Monthly Archives: September 2007

When the Red Sox came to the Bronx for a three-game series two and a half weeks ago I wrote that “the Yankees still only have one route to the postseason, and that’s the Wild Card.” The Yankees were eight games behind Boston coming into that series. After sweeping the Sox, they were five behind. In the two weeks since, the Yankees have actually lost a game in the standings another improbable sweep would still leave them 2.5 games behind with just 14 games remaining in the season. Boston will have just 12 games left after this weekend, none of them against a team that enters today’s action with a winning record. Baseball Prospectus’s Postseason Odds give the Yankees a 2 percent chance of winning the division (but an 87 percent chance of winning the Wild Card). As hard as it might be to remember, this weekend’s series in Boston is far more about holding off the Tigers (who are a solid 3.5 games back in the Wild Card race, but have won seven of their last nine), than it is about catching the Red Sox.

If that dilutes the rooting a bit, here’s something else to root for: the Cleveland Indians. The Indians currently trail the Angels by one game in the overall AL standings. If the the Indians can pass the Angels, then the Tribe, not the Halos, would be the team the Wild Card winning Yankees would face in the ALDS. That’s a far more favorable matchup for the Bombers given that they went 3-6 against the Angels this year, but swept the Tribe in their six giames against Cleveland. The bad news is that the Angels, who are the better team to begin with, have the easier schedule remaining with only a four-game set against the finally free-falling Mariners of much concern, while Cleveland has three against the M’s and three against those surging Tigers.

Back to Boston, this series features the same three pitchers for each team as the last series in New York, only with Roger Clemens and Chien-Ming Wang switching places in the final two games. Tonight we get a rematch of Andy Pettitte and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka, who leads the AL in pitcher abuse points, has been a mess recently, going 1-4 with a 9.57 ERA in his last five starts, including his last outing against the Yankees in which allowed five runs in 6 1/3 innings thanks in part to his putting four players on base for free (three walks and a hit batsman).

Pettitte, meanwhile, is the Stopper (since the All-Star break: 9-2, 3.14 ERA, 9 of 12 quality starts falling just one out short in two others). He countered Matsuzaka with a gem in which he allowed only the leadoff batters to reach base and held the Sox to three runs over seven innings, striking out six. With last night’s loss, he’s even got a potential losing streak to stop.

More good news for Pettitte: Manny Ramirez, who hit one of two homers off Pettitte in that last matchup between these two teams, is still out with the strained oblique that took him out of that game. His replacement, rookie prospect Jacoby Ellsbury (hitting .400/.419/.750 on the month), missed Wednesday night’s game with a injury to his wright wrist. Bobby Kielty gets the start in left tonight hitting from his stronger right side against the lefty Pettitte. As for the Yanks, their lineup looks like it did the first two days in Toronto, with Matsui getting the start in the field over DH Johnny Damon.

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Offense: After dropping eight runs on Shawn Marcum in the first five innings of the opener, the Yankees scored just six more runs in the final 22 frames of the series.

Studs:

Jorge Posada 3 for 7, 2B, HR, RBI, 4 R, 2 BB
Johnny Damon 4 for 12, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, HBP, SB
Jason Giambi 1 for 5, Grand Slam, 2 R, BB, HBP, 3 K
Jose Molina 1 for 3, 2B

Duds:

Melky Cabrera 1 for 13, 2B, 3 K, GIDP
Derek Jeter 1 for 10, 2 BB, HBP, 3 K
Robinson Cano 2 for 12, 2 RBI, R, BB, K
Alex Rodriguez 3 for 11, 0 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K
Wilson Betemit 0 for 3, 3 K

Doug Mientkiewicz went 0 for 2 as a defensive replacement in all three games. Alberto Gonzalez appeared as a defensive replacement in the opener, but didn’t come to bat.

Ouchies: Shelley Duncan’s MRI revealed a bone bruise on his pelvis and a small inguinal hernia. He has rejoined the team, is taking anti-inflammatories, and is listed as day-to-day.

Rotation: Outstanding. Rookies Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, and Mike Mussina, making his first start in more than two weeks, combined to allow just three runs (two earned) in 18 2/3 innings while allowing just 9 hits. Mussina didn’t allow a run in his return to the rotation, falling one out short of a quality start despite throwing only 87 pitches. Kennedy was the star of the series, however, holding the Blue Jays to one hit over seven innings and needing just 93 pitches to do it.

Bullpen: Sure, Chris Britton lost the finale by giving up hits to the only two batters he faced, but that was the only earned run the pen allowed in the series, posting this line:

7 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 11 K

The Good:

In the finale, Luis Vizcaino returned from arm and back pain to pitch a dominant 1-2-3 inning, striking out two and throwing just nine pitches, seven strikes. Ross Ohlendorf pitched a perfect in his major league debut in the opener. Edwar Ramirez allowed three base runners in 2 1/3 scoreless innings, but struck out five. Mariano Rivera pitched around a single for a four-out save in the middle game.

The Bad:

Britton.

