Game 8. Fans unforgiving of 2004 as Vazquez struggles again in 5-3 loss. Don’t tell them the #3 hitter is hitting .097.

Fans are fickle, and unforgiving. Sometimes though, they need to see more numbers.

Yes, Javy Vazquez disappointed again today, giving up 4 runs in 5 1/3 in falling to 0-2 for the season. ERA 9.82. When he was removed, fans who haven’t forgiven him for giving up JD’s grand slam in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS booed him.

Yes, he was lousy. I do wonder how many fans remember who STARTED that Game 7, 2004 ALCS game?

Wasn’t Javy.

It was Kevin Brown. Who ranks with Pavano and Ed Whitson in Yankee pitcherdom.

Not to exonerate Javy. But let’s see where he is say, June 1 to 15 or so?

BTW, Boos for Javy. I’m not saying to go boo this next fellow I mention, but the #3 hitter happens to be sitting at .097 right now. But in Mark Teixeira’s case, timing is everything. 3 for 31 in early April, ok. But imagine if that 3 for 31 was in late October?

He’d be getting the “choker” label Winfield got. Or A-Rod. Now, no.

…and for the people mad at Vazquez who want Melky back? Where would he play? Do they know Melky has started 3 for 29?

Taking a look around, Matsui off to a good start (before coming back to NY), but Damon and Ian Kennedy are struggling along with the Melkman.

5-3 loss today for the Yanks. After Vazquez, Aceves went 1 2/3, 1 R, Joba 1 IP, scoreless, Marte 1 scoreless.

Jeter had two hits (2759). A-Rod 0 for 3, 3 strikeouts.

It’s early. If a hitter is under the Mendoza Line on June 1st, boo. If Vazquez is 1-6, 7.50 then, boo.

But Lordy, give the guy a chance. Get over 2004 already. You can’t change the past.     

Yanks rumored to be near Granderson deal

It’s not official, but all reports are that barring someone failing a physical, a 3-team trade between the Yankees, Tigers and Diamondbacks is going to be completed in which the Yankees will get OF Curtis Granderson from the Tigers while giving up Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to the Tigers and Ian Kennedy to the D-Backs.

The Tigers would also get Max Scherzer and Dan Schlereth (son of ex-NFLer and current ESPNer Mark) while Arizona gets Edwin Jackson from the Tigers along with Kennedy.

Granderson comes with good and bad points. A good, from Chad Jennings at LoHud:

One thing to like about Granderson: He’s at his best when he’s pulling the ball. And managed to pull the ball roughly 50 percent of the time last season. And pulling the ball is a good thing for a left-handed hitter to do in Yankee Stadium. (My note: dead pull lefty hitter at Yankee Stadium. I’m thinking Maris and Nettles here).

A good, from me:

Granderson is 28, 29 in March, as opposed to Damon 36 and Matsui 35.  

A bad, from LoHud’s Sam Borden (stat by me):

“He can’t hit lefties”: No doubt, Granderson’s lefty splits last year were bad. But for those who use this as the cornerstone of their argument, how about you take a guess at how often the average player faces a lefty pitcher in a given season?

Stats by me (451 AB vs. RHP .275-28-62 with an OPS of .897; 180 vs. lefties, .183-2-9 with an OPS of .484; Career .292, OPS .894 vs. RHP, .210 OPS .614 vs. lefties)   

Borden: Last year, the Yankees faced lefties in just about 30 percent of their plate appearances – to me, that’s hardly enough to use it as a determining factor, especially when a) you have a hitting coach who you ostensibly trust to improve your players; and b) you’re talking about a correctable skill.

Consider this: In 1993, the Yankees brought in an outfielder who had an OBP of .273 against LHP the previous season. By 1994, he had a .439 OBP against lefties. That player was Paul O’Neill. 

Good point made by Borden here, emphasis mine, although I admit to hate losing the kid:

Coke wasn’t a closer of the future, which means that – as a bullpen piece – he’s certainly expendable; and Kennedy, while certainly talented, wasn’t nearly on the same level as Hughes/Chamberlain and had irked some Yankee officials with his ego. (A point from me: He irked some of us FANS, also. Jason called him “What Me Worry?” Ian E. Neuman  on his Heartland Pinstripes blog).  So basically it comes down to how you feel about Austin Jackson and, as I’ve said before, when you’re talking about a team like the Yankees it’s almost always the right play to go with the established player over the player who is only potential.

Anyone who says they know what Jackson is going to be is lying. No one knows. Those who say the “best he could be is Curtis Granderson” don’t know that, just like those who say “he’ll be better than Granderson in three years” don’t know that either. All we do know is that RIGHT NOW Jackson is a player who has done very well in the minor leagues and Granderson is a player who has done very well in the major leagues. To me, that’s the part that makes this trade a steal – you traded a player who MAY be good for a player who IS good, and also happens to be young and economically friendly. (Granderson is said to be only $5.5M for 2010, $8.25M in 2011 and $10M in 2012, which, considering Damon and Matsui both made $13M in 2009, seems cheap). 

