Daily Archives: August 6, 2007

The Yanks snapped the Blue Jays’ eight-home-game winning streak yesterday afternoon with a nifty come-from-behind win on Simcoe Day in Toronto.

The Bombers got on the board first by cashing in a leadoff triple by Melky Cabrera in the third, but the Blue Jays answered with two in the bottom of the inning, both plated by a booming Frank Thomas double to left field. The Jays added a run in the fifth by bringing home a leadoff double by John McDonald to make it 3-1, but that merely set the stage for the Yankee comeback.

Bobby Abreu got things started in the top of the sixth by drawing a full-count walk. Alex Rodriguez, who Jays starter Jessie Litsch threw behind in the first inning, likely retaliation for the Rod Said “Ha!” incident, followed with a single to drive Litsch from the game. Hideki Matsui greeted lefty reliever Scott Downs with a single of his own that plated Abreu and, after Jorge Posada struck out, Robinson Cano put the Yankees out front with an double that scored Rodriguez and Matsui. Cano then moved to third on an Andy Phillips groundout and scored when his buddy Melky singled him home to make it 5-3 Yanks.

Andy Pettitte got into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the sixth, getting the hook with two out and two on following a four-pitch walk to McDonald. Fresh up from triple-A, Jim Brower was fortunate enough to have the scalding line drive Reed Johnson hit off him go directly to Rodriguez at third to end the inning. Brower then gave up a single to Alex Rios to start the seventh at which point Joe Torre went straight to Luis Vizcaino who finished the inning without further damage, but pressed into getting five outs gave up a solo home run to Aaron Hill in the eighth to allow the Blue Jays within one. With two outs in the eight, Vizcaino walked Lyle Overbay on a full count, then hit pinch-hitter Matt Stairs in the leg with a slider that slipped, but Joe Torre, having used Mariano Rivera for four outs on Sunday, refused to even warm Rivera up in the eighth and, with Brian Bruney and Ron Villone feverishly warming up in the pen, Vizcaino got Johnson to ground out to end the threat. Rivera then slammed the door in the ninth, striking out the heart of the Toronto order (Rios, Vernon Wells, and Thomas) and regularly hitting 96 on the YES Network’s radar gun.

The 5-4 win slips the Yankees past the idle Mariners in the Wild Card race. The Bombers now stand alone in second place, a mere half game behind the slumping Tigers (though they still trail both Detroit and Seattle by a game in the loss column).

As for Jim Brower, he was the man called up to replace Mike Myers who was designated for assignment after Sunday’s game. Brower, however, is a generic 34-year-old journeyman righty reliever on his eleventh organization (he was released by the Pirates in late April after just six triple-A appearances). Sure, he was having a fantastic season in Scranton (1.65 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.96 GB/FB, 40 K and 11 BB in 43 2/3 IP), but he’s not a solution. He’s much closer to being an older, right-handed Wayne Franklin. That Edwar Ramirez is back to his old tricks with Scranton (9 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 15 K since being sent down in late July), and Chris Britton has just come off the DL (he’s pitched twice since being activated and allowed a run in two innings) makes the decision to promote Brower even more regrettable. The Yankees simply don’t have enough room for error to allow Brower to prove as useful as the last Brower to wear pinstripes.

Fortunately, the solution just may be on his way. Peter Abraham reports that Joba Chamberlain has been sent to Toronto and will likely be activated for today’s game. Word is that Jeff Karstens will be demoted to make room for him. That supports what Joe Torre said prior to yesterdays game about no longer trying to force lefty-on-lefty matchups now that Myers is gone. Karstens continued presence would have suggested that Torre intended to rely on him as a long man while using Villone as a matchup lefty, but without Karstens, Villone remains the long man, and Chamberlain and Vizcaino become the final pieces of this team’s long awaited Big Three without a lefty in the picture to muck things up. I like it. Now if they’d only swap out Brower and Farnsworth for Ramirez and Britton (and dump Miguel Cairo when activating Jason Giambi, who is due to arrive in Toronto today as well).

