Daily Archives: June 15, 2008

The Yankees crushalated the Astros yesterday, finishing a three game sweep in Houston with a powerful 13-0 lashing. Unfortunately, they also suffered what could be a major injury.

The Yankees got three runs early when Hideki Matsui cracked a two-out double to the gap in left center and Roy Oswalt, who was struggling once again, responded by walking Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, and Jorge Posada to make it 1-0. Robinson Cano then made it 3-0 with a lucky broken-bat single that dropped in behind third base and plated two more runs.

The real action happened in the sixth. With Oswalt still on the mound, Posada and Robinson Cano led off with singles. After a Melky Cabrera fly out, Chien-Ming Wang laid down a hard bunt back to Oswalt that got Posada thrown out at third, but with Cano on second and Wang on first, Johnny Damon chopped an infield single to load the bases. Derek Jeter then singled Cano and Wang home, but as Wang was headed home from third base he pulled up lame and wound up skipping half of the way home. Once he touched the plate, Wang bent over at the waist as Cano anxiously waved out the trainer.

Wang was helped off the field and later left the clubhouse with the help of crutches and a golf cart with what was described generically as a foot injury. More won’t be known until Wang has an MRI today, but he’ll almost surely land on the DL, and if anything is broken, he could miss most or all of the remainder of the season (Brian Bruney’s lisfranc injury come’s frighteningly to mind). Let’s not get ahead of ourselves with regard to how long Wang will be out, but if it’s more than the minimum, it will be a brutal loss for the Yanks, as Wang appeared to have broken his slump with a strong outing in Oakland his previous time out and five shutout innings yesterday. Over those last two starts Wang compiled this line: 12 1/3 IP, 13 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K. With the team starting to click, Wang could have run off an impressive streak the way he was pitching.

Roy Oswalt left the game at the same instant that Wang did, but due to poor performance rather than injury. The Yankees then teed off on lefty reliever Wesley Wright, a Rule 5 pick from the Dodgers this winter. Wright’s first pitch was turned around for a two-run single by Matsui. His second was creamolished to left field by Alex Rodriguez for a three-run homer. Wright then got ahead of Jason Giambi 0-2, only to come back with three straight balls, the last of which hit Giambi. Two pitches later, Jorge Posada cracked another homer, driving Wright from the game and pushing the score to 11-0.

The last two Yankee runs came in the eight against ex-Brave Oscar Villarreal. In place of Wang, Ross Ohlendorf, Edwar Ramirez, LaTroy Hawkins, and Dan Giese each threw a scoreless inning in which each allowed one baserunner and struck out one batter.

The Yanks are coming back home with a four-game winning streak to face a poor San Diego Padres team, but all thoughts will be about Chien-Ming Wang until, and perhaps even after, the Yankees release a diagnosis on Wang’s swollen right foot.

Don’t look now, but the Yankees are making their move. Having finally smashed through the glass ceiling that being two games over .500 had represented for them since April 23, the Yanks move to three games over with yesterday’s win. They’re now 5-1-2 over their last eight series (including the current one against Houston), are 16-9 (.640) over that stretch, and have been in third place in the AL East for the last week.

Today, they send Chien-Ming Wang to the mound looking for their first three-game sweep of a team that’s not the Seattle Mariners and just their second four-game winning streak of the season. Wang snapped a four-start slump with a dominant outing against the A’s his last time out. The Astros will throw their own struggling ace in Roy Oswalt, who similarly dominated in his last start (7 IP, 1 R, 10 K against Milwaukee). Maybe we’ll get a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel to wrap this one up.

Bobby Abreu is the odd man out of the DH-free lineup this afternoon, with Hideki Matui, Johnny Damon, and Melky Cabrera roaming the pastures from left to right. Matsui is hitting third in Abreu’s place.

I talked to a group of kids, four dudes going into their second year of high school.  Nice guys, earnest and sincere.  Told me that they loved Jeter and Reyes and spent most of their time arguing who is better.  They also sweat A Rod and Soriano.  And Manny–duh.  Two of them told me they used to play of a team coached by Derek Jeter’s sister, back when they were 10-11.  Said that they got to meet Jeter on several occasions.  About twenty times, one of them said. 

"Yo, he took us to Mickey D’s and everything."

(more…)

Like many grown men, my father cried like a baby during the father-son reunion at the end of Field of Dreams. I always thought it was a corny, maudelin scene. After my dad died, I was told that I might react differently to that scene. I’ve actually seen it since, and I still think it’s phony, but it has effectively reminded me of my dad and how he found it moving.

The old man was never one to be made a fuss over on Father’s Day. Just a quick call, “How are ya, Pop? Happy Father’s Day.” That’s all he ever wanted. To be recognized. Now he’s gone but I still like to think that he’s got a cosmic subscription to the Banter. So, Happy Father’s Day, Pop. And the same goes to my brother, an impressive young father of two, and all the other dads out there, who are holding down one of the most challenging yet rewarding jobs in the world. Big up yourself.

“When you look back on it, you win 10 any way you can do it, it’s a good year,” Mussina said. “And, actually, my minimum’s 11. I didn’t stop at 10 in any of those years. I actually made it to 11, just like Spinal Tap.”

…He leads the league in victories over his eight Yankees seasons, but he has not been an All-Star since he pitched for the Orioles in 1999.

“It would be great,” Mussina said of a possible selection. “It has been quite a few years. For the last year at Yankee Stadium, this late in my career, after the way last year went — yeah, it’d be exciting.”
(Kepner, New York Times)

Okay, I’m just going to come out and say it. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks, and it’s still such a longshot, but…my number one baseball fantasy wish this season would be to see Mike Mussina finally win 20 games. I don’t think it’s going to happen–and I’ll more than settle for 16-17–I’m just saying I can’t think of anything that would make me happier. Just talking about individual performances, that is. Who knows, maybe he keeps pitching after this season after all. Maybe he winds up with 275+ wins.