Joba Chamberlain allowed his first major league run, but still has a career ERA of 0.00 after 16 innings because the run scored on a throwing error by Alex Rodriguez with two outs. Russ Adams, who scored the run, led off the eighth with a double of Chamberlain, just the second extra base hit Joba’s allowed in the majors. The first was also a double by a young AL East infielder: Boston’s Dustin Pedroia.

Conclusion: With a little more offense they would have had an easy sweep, all credit due to the pitching, which allowed just three extra base hits all series, one double in each game.

“I think that might be the best pitching staff in the league,” [Johnny] Damon said. “Detroit hasn’t been healthy all year I know and you have to look at Anaheim and Boston.

“But these guys [the Blue Jays], all of them throw the ball well. I really tip my hat to those guys. They’re a scary team, they’re really close.”
(Globe and Mail)

The Yankees lost a well-pitched game 2-1 against the Blue Jays last night. Ian Kennedy was terrific, giving up just a run off one hit over seven innings, and A.J. Burnett was McNasty allowing a single run over eight innings. But Battleship Chris Britton gave up two consecutive hits in the bottom of the ninth and that was that.

Kennedy made one mistake in the first inning. With a runner on, he grooved an 0-2 fastball right over the heart of the plate to Frank Thomas. The Jays’ DH pounded a long line drive to deep center field. Melky Cabrera looked as if he was going to catch it, but missed the ball at the wall, allowing the first run of the game to score. It wasn’t a can of corn but it was a ball Cabrera should have caught. Kennedy then retired the next 15 batters, as he mixed his fastball, breaking ball and change-up wonderfully.

Burnett, in a complete contrast of styles, was simply overpowering. His breaking ball was hard and sharp and it often skipped in the dirt. But that didn’t matter much as Yankee hitters waved at it anyway. Wilson Betemit whiffed three times on breaking pitches. Johnny Damon caught a change-up from Burnett and planted it into the seats for a solo home run in the sixth. By the time Alex Rodriguez came to hit three batters later, there were two runners on. Rodriguez couldn’t hold up on the first pitch, a hard slider, but he laid-off the next two pitches, also breaking balls. Then, Burnett spotted a fastball right down the pipe, and to cap it off, he threw the same pitch again. Rodriguez, guessing breaking ball, took both pitches (he’d strike out again in the ninth, after just missing a slider).

The Yankees left two runners stranded in the sixth and in the ninth and when Britton entered the game, well, it didn’t look good. Britton was pitching because Kyle Farnsworth was unavailable due to a sore neck. And so the Yanks lost a squeaker, ending their seven-game winning streak. It wouldn’t seem like such a tough loss if the Bombers hadn’t put themselves in such a pickle early in the season.

Ah, no use crying. Tonight gives Boston. Here comes the pain.

I love to root against A.J. Burnett. There’s just something about the looks of him that turn me off. It’s the body language, the same thing that I don’t like about Farnsworth–though Burnett is a far superior pitcher. He’s the guy with the million dollar arm, ten cent head, the guy with great stuff who is only a great pitcher sometimes. He is able to get by with his natural gifts because he’s been blessed.

Burnett will dominate a game for six innings and then not be able to finish. Or he’ll go on a run for half a season where he’s overpowering from start-to-start, and then he gets hurt or fades somehow. And always with the great stuff. But there’s always something. And you don’t know what that something is only that it is there. He’s elite talent but not an elite pitcher, not with a career record of 67-65 over 9 seasons. Burnett has never won more than 12 games in a season. I know you can be unlucky and injured but you can’t be that unlucky and injured.

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Anyone seen those Jabba The Hutt t-shirts? They are pretty cool. If you enter the code: jobabronxblock, you can save $2.50 per tee. Get ’em while they’re hot.

Our pal Allen Barra talks to Mets announcer Ron Darling about Jazz in this week’s Voice. Darling knows Lee Morgan from Ahmad Jamal. Who knew? And not for nothing, but I think that Darling is a superior color man.

Okay, here’s something to chew over. Yesterday, another BB friend, Pete Abraham, wrote a post about Jorge Posada. Pete thinks Posada is a “probable” Hall of Famer. I’m not so sure about that–as much as I’d like to see it happen, of course. Yeah, I believe that Posada is the third-best catcher in Yankee history (behind Yogi and Bill Dickey), but I think he needs to have another two or three very good seasons in order to be worthy of the Hall of Fame. Just off the top of my head, I wouldn’t rank Posada ahead of Ted Simmons, would you? Discuss.