(By the way, it’s natural to compare Jackson and Granderson but the two aren’t similar players; Jackson has more speed, but also has yet to show anything close to the kind of power that Granderson has shown.)

(My note: .300-4-65 with 24 steals at AAA this year. .285-9-69, 19 SB at AA in 2008. .304-13-59 with 33 SB combined in 2007. A-Jax will be 23 in February. Granderson had 30 HR this year and Detroit isn’t as friendly as Yankee Stadium’s RF would appear to be for Granderson. Granderson has gone 19-23-22 and 30 HR over the last four years. On the downside, the average in that time has been .260-.302-.280 and .249. He was 10th in MVP voting in 2007 and an All-Star last year. Gardner-like speed with 23 triples in 2006 and 13 in 2007, both times leading the league, and a good basestealer, 26/27 in 2007, 12/16 in 2008 and 20/26 in 2009. One bad thing: his strikeouts. Over 140 of them in 2006, 2007 and 2009 with a whopping 174 (led league) in 2006. His 162 game average is .272-25-72 with 16 SB. OPS+ 113. 66 walks but 149 whiffs.)

Another good point made by Borden, emphasis mine again:

The Yankees are hardly done dealing this winter. With Hughes/Joba/Montero still on the roster, they can still at least talk about Roy Halladay. And with Granderson in the fold, the Yankees can take a harder – and appropriate – line on Damon.

Scott Boras has said Damon has multi-year offers and this is the Yankees calling that bluff. If Damon would come back for one year (or at most two), then he gives the Yankees a DH who can play the OF on days when someone else needs to DH – or just what they’re looking for in that spot. If anything, the Granderson trade may affect Hideki Matsui’s chances of returning to the Yankees more than it does Damon’s.

Of course, you now wonder about the domino effect. Ideally, the Yanks would like to have Damon back to DH and let Matsui go. I love Matsui, but Damon could still, as Borden states, play the OF once in a while while DHing most of the time—as opposed to Matsui who didn’t play an inning in the OF this past season. Granderson provides the Yankees with youth, and let’s face it…they were one of the older teams (Posada 38, Pettitte 37, Rivera now 40, Damon is now 36, Matsui and Jeter 35, Alex 34) to win a WS.  

Of course you also wonder about the effect on Melky and on Gardner. The Yankees could re-sign Damon, put him and his weak arm at DH and move Melky and his stronger arm to LF. Gardner could be a backup OF/defensive replacement (think Swisher)/top PR. You know how I feel about having two CFs—one in LF the better one in CF—in Yankee Stadium given its 399 LCF. This would accomplish that.

Of course the Yankees aren’t done. Maybe Melky or Gardner gets used in another deal, and I wouldn’t just write Godzilla off yet.   

Kennedy was expendable given his injuries and the emergence of Joba and Hughes. He will be 25 soon and has just 14 MLB games under his belt. 1-4, 6.03. Due to an aneurysm, he only pitched in four minor league games and one major league game this season, totalling 23 2/3 IP. In 2008, between 77 IP in the minors and his disastrous 0-4, 8.17 stint with the Yankees, Ian only totalled 116 2/3 IP. Even if he makes the D-Backs starting rotation, how many innings can he provide given his lack of them the past two seasons? How will Arizona use him?

Does trading Jackson mean the Yankees will try harder to keep other prospects like Zach McAllister or Jesus Montero? Does this rule out Halladay? 

Coke, 27, was 4-3, 4.50 for the Yanks in 2009 after going 1-0, 0.61 in a brief stint in 2008. He went 0-0, 0.00 in the ALDS and ALCS but gave up 2 HR in his 1 1/3 IP in the WS, 0-0, 13.50.

I wonder about the other lefty reliever. I saw a rumor about Mike MacDougal, a righty reliever but am not thrilled about that. Right now the only lefty would be Marte, unless the Yanks want to give a good, hard look at Zach Kroenke, who was 7-1, 1.99 at AAA in 2009 and who is 25. Kroenke was 7-0, 2.85 between AA/AAA in 2008. Other than that, I wonder who they have interest in as far as a lefty.

Rafael Soriano accepted arbitration from the Braves, so forget that interest unless there is a trade. Soriano could join Wagner and Saito in the Braves bullpen. It’d be interesting to see how outgoing manager Bobby Cox keeps all three happy.  

Interesting to see that Ivan Rodriguez signed a two-year deal with the Nats (no, he won’t be the player to come later in the Bruney deal! That will be the Nats top Rule-5 pick). Seeing what Pudge gave the Yanks in 2008 (very little), none of us thought the 38 year old had two years left.

Game 153. Yanks 3, Angels 2. Win #97.

YANKEES (96-56)
Jeter SS
Hairston 3B
Teixeira 1B
Matsui DH
Duncan RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera LF
Gardner CF
Molina C

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (11-9, 4.22).

