Daily Archives: May 1, 2006

a) Speeding Bullets
b) Locomotives
c) Tall Buildings
d) Kryptonite

Last night was a cold, wind-whipped night in Boston that would end bitter for Yankee fans for reasons other than the cold. Tim Wakefield started things off by setting the Yankees down in order in the top of the first, thanks in part to that wind which kept a Jason Giambi bomb from reaching the centerfield corner of the Red Sox bullpen, just as it would stop several shots off the Red Sox’s bats short of the Green Monster throughout the game. That same wind would later cause Derek Jeter to do something he rarely does, look absolutely foolish on a pop up in the seventh inning, though the botched play wouldn’t hurt the Yankees.

Chien-Ming Wang followed in the bottom of the first by walking Kevin Youkilis on four pitches. Youkilis then moved to second on a Mark Loretta groundout and was singled home by David Ortiz, who served a low outside pitch through the shortstop hole vacated by the shift. Wang then walked Manny Ramirez and Trot Nixon to load the bases for Mike Lowell, but got Lowell to ground into a fielder’s choice in which Miguel Cairo, starting at first base because of a solid history against Wakefield, threw home to force out Ortiz. With the bases still loaded and two outs, Wily Mo Pena got ahead of Wang 3-1 and drove a ball to shallow right but Bubba Crosby, starting for the injured Gary Sheffield, made what for the next six innings would look like a game-saving catch to end the inning.

Wang worked a quick, clean 1-2-3 second, but got into trouble again in the third when a one-out walk to Ortiz was followed by a Manny Ramirez single. Trot Nixon followed Ramirez with a hot shot just to the right of second base, but Robinson Cano made a running stab on the ball and flipped it over his shoulder to Derek Jeter, who turned a double play to end the inning. It was the start of a terrific night for Cano, who went 2 for 3 against Wakefield and made another great play up the middle in the seventh to stab a Mark Loretta line-drive (which essentially evened out with Jeter’s botched pop up later that inning).

Having dodged that bullet, the Yankees fired one of their own, following a Derek Jeter lead-off walk in the fourth with walks by Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez. A Matsui groundout tied the game and, after a second groundout by Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano singled up the middle to plate the two walks and give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.

Wang followed that with a seven-pitch 1-2-3 fourth, but once again got into trouble when the top of the order came back around in the fifth. The trouble started when ninth-place hitter Alex Cora beat out a well-placed bunt to the third base side. Youkilis followed with a single to push Cora to second, but an attempted sacrifice by Loretta backfired when Wang forced Cora at third. David Ortiz followed with another single to left, loading the bases. Manny Ramirez followed with a broken bat single that looped just over Miguel Cairo’s leap to plate Youkilis, and a Nixon groundout tied the game.

All of those small nicks in the fifth required just 14 pitches, leaving Wang at 77 at the end of five, but Joe Torre decided to start the sixth with Aaron Small, who had just been activated from the DL earlier in the day. Small, a pitcher who had yet to throw a major league pitch this season and was quite obviously performing over his head during his stint with the club last year, was a dubious choice at best, but made Torre look smart by pitching a scoreless sixth and getting Pena to fly out with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh to maintain the tie.

Then it all went wrong. After the Yankees failed to do any damage against Mike Timlin in the top of the eighth, Joe Torre once again fell victim to Jeff Weaver Syndrome. Tell me if this sounds familiar:

We’ve seen this before, most famously in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series. On the road in a tie game, when the time comes to use Rivera, Torre thinks to himself, “I have no idea how long this is going to go. I’m not going to burn Mo here. I’m going to save him to get those last three outs once we get a lead. In the meantime, I’ll use my long man because he can pitch all night while we wait for the offense to score.” Usually that long man only gets an inning or two of work in because, with no room for error in a game that will end the second the home team scores, that’s exactly what happens. The home team scores off the sixth best man in the pen and the game ends without Rivera throwing a pitch. We saw it with Jeff Weaver in the 2003 Series and we saw it again last night.

The situation was a tad different last night in that Small, quite literally the last man in the pen by virtue of his being activated that afternoon, was already in the game and the eighth inning was not yet a sudden death situation, but results were the same. Torre stuck with Small to start the eighth rather than turning to Rivera or Kyle Farnsworth. Small started okay by getting even newer arrival Doug Mirabelli to ground out to start the inning, but followed that by walking Alex Cora on four pitches. Cora was Small’s third walk in six batters, but perhaps consumed by his desire to avoid making a pitching change prior to bringing in Mike Myers to pitch to third-place hitter David Ortiz, Torre left Small in to pitch to lead-off man Kevin Youkilis. Small’s first pitch hit Youkilis in the elbow, pushing the go-ahead run to second and forcing Torre to make a change.

So who did he bring in? Not Rivera. Not even Farnsworth. No, he brought in Tanyon Sturtze, who has the worst ERA of any man in his pen. Sturtze gave up a bouncing-ball single to Mark Loretta that went right through his legs to plate the go-ahead run. Torre then went to Myers as planned, only to have Myers fall behind Ortiz 2-0 and 3-1 before running the count full. Hoping to avoid walking his only batter, Myers then left a fastball over the plate, which Big Papi launched into the Red Sox bullpen for a three-run home run which landed poetically in the glove of Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was warming for the ninth. Papelbon, who has yet to give up a run this year, set the Yankees down in order in the ninth, and that was that. 7-3 Red Sox.