It is brisk and chilly in New York this morning. As I walked to the subway I couldn’t help but think of playoff baseball. It’s not cold enough for a frost, so we’ll probably get local tomatoes and corn for one more week (the last, delicious reminders of the summer), but the leaves are starting to turn here and there, and the kids are back in school. The Yankees are not a lock for the post-season yet but they are getting there…

When Melky Cabrera reached second base with two out in the ninth inning, he slapped his hands together, nostrils flaired. Perhaps he was amped because his ground ball double play helped squash a Yankee rally in the fourth inning. As it was, his double was only the team’s fourth hit of the night (A fifth hit–a single to center by the next batter, Johnny Damon–was nullified by an extremely poor call by the second base umpire, Jim Wolf). The Yankees, however, had the lead and won the game, 4-1. An 8th inning error by Alex Rodriguez put an end to Joba Chamberlain’s scoreless inning streak, but Mariano Rivera got the last four outs of the game, and that was that. The Tigers (Mags) and Red Sox (Ortiz) and Mariners also won, so there was no change in the playoff standings as far as the Bombers are concerned (the Tigers did gain a game on the Indians who lost).

Hideki Matsui has been slumping but in the first inning he drove a fastball on the outside corner to deep left for an RBI. The YES broadcast showed side-by-side replays of Matsui’s RBI single with an at-bat from the previous game where he was pulling off the ball, his head jerking up in the air toward first base. Last night, he kept his rear and his head steady and drove the pitch. (Matsui also walked twice later in the game.) Rodriguez–who reached base on a check-swing walk (he got a favorable call on that one)–then scored on a wild pitch by Dustin McGowan. Robinson Cano added a two-run single in the fourth which was all the runs the Yanks would need.

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As I detailed in my catchup post yesterday afternoon, the Yankees are giving Mike Mussina a chance to prove that he’s still got something left to offer tonight primarily because having Moose start tonight pushes Andy Pettitte back for the Red Sox series and sets up Phil Hughes as a possible alternate to Roger Clemens on Sunday. It also gives them a low-risk look at Moose before they have to make any hard decisions about Clemens’ elbow or taking rookies in to the postseason. With all of that in mind, this should be an interesting game. Mussina, if you need reminding, has been dreadful over his last four appearances, putting up this line:

13 1/3 IP, 32 H, 22 R (21 ER), 1 HR, 5 BB, 4 K, 2.79 WHIP, 14.18 ERA, 0-3

Moose’s 3 2/3 innings in relief of Roger Clemens a week ago Monday was his second longest outing in that stretch and far and away his best, despite the seven hits and two runs he allowed. The low walk and homer rates in the line above are somewhat encouraging, but that dreadful WHIP comprised almost entirely of hits is all you need to see to know how much trouble he’s had getting hitters out. That, more than anything else, has been his problem, though it is worth noting that 12 of those 32 hits have been doubles, so it’s not as though they’re all dinks that can be blamed on bad luck and the defense.

Moose, of course, is still thinking about his four starts previous to those in which he did this:

25 1/3 IP, 29 H, 8 R, 2 HR, 2 BB, 19 K, 1.22 WHIP, 2.84 ERA, 4-0

Opposing Mussina is Dustin McGowan. McGowan is 2-0 against the Yanks this season having held them to two runs on nine hits and four walks in 14 innings across two starts. Inclusive of that last start against the Yanks in mid-July, McGowan has a 2.62 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and a 7.47 K/9 over his last ten starts.

Combine Mussina and McGowan and tonight’s game is one of those that you have to chalk up as a loss going in, setting up an exciting rubber-game duel between A.J. Burnett and rookie Ian Kennedy tomorrow night.

The lineup is unchanged tonight save for Matsui and Damon switching positions. So Moose gets Matsui and Giambi in the field. Off to a great start . . .

Phil Hughes looked awful in the first two innings of last night’s 9-2 win in Toronto. He was missing Jorge Posada’s target by several feet and needed some big plays in the field to escape some serious damage early on. With the bases loaded and two-outs in the first, Aaron Hill laced a grounder up the middle but Hughes managed to swat it down and get the out at first to escape the jam unscathed. With men on first and second and none out in the second, Hughes benefited from an unusual 8-5 fielder’s choice courtesy of Melky Cabrera’s arm on a flare to center that forced the runners to hold up, and a spectacular diving catch by Johnny Damon on a ball laced into the left field gap. Those plays prevented the Jays from advancing and delivered Hughes two crucial outs. A subsequent single by Russ Adams and a two-base error by Cabrera throwing behind the runner at second (his throw skipped past the bag and rolled into the Yankee dugout) plated both runners, but Hughes got Alex Rios to ground out and shut the door from there, allowing only one base runner on an error by Alex Rodriguez (a bobble) over his final four innings to turn in his second straight six-inning, two-run quality start. Hughes still wasn’t all the great even in those later innings, however. He was still frequently missing Posada’s target. He only struck out one man all night, that being Vernon Wells leading off the first, and of those last 12 outs, only three of them came on the ground.