Joining you mid-game. Got off work to find out Yanks had a 3-0 lead. Make it 3-1 now in the 6th.

A different lineup today. Alex gets a day for that hip, hence Hairston. Since tomorrow is an off-day, it’ll be two days off before the Red Sox series. Pete Abraham adds:

HOMER HAPPY: The Yankees have 231 home runs with 10 games left. The team record is 242. That was set in 2004.

CLUTCH-ROD: Alex Rodriguez has 89 RBI this season. 33 of them have come from the seventh inning on with 14 of those either tying the score or giving the Yankees the lead.

• Posada fouled a ball off his right foot in the fifth inning last night and he is getting x-rays to make sure nothing is broken.

• Swisher fouled a ball off his leg last night and was limping around.

UPDATE, 3:00 p.m.: Posada’s x-rays were negative.

Great news on Jorge. Hence Molina, and as far as Swish, hence Shelley the Marauder in RF.

Just wondering…if Mantle and Maris were the M&M Boys, what are Teixiera and A-Rod? A little bit of T&A?   :-)

Major baseball news today, as Bobby Cox announces that the 2010 season will be his last. The only blemish on Cox’s record is that he only won one WS. He won 5 pennants. But 14 straight playoff appearances, over 2400 wins, a .556 winning pct. Of the top 5 in wins by a manager, Connie Mack is #1 (who today will be managing at 88? Now if Paterno were a baseball manager….) John McGraw #2, Tony LaRussa #3, Cox #4 and Torre #5. Cox, like Torre and LaRussa, will be in the HOF soon after retirement. Look at this list. Interesting to see who is in the HOF and who isn’t.  

Update: I should add….how many remember that Cox led the BLUE JAYS to the 1985 AL East title?

I heard Suzyn talking about Napoli and his defensive liabilities. Considering that Gardner was key in the last two Yankees wins over the Angels, should the Yanks play the Angels in the ALCS, Gardner may get the nod over Melky.

It is now 3-1 Yanks, bottom 6th. Cano had a 2-run single, Melky an RBI double. AJ got out of a 2nd and 3rd, no out jam in the 5th by giving up just one run. As with the last outing, this is the AJ we need to see in a few weeks.

AJ gives up a run in the 6th. Get through this inning, AJ. 3-2 Yanks now. AJ does have 11K for the 17 outs he has recorded.

He is gone. 5 2/3 IP but 101 pitches. The Angels (led by Abreu’s patience) do make you work. Men on 1st and 2nd, 2 out.  5 2/3 IP, 2 R (2 runners resp. for) 7 hits, 3 walks and 11 K. Marte in.

Time to prove his looginess (is that a word, or would it be loogy worthiness?) for the postseason.

He gets his man. 3-2 Yanks after six.

Bryan Hoch of Bombers Beat has a good point about Posada. Comeback Player of the Year?

Interesting things in the Post: 1) Girardi said that the reason Aceves didn’t pitch in the loss the other day was “he hadn’t worked in a week and it would be nice to use him but we were losing and I [Girardi] like to use Ace when we are winning to shut the door.” To which I’d like to say, how about making sure the door doesn’t fly wide open? Which it did once Bruney and Alby were used.

2) It’ll be interesting now that Aroldis Chapman is going to be a free agent what the Yanks will do. MLB is expected to clear the Cuban defector as a free agent in a month. The lefty’s fastball was clocked at 102 in the World Baseball Classic. A project, but what a project. He will cost, but as the Post aptly points out, that Yankees could be shy after Contreras and Igawa (and I’ll point out….Irabu). Still, I expect the Yanks to make a push. Should Yu Darvish decide to leave Japan for the States, the Yanks could go in that direction also.

Darvish was taken off the active roster of the Nippon Ham Fighters today due to discomfort in his throwing shoulder and lower back.

As of 7-31, Darvish was 13-3, 1.30. The 23-year old in his Japanese career was 61-22, 2.14. How it translates, who knows, but superb numbers! You can see his Japanese career here.

An interesting 7th for the Yanks. Marte starts, gives up a single and gets a DP. Albaladejo (why him?) comes in and gives up a double. Boy, that DP was huge. You can probably guess that in this spot, Robertson is missed. Hopefully a few games under his belt will be coming soon. His workouts have been good, but you have to get the rust off. In comes Coke. A WP, but Coke rebounds with the K.   

Now for insurance, Hughes and Mo.

Wow. Stunner. In for the 8th is Ian Kennedy. Hmm….Lineout, HBP, Walk, K, Walk. He loads the bases, two out. Joe leaving him in.  He gets a flyout. Whew.

To the bottom of the 9th. Still 3-2 Yanks.

Back to the expected after the unexpected in Ian.

It’s Mo. Single by Abreu, K of Torii. K of Morales. Juan Rivera flies out.

Win #97 is in the books. Save #42 (524 career for the great Rivera). ERA 1.88.

