, but couldn’t get it. Miss Gardner yet? Maybe he gets it. And without Gardner in the lineup (or Nunez at AAA), this team doesn’t run… not even those like Grandy run.

Soriano 1/3, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 1 K. 2.57.

21-20. And deservedly so.

I have to wonder why the media doesn’t ask about the lack of making things happen? About WHY Grandy isn’t running? Why no aggressive baserunning? Or are guys who used to run (Jeter/A-Rod, etc.) just too old to do so anymore?

No running equals what you got the last two games. One-run losses.

Game 34. Andy ok, bats not in loss to M’s

Andy Pettitte was okay in his return to the majors, but the Yanks bats were shut down by the other old guy on the mound, Kevin Millwood, and the Yanks lost to Seattle 6-2 today.

Pettitte went 6 1/3, 4 R, 7 H, 3 walks and 2 K. 2 HR, 1 WP. He gave up no hits until the fourth, when the first hit he gave up was a two-run HR. Even after five, he had given up just two runs on two hits.

In the sixth, he gave up a 2-run HR off the foul screen, and got out of a bases-loaded jam.

For his first time out after being away since October, 2010, he wasn’t that bad.

The Yanks’ bats against the aging and fading Millwood? That was bad.

The Yanks got 1st and 2nd in the third. One out. Jeter GIDP.

In the fifth, the Yanks got a bases-loaded walk to Martin to cut it to 2-1, but with the bases loaded and one out, Jeter GIDP again.

Jeter did get hit #3142 in the 8th, tying Robin Yount on the all-time list.

Ripken 3184, Brett 3154, Waner 3152, JETER 3142, Yount 3142, Gwynn 3141.

Down 4-1 in the 8th, a bases-loaded two out walk to Cano cut the lead to 4-2. Teixeira then struck out. The Yanks were 0 for 5 with RISP.

Wade replaced Pettitte, 1 2/3, 1 R, 2 H, 0 walks, 3 K. ERA 1.62

Rapada came in and got a couple of outs, but why did Girardi stick with him? Rapada is a LOOGY. You don’t let the guy face righties.

After getting two outs (both lefties) with a man on second, Rapada walks a righty batter, then a lefty batter. Bases loaded. He stays in to face a righty batter. A hit and an error by Rapada bring in two runs. 6-2.  Rapada has great splits vs. lefty batters. Terrible ones against righties. Leaving him in against the righties cost the Yanks a chance at a comeback. Righties hit .349 off Rapada. Lefties .164. You cannot let Rapada face righties if you can help it. After Rapada got the two lefties, Girardi should have brought someone else in to face the righty (Garcia?) for the last out. By not doing so, he gave up two runs. In the end, it didn’t matter, but…

Rapada 1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 h, 2 walks, 1 K. 3.72.

In the bottom of the ninth, big mistake by Swish. He doubles to lead off the inning, but is thrown out going for three. Down by four runs? That is inexcusable.

The Yanks only got six hits, two by Chavez, two by Swisher.

Eppley was sent down when Pettitte was activated.

Game 30. D-Rob blows it in the 9th, Yanks lose 4-1.

You don’t know what would have happened had Mo come in to go for the save in the 9th inning.  Usually Mo is money.

But Mo isn’t here for the rest of the year.

Instead, it was David Robertson, with a 1-0 lead. Robertson came into that inning with an ERA of 0.00. You knew that wouldn’t last. No one is perfect, and Robertson wasn’ t tonight. Two hits and a walk and the bases were loaded. He got the K, but then a SF tied the game. You hoped he’d hold it there.

Nope. A 3-run HR. His first (obviously) of this season. In 66 2/3 innings last year, do you know how many HR Robertson gave up? ONE.

You hoped the kid (David Phelps) would get the win in his second MLB start. It would be his first MLB win. He ran into trouble in the first but got out of a bases loaded jam.

Then in the bottom of the first, Jeter singled (3138) and Cano doubled him in.

That’s where it stood for a while. Phelps did well in the second, third and fourth. Then in the fifth he got two outs and had an 0-2 count on the batter. One strike away from being eligible for the W. But a double on that 0-2 pitch followed by two walks forced Phelps from the game. No possible W for the rookie. Boone Logan came in with the bases loaded and got the out and out of the inning. You were pulling for the kid, but Girardi has to do what is right for the team.

Phelps 4 2/3, 0 R , 3 H, 4 walks and 3 K. ERA to 3.08.