It was enough, however, as the Yanks touched up Shawn Marcum for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings, the big shot being an opposite field grand slam by Jason Giambi in the fifth, his first homer in 35 plate appearances. Edwar Ramirez pitched around a pair of singles for a pair of scoreless innings in relief of Hughes, striking out five of the eight men he faced. Ross Ohlendorf then made his major league debut with a 1-2-3 inning that started with a strikeout of Lyle Overbay and concluded with a pair of grounders to fellow member of the Randy Johnson package Alberto Gonzalez. Ohlendorf, who did not pitch well in the minors this year prompting a move into the bullpen, threw 11 pitches, seven of them strikes, and hit 95 on the radar gun with excellent control and great movement on his fastball. For those who might have missed it, that means the Yanks held the Blue Jays to two runs (one earned) on five hits (four of them singles) by using nothing but rookie pitchers. The performances from Ramirez and Ohlendorf are particularly encouraging given the fact that Luis Vizcaino has added a stiff lower back to the shoulder problem that has shut him down over the past week.

Elsewhere, Shelley Duncan was sent back to New York after complaining of abdominal pain that could prove to be a hernia, and the Tigers split a double-header with the Rangers, giving the Yankees an even four-game lead in the Wild Card and a five-game lead in the loss column.

Finally, an update on Roger Clemens courtesy of Pete Abe who reports that Clemens “said he is ready to face Boston on Sunday. He threw for about 15 minutes at 80 percent today and will get after it a little more on Thursday. He had two cortisone shots in his elbow last Wednesday in Houston. He also revealed that there was some ligament damage.”

The Yankees have played the Blue Jays six times since the All-Star break and won five of those contests. Their one loss came in Toronto in the last of those six games when Chien-Ming Wang had the worst start of his career. Since then, the Yankee have survived the tough part of their second half schedule and embarked on a current 9-3 pace which has launched them into a comfortable lead in the Wild Card race (now four games with the Tigers loss earlier today). The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have continued to be the .500 baseball team they’ve been all year, going 15-15 since the Yanks last left Canada. They come into tonight off a seven-game road trip on which they dropped series to the AL-best Red Sox and AL-worst Devil Rays as well as a make-up game against the Tigers last night.

One variable in this series is Troy Glaus, not because of the recent steroid allegations, but because he left yesterday’s game after feeling something pop in his left foot. Glaus has had foot problems all year and has been battling plantar fasciitis, the same injury that put Jason Giambi on the shelf for more than two months (perhaps not coincidentally after a four game series on the turf in Toronto). Glaus has been tearing things up recently, hitting .372/.517/.721 since August 25. If he’s hindered or unable to play at all (remember Toronto’s DH slot is filled by the immovable Frank Thomas, though Glaus’s bat has been much hotter of late), it will be a big break for the Yanks.

As for the Yanks, Derek Jeter is indeed in the starting lineup against Shaun Marcum tonight, as are all of the other usual suspects, with Giambi at first base, Damon in left, and Matsui at DH (though all three are struggling so much that I had hoped to see Wilson Betemit get the starts at first base against the all-righty Toronto rotation).

Marcum has gone 11-3 with a 3.45 ERA since entering the Toronto rotation in mid-May. Among his 22 starts this year are two quality outings against the Yanks in which he’s posted this combined line: 12 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 7 K, but has only a loss and a no-decision to show for it (the Jays did win that first game). Marcum posted a 2.02 ERA in his first ten starts and has a 4.76 ERA in his last twelve, but his peripherals don’t show a considerable change in effectiveness. If anything, he was a bit hit-lucky in those first ten outings, something which has ceased in the last 12, but his WHIP in those last dozen outings remains a solid 1.29, and, for what it’s worth, his record has been 8-3 over those last 12 starts.

Opposing Marcum will be Phil Hughes who came up huge in the finale against the Mariners last week to pull out of a string of three poor outings. The key to that start for Hughes was a surge in his ground ball rate. Here’s hoping that trend continues tonight as he faces the Blue Jays for the first time since his major league debut back in April, when he got the Blue Jays’ bad hitter out, but got stung by their good hitters. The Jays are the first major league team to get a second look at Hughes.

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Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been away for the last ten days. I was in California for the wedding of two very close friends followed by an early first anniversary trip of my own. Since I’ve not been around to wrap up the last three series (the let-down against the Devil Rays, the crucial win against the Mariners, and the back-to-business sweep of the Royals), I thought I’d combine all three into a series wrap post here both to make up for those missing posts and to help me get back in the swing of things prior to the resumption of play tonight in Toronto. And so . .

Offense: The Yankees scored just 13 runs in the first four games while I was away, and averaged just four runs against the dreadful Devil Ray pitching staff, starting with Andy Sonnanstine having, by his own admission, the game of his life. They then flipped the switch and scored 42 runs over the last five games, putting up double-digit totals in three of the five.