The magic # over Boston for the AL East and best record in the AL is now 5. (4 over Angels for best record).

  

Two “Great Ones.”

Game 149. Yanks bounce back, bomb M’s 10-1.

Mark Teixiera HR’d twice and drove in 5 runs, and Hideki Matsui set a Yankee record for most HR in a season by a DH as the Yanks bombed Seattle, 10-1.

There was a scary moment as CC took a liner to the upper chest but he’s OK. 7 innings of 1 run (unearned) ball, 4 hits, 2 walks and 8 K improved CC’s record to 18-7, 3.31. The 18 wins are tied for the most in the majors. Bruney and Albaladejo mopped up.

Damon continued to come out of his slump with 3 hits. Besides his two HR, Teix had a single and triple. Robbie Cano had 4 hits.

Matsui’s 26th surpassed 1984 Don Baylor. Baylor had 27 HR in 1984 for the Yanks, 25 at DH.

Joba today, then to Anaheim. I’ll be at work, so probably no postings.

Don’t write Yankees-Tigers in stone yet. The Twins lurk just two games back of the Tigers.

The Yanks magic # for getting into the playoffs is now 2. It is 9 for the AL East and for the best record in the AL after getting win #95 last night.

In case you missed it, Ian Kennedy is now up with the Yanks. He may see some work before going to the Winter Leagues. He missed most of the year with an aneurysm. 

The Mets are closing in on 90 losses.

College Football: I wasn’t that impressed with my PSU yesterday and still have concerns going into next Saturday night’s game vs. Iowa. 31-7, 28-7 and 31-6 wins over Akron, Syracuse and Temple don’t show me anything. I still don’t think PSU should be ranked in the top 5. One major shocker yesterday was #3 USC losing to Washington 16-13. ND meanwhile, escaped 33-30. A poor decision by the MSU QB there at the end. #7 BYU also joined the upset list, losing to FLA. St. 54-28. #18 Utah also got picked off., 31-24 by Oregon.  

Game 147. Jays @ Yankees. Cervelli’s walkoff wins it, 5-4.

YANKEES (93-53)
Magic #s. 6 for playoffs. 12 for Division. 12 for best AL record.

+7 pythagorean. OPS+ 120; ERA+ 102
Jeter SS .332*-17-64-26*/31*-128 (2729 hits; 3rd in AL BA; tied for 3rd in runs scored, Damon is 2nd)
Hairston LF (a day for JD) .258-2-11-0/0-110 (as Yankee)
Teixeira 1B .286-35*-111**-2/2-142*
Rodriguez 3B .285-25-84-11/13-142*
Matsui DH .277-24-82-0/1-128
Swisher RF .257-27-79-0/0-130
Cano 2B .320-23-77-4/10-124 (7th in AL BA; leads AL in games played–he’s only missed one…can you believe he is tied for 2nd in the league in total bases? Teix is 1st…)
Cabrera CF .280-12-63-10/12-101
Molina C (probably a good thing Posada sits against the Jays tonight…)
                .243-1-11-0/0-64

Pitching: RHP Chad Gaudin (1-0, 3.42 with Yankees; ERA+ 131).
The fill-in as Andy’s shoulder gets some rest. Hopefully that rest helps!

The 2010 Yankees schedule is out. They open and close in Boston, as previously reported. Opening Day at the Stadium is against those pesky Angels. Interleague is strange. The Yanks go to LA and Arizona (and the Dodgers have NEVER visited Yankee Stadium for Interleague….only the WS). Of course there is the home and home vs. the Mets. The Astros and Phils join the Mets as interleague home games. I don’t understand why the Phils. After all, the Phils played three in Yankee Stadium this year. You’d think the Yanks would have to go to Philly, but no. So it is Mets H and A, Phils and Astros @ H, LA and Arizona Away. The Yankee Fan Club has their road trip next year, and some thought it would be an interleague game. Unless Club Prez Chuck is chartering a plane (and that is HIGHLY unlikely), I would say the answer is no.

You can check the whole schedule here.

The Post stated that only twice before have the Yanks opened and closed a season at Fenway. They were in 1938 and 1950. Being that the Yanks won the WS in both of those years (and both times in sweeps), hopefully it is an omen!   

Just saw this. Somewhere in the land called Honah Lee, Puff the Magic Dragon is crying. Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul and Mary, passed on today at the age of 72.

Mary has left us.

The Yanks got two in the first on and RBI double by Teix and a single by Godzilla but then the bats went silent. Toronto was forced to go to the bullpen and piece it together after Tallet went down with an injury but the Yanks couldn’t capitalize.

Gaudin pitched well and it’s 4-2 Toronto in the 7th. In 5 2/3, Gaudin gave up 3 runs. Not bad, and he actually has been more reliable in his spot starts than AJ or Joba have been recently. Bruney came in, and his postseason spot could be in jeopardy as he gave up a run without getting an out. If the Yanks go with a 3-man rotation in round one (because of the extended schedule), Joba drops into the bullpen. Robertson (who will begin throwing again soon) could be ready. Joba, Robertson, Aceves, Gaudin, Hughes and Mo are six righty relievers. Bruney could be the odd man out. You then would have Coke and Marte. Eight relievers with the three starters.