Logan 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 2 K. 2.13.

Wade 1 1/3, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks, 0 K. 1.23.

Soriano a shaky 8th. 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 1 K … and an error by Cano. 2.25.

Robertson the 9th, and you know what happened.

2/3 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 1 walk, 1 K. ERA jumps to 2.63. The loss. (0-1).

Rapada 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 0 K. 4.32.

Gm 2: Yanks lose again, 8-6.

Eduardo Nunez made an error on the first play in the bottom of the first. It led to two unearned runs, Hiroki Kuroda throwing more pitches, and things snowballed from there.

We’ve seen this before. Nunez has a quick bat, great speed, but he screws up plays defensively that he should make. His error in the first led to two unearned runs.

Even before that happened, in the top of the first, another instance of not getting the big hit. Teix strikes out with 1st and 2nd, two out.

After the e-6 by Nunez, a couple of outs by Kuroda, but then a couple of walks loaded the bases and Luke Scott singles in two.

Carlos Pena does it again in the 2nd. A 2-out RBI single. 3-0.

Matt Joyce HR made it 4-0 in the third, as they were getting to Kuroda.

No one , it seems, is better at a scouting report than the Rays’ excellent manager, Joe Maddon. His shifts put his players in excellent position against the Yankees’ hitters. Many a driven ball, that you think is a hit, is an out because of positioning. Likewise, his scouting report of not letting Kuroda get ahead in the count b/c of his splitter paid off. Many times tonight the Rays were first-pitch slashing—-successfully— to avoid that splitter.

In the fourth, the Yanks cut the lead in half to 4-2. Andruw Jones had an RBI single, the Yanks benefitted on a Wp & a two-base error, and Nunez singled in a run.

The Yanks let the game get away in the sixth and seventh.

Zobrist and Scott doubled in the sixth, 5-2 Rays. With two out, Kuroda gave up a walk. 1st & 3rd, two out, 5-2. Instead of pulling Kuroda then, Girardi leaves Kuroda in. Base-hit. 6-2. Now in comes Rapada. Pickoff. Out #3. (I can see leaving Kuroda in for the last out. Righty batter). 6-2 Rays, though.

Kuroda (0-1) 5 2/3 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 8 H, 4 walks, 2 K. Not a good outing. He did have a good spring, but tonight… ugh.

In the seventh, with one on and no one out, Evan Longoria hit a long fly to right. What was thought to be a 2-run HR was instead a double after review. Some moron—WEARING A YANKEE UNIFORM— reached over the fence and interfered. Hey, a-****, we don’t need “fans” like you. Dummy. If you need a ball that badly, go to a sporting goods store and buy one for $9 or so.

But here’s the thing. Rapada pitched to Longoria there. Rapada holds lefties to a .153 average or so. But righties hit .370 or so against him. So WHY THE HELL IS HE PITCHING TO LONGORIA???

Matt Joyce singled in two. 8-2  Rays.

Rapada 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 walks, 0 K.

Wade finished, 1 2/3, 0 r, 0h, 0 walks, 3 K.

The Yanks made the final score of 8-6 look good by scoring 4 meaningless runs in the 9th. Granderson tripled and scored on a SF (RBI #5) by PH Ibanez. Martin walked, PH Chavez singled. After Jeter (2 hits for 3091) struck out for out #2 in the 9th, Swisher hit a 3-run HR.

Cano walked, but A-Rod hit one up the middle. That perfect shift and positioning? It was right there.

The Yanks fall to 0-2. Hopefully Hughes is the stopper tomorrow.

 

Game 1. Mo blows it in 9th, Yanks lose 7-6

If you don’t put a team away, it can come back to bite you.

The Yanks were 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and with that, a questionable decision in the first inning, and Mariano Rivera blowing the game in the ninth, the Yanks lost their opener 7-6.

In the first inning, there were men on 2nd and 3rd, two out, when the Yanks decided to walk Sean Rodriguez, who hit .223-8-36 last year to face Carlos Pena for the lefty/lefty matchup. I didn’t like it that decision then, and don’t like it now. Granted Pena hit .225 last year. Granted he was 4 for 35 off of CC, 1 for his last 29. But you know what? Pena hit 28 hr last year. I’d rather give up a two-run single to Rodriguez than a grand slam to Pena.

So what does Pena do? You guessed it. Grand slam.

