Monthly Archives: June 2008

Rumor has it the Padres were actually on the field at Yankee Stadium last night, but there was little evidence of their presence. Andy Pettitte turned in his second straight dominant outing, tying his season high in strikeouts with nine, and the Bombers stomped on Randy Wolf, cruising to an uncontested 8-0 victory.

Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi got things going with solo homers in the second inning. Giambi then added a two-run shot in the fourth, setting the tone for a five-run inning that was aided by a wild pitch by Wolf and some sloppy play by Craig Stansberry at second base. The Yanks tacked one on in the eight against reliever Carlos Guevara. Meanwhile Jose Veras, Billy Traber (getting an inning ending groundout from Adrian Gonzalez with men on first and second in his return to the team), and Mariano Rivera, who hadn’t pitched since last Thursday and struck out the side in the ninth, nailed down the win.

With the win, the Yankees extended their season-best winning streak to five games. They have scored 29 runs in their last three games and haven’t allowed a run since the seventh inning of Saturday’s game in Houston. Tonight Darrell Rasner faces Jake Peavy, who is making just his second start since returning from an elbow injury. With the way this team is playing, I can’t wait for the first pitch.

San Diego Padres

2007 Record: 89-74 (.549)
2007 Pythagorean Record: 90-75 (.553)

2008 Record: 31-40 (.437)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 29-42 (.408)

Manager: Bud Black
General Manager: Kevin Towers

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Petco Park (91/91)

Who’s Replacing Whom:

Tad Iguchi replaces Marcus Giles
Jody Gerut replaces Jim Edmonds, who replaced Mike Cameron
Edgar Gonzalez replaces Geoff Blum
Paul McAnulty inherits Jose Cruz Jr.’s playing time
Tony Clark replaces Russell Branyan
Justin Huber replaces Terrmel Sledge
Scott Hairston inherits Milton Bradley’s playing time
Michael Barrett is replacing Josh Bard (DL) in the lineup
Luke Carlin is filling in for Barrett on the bench
Edgar Gonzalez is replacing Tad Iguchi (DL) in the lineup
Craig Stansberry is filling in for Gonzalez on the bench
Randy Wolf replaces David Wells and Clay Hensley
Josh Banks replaces Justin Germano, Brett Tomko, and Jack Cassel
Cha Seung Baek is filling in for Chris Young (DL)
Bryan Corey replaces Doug Brocail
Mike Adams replaces Scott Linebrink and Joe Thatcher
Carlos Guevara is filling in for Kevin Cameron (DL)

25-man Roster

1B – Adrian Gonzalez (L)
2B – Edgar Gonzalez (R)
SS – Khalil Greene (R)
3B – Kevin Kouzmanoff (R)
C – Michael Barrett (R)
RF – Brian Giles (L)
CF – Jody Gerut (L)
LF – Paul McAnulty (L)

Bench:

S – Tony Clark (1B)
R – Justin Huber (OF)
R – Scott Hairston (OF)
R – Craig Stansberry (IF)
S – Luke Carlin (C)

Rotation:

R – Jake Peavy
R – Josh Banks
R – Cha Seung Baek
R – Greg Maddux
L – Randy Wolf

Bullpen:

R – Trevor Hoffman
R – Heath Bell
R – Cla Meredith
L – Justin Hampson
R – Bryan Corey
R – Mike Adams
R – Carlos Guevara

15-day DL: R – Tadahito Iguchi (2B), S – Josh Bard (C), R – Chris Young, L – Shawn Estes, R- Kevin Cameron
60-day DL: R – Mark Prior, R – Tim Stauffer

Typical Lineup:

L – Jody Gerut (L)
R – Edgar Gonzalez (2B)
L – Brian Giles (RF)
L – Adrian Gonzalez (1B)
R – Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B)
L – Paul McAnulty (LF)
R – Khalil Greene (SS)
R – Michael Barrett (C)

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Wait, thunderstorms are in the forecast here in New York…

There’s an old joke.  Uh, two elderly women are at a Catskills mountain resort, and one of ’em says: "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible."  The other one says, "Yeah, I know, and such small portions." Well, that’s essentially how I feel about life.  Full of loneliness and misery and suffering  and unhappiness, and it’s all over much too quickly.