Studs:

Alex Rodriguez .515/.579/1.273, 2B, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 10 R, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 2 SB, CS
Jorge Posada .440/.548/.840, 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R, 6 BB
Bobby Abreu .294/.368/.618, 6 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB, 7 K, SB
Wilson Betemit .313/.389/.563, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, SacB
Jose Molina 3 for 7, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 K

Duds:

Hideki Matsui .074/.242/.074, 5 BB, 4 K, CS, 0 RBI, 3 R
Jason Giambi .056/.190/.111, 2B, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 RBI, 0 R
Derek Jeter .200/.294/.233, 2B, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 6 K, SB
Johnny Damon .194/.265/.323, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 6 K, 3 SB, SacB
Melky Cabrera .263/.300/.316, 6 K, 2 SB
Shelley Duncan 1 for 10, 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 K, GIDP, SacB

Ouchies:

Andy Phillips broke his wrist in the finale against the D-Rays and is out for the season (he’s been placed on the 60-day disabled list). He went 2 for 3 with a pair of walks in that series before the injury and his final line on the season is .292/.338/.373. Jason Giambi has started four games at first since then to Wilson Betemit’s two. Doug Mientkiewicz was activated from the 60-day DL when rosters expanded, but has only appeared as an in-game replacement, going 1 for 3 with a single, a strikeout and a sac bunt in five games. Derek Jeter left Saturday’s game with a knee problem that’s been described as irritation of the patella tendon in his right knee. He did not play on Sunday, with Betemit getting the start at short, but is expected to return to the lineup tonight. As per the stats above, Alex Rodriguez’s mild sprained ankle looks to be about as big of a problem as the hamstring injury he suffered earlier in the year. He’s hit seven home runs in the last five games, homering in each of those five contests.

Call-ups:

Alberto Gonzalez, who hit .266/.319/.379 between double- and triple-A this season, with the bulk of his playing time coming in Scranton, but the bulk of his hitting having been done in Trenton (though he did hit ten triples in for Scranton), has seen some playing time as a defensive replacement. He made his major league debut on Sept. 1 with an inning at shortstop against the Devil Rays. He ground out as a pinch-hitter for Alex Rodriguez to end a seven-run seventh inning against the Mariners in his first major league at-bat on Sept. 4. He’s still looking for his first major league hit and is 0 for 4 across five games. Bronson Sardinha was just called up on Sunday and is also making his first appearance on a major league roster.

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…For MLB to pattern itself after the NBA. This could take some time…

Howard Bryant is now writing for ESPN. He tackles the Mitchell Investigation in his latest piece.

Over at the NY Times’ blog, Tyler Kepner has a nice post about Harlan Chamberlain.

Can the Yankees win the East? Larry Mahnken takes a look.

Will Alex Rodriguez leave the Yankees? Tim Marchman thinks that is a possibility:

Some mysteries are no mystery at all. Take the ongoing speculation over whether or not Alex Rodriguez will be a Yankee next year. This is not, in fact, a mysterious issue. It was clear in January that he would opt out of his current contract, it became clearer when he had mounted one of the great displays of hitting the game has ever seen in April, and it is clearer still today, as he readies himself for a drive toward his 60th home run. Thus, absent a massive loss of face for the Yankees brass, he will almost certainly be playing for another team next year.

There are two reasons why this is clear. The first is that Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras, prefers whenever possible to have his clients set their value on the open market. The second is that the Yankees have loudly proclaimed that if Rodriguez does become a free agent they won’t be bidding on him, a claim to which general manager Brian Cashman has publicly attached his name and which has precluded any negotiations on a contract extension that would keep Rodriguez in the Bronx. Because Boras’s tactics are sensible and consistent, and because Cashman is not known for publicly lying, it would seem there is only one possible outcome here, absent a sentimental decision on Rodriguez’s part to surrender control over his future in exchange for having his games called by Suzyn Waldman.

Thanks to Baseball Think Factory for some of the links…

So Roy Halladay was pitching a brilliant game last night, but fell apart in the 9th as the Blue Jays lost to the Tigers, 5-4. Go freakin’ figure. Got to be one of the best moments of the season for Detroit. Magglio Ordonez had four hits including the game-winner. Man, he’s had some kind of season, hasn’t he?

The Tigers, who play a double-header against the Texas Rangers today, now trail the Yankees by just three-and-a-half games. The Red Sox lead is down to five games, as they lost a close one to the Devil Rays last night, 1-0.

The Blue Jays won’t make the post-season but they can play the role of spoilers, starting tonight against the Yankees. Here’s hoping our boys continue to play well this week; here’s hoping they win this series in Toronto. ‘Nuff said.

Hideki Matsui is in a slump yet the Kansas City pitching staff decided time and again to pitch to Alex Rodriguez this weekend. Rodriguez ripped home run #52 off Zach Greinke in the first inning yesterday. He singled in the fifth and scored on Jorge Posada’s double. Yes, the Yankees’ two best players, Rodriguez and Posada, were at it again yesterday. Chien-Ming Wang didn’t feel great, but toughed-out seven innings, Robinson Cano made a nifty defensive play, and Mariano Rivera earned the save as the Yanks beat the Royals, 6-3. The Bombers gained a game on the Tigers, who finally lost to the Mariners, and now lead both teams by four-games in the wildcard standings.

When he reaches first base, Alex Rodriguez holds his right hand just over his heart as he rotates his left shoulder. He’s been doing this for about a month now, presumably stretching-out a jammed shoulder. I was going to mention this routine the other night. It’s not that Rodriguez is faking being injured, just that is he can’t help but call attention to himself. It’s the insecurity of the A-student who needs to be reminded how smart he is.