After the game, it was a deflated clubhouse, per Suzyn Waldman. Girardi, after the game, said he was playing the numbers. Lefty/lefty, no success, 4 for 35, etc. … but umm… this is Carlos Pena…28 HR last year, 39 to tie Teix for the AL lead in 2009… Like I wrote, I don’t like it.

The Yanks got two back in the second on an Ibanez groundout and a wild pitch. A-rod had a big double in the inning.

In the third, the Yanks took the lead on a Swisher groundout and a three-run HR by Ibanez. Ibanez became the first Yankee to get 4 RBI in his Yankee debut since Roger Maris in 1960.

CC gave up a HR to Longoria in the third that cut it to 6-5 Yanks, and there is where it stood until Mo blew it in the 9th.

The Yanks had their chances to break it open, but just like Game 5 of last year’s ALDS, they didn’t get the big hit, going 2 for 11 with RISP, and leaving 12 on.

In the second, even though they scored two runs, Granderson struck out with the bases loaded.

In the fourth, Ibanez grounded out with the bases loaded.

Swisher made a good catch in the fourth, and CC got out of a 2nd and 3rd, one out jam in the fifth. In the sixth, Gardner threw a runner out at second (tell me again why he hasn’t won the Gold Glove?).

In the seventh, Jeter grounded out with two out and the bases loaded.

In the 8th, Swisher struck out with two on and two out.

The Yanks held on to the lead in the 8th, when with runners on the corners and no one out, Robertson (Houdini) struck out the next three hitters.

But in the 9th, Mo gave up a leadoff single, a triple to tie the game, and then after two intentional walks and a K, a long fly to Pena that dropped in (only 2 OF, 5 infielders) to win it for the Rays.

Mo was 60 for 61 against the Rays in save opportunities before blowing this one. He had saved his last 27 in a row.

For Carlos Pena, a nice return to the Rays—5 rbi, including the game winner.

CC 6 IP, 5 R, 8 H, 3 walks 7 K
Soriano 1 IP 0 R, 0 h, 1 walk, 1 K
Robertson 1 IP, 0 R, 1 h, 1 walk, 3 K
Rivera (L, 0-1) 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 h, 2 walks, 1 K

2 hits each for Cano, A-rod and Gardner.

S.T. Game 21 Split squad today

For the sake of clarity, Game #21 will be today’s home game vs. the Twins. The 10-9-1 Yankees have a split squad today. The Road part of the split squad will be taking on the Phils.

The home lineup:

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Russell Martin C
Andruw Jones DH
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Bill Hall LF
Justin Maxwell RF

RHP Ivan Nova

Every start is important as Joe Girardi tries to go from 6 to 5 come April 6th with his starters (and then lop another one off when Andy Pettitte is ready around May 1st).

Derek Jeter returns to the lineup after resting a strained calf.

News From YES Jack Curry:

Pettitte continued to be very confident about his comeback. “I expect to be back to where I was,” he said.

Pettitte faced 6 batters in live b.p. Said he loved the way that his pitches were moving. Admitted that he was “pleasantly surprised.”

Robertson had 29-pitch bullpen session. Faced 7 batters, whiffed 2 and walked 1. Struggled with strikezone a bit.

S.T. Gm 20. Yanks/Boston tie. Chipper to retire

Before I get to the game post, a tip of the cap to Chipper Jones. The career-long Brave and 1999 NL MVP decided to call it quits after this season. He enters the season with 454 HR and a .304 batting average. One of the top 10 3B (and yes, he spent some time in LF) of all-time. Probably top-five.

The Yanks blew a 4-0 lead tonight and ended up in a 4-4 tie with Boston on a game televised by ESPN. There was a lot to like, but when they say a tie is like kissing your sister, then what is a tie with Boston? Far worse.

The good part: Adam Warren and Dellin Betances, both ticketed for the AAA rotation, combined for seven shutout, two-hit innings—mostly against Boston’s A lineup.

Warren 4 IP, 0 R, 2 h, 0 walks and 3 K.
Betances 3 IP, 0R, 0 h, 3 walks (control issues) and 4 K.

The Yanks got two in the fourth on an RBI triple by Granderson followed by a single by Jones.

Doug Bernier (2 hits and a great defensive play tonight) had a two-run single in the fourth.

Cory Wade spoiled the great effort by the youngsters. In 2/3 of an inning, he gave up 3 R, 4 hits, 0 walks, 0 K.