I can’t blame Torre for using Myers the way he did, and I credit him for Small’s unexpectedly strong performance (though things did get rocky for him in his second inning of work and he did wind up with the loss) as well as with starting Crosby over Bernie in right and Cairo over Giambi at first, as both saved key runs with their defense, but once Torre got to the eighth inning with the game still tied, there was no excuse for not going to his big guns. True, both Farnsworth and Rivera had thrown more than an inning on Sunday, but neither pitched in either of the two games before that, and Rivera needed just 12 pitches to get through his 1 1/3 innings on Sunday. Once that go-ahead run got into scoring position it officially became Rivera time. Because Torre failed to recognize that, his team lost a full game in the standings, a full game that will count just as much on October 1 as it does this morning.

A: d)

Since the 2002 season, the Yankees and Red Sox have played a whopping 90 times (postseason included) and have split those 90 games right down the middle, 45-45, with each team winning a seven-game ALCS. That’s scary, especially when one considers the fact that there are just five Red Sox left from the 2002 team (Manny, Tek, Trot, tonight’s starter Tim Wakefield, and his newly reaquired personal catcher Doug Mirabelli) and just six Yankees (the fab four of Jeter, Jorge, Bernie and Mo, Mussina and Giambi). Despite all that turnover these two teams remain deadlocked, which suggests that it’s not just the men on the field who are of equal ability, but the men who run the team as well. Indeed, 2002 was John Henry’s first full season as Red Sox owner and, after his team went 9-10 against the Yankees that year, he hired Bill James, Theo Epstein et al. the following winter.

Red Sox fans might argue that Epstein and company are smarter than their Yankee counterparts but their intellectual advantage is negated by the fact that the Yankees spend more money, but I don’t buy it. John Henry is wealthier than George Steinbrenner. If he wanted to outspend George, he could. His decision not to is part of how he runs his business, just as hiring Epstein and James was. Yankee fans might counter by saying that Brian Cashman’s hands were tied by George and the Tampa contingent until this past winter, and that going forward, the Yankees just might have the advantage. That doesn’t quite work either. Equally disruptive office politics pushed Epstein out for part of this past winter, and he didn’t join the team until November 2002.

Anyone looking for a reason that this rivalry has climbed to a, pardon the phrase, fever pitch over the past four seasons need look no further than the fact that this tie simply refuses to be broken. It’s fitting, then, that the Yankees and Red Sox enter this quickie two-game series in Fenway tied for first place (the Yankees lead by percentage points and one game in the loss-column due to having played two fewer games) and very easily could emerge in the same position.

I, for one, find it exhausting, and not always in a good way. That said, I think the high rate of turnover has helped. I doubt there would have been 22 James Bond films if Dr. No was the baddie in every one of them. Variety is the spice of life and the Red Sox have did a lot to spice up this rivalry over the winter, turning over a full half of their roster. Out go old warhorses Kevin Millar, Bill Mueller, Bronson Arroyo and a couple of current Yankees (Johnny Damon and Mike Myers). Ended are failed experiments Edgar Renteria, Wade Miller and Matt Mantei. Gone are roster-fillers Tony Graffanino, Gabe Kapler, John Olerud, Chad Bradford, John Halama and Jeremi Gonzalez. In come ex-Marlins Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Alex Gonzalez. Given are expanded rolls to Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, and Lenny DiNardo. Filling things out are Coco Crisp (currently on the DL in favor of Willie Harris), Wily Mo Pena, J.T. Snow, Dustin Mohr, El Loco Julian Tavarez, Rudy Seanez and David Riske (also on the DL in favor of rookie Manny Delcarmen) and you’ve got a whole new ballclub, and that doesn’t even count the rejuvinated Curt Schilling or the at least healthy again Keith Foulke.

Exactly what the result of all of this turnover will be for the Red Sox is hard to say at the moment. Their offense is scuffling (ninth in the AL in runs scored, 17th in the majors), but Crisp has been on the DL with a broken finger for most of the season and Manny got off to a slow start. That said, Varitek and Loretta have yet to hit and there’s reason to believe they might not come around.

The pitching, meanwhile, has been no better (in fact it also ranks about mid-pack both in the league and the majors). In the bullpen, Papelbon has been nearly perfect as the closer (he has yet to give up a run), but Foulke and Timlin have been just good enough (Timlin’s excellent ERA masks poor peripherals) and the imports have all been disappointing thus far. In the rotation, Matt Clement and DiNardo (filling in for the injured David Wells) have been terrible. Josh Beckett, has been no better than average. If not for the strong return of Schilling, this team would be in a very bad way on the hill.