In his second at-bat last night, Rodriguez planted a fastball over the center field wall for his 50th homer of the season. As he was rounding the bases, the entire Yankee bullpen stood and began immitating Rodrgiuez, rotating their shoulders. Some of his teammates were doing the same when Rodriguez reached the dugout. Smiles all around. After the game Rodriguez showed good humor about being ribbed. “I’ve never seen a team make more fun of one guy than this team,” Rodriguez said, smiling. “That was pretty funny.”

Comes with the territory, big boy. Rodriguez hit a second home run–and narrowly missed hitting a third–as Andy Pettitte pitched a good game and the Yankees cruised to an 11-5 win over the Royals. The Bombers have won the series. A win today would be a great way to cap the weekend.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Another tough pitching match-up for the Yanks tonight. Here’s hoping they win the series here and now. It’s all about Andy and the bats.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

“I’ll never forget this day, Sept. 7, 2007,” said Harlan Chamberlain. “I can’t put my thoughts into words.”

Maybe the reason I don’t love baseball movies is because I’ve never fallen for male weepies like Field of Dreams or Bang the Drum Slowly. It’s not that I don’t get mushy in certain movies, it’s just that baseball movies don’t do it for me. My father, on the other hand, loved them and I could see myself, if not loving them myself as I get older, then at least appreciating what my old man saw in them and enjoying that.

My dad, who died earlier this year, was a great blubberer. Episdoes of Law and Order could get him going. He was just a natural crier, and it was easily one of his most endearing qualities. You gotta love a softy, especially old hard guys like my dad.

I couldn’t help but think of the old man last night as Harlan Chamberlain watched his son Joba pitch in the big leagues for the first time. “I think he’s more excited than I am,” Joba said before the game. “I think he’s more excited than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

Harlan bares a passing resemblance to my father–in the thickness of his face, in his glasses, mustache, and the couple of pens tucked into the breast pocket of his black dress shirt. My dad was a real Yankee-hater but he would have been touched by the scene captured by the YES cameras.

When Joba entered a 3-2 game in the bottom of the seventh, Harlan sat in his motorized wheelchair surrounded by family and friends. Harlan’s mouth turned downward and tears began to run down the side of his face. Then his chin and bottom lip began to tremble. He couldn’t stop it and it didn’t look as if he wanted to. Various relatives reached in to rub his shoulder. A young girl threw her arms around his thick neck his face completely moist now.

The long fly ball that ended the seventh put a scare into everyone, and Harlan’s reaction was priceless: His eyes bugged out as the rest of his face froze–no breathing. When the catch was made, Halan’s mouth, still turned downward, opened and he let out a yell, as he pumped his fist. Everyone around him patted him and cheered as Harlan shook his head with relief. Finally, he rolled his eyes and sighed as if to say…”Whew.” Really nice moment.

Joba pitched two scoreless innings. He wasn’t great but he didn’t give up a run. Then Mariano Rivera dominated the Royals in the ninth giving the Yankees a clutch, 3-2 win. Actually, it was a lucky win as much as anything else because the Yankees went 0-367 with runners on base. Check it out, it was ugly. But you can’t argue about aesthetics or luck when you are in a pennant race:

“We went to the bank a lot to win that game,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “We had so many guys on base. We used Farns, used Joba, used Mo. We spent a lot to get that win. It was an enormous win for us.”
(Hartford Courant)

True. A couple of guys who can’t play much better are Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, the two best everyday players on the team. Rodriguez drilled a solo homer in his first at-bat, his 49th of the year. Posada followed with a solo blast of his own two batters later. On the Rodriguez dinger, I thought there would be too much top-spin on the ball and that it would hit off the left field wall for a double. But it hit the top of the wall and skipped over for a homer. Rodriguez now has the record for dingers by a third baseman in a season (or he’s at least tied the mark if you want to include Harmon Killebrew’s 1969 season). He also had two singles. Bobby Abreu doubled home the winning run. The Yanks are three games ahead of the Tigers in the wildcard standings, four up on the Mariners.

Our pal Pete Abe says Harlan Chamberlain “is a piece of work”:

He said he was prepared for Billy Butler’s ball to go over the wall because he knows Joba is going to give up a run eventually. “Matter of time,” he said.

After we got done speaking to him, Joe Torre came out of the clubhouse. Seeing Joba’s dad, he walked over.

“How did my boy do for you, Joe?” the proud father asked as he shook the manager’s hand.

“Pretty damn good,” Torre said. “We’re going to keep him.”

Harlan is scheduled to travel to Yankee Stadium for the first time in his life in two weeks.

I felt as sure that the Yankees would win the last two games of the Seattle series, and they did just that, but with the memory of last weekend’s weak-ass showing against the Devil Rays still fresh, I’m on the fence about whether I think the Yankees will win this series against the Royals. It’s the start of a nine-game road trip, the Blue Jays and Red Sox looming. I’m actually feeling that they are going to lose two-of-three, and I’m not trying to be dramatic, either.