Two big updates from Pete Abraham:

UPDATE, 6:53 p.m.: More on the suspensions:

Posada and Carlson were initially given four games without pay and a $3,000 fine. Both appealed and it was reduced to three days with pay and the fine. They start serving tonight. Posada wasn’t going to play tonight anyway and he has a stiff neck from the fight.

Meanwhile, Rod Barajas got a $1,000 fine. Shelley Duncan got three games and a fine. Edwar “The Terminator” Raimrez was fined as was an apparently feisty Kevin Long.

Joe Girardi, meanwhile, came to the defense of John McDonald.

“There’s been some reports that John McDonald gave me my little thing on my eye and that is totally incorrect. John McDonald is a local kid that is a good man. From watching the tape. I didn’t see John McDonald touch me, and he actually sought me out today and we talked about it. He was quite disturbed that his name was mentioned in that sort of situation. He’s a peacemaker, he’s a local kid and I just want to clarify that.

“I got elbowed by one of my own players that I won’t disclose because it was an accident trying to pull someone off, so I don’t want John McDonald to have a bad name because this is a good man.”

One of his own players? No wonder Joe was so ripped last night.

UPDATE, 7:40 p.m.: Ian Kennedy is pitching tonight for Scranton in the IL Finals. You can watch the game live by clicking on the video link at www.swbyankees.com. Good luck to Ian as he continues his comeback.        

Edwar fined. Now that is funny. Edwar is so skinny that you can’t imagine him fighting. He’s so thin you have to find him to land a punch. Like trying to hit a pencil.

As I wrote before, the Joba rules could come off next year and be replaced by the Hughes rules (think about it, with Phil in the bullpen now and in the rotation next year…)…meaning maybe Kennedy takes over the 2009 Hughes role? Getting Ian back on track could be huge for the 2010 Yankees.

Yanks have a shot in the bottom of the 7th. Hairston up, bases loaded, down 4-2, two out. Nope, he makes out. 7 innings played. Yanks have 4 hits. Only 2 since the first. I know the plane is waiting for Seattle but…

…and after Seattle it’s those pesky pests the Angels. Huge series for best record in the AL.

Hughes gets work in. A 1-2-3 8th.

Texas losing. Magic # for a playoff spot could go to 5.

One of the other magic #’s, AL or Division will drop to 11 since the Angels are playing Boston.

SO CLUTCH! Goodness how he will be missed. Godzilla ties it with a 2-run HR.   

To the 9th. Mo in. Bunt single. Forceout, 1-6. People sometimes forget how great a fielder (except for that one occasion, Game 7 of the 2001 WS) Mo is. Flyout. SB. Ground out. The incomparable Rivera has another shutout inning and the ERA drops to 1.66.

God, I’d love to see Gardner win it with a walkoff, but for him, it might have to be an inside-the-parker. Wouldn’t that be something? 

Gardner does do his job. Singles. Now for the SB.

…and he gets it. People sometimes forget how important the speed game can be. Just look at the double steal the other night. SB #22. Jeter grounds out. Gardner to third.

Cervelli up. Now HERE is the time for the squeeze! 

Nope, but Cervelli does win the game with a single. 5-4 Yankees. 94-53. Texas lost, so the magic # to clinch a playoff spot is now FIVE.

The magic # for AL best record is now 11. AL East also 11. One of those numbers will drop to 10 tonight, depending on who wins the Angels-Red Sox game (now tied 7-7 in the 8th as I write).

Minors: Tampa (High A) is up 4-0 in the 5th and can win the FSL title with a win tonight. SWB (AAA) lost 4-1 and is down 0-2 in their best of five finals of the International League. The good news is that Ian Kennedy threw 3 innings. 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and six Ks. The bad news? He was replaced by Igawa. 3 R in 4 IP.   

Later…have a good evening. 

 

 

Game 145. Yanks turn the tables and use their speed to best the Angels, 5-3.

Makeup game. It’s a big game for the Yanks as they try to hold off the Angels and maintain the best record in the AL.

It’s also a big game for Joba, who has been crappy lately.

My late day at work, so no details, just a comment or two.

YANKEES (92-52)
Jeter SS
Damon LF (Hopefully after yesterday’s fiasco, a teammate told JD  that there are 3 outs to an inning!)
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF

Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-5, 4.45). ERA+ 100 (league average).

The ”A” lineup.

Joba gives up a HR to Bad Vlad in the 2nd. 1-0 Angels after two.