–Alvy Singer.

Keep your head up, Willie.  The worst is over.  And we still love ya. 

Few things remind me of why I love New York City more than the great game of Double Dutch. 

Ya heard?

People say Tiger Woods is ungodly. I’d say his performance is often flat-out godly. During yesterday’s dramatic playoff at the U.S. Open, one of the TV commentators said that Tiger isn’t used to chasing someone this late in a Major.  The pressure is on Tiger, he said.  A friend, who is an avid golf fan, turned to me and said, "The pressure is always on the other guy because Tiger is relentless."

Today, Joe Posnanski wonders what drives Woods and notices that there aren’t many telling anecdotes about the living legend.  Michael Jordan’s competitiveness is well-documented, but Woods is almost like an android, he’s so contained, so controlled.  But I thought this was revealing. Woods told reporters: 

"This week had a lot of doubt to it, to be honest with you.  I hadn’t walked 18 holes until the first round here since Augusta.  You know, you keep playing.  You just keep going, keep going forward.

All my buddies, when we were working out, used to always say ‘For.’  How many more reps do we have? ‘For.  Forever.’  And that’s the idea.  You just keep going.  There’s no finish line."

I think Woods is simply one of the most focused, disciplined, single-minded champions of all time. He is relentless. That’s why the pressure is always on the other guy. I’m sure he doesn’t let anything get in the way of his game–family, friends, even business. It doesn’t make me want to hang out with him. How could a guy like that be fun to have a conversation with? But it’s hard not to marvel at his drive, nerve, and his continued excellence in the world of golf.

In his blog yesterday, Rob Neyer looks at the Yankees’ pitching options now that Chien-Ming Wang won’t be around for a good, long while:

One thing I’m sure about: the Yankees aren’t punting. Not now.

I don’t believe that Dan McCutchen is ready. He was excellent in nine Double-A starts this spring, but has only five Triple-A starts and generally hasn’t been able to keep the ball out of the air this season. At 25, he’s a prospect but not a savior.

Ian Kennedy? He’s on the DL, but throwing without pain. Kei Igawa has a 3.73 in Triple-A this season, and a 6.75 career ERA in the majors. Jeff Karstens has a 5.65 career ERA in the majors, and a 6.11 ERA in Triple-A this season. Dan Giese? What a story. At 31, he’s finally getting his shot and he’s getting it with the Yankees. If he really could pitch effectively in the majors, you’d think he’d have done it before now. But stranger things have happened.

Right now the Yankees don’t seem to have any attractive options. But the same was true six weeks ago, right? And Darrell Rasner stepped in, and he’s given the Yankees five quality starts (out of seven). Can the Yankees really catch the Red Sox and/or the Rays with a rotation that includes Chamberlain, Darrell Rasner and (for example) Giese? Probably not. But they have to try, and will.

(And the same goes for the Indians, who still have a fighting chance and aren’t trading C.C. Sabathia anytime soon.)

Isn’t this guy looking for work?

Hey, our boy Bouton prolly still has some life in his knuckler…

While you were sleeping…

The Mets beat the Angels in California last night. Then, they fired Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first-base coach Tom Nieto. Jerry Manuel is the new manager of the Mets.

This was coming. We all knew that. Still, it never ceases to amaze me just how these things are handled. I suppose the Met brass wanted to do this with the team out of town, do it so late in the night that it’d miss the morning papers–as if that really matters these days. I can’t call it. But it just seems like a cockamamie way to handle the situation. Why make Randolph schlep out to California in the first place?

How about this for an Odd Couple?

Tom Friend has a long piece on an unlikely friendship over at ESPN.com.