By sweeping the Royals over the weekend, the Yankees have compensated for their series loss in Baltimore the previous weekend going 4-2 in those two series combined (not counting the suspended game win in Baltimore). They’re thus back on task having gone 18-7 (.720) since the All-Star break. Today they’re in Toronto for a three game series that will complete the cupcake portion of their schedule.

The Yanks took three of four from the Blue Jays at the Stadium in mid-July. Since then the Yanks have gone 12-5 and the Blue Jays have gone 10-5, the latter putting together an eight-game winning streak at their home park in Toronto. Of course, the Jays are still just one game over .500, but just as they were in mid-July, Toronto remains the best team the Yankees have had to face during this easy part of their schedule.

The Jays’ roster looks much the same as it did when these teams last met, with the notable exceptoin of the Toronto bench, which has seen as much turnover as the Yankee bench that has since added Jose Molina, Shelley Duncan, and Wilson Betemit. For their part, the Blue Jays released backup catcher Jason Phillips, replacing him with minor leaguer Curtis Thigpen, and designated infielders Royce Clayton and Howie “Ha!” Clark for assignment, replacing them with Hector Luna, who was claimed off waivers from the Indians, and switch-hitter Ray Olmedo.

The Yankees are making some moves of their own, having designated Mike Myers for assignment after yesterday’s game and flying Jason Giambi to Toronto to join the team. No word yet on who will replace Myers in the pen or when exactly Giambi will be activated or at whose expense.

Today, the Yanks and Jays play an afternoon game on Simcoe Day with Andy Pettitte taking on former Devil Rays’ bat boy Jesse Litsch. Litsch held the Rays scoreless through 6 2/3 in his last outing and has a 1.71 ERA over his last five starts. When he faced the Yankees six starts ago, however, he didn’t make it out of the first inning, giving up five runs on four hits beginning with a leadoff home run by Johnny Damon, and two walks while retiring just two of the eight men he faced.

Offense: Thirty-one runs in three games. The onslaught continues . . .

Studs:

Bobby Abreu 9 for 14, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, SB
Robinson Cano 6 for 11, 2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB
Alex Rodriguez 4 for 11, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, SB
Derek Jeter 4 for 10, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, SB
Hideki Matsui 4 for 11, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R
Melky Cabrera 6 for 15, 3 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 2 R
Wilson Betemit 4 for 8, 3 RBI, 2 R
Andy Phillips 3 for 7, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB

Duds:

Johnny Damon 2 for 10, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, 3 K
Jose Molina 0 for 3, RBI, R

Miguel Cairo went 0 for 1 as a defensive replacement on Saturday.

Rotation: Quality starts from Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina bookended a rough outing by Phil Hughes.

Bullpen: Allowed seven runs in 9 1/3 innings on nine hits and four walks.

The Good:

Mariano Rivera retired all seven batters he faced, picking up the save in the finale. Luis Vizcaino allowed a single and a walk in 1 2/3 innings striking out the side in the eighth on Saturday.

The Bad:

Kyle Farnsworth pitched one inning and allowed one run on a single and a walk. Ron Villone gave up a run on three hits in the ninth inning on Saturday. Brian Bruney struck out the side in a perfect inning on Saturday, but couldn’t finish the seventh inning in the finale giving up a walk and a single with two outs. Mike Myers can on in relief of Bruney and allowed both runs to score. Myers faced three batters earlier in the series, striking out two and allowing one double. The Yankees have since designated Myers for assignment.

Jeff Karstens did not pitch after throwing 39 pitches in the finale of the White Sox series.

The Bombers whipped the Royals, 8-5 on Sunday afternoon, completing a three-game sweep. Godzilla became the first Japanese player to hit 100 home runs in the majors, and Mike Mussina pitched well again. The Tigers and Indians lost and the Yanks are now just a half-a-game out of the wildcard. Good times.

Here’s a question: What are the chanes that Bobby Abreu comes back next year? Unless he falls into another slump, his numbers will look awfully decent when all is said and done, no?

Also, the Yanks designated Mike Myers for assignment. Coming soon: Joba and Giambi.