Pete Abraham gives us news on the latest Yankee callup, “Fast” Freddie Guzman, and on Ian Kennedy pitching for SWB as they reach the International League finals. Meanwhile, Anthony Claggett (originally acquired in the Sheff deal) was DFA’d to make room for Fast Freddie. Hmm…Claggett DFA’d. Sanchez with the arm woes….they didn’t get anyone who amounted to anything for Sheff…

Swisheroo ties it up with a HR in the 3rd. #27.

No truth to the rumor that Kanye West is going to hijack the mike from Ronan Tynan the next time Tynan sings “God Bless America” at the Stadium. (j/k).

The best we’ve seen Joba in quite some time. This will probably be it for him tonight. 4 IP, 1 R, 4 hits (2 by Bad Vlad), 0 walks (huge) and 2 K.  

Aceves in for the 5th. Still 1-1.

Aceves goes 2 1/3, gives up a run in the 5th. In the 5th, I didn’t see it, but what a strange inning. Swish doubles. Melky walks. Jeter sacrifices. (Ugh. Not here, Derek! Swing the bat. 2727 hits, not 2727 sacrifices!) Damon hits into a fielder’s choice, Melky out at 3rd (?). Now I didn’t see it, but how does Figgins get Melky out at 3B, unassisted, when there are 2nd and 3rd, no out? Swish stays at third. It’s not like the Melkman was forced to run. There is a play I have to see.

But Teix triples in two. Yes, I wrote triples. Like I said, strange inning. It remains 3-2 when Aceves walks two in the 7th. Coke comes in, gets out of the inning.

But in the 8th, Hughes gets in deep trouble and blows the lead. Singles by Abreu and—-yes—Bad Vlad. A walk to Torii Hunter. To his credit, Hughes gets out of it only giving up the tying run on a DP ball. A lineout ends the inning. A rare Hughes relief failure.

Bottom 8. With one out, Teix doubles and Alex walks. Time for the Yanks to score and have Mo shut down those pests, the Angels. We all know the difficulty the Yanks have with the Angels.

How much do the Yanks want this one? Gardner runs for Teix. Should the Yanks score, it’s easy. Melky moves to RF, Swish to 1B. But Gardner is then the #3 hitter and you lose an AL MVP candidate (who currently has 35 HR and 111 RBI) and Gold Glover.

But the move to the Road Runner pays off! A double steal, and Napoli’s throwing error lets the Road Runner score and Alex takes third. The Yanks get back at the speedy Angels with their own game. The double steal is important as Godzilla strikes out. Posada is intentionally walked, and Guzman enters as a PR. The move backfires, as Cano comes through with a single to make it 5-3 Yankees.  Swish whiffs. 

As written, all the defensive adjustments. Add Molina in to catch since Guzman PR for Jorge. Mo in.

Two easy outs, then a walk. Advance on defensive indifference. He’s getting two strikes but the pests keep fouling them off. Give the Angels credit, they are making Mo work.

But save #40 of the year and #522 of his career are in the books. A tapper back to the mound. Hughes, who blew the save, gets the win. (7-3, 3.18).

Mo’s ERA…with 17 games to go…drops to 1.69. Think about that. He turns 40 in November. He had shoulder surgery last offseason. 40 for 41 in saves. 1.69. It looks like it will be his ninth season with a sub-2.00 ERA.

Amazing. 

The magic # for the AL East drops to 12. Texas is losing big, so the magic # for a playoff spot will drop to 7. The magic # for best record in the AL is now at 12.

Game 144. Yanks look to avoid sweep by (gulp!) Orioles.

You never know in baseball.

Andy, AJ and CC lined up against the team with the worst record in the AL East. A team that hasn’t had a winning season since 1997.

Yet it is the Yanks who are trying to avoid the weekend sweep today.

I have the day off so that I can attend and volunteer at my parish picnic today. Of course I’ll have my trusty cell with me to check up on the games. My shoulder was hurting so badly yesterday that I called it a night and went to bed at halftime of the USC-Ohio St. game. So you know that it was hurting pretty badly.

Checking around. I didn’t read the Post yet, but the back headline says more or less that AJ could be a weak link in the Yankees’ title hopes. To which I wonder if Joba is, too?

Great stuff from Pete Abe today, hence the links:

Pete Abraham points out how we just don’t know which AJ we could get. He could stink out the postseason like Wang did in 2007, or turn out to get on a roll and be a postseason MVP. A look at his season.       

Besides that link, Abraham adds this:

In the game story today, I wrote that A.J. Burnett is 1-5 with a 6.14 ERA since July 27. Among American League pitchers with at least 40 innings since the All-Star break, only Trevor Cahill of Oakland and Chris Tillman of Baltimore have a higher ERA.

In his column for the Post, Joel Sherman adds these numbers:

• Burnett is tied for the most walks in the majors

• Burnett has thrown three times more wild pitches than any other pitcher.

• Burnett has allowed 21 stolen bases, tied for fifth worst in the majors.

• Burnett has allowed a career-worst 24 homers.

This is all pretty much what most objective analysts feared when the Yankees signed him. There’s a lot to like about Burnett but a lot that scares you.

