Daily Archives: June 21, 2009

That did not go at all according to planned. Matter of fact, it was lousy as the Yanks continue their routine as the Castor Earl Kids.

The rain continued in New York this weekend–it’s been raining for weeks and is supposed to continue to rain this coming week too–but it was hot and sunny in Miami.  CC Sabathia left the game in the second inning with tightness in his left bicep and although the Yanks held a 3-1 lead their two-week funk continued as the Marlins rallied to win 6-5.

The on-line Merriam Webster dictionary defines “mediocre” as “of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance : ordinary, so-so.”  That just about sums up Brett Tomko who coughed up the lead by allowing home runs to Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross.

I watched the Tomko outing unfold and cursed Joe Girardi for letting Tomko pitch. Jorge Cantu added a key RBI base hit in the seventh–a throwing error by Melky Cabrera allowed another run to score. Matt Linstrom struck out Rodriguez to start the ninth and got Robinson Cano to roll out to second. Then Jorge Posada and Cabrera singled. Brett Gardner followed with a line drive in the right center field gap, good for a triple. Two runs scored and the Yanks were just down by a run. Johnny Damon pinch hit and drew a walk but Derek Jeter grounded the first pitch he saw to Hanley Ramirez for the final out.

If not for a lucky bad play by Luis Castillo, this would have been the fourth consecutive series that the Yankees have dropped. As it stands, they still have two more series in National League parks, and they’ve just lost four of six to the Nats and Marlins. 

This is a team slump. Oh, and up here in New York it’s still raining. 

We never had supper growing up. We ate dinner. I always thought supper was earlier. All the Catholic kids I knew ate supper, at 4:00 in the afternoon. We didn’t eat until 8:00.

Anyhow, strange start time this afternoon, 5:00 p.m. That’s still tea time as far as I’m concerned. But it works out well for me, as I’m out this afternoon at a dance recital. Going to watch little kids dance to John Lennon songs. Doubt I’ll see the second grade interpretive variation of “Mother” (pity), but it should be fun all the same. Beauty part is I get home in time to catch the game.

Tough loss last night. I’m with Cliff–the Yanks should have won that game. Down a run and two shots at Florida’s bullpen…that’s a game the Yanks need to win.

CC brings the funk for the Yanks today. Have to imagine they’ll swing the bats and he’ll take care of the rest.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Here’s last night’s game in a nutshell: Both starting pitchers were excellent, both gave up an run following a defensive miscue, but A.J. Burnett also allowed a solo homer; Fish win 2-1.

A.J. Burnett struck out eight men in 6 1/2 innings, but he also grooved a fastball to Dan Uggla in the bottom of the second, and Uggla hit it over the center field fence. Burnett didn’t walk a man until the sixth, when he issued a four-pitch pass to speedy out-maker Emilio Bonifacio to start the inning. Given a reprieve when Jorge Posada threw Bonifacio out trying to steal, Burnett walked Hanley Ramirez. A.J. then hung a slider to Jorge Cantu. Cantu hit it to the gap in left, but Johnny Damon lined it up . . . then missed it. The ball just barely hit the pinkie of Damon’s glove then appeared to nick his foot as Damon tripped over his own leg and tumbled to the turf. Ramirez motored around and scored. That was the ballgame.

The Yankees scored in the next half inning after the Marlins failed to convert a one-out double play ball. Prior to the seventh, Josh Johnson had allowed just two baserunners: a walk to Damon in the top of the first, and a bloop single into no man’s land behind first base by Burnett in the third. After Damon grounded out to start the seventh, Johnson walked Mark Teixeira, who was replaced by Posada on the botched double-play. Robinson Cano then picked up the Yankees second hit, singling Posada to third, and Nick Swisher singled Jorge home with the first and only Yankee run, but Johnson struck out Melky Cabrera on three pitches to end the inning and his night.

In the eighth, Joe Girardi sent Hideki Matsui up to hit for Angel Berroa against Leo Nuñez. Matsui singled. Brett Gardner then ran for Matsui and stole second. Alex Rodriguez hit for the pitcher and walked, putting the go-ahead run on base with no outs for Derek Jeter, but Jeter couldn’t get the bunt down and wound up grounding into a rally-killing double play. Dan Meyer then came on to strikeout Damon. Facing closer Matt Lindstrom, Mark Teixeira led off the ninth with a single off first base, but Jorge Posada popped out and Robinson Cano, for the second time in four games, ground into a game-ending double play.

Damon fell on his sword after the game, and Burnett blamed himself for allowing the homer to Uggla, but the Yankees should win games in which they only allow two runs. Josh Johnson was simply too good and the Yankees blew the one real opportunity they had against the Marlins’ bullpen in the eighth.

Adding valor to victory after the game, Johnson absolved Joe Girardi of the infamous rain-delay incident I mentioned in my pre-game post. Per Pete Abe:

Johnson absolved Girardi, saying his elbow was tight before that and that he was determined to stay in the game. Girardi, he said, was not to blame.

“It’s something that just happened,” he said. “I was hiding from Joe, there’s no way he was taking me out of that game.”