I don’t know much about the Royals but I do know that they’ve been competitive. They are throwing three pretty good pitchers at the Yanks this weekend, I know that much. It’s just that I’m not convinced the Yankees can bring their A-game to a so-so team on a regular basis.

Show us you are a playoff team. You know what I’m saying? C’mon already. I know we’re impatient, I know we’re demanding. Just win already and we’ll leave you alone.

With Cliff still away on vacay, I was fortunate enough to get acclaimed sports writer Joe Posnanski–whose wonderful blog, The Soul of Baseball, quickly became a must-read this season–to share his thoughts on the Royals with us. Enjoy.

The KC Royals

By Joe Posnanski.

Since May 12, the Royals have played exactly .500 baseball — they are 51-51. This probably doesn’t seem the kind of record that would prompt a ticker-tape parade, but hey it has been bad around here. The Royals are one win away from clinching a non-100 loss season. When you’ve lost 100 games four out of five years, you take your small victories when you can get them.

The exciting part about the Royals recent solid play is that they are doing it with kids. The Royals one moment of promise in the last 15 or so years happened in 2003 when they got off to the amazing 16-3 start and were in first place most of the season. But they did that mostly with veterans — Mike Sweeney, Raul Ibanez, Carlos Beltran, Brian Anderson, Jose Lima (!), Curt Leskanic, etc. — and any clear-eyed observer would have known that it could not last. Of course, the Royals had been so bad for so long that many of us DID think it would last, then Ibanez signed elsewhere, Beltran was traded, Sweeney got hurt, the others got old, and the Royals lost 210 games the next two seasons.

This time around, at least, it’s the kids sparking the resurgence. It begins with rookie starter Brian Bannister, who came over from the Mets in the Ambiorix Burgos deal. I am so rarely right about anything, but, man, I nailed that deal. I heard from all my New York friends when Burgos showed up at spring training throwing 100 mph, looking great. I said: “Just wait.” Burgos, as predicted, couldn’t throw strikes, couldn’t get anybody out and blew out his arm. Have fun with that guy.

Meanwhile, Bannister has been terrific — to me, he’s the American League rookie of the year right now. You could argue for Dustin Pedroia, I suppose, but at this point I still like Bannister. For so long people were ready to hand the award to Dice-K. Look at their numbers now:

Bannister: 12-7, 3.16 ERA, 151 ERA+, league is hitting .242 against him.
Matsuzaka: 14-11, 4.11 ERA, 111 ERA+, league is hitting .246 against him.

So it starts with Bannister. He will throw this weekend. Then, you throw in rookie closer Joakim Soria, who has been electric all year — the league is hitting .192 against him. Yankees fans will, I think, see similarities between him and Mariano. I’m not comparing the two at all, obviously. I’m saying that Soria obviously idolizes Rivera because he has patterned his setup and delivery after the guy. At times, if you look away from the screen and look back quickly, they look identical. Try it! It’s fun!

Then there are the two rookie hitters — Alex Gordon and Billy Butler. Gordon started off the season horribly — on June 6 he was hitting .173. Since then he’s hitting right at .300 with some power, and it’s clear watching him play that he pattered HIS game after George Brett.

Billy Butler is just a stud. No other way to say it. He’s 21 years old, his power isn’t in place yet, he has no position, but the guy can flat hit. If you took his stats from this year over a full season, you would come up with a .300 average, 40 or so doubles, 12 homers, between 90 and 100 RBIs — and this guy has no idea what he’s doing yet. A scout called me and said he’s the best young right handed hitter he’s seen since Manny Ramirez.

That’s four rookies, all contributing (five if you include shortstop Tony Pena, who really can’t hit and never walks but probably makes more good defensive plays than any other shortstop in the league). There are some other good signs too. Zack Greinke, after a couple of lost years, is back in the rotation and he has not given up a run in this stretch as a starter. Gil Meche, who was everybody’s favorite whipping boy when the Royals gave him $55 million over five years, has been solid (his 7-12 record doesn’t show it; his 3.85 ERA does). Mark Teahen has had an up-and-down year, but he’s a good player who can beat you a few different ways. Joey Gathright’s average had dropped a bit, but he’s beginning to figure out how to use his amazing speed. Longtime Royals icon Mike Sweeney is back with the team and has been hitting the ball hard again.

Point is there are signs of hope in Kansas City. It’s worth noting, however, that these signs of hope did not prevent the Yankees from destroying the Royals in the Bronx.

Ian Kennedy is on the mound tonight, making his second-career start. Gil Meche, winless in his last eight starts, goes for the Royals. Yanks have their work cut out as Meche is due for a turn in luck, but they are still supposed to win these games, yes?

Right. Exactly.

Would be great to see Rodriguez hit his 50th in KC.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Hey, it’s Neidermeyer!