Juan Cedeno went 1/3. 1 R, 1 H, 0 walks and a K.

Kontos 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks, 2 K.

From Lohud:

Besides the great job by Warren & Betances tonight, David Phelps — who was supposed to start this game before his wife went into labor — has pitched 7.2 innings without an earned run this spring. D.J. Mitchell has a 0.89 WHIP and 1.00 ERA. The Yankees upper-level pitching prospects have each made strong impressions this spring, suggesting they’re more than capable of filling a hole should this overflowing rotation need a spot starter or two.

In other words, that AAA rotation should be something else (add Banuelos to that, and maybe even Nova/Pineda—-after all the Yanks have 7 starters for 5 spots now. Even if Garcia is dealt when Pettitte is ready, someone (Hughes, Pineda or Nova) goes down).

More from LoHud:

 Tonight’s game ended in a tie because Girardi had run out of pitchers who he actually planned on pitching in this game. The Yankees had extra lower-level pitchers on the trip, but it seems Girardi didn’t want to use them. “I just said, that’s it,” Girardi said.

• Bobby Valentine wasn’t happy with Girardi for calling the game before it could go into the 10th inning. It is odd that Girardi had extra pitchers on the travel roster but chose not to use them. He said that he was worried about tomorrow’s doubleheader. “We’ve got a long day tomorrow too,” he said. “We need pitching.”

• One seemingly available pitcher was D.J. Mitchell, but the Yankees had him throw a side when it seemed there wouldn’t be enough innings for him to pitch. “We have a responsibility to build him up too,” Girardi said.

My take? Maybe Girardi could have used Mitchell, maybe not. But after Valentine suicide squeezed home the tying run in the 9th in an exhibition game, Girardi could have thought “Screw you for doing that in an exhibition game. I know you have someone warming up for the 10th, but now I’m going to screw you.” Just saying….

Um… Cough, cough. Ibanez. 0 for 3 tonight. 2 for 37 this spring. Down to .054 this spring. Um….. CC is a good hitting pitcher. I think even CC would be better than 2 for bloody 37.

March Madness. Had 12 of the Sweet 16. Tonight got Louisville over Mich. St right, Ohio St. over Cincy right (exact matchups) as well as Syracuse winning this game to advance to Elite 8 (had them over Vandy though, not Wisc.).  I couldn’t win on FLA/Marq. b/c I had Missouri winning this one.

But….12 of Sweet 16. Only one of my Elite 8 done to date. All Four Final Four teams still alive.

This may be the best year I’ve ever had picking the NCAA tournament bracket.

Update: I should add that for the Yanks to play Boston in a spring training game, that one or the other of the teams must take a 2 1/2 hour bus ride. Add a night game on top of that, and can you really be surprised that one or the other didn’t want to go extras?

Yanks, Robertson get good news

ROBERTSON UPDATE: From Jack Curry, YES Network, on Twitter:

Robertson has bone bruise. Will stay in walking boot until Mon. Then boot will be removed and he will work his way back. Good news for Yanks.

Girardi added, “This is as good as it gets for us.” Obviously, said Yanks will be cautious in bringing Robertson back.

Girardi said Robertson’s diagnosis is “a huge relief.” Said he “would think” Robertson would be ready for season opener.

Pineda 2012=Hughes 2011? Uh-oh?

Words of caution and possible alarm from Joel Sherman of the NY Post:

 

Michael Pineda was throwing his fastball in the 88-92-mph range in his first  spring start. As a fact that is probably not a big deal. Pitchers generally work  into their velocity as the spring goes along.

What would raise some red flags for me was an item that Ken Rosenthal of  Foxsports.com had in which a scout said it looked like Pineda was giving maximum  effort just to get those readings, when max effort for him usually is in the  upper 90s.

This is eerily similar to what scouts were saying last spring about Phil  Hughes – it was not just that he was throwing fastballs in the 80s rather than  the 90s. But that he seemed to be trying to manufacture speed and couldn’t get  there. He was not in shape and it does not take a lot to see that Pineda is  hardly in tip-top condition.

Now Joe Girardi pooh-poohed any idea of concern about Pineda’s fastball. Of  course, he did the same last spring about Hughes and also would not even  acknowledge that Hughes was in dubious shape last spring.

Only yesterday did the usually close-lipped Girardi reveal how displeased he  was with Hughes’ conditioning last spring. So forgive me if I don’t want to wait  until next spring to wait how the Yankee manager actually might feel about  Pineda.