It was such a nice Yankee weekend too, wasn’t? That is, until the injury to Chien-Ming Wang. Over at Under the Knife, Will “Juicespin” Carroll reports:

Consider this another point for the DH rule, because the Yankees’ ace sprained his foot running the bases on Sunday and looks to be headed for the DL. Early reports indicated that Wang heard a “pop” on the top of his foot, a symptom that New Yorkers should be familiar with. If you don’t remember that Brian Bruney is already out for the season with a Lisfranc sprain, you might remember that missed season by the recently retired Giant speedrusher Michael Strahan. (Here in Indianapolis, it’s Dwight Freeney that comes to mind.) If Wang has injured the Lisfranc ligament or, worse, broken a bone, he’s done for the season for all intents and purposes, putting the Yankees in a terrible position as far as their rotation. With Wang on crutches, the team is unlikely to wait and see on this one, and will likely push him to the DL. The calls are already coming out to go after C.C. Sabathia, but the Yankees are going to need immediate answers. Ian Kennedy is making progress, but isn’t close enough to fill in for Wang’s next scheduled start, leaving Jeff Karstens or Kei Igawa as the most likely fill-ins. We should find out more on how serious Wang’s foot problem is in the next few days once the swelling is down enough for clear images. On the assumption that this is a Lisfranc sprain, I’m setting his DXL at three months.

And you thought we’d seen the last of Kei Igawa.

Update

Pete Abe has the latest. The news is not good. Looks like Wang could be done for the year.

As we wait for an update on the severity of Chien-Ming Wang’s injury, Tyler Kepner suggests why trading for C.C. Sabathia makes sense for New York.   

Curt Flood with Marvin Miller.

Allen Barra thinks that players need to stand up for Marvin Miller.

There are any number of things that look better on HD TV–nature shows, cooking shows, golf. I don’t play golf but it looks so inviting, all that green, on HD. Last night, after a long day with my family, I was lying on the couch watching the last moments of U.S. Open.

“Are you watching, golf?” says my wife?

“No, I’m watching Tiger.”

I’m like a lot of people. Woods gets me to sit and watch. I’m nervous all over again just thinking about that last shot he sunk. The guy is so great it’s almost unfathomable. Imagine being Rocco and having to sleep on that? Tiger is one shot ahead after two holes so far today.

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.

Watching the Yankees play in Houston seems unreal like something out of a video game.  The late afternoon light floods the place in odd, broken-patterns, and the Yankees’ dark helmets and black socks have never looked as menacing or sharp.  They actually look like Bronx Bombers.  It was especially noticable on HD TV.  Rodriguez and Giambi scoring on Jose Molina’s clutch RBI single, the sun shining off their helmets.  The YES replay used the angle behind the batter’s box that looks up the third base line. It was really brilliant.  Giambi’s Porn Stach of Doom has never looked nastier–he’s reaching Nick Nolte territory. 

And Alex Rodriguez has looked absolutely terrifying.  It’s scary to think what he’d do if Houston was his home park. In his first at bat tonight, he sliced a fly ball over the fence in right, and he didn’t even really get all of it.  Hunter Pence narrowed his sights on the ball as it approached the wall in right and he timed his leap expertly.  But an Astros fan wearing a red shirt went for the ball too, his glove knocked into Pence’s mitt and Rodriguez had himself a dinger.  It looked like a weak pop fly but he’s so strong he was able to muscle it out.  Scary.

The home run put the Yankees on the board after Mike Mussina gave up a three-run bomb to Carlos Lee in the bottom of the first.  But Mussina didn’t fold and he didn’t allow another run, going six, and pitching long enough to leave with a 5-3 lead.  Ross Ohlendorf (1 run), Kyle Farnsworth, and Edwar Ramirez finished it off and Mariano was able to take the night off.  Johnny Damon had three hits and is batting .324, Melky had a couple of hits too, and Robbie Cano and Wilson Betemit each had pinch-hit RBIs.  Let’s hope this is the start of something for Cano. 

Final Score: 8-4.     