I have to confess I didn’t come up with this original thought; a baseball card dealer who was appraising my collection made the observation that this memorable Topps card (No. 670) made Ken Holtzman look like the sadistic character in Animal House, the 1978 cult film classic. The "real" Doug Niedermeyer, the evil ROTC leader, was played by talented character actor Mark Metcalf, who achieved lesser fame as "The Maestro" on two Seinfeld episodes and also played the father in the introduction to the video for Twisted Sister’s "We’re Not Going To Take It."

Holtzman’s 1972 Topps card, which was his first with the A’s, featured Oakland’s airbrushed green and gold colors over the cap and jersey of the Chicago Cubs. During the winter, the Cubs had traded the left-hander to the Bay, but Topps apparently did not have any updated photographs of Holtzman wearing an A’s uniform at the time of the card’s release. For Holtzman, the offseason trade turned out to the best of all possible career moves. The Cubs’ decision to trade him for outfielder Rick Monday freed Holtzman from the clutches of Chicago’s anti-Semitic manager, Leo Durocher; placed him in the pitcher-friendly environs of the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum; and allowed him to join a team on the verge of winning three consecutive World Championships. Holtzman certainly played a large role in Oakland’s championship run; as the No. 3 starter behind Jim "Catfish" Hunter and Vida Blue, Holtzman won a combined 59 games during his first three seasons in the Bay Area.

Of all the factors affecting Holtzman in Chicago, his relationship with Durocher seemed like the most detrimental. Though a serviceable pitcher with the Cubs, Holtzman sometimes struggled under the brutal management style of Durocher, whose antiquated way of dealing with players undermined the thoughtful left-hander’s performance. According to at least one writer, Durocher repeatedly made anti-Semitic slurs toward Holtzman, even calling him a "kike." Such bigotry didn’t completely end for Holtzman after his trade from Chicago; Billy Martin reportedly expressed anti-Semitic views toward Holtzman when both toiled for the Yankees in 1976 and ’77.

Holtzman thrived pitching for Dick Williams and Alvin Dark during his Oakland says, but he and Martin did not mesh well in New York. While the actual existence and level of Martin’s anti-Semitism remains debatable, there is no debate over the fact that the manager buried the veteran left-hander. After the Yankees acquired Holtzman from the Orioles as part of a ten-man blockbuster in the middle of the 1976 season, he struggled in pinstripes to the tune of a 4.14 ERA, the highest since his Chicago days. Martin lost confidence in Holtzman quickly. In 1977, Martin called on Holtzman only 18 times, and only seven times as a starter. Martin refused to use him down the stretch in critical games. Despite being only 31 years old and only two seasons removed from status as an elite American League left-hander, Martin had about as much confidence in Holtzman as he did in Ken Clay. Or about as much as Yankee fans today have in Kyle Farnsworth.

Now it may not have been Martin working alone. According to some Yankee observers, George Steinbrenner was just as upset by Holtzman’s spotty performance in New York. Disappointed in his 1976 mid-season acquisition, Steinbrenner wanted to trade Holtzman, but there was the little matter of a "no-trade" clause. Holtzman refused to waive the no-trade, drawing the further wrath of The Boss. That decision, coupled with Holtzman’s status as the Yankees’ player rep, may have sent Steinbrenner to the stove. According to some, Steinbrenner ordered Martin to keep Holtzman chained to the bullpen. In contrast to requests to bat Reggie Jackson clean up, Martin was only too willing to acquiesce to Steinbrenner on the matter of burying Holtzman.

Essentially, Martin and Steinbrenner treated Holtzman as "worthless and weak," to borrow Neidermeyer’s favorite catch phrase in addressing his pathetic Animal House recruits. Unfortunately, Holtzman never recovered from the mistreatment. In June of 1978, the Yankees traded him to the Cubs for Ron Davis (now that was a good deal), but the left-hander didn’t come close to resembling his former Chicago self. By the end of the 1979 season, Holtzman was out of baseball, done at the age of 33.

Of course, it’s certainly possible that Holtzman’s early pitching demise resulted from a heavy workload. From 1968 to 1976, Holtzman pitched at least 215 innings per season, with the exception of one. And some of his innings pitched totals were astounding: 266, 287, and 297. I’m not doubting those numbers were a factor in his career decline, but I have to believe that Martin’s handling of Holtzman played a role, too. That kind of emotional damage—whether it’s inflicted by Niedermeyer or the bigots of the world—can be just as destructive as pitch counts and workloads in bringing a career to a premature halt.

Bruce Markusen writes "Cooperstown Confidential" for MLB.com and has authored eight books on baseball, including the upcoming release, Out of Left Field. He can be reached at bmark@telenet.net.

Where does Alex Rodriguez’s season rank amongst the greatest single seasons ever by a Yankee hitter? Well, according to OPS+, if the season ended today, he’d rank #25. Rodriguez currently sports an OPS+ of 183 (he had an OPS+ of 167 in his last MVP season, 2005). If he drops to 180, he’ll be in 30th place. Nothing but a bunch of guys name Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle and DiMaggio ahead of him on the list. But check out Bobby Murcer’s 1971 season, and Paulio O’s strike-shortened 1994 season, making to top 30.

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