Pete has good news on Ian Kennedy. Kennedy will have to “make up” his season in winter ball. You wonder if, with Wang out and Hughes most likely rotation-bound in 2010, if Kennedy could be a wild card. Wouldn’t it be interesting if, after Joba starred in the bullpen and Hughes (after his own-injury shortened season) did the same, that Ian goes to the bullpen after HIS injury-shortened season and does in 2010 what Hughes and Joba did before him?

Meanwhile, SWB won Game 4 of their first-round series and will defend their International League Title. Not a bad debut for Zach McAllister, who most likely will be at SWB to start 2010. I’d expect Montero to start 2010 at Trenton….but not stay there long. ETA of both in the Bronx? 2011.   

It’s early, but Pete does provide us with today’s lineup:

YANKEES (91-52)

Magic # AL East: 14; playoffs 11: AL best record: 16.

OPS+ 118, ERA + 102. +7 on Pythagorean.

Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (16-7, 3.40). ERA+ 131

It is the “A” lineup. Think the Yanks want to avoid the sweep and start reducing that magic # a bit more?

No detail with the stats today. Busy, but go here to get them (stats as of beginning of today’s game).

Projections:

Jeter has 189 hits this year. That projects to 214. His lifetime BA is .317. 2724 hits for his career. Using the projection and going back to 2004, he averages 200 1/2 hits a year. Let’s give him the 25 hits, and add another so that he finishes 2009 with 2750 hits. Let’s give him six more years. He is 35 now. So that he retires after the season in which he turns 41. Let’s take into account some deterioration of skills as we must. Let’s take his average AB a year and say from here on out that he “only” hits .270. That still comes out to 177 hits a year. 177 x 6= 1064. 1064 + 2750 = 3814 hits…which would place Jeter behind only Rose and Cobb on the all-time hit list. The batting average would drop of course, but Derek still ends at .304.

Now to Mo. He will be 40 in November. Let’s give him three more years, which may be generous. He currently has 521 career saves. Let’s round it to 525 going into 2010. 25 a year for three years isn’t out of the question, taking into account deterioration of skills, injury…it may actually be a bit low. We could be talking about 600-615 saves (or more) by the time he retires. His 2.26 ERA translates to the best ERA+ all time. A 0.77 ERA in the postseason. 34 postseason saves (and he isn’t done yet!). This year could be his ninth year with a sub-2.00 ERA (and he isn’t done yet!).

As I wrote in a previous post, will the a-holes who would NOT vote for these two the minute they hit the HOF ballot spare us years of waiting and declare themselves NOW? 

I’ll recap in another post.

 

Game 131. Pettitte’s gem reduces magic # to 26. Yanks beat O’s, 5-1.

The lineup. Alex gets a night off.

YANKEES (82-48)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Hairston 3B
Cabrera CF

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettitte (11-6, 4.18).

Brad Penny became a free agent after going unclaimed on waivers. He signed with SF.

From Pete Abraham:

UPDATE, 6:07 p.m.: Good news on IPK via the AP:

Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy will throw batting practice Wednesday for the first time since surgery May 12 to remove an aneurysm from beneath his right biceps.

Kennedy said he felt great after throwing 45 pitches off a mound Monday. The right-hander will make 30 pitches during Wednesday’s session. He also is scheduled to face hitters Saturday and the following Tuesday. 

Swishalicious! Swisher leads off the top of the 3rd with HR #22. 1-0 Yankees.

After 4, 1-0 Yanks. Andy is P*****T.

Update: The perfection lasted for 20 batters. With two out in the 7th, Hairston made an error to ruin the perfecto, and Pettitte gave up a hit with the next batter to end the no-no. In the 8th, he lost the shutout, giving up a HR to Mora.

But he didn’t lose the game. Andy improves to 12-6, 4.03. Win #190 as a Yankee passes Lefty Gomez for 3rd on the all-time Yankee list. It is #227 of his career, and you have to wonder what if he hadn’t gone to Houston. #1 on the Yankee list is Whitey Ford with 236 and #2 is Red Ruffing, who had 231 of his 273 wins as a Yankee.

Andy went 8, 1 R, 2 H and 8 K. Bruney got one man out in the 9th but put two on. In came Mo for save #37, #519 of his career. The incomparable Rivera lowered his ERA to 1.81 and escaped those August blues which he has frequently had.

Remember what I’ve written about. That Mo has had EIGHT sub-2.00 ERAs in his career and that no other closer has had more than four. 1.81 now. 31 games to go. Could #9 be on its way? For a 39 year old coming off shoulder surgery…just amazing. Next time someone argues about who is the greatest closer, throw that stat their way. What could be NINE sub-2.00 ERA seasons. … and as far as we know, he isn’t done yet.