We have two realities right now that are indisputable: 1) Pineda is not in  good shape. 2) He finished last regular season throwing 89-91 mph and began this  spring in that range. Maybe it means nothing, like so much of what we see and  hear in spring. But let’s not pretend it is a non-story.

Let’s hope it’s a false alarm. But Pineda, by showing up overweight, didn’t help himself. If there is a Girardi doghouse, Pineda could be in there already. After all, you gave up your top prospect for this guy, who has a lot of potential.

But…taking things for granted ruins potential. Just ask Hughes about 2011.

Weekend wrapup.

I’ve been a little busy lately, and besides, other than the awards, there hasn’t been too much baseball happenings right now.

The AL MVP will be announced tomorrow, and the NL MVP on Tuesday.

So…a trivia question (answer at the end, no cheating!). Justin Verlander could become the first pitcher since Dennis Eckersley in 1992 to win the MVP award, and first starter since Roger Clemens in 1986.

Eckersley and Clemens were both American Leaguers.

Who is the last NATIONAL league pitcher to win the MVP award?

Ok. I see the Post today, and someone is praising Torre for calling Posada a possible HOF player but criticizing Girardi for not catching Posada and for putting Posada ninth in the lineup.

C’mon. Open your eyes. What was Girardi going to do? The sands of time wait for no man, and it was obvious over the last few years that Posada’s defense was getting downright awful. Not only that, but Posada was hitting .147 after the games of May 10th. You can’t just keep him in the 6 or 7 spot. Jorge hit just .248 in 2010 (albeit with a 115 OPS+) and just .235 this past year (OPS+ 87).

This writer shouldn’t have criticized Girardi because of HIS blind loyalty.

It looks like Grady Sizemore is going back to the Indians. There was expectations that the Indians would let the free agent go. Sizemore, 29, was a 30/30 player in 2008, but has suffered through three injury-plagued years since.

The Twins signed Ryan Doumit, who hit .303 in limited time for the Pirates this year. He provides insurance for the recently oft-injured Mauer (C) and Morneau (1B) as well as RF protection in case Cuddyer leaves.

Meanwhile, the Pirates look to be getting Clint Barmes. The SS hit .244 for Houston in 2011.

Speaking of Houston, they’ll be coming to the AL West in 2013, necessitating more interleague play (which I hate) because each league would have fifteen teams. So there would have to be at least one interleague game. As for me, I’ll hate having to see Granderson or Gardner try to negotiate that silly hill in CF in Houston.

Yoennis Cepedes is all the rage in the Dominican. The Cuban defector had something like 33 HR and 90 RBI in 99 games. The 26 yr. old CF is said to want $35-50MM.

Which makes me wonder…could the best free agents on the market be people we don’t know much about outside their stats in foreign competition (Cepedes and Darvish)?

Back to Houston and the switch of leagues. Now a second wild card. I hate it. Instead of epic collapses, Boston and Atlanta would have made the playoffs under the proposed new scenario.

Yup. A team that comes in third in its own division can now make the playoffs. Yankee haters should hate that concept. After all, don’t they complain that they win too much or have an unfair advantage? Now here you have them, and every other team in baseball, getting a chance to get lucky at the right time and be crowned WS champs after a season in which they finish third. No wonder America is floundering. We reward mediocrity.

…and yes, two wild cards can be from the same division, as I wrote above. The “top seed can’t play a wild card from its own division” rule for the division series would be eliminated.

Worse yet, the “series” between the two wild card teams? One game. One game is football. Not baseball. Of course, the silly alternative is to have a best of three, but then the other teams are waiting around too long.

The best alternative? FEWER playoff teams. Whatever happened to the phrase that John Houseman used to say in those Smith-Barney ads.

EARN IT.

Last but not least, and not to get political, Phil Mushnick has a great column in the Post on the ridiculousness of the presidential debates. How refreshing it would be for a candidate NOT to participate in the debates (moderated by someone asking silly questions to sometimes meet his or her own personal agenda) but to issue policy statements. Just state or print out what you stand for and what you will do. Have one to one interviews on the major networks stating your plan. As Mushnick states, a debate between eight persons seems more like a spelling bee…or a game of musical chairs. It sure doesn’t seem like this process of elimination is the proper way to pick a president.

Ok. The answer to the trivia question:

The last National League pitcher to win the MVP award was Bob Gibson in 1968.