Daily Archives: July 31, 2008

On a hot, humid night in the Bronx last night, Andy Pettitte had a hard time staying cool and composed. Drenched in sweat and clearly off his game, Pettitte struggled with his command and the communication with his new catcher, Ivan Rodriguez–at one point Pettitte simply mouthed “four seam, four seam” before delivering a pitch. The big lefty managed to strand a pair of walks in the first inning and work around a pair of singles in the second, but in the third he gave up a pair of three-run homers to Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera that broke the game wide open.

The Yankees got a run in the fourth on a Bobby Abreu solo shot off Angels starter Jon Garland, and another in the fifth when Melky Cabrera tripled and scored on a subsequent hit by Johnny Damon, but the Angels got those back and more in the sixth. Pettitte gave up one more tally before getting the hook with one out in the sixth, but he left two runners on base for Chris Britton. Britton retired two of the first three men he faced, but the one he didn’t get was Vlad Guerrero, who added yet another three-run jack to push the score to 10-2 and end any real hope of a Yankee comeback.

Britton gave up two more runs in the eighth, but saved the rest of the pen by finishing the game (3 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K). Meanwhile, Xavier Nady, who is stinging the ball in blow-outs but still hitless as a Yankee when it matters, led off the seventh with a solo shot off Garland, then keyed a somewhat hopeless Yankee rally in the ninth with a lead-off single. The Yanks wound up scoring three runs off Darrens Oliver and O’Day in the ninth to make the 12-6 final look closer than the game actually was. Here’s hoping that rally carries over into tomorrow’s game.

In his Yankee debut, Ivan Rodriguez saw three Angels steal successfully against him and Pettitte and went 1 for 3 at the plate with a strikeout and a double play. Rodriguez’s one hit was a hard shot that Chone Figgins knocked down at third, but couldn’t gather in time to throw Rodriguez out. Pushed to third by a Cabrera single, Rodriguez made a deft baserunning play when Johnny Damon subsequently hit a comebacker that Darren Oliver juggled then threw wildly to second to force Melky. Rodriguez broke for home as soon as Oliver committed to his throw and made a nice outside slide around catcher Jeff Mathis, sticking his left hand in to touch home safely. The only problem is that home plate ump Ed Hickox completely blew the call, telling Rodriguez that he had missed the plate, and calling him out on a phantom 1-6-2 double play. Another bummer on a night full of them (I didn’t even mention the slack defense of Robinson Cano and Bobby Abreu, which stood in stark contrast to the play of the Angels, particularly Figgins . . . oh, I guess I just did).

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2007 Record: 94-68 (.580)
2007 Pythagorean Record: 90-72 (.558)

2008 Record: 67-40 (.626)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 59-48 (.553)

Manager: Mike Scioscia
General Manager: Tony Reagins

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Angel Stadium

Who’s Replaced Whom:

Mark Teixeira replaces Casey Kotchman
Torii Hunter replaces Orlando Cabrera
Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis take over most of Reggie Willits’ playing time
Juan Rivera (DL) replaces Shea Hillenbrand
Jeff Mathis inherits Jose Molina’s playing time
Ryan Budde (minors) is filling in for Mike Napoli (DL)
Jon Garland replaces Kelvim Escobar (DL)
Jose Arredondo replaces Dustin Moseley (minors)
Darren O’Day replaces Chris Bootcheck (minors)

25-man Roster:

1B – Mark Teixeira (S)
2B – Howie Kendrick (R)
SS – Maicer Izturis (S)
3B – Chone Figgins (S)
C – Jeff Mathis (R)
RF – Vladimir Guerraro (R)
CF – Torii Hunter (R)
LF – Garret Anderson (L)
DH – Juan Rivera (R)

Bench:

S – Gary Matthews Jr. (OF)
R – Robb Quinlan (3B/1B)
S – Reggie Willits (OF)
S – Erick Aybar (IF)
R – Ryan Budde (C)

Rotation:

R – John Lackey
L – Joe Saunders
R – Jon Garland
R – Ervin Santana
R – Jered Weaver

Bullpen:

R – Francisco Rodriguez
R – Scot Shields
R – Jose Arredondo
R – Justin Speier
L – Darren Oliver
R – Darren O’Day

15-day DL: R – Michael Napoli (C)
60-day DL: R – Kelvim Escobar

Typical Lineup:

S – Chone Figgins (3B)
S – Maicer Izturis (SS)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Vladimir Guerrero (RF)
R – Torii Hunter (CF)
L – Garret Anderson (LF)
R – Howie Kendrick (2B)
R – Juan Rivera (DH)
R – Jeff Mathis (C)

(more…)

According to SI.com, Manny Ramirez has been traded to the Dodgers in a three-way deal that also moves Jason Bay to Boston.  According to Ken Rosenthal:

The Pirates will receive Andy LaRoche and right-hander Bryan Morris from the Dodgers and outfielder Brandon Moss and releiver Craig Hansen from the Red Sox.

My first impression is that Boston did well for themselves.  Bay is a very good hitter who is likely to be even better with the Red Sox.  He might not be as great as Ramirez but he’s a lot younger.  He’s also cheaper–a lot cheaper.  I don’t think the drop-off is that drastic to be honest.  Looks like a solid move by a team in a tough spot. 

Still, no Manny in Boston leaves an emptiness in the Yankee-Sox rivalry. 

Couple of new guns will be at Stadium tonight–the Angels have a new first baseman, the Yanks have a new catcher.  Be interesting to see how that impacts the Halos Annual Bomber Beatdown.  In the meantime, this afternoon is about the trade deadline.

So?  Will Manny Ramirez still be a Red Sox come this evening?

Props to the New York Times for the work they’ve been doing with the Bats blog.  Last year, Bats was functional but uninspired.  This season, however, they’ve not only been updating the blog frequently, but they’ve included some terrific posts, like this one on the history of the Eephus pitch.  Absolutely monstrous post.

One of the funniest things I recall seeing in recent years came in the late summer of 2002. It was an afternoon game at Yankee Stadium, the Rangers were in town, and it was brutally hot.

El Duque had been tinkering with the old lob ball for a few games when he uncorked one to Alex Rodriguez in the first inning of an afternoon game. Rodriguez was caught off guard, and so was the ump: the pitch looked like a strike, but was called high. Rodriguez stepped out of the box, and smiled.  Duque tried it again on the very next batter, Raffie Palmerio. The pitch was in the dirt and it skipped away from Jorge Posada.

The second time Rodriguez came up, Duque threw him another floater, again for a ball. Not willing to let well enough alone, Duque thought he would fool Rodriguez by trying it again in the same at-bat (chutzpah is not something Hernandez ever lacked). So he floated another one to the plate, arching his back in an exaggerated manner that gave away his intention. Rodriguez waited, then pounced, popping the ball over the left field fence.

Joe Torre shook his head and grumbled. It was the last Eephus of the day for Hernandez, who gave up a homer in the next at-bat to Palmerio (fastball). Those were the only two times Texas scored all day, Duque settled down and pitched wonderfully and the Yanks won the game.

Of course, who can forget Dave LaRoche, throwing a true Eephus to Gorman Thomas at the Stadium back in the Eighties?

I’ve always enjoyed rooting against Pudge Rodriguez.  He makes a good villain.  It starts with the eyebrows, arched in a comically sinister fashion.  Pudge is both good-looking and almost grotesque, he’s like a Warner Bros. cartoon come to life–a bona fide Taz Devil. On the field,  he’s a "winner," a guy who helped the Marlins win a World Series and later, helped put the Tigers back on the map.  He’s a Hall of Fame catcher, not just a great fielding catcher in his day, but a legendary one.  He’s also a guy who likely took performance-enhancing drugs when he was with the Rangers.  He’s never been busted, but you have to figure he just turned out to be one of the lucky ones.

Still, he’s an entertaining player to watch.  He might not be as strong defensively as Jose Molina, but he’s still a presence out there.  Plus, he’s charismatic.  I don’t think any of us would be surprised to see him collect some big hits in August and September. 

So, I’m pleased to see him on the team, warts and all.  And while I’m not sorry to see Kyle Farnsworth’s time with the Yankees come to an end, I was moved by his show of emotion yesterday.  I felt for the big lug, which is basically how GM Brian Cashman portrayed him–as a good guy.  I’ve always been so frustrated by his performance that I never paid much attention to his personality.  He wasn’t effusive with the press so it was really hard to tell if he had one.  

Now, he’s gone.  One big, bad guy out, another bad guy in. 

Hot dog.