One last thing about Andy. Last year, as we know, was the only season in his career that Pettitte didn’t have a winning record. He was 14-14. It seems safe to say that he’ll be on the winning side of the ledger this year. Only one man has ever had decisions in ten or more different seasons and had a winning record in each of those seasons—Babe Ruth. Granted some years were 1-0, 2-0 (when he was primarily an outfielder) but put it this way. He may have only pitched in one game that year, but he won that game.

As for the offense, Swisher HR’d (#22) for the 1st run, and doubled for the second. Jeter picked up hit #2711 (ten behind Gehrig) and Damon singled Jeter (who had doubled) home. Cano drove in two. It was only 2-0 when Andy lost his perfecto and no-no. The Yanks got the three insurance runs in the 8th.

Final, 5-1 Yanks. The magic # drops to 26. 6 1/2 up, 31 to go.   

What an August. No dog days for this bunch. 21-7 for the month.

April, 12-10, May 17-11, June 15-11, July 18-9, August 21-7. Cue the Beatles…
It’s getting better all the time …

83-48. After a 15-17 start, 68-31 since.

68-31. Better than two to one. A .687 winning pct. Do you know what that is over the course of a year? 111-51.

The 1998 Yankees were 114-48. Just to compare.

Let’s hope September and October are 1998-like.  

Searchin’

With apologies to one of the greatest two-sided 45′s ever, although the Yanks would love “Youngblood” in the #5 spot, they are still “Searchin’.”

With Mitre at a 7.50 ERA after four starts, the Yanks yesterday signed Russ Ortiz to a minor league deal. Ortiz was 3-6, 5.57 (13 starts, 10 more games in relief) for the Astros this year, ERA+ 75. For his career, the 35 year old is 113-88, 4.48, ERA+ 94. He had a nice stretch from 1999-2004, and won 21 for the 2003 Braves, but since 2004 is 10-28.

Meanwhile, Ian Kennedy (remember him?) hopes to get in a few minor league games before the season ends. He will be pitching in the Puerto Rican Winter League this winter. Kennedy started four games for SWB this year and was 1-0, 1.59 before going down with an aneurysm in his pitching arm. Kennedy turns 25 in December. He is 19-6, 1.95 in his minor league career, but 2010 will be a huge year for him. He needs to bounce back and show that he can do it on the major league level (MLB 12 starts, 1 relief appearance, 1-4, 6.14).

Lastly, the “Truth,” Josh, wonders what might have happened had Mussina decided to come back this year. Surely he’d be better than the combined 5-8, 8.20 that we’ve received from the starters trying to fill that #5 spot, right?  

Boston is in for four games. Time to get revenge for the zero for eight against the Red Sox this year. Joba vs. Smoltz. Time to remind Smoltz that he is 42. Open a bit of a cushion, Yanks.

The minors today. Kennedy aneurysm. Jackson DFA.

AAA: If you didn’t hear, terrible news for the Yanks and Ian Kennedy, who was doing well at SWB up until now.

From Pete Abraham:

UPDATE, 6:06 p.m.: Terrible news for Ian Kennedy. He has an aneurysm and will have surgery in New York on Tuesday. The same surgeon that worked on David Cone, Dr. George Todd, will do the surgery.

If you recall, the Cone aneurysm was in 1996.

Steven Jackson was DFA’d. Just a numbers thing. He will be snapped up….and soon, by someone else.

 SWB won 11-5. 2 hits, HR, 4 rbi John Rodriguez. Chris Malec 2 hits, 3 rbi.   

Scranton/WB
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Hacker	4.0	6	4	4	2	3	1	7.88
Stephens (W, 1-1)	2.0	2	1	0	1	1	0	6.35
Kroenke (H, 1)	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.60
Wordekemper (H, 1)	1.1	4	0	0	0	1	0	9.53
Claggett	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.63

AA: 9-2 win for Trenton. Hr, 3 rbi Reegie Corona. Grand slam for Jorge Vazquez. Nice outing for Wilkens De La Rosa.

Trenton
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
De La Rosa (W, 1-0)	6.0	5	0	0	1	9	0	0.00
Castillo, N	1.2	1	0	0	2	2	0	9.00
Schmidt	1.1	2	2	2	1	2	0	1.42

A+:  8-6 Tampa win. 2 rbi for Brandon Laird. 2 Rbi for Matt Cusick.

Tampa
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Duff	3.1	3	1	1	1	2	0	4.96
Heyer (W, 1-1)	1.2	5	3	3	0	2	0	5.68
Norton (H, 1)	2.1	2	2	2	1	3	0	3.00
Ortiz (S, 6)	1.2	3	0	0	1	4	0	6.52

 

A-: 2-1 Charleston win in 10. The first ER Venditte has given up this year. 3 hits, 2 RBI for Brian Baisley.

Charleston
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Phelps	7.0	6	0	0	0	7	0	3.44
Braboy	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.84
Venditte (BS, 2)	1.0	3	1	1	0	0	0	0.61
Rulon (W, 1-1)	1.0	2	0	0	0	3	0	1.26