Which brings us to tonight’s starter, Tim Wakefield. Take out an ugly first start against the Rangers in Texas and Wakefield has a 2.20 ERA over his past four starts. The only problem has been that the Red Sox have scored a total of two runs in the last three. As the dean of the Red Sox, Wakefield has quite a bit of history with several of the Yankee hitters and has been successful against just about all of them, Matsui (who’s in one of his annual lunging-at-the-ball slumps) and Giambi especially. Wakefield went 1-4 against the Yanks last year, but still held them to a .184 average. With Sheffield likely out of the line-up due to swelling in his wrist after his collision with Shea Hillenbrand on Saturday, the Yanks might be hard pressed to get much going against Wake tonight.

Chien-Ming Wang, meanwhile, will be making just his second career start against the Red Sox, having lost a well-pitched game to start the season’s final series last year when his defense and then his control abandoned him. One wonders if Wang’s control problems in that game were related to the problems pitching from the stretch that he demonstrated against the Orioles in his penultimate start. The Yankees have been working on that since and Wang looked in control in his last start, echoing his pre-Orioles outing by allowing just two runs in seven innings. Could be Chien-Ming is rounding into shape this season. Let’s just hope the hard Fenway infield doesn’t give his opponents the extra bounces they need to win.

(more…)

Steve Silva, who runs the provocative “Boston Dirt Dogs” site, is calling for Red Sox fans to cheer for Johnny Damon tonight at Fenway Park. There are a lot of yahoos at Fenway Park (just as you’ll find, oh maybe, perhaps one or twelve hundred knuckleheads in the Bronx). At the same time, there are also a lot of appreciative, knowledgeable fans up there too (after all, Boston fans have given Joe DiMaggio and Joe Torre ovations in the past). I expect Damon to hear some cheers to being with and figure he’ll be booed soundly after that.

A fine pitcher’s duel, and crisp 4-1 victory for the Yankees yesterday at the Stadium was marred only by some inept umpiring from the man behind the mask, Andy Dowdy. Dowdy is a minor league ump who has been called on to work big league games as an alternate since 2002. On Sunday, before a packed house in the Bronx, he looked overmatched. Dowdy’s strike zone was all over the place by the fifth inning, and his shoddy work provoked each manager to get tossed–both arguing balls and strikes.

Mike Mussina believed he got jobbed on three pitches during the top of the frame–which ended with him striking Shea Hillenbrand out on a full-count pitch with the bases loaded. Mussina got Hillenbrand to chase a change-up that was up in the zone. As Hillenbrand slammed his bat to the ground in frustration, Mussina barked at Dowdy. By the time the game came back from commerical, Joe Torre was gone. According to the Daily News:

“I came (into his office) between (half) innings and watched the pitches that were in question (on TV). And I just went out there and expressed my disapproval,” Torre said. “I just told him from the top step of the dugout, or I asked him about one particular pitch and he thought it was high, and I didn’t think it was high.”

The Yankee manager’s heated discussion went into Gustavo Chacin’s warmups. Torre said the finale of the argument was when he held up three fingers at Dowdy as the team came off the field.

“He asked me what that meant. And I said I thought you missed three pitches,” Torre said. “And he threw me out.”

Andy Phillips knocked a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the inning, tying the game at 1. Gustavo Chacin had been pitching well, but he too was effected by Dowdy’s strike zone, and with two outs, the bases were loaded for the struggling Alex Rodriguez. The 2-2 pitch, was down and in and looked like strike three. The next pitch was almost in the same spot, but no strike three. Instead, Rodriguez drew a bases loaded walk, putting the Bombers ahead for good. Chacin, notable for being a young pitcher with poise, yelled out loud as he walked back to the dugout. Cue Toronto skipper John Gibbons: He puts in his two cents and get tossed.

Kyle Farnsworth replaced Mussina in the seventh and was impressive. He left a fastball down to Alex Rios who stroked a single to left. Rios then stole second but was called out. The Yankees have been on the wrong side of a slew of calls so far this season, but they got one back there–Rios was clearly safe. After falling behind Frank Catalanotto, Farnsworth blew two fastballs–right over the plate–past the Yankee killer. Catalanotto didn’t stand a chance. Farnsworth came back with two nasty sliders to whiff Vernon Wells.

Jason Giambi, the Yankees’ best offensive player for the first month of the season, smacked a two-run home run (on a full-count pitch from Pete Walker) off the facade in right field to pad the lead. Farnsworth caught Troy Glaus looking on strikes to start the eighth and then got Shea Hillenbrand to pop out after giving up a one-out double to left by Lyle Overbay (Farnsworth was hitting 100 mph on the radar gun, according to YES, he just left a fastball down in the zone to Overbay). Mariano Rivera came on and retired the last four Toronto hitters on a weak pop out and three ground balls.

It was a rewarding victory, and a particularly good way to head up to Boston. Right. In case you hadn’t heard, the Yankees and Red Sox are meeting for the first time this year for one of those strange little two-games series. There will be plenty of hoopla over Johnny Damon’s return to Fenway, but Yankee fans are more probably more preoccupied with the health of Gary Sheffield. Josh Beckett goes for the Sox tomorrow night and perhaps the Yanks will get to see Boston’s icy young closer, Paplebon too. Should be tense and nervous and excitable, as it normally is when these two teams meet.