The win puts the Yankees at 36-33, the first time they have been three games over .500 all season.  It was career victory #260 for Mussina, his 10th of the year.  Unless he completely melts down over his next couple of starts, he should be headed to the All-Star Game.  How unlikely is that?  Good for Mussina.  He’s earned it.  260 is an awful lot of wins.  He’s won ten or more games for seventeen straight years. 

Yeah, You Get Props Over Here.       

Mike Mussina has more than exceeded expectations of late but I fear that he’s due for a stinker, especially with that awfully short porch in left down in Houston.  Who knows? I’d love to be wrong. Here’s hoping the Yanks do the cookin’ tonight.

I’ve always prided myself on being an expert on Bobby Murcer, primarily because he and Thurman Munson remain two of my favorite Yankees of all time. After attending last week’s Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, I realize I don’t know as much as I think. Or perhaps I just don’t remember as well as I should. An informative presentation by Willie Steele of Cascade College, titled "America’s Yankee: Bobby Murcer’s Life In and Out of Baseball," provided me with several new nuggets of information relating to the former Yankee center fielder and all-around good guy.

*While I was certainly aware of Murcer’s connection to Mickey Mantle—with both being from Oklahoma, leading to inevitable and grossly unfair expectations for the young Murcer—I didn’t know that the Yankees staged three different "Mickey Mantle Days."

The first one occurred on September 18, 1965, a Saturday afternoon at the Stadium, with both Murcer and Mantle in the lineup that day. In fact, they batted back-to-back, with the 19-year-old Murcer sitting in the two-hole and Mantle hitting third. Both players played positions with which we no longer associate them, Mantle in left field and Murcer at shortstop. (Bobby played shortstop about as well as I figure skate.) Each man went 0-for-3 against Tigers pitching, which included a relief stint by Denny McLain. And neither man finished the game, a 4-3 loss to the Tigers; Murcer was lifted for a pinch-hitter (Tony Kubek), while Mantle gave way to a pinch-runner (the immortal Ross Mosschito).

*Though he’s remembered for his eloquent eulogy at Munson’s funeral, Murcer was not the only Yankee to speak at the service. Lou Piniella, who was friends with both players, also eulogized Munson. That really shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the closeness between "Sweet Lou" and Thurman. I still remember the scene from last summer’s The Bronx is Burning, when Munson and Piniella tried to hide from Billy Martin after secretly meeting with George Steinbrenner in an effort to save the manager’s job. Martin found the two players in the bathroom.

*Murcer was the Yankee teammate who gave Munson the nickname "Tugboat." Most of the Yankees called Munson "Squatty Body," which was both an endearing and derisive reference to Munson’s flabby build. "Tugboat" sounds just a bit more flattering. Once again, Murcer tried to be the nice guy in the Yankee clubhouse.

*In 1983, unusual roster circumstances led the Yankees to ask Murcer to retire. Somehow I must have forgotten the details to this story. An injury to Ken Griffey left him unavailable to play the outfield for a few days, but wasn’t considered serious enough to merit placement on the 15-day disabled list. In need of another outfielder, the Yankees wanted to recall a young prospect from Triple-A Columbus. Needing to clear out a roster spot, the Yankees asked Murcer, who was strictly a DH by then, to step aside. With no interest in attempting to play for any other team, Murcer agreed to retired gracefully. And, in the process, he just so happened to make room for another future Yankee great. The young outfielder waiting in the wings? Why, it was none other than Don Mattingly.

*Both Murcer’s mother and brother died of cancer. That’s partially why he remains so regretful over having recorded the country song, "Skoal Dippin’ Man," in the mid-1980s. Murcer has hosted an American Cancer Society golf tournament for years and remains committed to establishing a tobacco-free environment. He continues to do this while battling his own cancer, which arrived in the form of a brain tumor in December of 2006.

During his talk at the Hall of Fame, Steele also delivered a rousing endorsement for Murcer’s new book, Yankee For Life: My 40-Year Journey in Pinstripes. I haven’t read the book yet, but just about every review I’ve seen has sung its praises. It remains on my must-read list for the summer of ’08.